Anna Fader

Founder & CEO of Mommy Poppins
Anna was born in Park Slope, spent her early years in the West Village. By the time she graduated high school, she had lived in 4 of the 5 boroughs. Growing up in NYC in the '70s meant the streets were her playgrounds. Museums and avant garde music venues were the kid-friendly activities. And living downtown taught her the importance of creating community for families in NYC.

Now, raising her own two children in the city, she tries to create the same sense of magic and community she felt growing up, despite today's more commercialized version of kid-friendly New York.

She started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to share a more artsy, educational, uncommercial, community-oriented vision of raising kids in New York City. Today Mommy Poppins is relied on by millions of families as the authority on the best things to do with kids beyond New York City: from Boston to Philly, Los Angeles, Houston and travel guides for dozens more cities and destinations.

Latest posts by Anna

Family Travel Deals: Spring Break Deals, Crystal Springs Resort, Orlando, San Diego and Park City, Utah

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 03/29/2012 - 3:09pm

We love travel, but we especially love traveling when we find a great deal. Right now we've got last minute Spring Break deals on the brain. It's not too late to plan something...and save! Look for a resort deal (and giveaway) in New Jersey, spring skiing, Orlando and San Diego deals, plus a Disney deal for planning ahead to late summer/Fall.

Read on to get the deals.

Kids' Birthday Party Deals and Our Updated Party Guide

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 4:00pm

Our Birthday Party Planning Guide is chock-full of great ideas for fun kids' birthday parties whether you are planning a party at home or at one of the amazing birthday party places all over NYC. We just updated all the posts to make sure they have the latest information. And if you scroll down to the Party Planner, you can search for listings by type of entertainer, party place or service.

In celebration of the relaunch of our Kids' Party Guide we asked some of our amazing sponsors to offer deals for our readers. Even if you're not planning a party right now, check it out: Some of the deals are good for a while and can probably be redeemed as long as you plan the party before the deal expires.

As always, a huge thank you to our Party Guide sponsors, without whom we couldn't put together such a great resource. If you plan your party with any of our sponsors, please tell them you saw them in the Mommy Poppins Party Guide.

Best Swim with Dolphins: Dolphin Cove Jamaica

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 03/25/2012 - 7:46pm

Swimming with the dolphins is a dream come true for most kids (and adults). If it's not on your kid's life bucket list, it's probably because they just don't know about it yet. But Dolphin swim experiences are not all the same and if you are going to go for a once in a lifetime experience, you want to get it right.

I have tried a few dolphin swims myself and recently I was lucky to be on a travel bloggers trip to Jamaica. We were invited to the Dolphin Cove in Jamaica and even the other travel writers who have done more dolphin encounters than I have agreed this was the best swim with the dolphins they had done.

What makes Dolphin Cove in Jamaica the best dolphin swim experience?

My Apartment Garden: How to Grow an Indoor Herb or Vegetable Garden

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 03/18/2012 - 10:00am

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Simms via CC BY-NC-ND-2.o

The farm-to-table movement has become a global concern as we try to reconnect with where our food comes from, and increase our support for small & local over big & industrial food production. As city dwellers, we can join a CSA, shop at a local greenmarket or even visit a nearby farm. But in our daily lives, it can be hard to find ways to connect with nature in NYC.

Welcome to Our New Site: Mommy Poppins Travel!

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 03/15/2012 - 7:35pm

MommyPoppins has been sharing our expertise on the best things to do in the New York City area since January of 2007. We currently have destination sites for NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston and Los Angeles. Each one brings the unique Mommy Poppins take on exploring their area with kids.

Now we're taking the special Mommy Poppins stripe of coverage global and expanding our travel coverage to bring you family vacation information from wherever our own travels bring us. Just like all our other Mommy Poppins coverage, all our reviews will be written by moms (or dads) who have been-there, done-that and can share down to earth family travel advice. Our mission is to help you discover exceptional experiences and magical vacation memories.

Please help us get started by taking our quick reader survey and tell us what you hope to see on this site. Read on to find out more about our launch.

A Chocolate Birthday Party at Max Brenner's

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 03/09/2012 - 7:15am

Last week I wrote about last minute birthday party ideas, inspired by perhaps my most slacker mom moment—not having a party planned on the actual morning of my daughter's 10th birthday (Who am I kidding? Probably not even top 10). I wasn't stressed though, this is New York, limitless possibilities lay at my fingertips. I couched my guilt and got on the internet, where all life's problems are solved.

Our plan was to take a few of her friends out to dinner. I wanted to find a place that would be fun and was a real experience. My daughter's favorite, Ninja, was nixed as too expensive, Serendipity had no room. We settled on Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man off Union Square.

How To: Throw an awesome urban pool party

Submitted by Anna Fader on Tue, 03/06/2012 - 1:12am

A kids pool party is certainly not a new birthday party idea, but they are a sure-fire hit with kids, and you can rent out the pool at your nearest Y pretty reasonably (as NYC kid parties go). I always like to do home parties, however. It's not that I'm cheap (well, yeah, maybe a little), but I am also a homebody and a control freak. I like to do everything myself and have it happen under my roof (or on my roof). So pool parties are out, right? Oh, I may be a cheap, homebody, control freak, but I'm no quitter. So, here's how to throw an awesome urban pool party whether you have a pool or not. If you have any kind of outdoor space (roof, terrace, garden, sidewalk in front of your apartment...) you can do this party with a kiddie pool, or even two. Think creatively. Maybe you could even do it in the playground or park. If you don't have outdoor space you can always do your pool party at a public pool. A pool party can be a great, low-stress party. You don't need to hire entertainment and once the kids get going, the adults can just sit back and chill while the kids have a blast in the water.

Tie-Dye Party: At Home Birthday Party Ideas for Kids

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 03/04/2012 - 8:31am

You don't have to go over the top with a birthday party to make it out of this world fun for kids. A simple, inexpensive at-home birthday party can be thrown together last minute by picking up some craft supplies and baking a cake. My daughter still calls her Tie-Dye Birthday Party the best one ever and all I did to prepare was run the local hardware store for some RIT Dye and rubber bands. Actually the hardest thing to find was the plain white T-Shirts (who sells Hanes in Manhattan any more?)