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

Awesome Classes to Try Now for NYC Tots to Teens

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 01/03/2019 - 4:00pm

Claymation classes at Children's Museum of the Arts are just one of their amazing offerings

Produce an indie film, create a graphic novel, perfect your backhand, or code your own video game. NYC offers amazing options when it comes to kids classes. Even babies and preschoolers can take terrific art, music and swimming classes. Our New York City Classes Guide and Directory list so many options, the hardest part might be finding time to try them all. To get you started, we're sharing a few of our favorite partners to consider signing up for now.

Holiday Giving: Mommy Poppins Families Give Back to Local Communities

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 12/24/2018 - 10:00am

<i>We shopped our favorite local spots, like Park Slope's Little Things.</i>

Every year we share articles about how families can volunteer and donate during the holiday season. But, we are also parents raising our children and working to improve our communities ourselves. Even as our website has grown (Hello, DC and Chicago!), we are proud to say that the values and mission of Mommy Poppins have not changed. We are committed to helping children and families, both online and in real life.

This year, we invited team members from each of our local areas to pick a holiday drive or organization that helps children in need. We funded a shopping spree or, if the holiday season was just too crazy, made a direct donation. In order to do as much good as possible, not just for children, but for local businesses too, we targeted some of our favorite local toy stores to make our purchases. Our children were great helpers in picking out gifts and delivering them.

As the founder of Mommy Poppins, I am grateful to our amazing team for rallying during the hectic holiday season and doing so much good. In all, we donated over $8500! Thanks also to all the local businesses, large and small, who support Mommy Poppins with advertising dollars throughout the year. It makes providing this resource to families for free possible, as well as these donations and our other initiatives. We are humbled and grateful for the support of our readers and local business community.

Read on to find out where our local families shopped and donated.

Mommy Poppins’ New City Sites Washington, DC and Chicago Launch for Holidays

Submitted by Anna Fader on Tue, 12/18/2018 - 10:00am

As we approach the 12 year anniversary of Mommy Poppins, it’s amazing to reflect back on the past years, even as we are looking forward and adding new cities to our community. Just like my children, who have grown in ways I never would have imagined, Mommy Poppins has become so much more than I ever planned for it to be when I started writing those first blog posts as a New Year’s resolution in 2007.

This week we added Washington, DC and Chicago to our growing list of cities that now includes Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Houston, as well as NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester, and Connecticut.

Bring on the Christmas Cheer with 5 Free Holiday Activities in Washington, DC

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 11/30/2018 - 12:52am

The great thing about Washington, DC is so many of the things to do in the city are free. From more than 20 museums to the zoo to great holiday happenings, activities abound in the capitol city that don't break the bank.

Looking for some of the best ways to enjoy the season without blowing your holiday budget? Get the scoop here on the best holiday activities for kids and families in Washington, DC. (Keep in mind that when it comes to the holiday events on our list, free might mean you don’t need to reserve tickets ahead of time, but it also means you should expect crowds during peak times, such as weekends).

And don't forget to keep the good times going after the holidays with our list of must-do winter activities in the area.

37 Kid-Friendly Restaurants and Snack Spots for Beachy Summer Eats in NYC

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 08/05/2018 - 12:00pm

The frozen Swingle (a mini key lime pie covered in chocolate) from Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies is summer on a stick.

If anything redeems the humidity and heat of a NYC summer it’s got to be all the great summer eats. Our family can’t get enough of seafood boils, barbecue, tacos, lobster rolls, and frozen treats. Add a beachy outdoor dining vibe, and dinner out becomes a mini vacation.

New York City has so many great kid-friendly outdoor dining spots, it's hard to choose the best, but this summer foods must-eat bucket list will help you pack in some serious seasonal outdoor dining before sweater weather sets in. Read on to find my picks for the best kid-friendly restaurants in NYC to get your summer vibes on.

Feast Your Way Through the Best Food at the Queens Night Market

Submitted by Anna Fader on Wed, 05/09/2018 - 10:00am

<i>Takoyaki are Japanese octopus balls. Made here by Karl's Balls.</i>

Outdoor food markets and indoor food halls seem to be popping up everywhere in NYC, but the Queens International Night Market is different from others. Fashioned after night markets in Asia, it focuses on the incredible diversity of global flavors that have been making Queens famous as one of the best places to eat in the world.

I’m surprised how many people don’t know about this foodie market. It’s one of my favorite things! The event is family-friendly and even pet-friendly. There’s live entertainment, games, and food stalls representing 80 different countries. Best of all? It's inexpensive. It truly is like traveling the world in one night, although it’d be hard to taste everything in one evening.

Read on for details on the 2018 lineup for this seasonal Flushing Meadows Corona Park food festival.

Lower East Side Food Crawl: Best Old School NYC Eats

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 05/04/2018 - 10:00am

Feel like a kid in a candy store at Economy Candy.

The Lower East Side is emblematic of everything we think of "Old New York," especially the hustle and bustle of a working class immigrant neighborhood. Although many immigrant populations called the neighborhood home, the Lower East Side became home base for New York City’s Jewish population. The Lower East Side is now much more hipster than Hebrew and most of the old establishments have been spruced up, but it’s still an amazing neighborhood to explore...and eat in. Oh my, can you eat!

From knishes to candy, pastrami to pickles, there’s so much good food on offer it’s hard to know where to begin. But most of all, it’s fun to eat in places with tons of history and "theater." Whether you want to do it as a food crawl with the kids or just go down for one family meal, we’ve covered the best old-school, mostly Jewish food spots on the Lower East Side.

The Water Safety Skills That Could Save Your Child's Life This Summer

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 05/03/2018 - 10:00am

FACT: Most kids who drown were supervised. Let that sink in. While accidents do happen from babies being left alone in tubs or a toddler falling into an unattended pool, the most common way is while grown-ups are around, but not paying attention.

According to the CDC, drowning is the second leading cause of injury death for children ages one to 14. It is the number one cause for children four and under! And thousands more are hospitalized for these incidents.