Founder of Mommy Poppins
A fourth-generation Brooklynite, Anna started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to help families find the best things to do with kids in NYC, with a particular emphasis on sharing activities that are free, affordable, and enriching. The site, used by millions of families, has grown to become the ultimate resource for parents in the major US cities, plus travel guides for 100s of destinations.
Anna is a believer in the magic of summer camps, traveling with kids, and that you can raise kids on a budget and still have a rich life full of amazing memories. Anna's first Mommy Poppins book, The Young Traveler's Journal and Activity Book, published in 2025 and co-written with her daughter, Amelia Eigerman, brings that ethos to life, in addition to this website.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
If you didn't get your chance to flaunt your cool quotient by lining up outside of the Apple Store to be one of the first to buy an iPhone, now's your chance to make up for it. Be one of the cool people to line up in front of the Apple Store in SoHo for an event just as exciting to the below the knee set - to see a live performance of Dan Zanes.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Can't imagine ever convincing your kids to step foot inside an art gallery? Well, think again. Art can be cool if it's the Sci Fi Art Show at MF Gallery on the Lower East Side. Let your kids eyeball the aliens, robots, and monsters in this fun exhibit and broaden their horizons of what art can and should be.And how cool would the above work of art be in a child's bedroom or nursery?
Submitted by Anna Fader on
I discovered Whip Up recently while trolling the interwebs looking for cool things. One of the things I like about this site is it is not so overly-precious as some of the craft sites are and projects tend to be easy and doable even for the novice crafter. The full name is Whip Up, handcraft in a hectic world.
That makes it a great site for families anytime, but this month they are especially focusing on crafts for kids with a Month of Crafts for Kids. They've already posted a bunch of fun stuff like these worry dolls and these winter glove puppets.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
One of the NYC sites I love to read is NewYorkology. Amy is the one who reminds me to post about things like the Vintage Buses and Trains. Now she's added a sweets columnist to keep her readers abreast of all things sweet and tasty in New York. Um...yum.
Nichelle Stephens, who normally writes for Cupcakes Take the Cake with my friend Rachel, wrote up a new ice cream joint in Boerum Hill called Blue Marble. Blue Marble Ice Cream is organic and made from grass-fed cows from the Hudson Valley. It sounds yummy and the store has wi-fi and a small play area for kids. Who said it was hard to be a locavore!
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Submitted by Anna Fader on
If you knew Nina, you'd like her as much as I do. She's an old school New Yorker who grew up with an uptown dad and a downtown mom and seems to know every crack and trick of this city. Now she's learning it all over again as a new mom.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Cartoonist and Illustrator David Heatley was commissioned to do a piece for The New Yorker, but it didn't make the final cut. In his cartoon Heatley points out some of our favorite things about Queens, like the Queens Farm Museum and the Jackson Heights Halloween Parade. His basic answer: No, it's not as cool as Brooklyn (and he's kinda glad), but it's great for families. [via Jackson Heights Blog]
Submitted by Anna Fader on
We have hundreds of great articles in our archives and we'll be plucking out the best to share every week, but you can also search our archives using the search feature in the upper right corner of the page or click on some of the category links in the left sidebar.
Here's a different activity. Ever been to The Skyscraper Museum
