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

Favorite Mom Blogs That Inspired Me 2010

Submitted by Anna Fader on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 9:53am

I am halfway through this week of "Best Of 2010" lists and and I'm starting to think I might not be cut out for this type of thing. It's hard to pick some blogs knowing you are leaving so many others out. To make matters worse, my innocent little list of the Best Local NYC Blogs got linked from the NY Times, so now my choices are forever part of the blog of record.

So before I jump into my list of my favorite Mom Blogs, I'd like to make a little speech about how I am choosing. (clear throat, tap fork on glass). The blogs I am including are blogs that inspire me, each in their own way. They are also the blogs that I happened to have thought of during the few hour window that I wrote this post. Tomorrow different things will be on my mind and I will find new sources of inspiration (and remember old ones that I didn't think of when I was writing this — and apologize in my head to people I left off the list). But I hope that this post will be a source for you to find some new inspiration too, with some great blogs that maybe you didn't know about yesterday.

10 Favorite Mom Blogs that Inspired Me in 2010:

Top Ten Local New York City Blogs of 2010

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 7:50am

The new year is a time of reflecting. Looking back on 2010 there are so many great discoveries we made that we'd like to share. This week, in addition to our regular posts, we'll be sharing some of our favorite websites and other stuff that we've enjoyed this year, starting with some of the great websites about living in New York City. These sites are great resources that often inspire me (when I have time to read them). You may want to book mark this post to check back with these cool blogs often.

Big Ticket Giveway: Win Tickets to Cirque de Soleil's Wintuk

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 12/23/2010 - 10:11am

We've had a great week of giveaways this week and made some very happy Holidays for a few folks. While there's still time to enter our giveaway for a $100 Best Buy Gift card (closing Thursday, December 23 at 10PM), today we're giving away 4 tickets to Cirque de Soleil's Wintuk.

Big Ticket Giveaway: Win a $100 Best Buy Gift Card

Submitted by Anna Fader on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 2:30am

Do you like to connect to the internet from wherever you are? Browse Facebook while waiting for the kids at Karate? Watch streaming video between meetings? New WiMAX-enabled laptops mean you can connect wherever you are at 4G speeds. To celebrate, Intel asked us to give away a $100 Best Buy gift cards and let you know how you can get another one too.

Big Ticket Giveaway: MOMENTUM at the New Victory Theater

Submitted by Anna Fader on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 6:45am

How does the New Victory Theater manage to have so many amazing shows that are sophisticated, entertaining, and yet, great for young audiences? I don't know, but I love it. Their latest feat is MOMENTUM a feisty interactive dance performance that kids and adults will both love. We're giving away four tickets to this fun show that will certainly make your Holidays a splash.

Big Ticket Giveaway: The Big Apple Circus' Dance On!

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 12/19/2010 - 1:50am

To show our appreciation for our readers (you) and add a little excitement into your Holiday celebrations, we are doing a week of giveaways this week. Starting today, we will be giving away one big ticket item each day this week. Each giveaway will only last one or two days, so don't blink. We're kicking this event off with tickets to the Big Apple Circus! And we've got other great prizes coming too: more great tickets and prizes, including a Best Buy gift card.

Announcing Our New Website, Poppins Perks, With Huge Discounts for Families

Submitted by Anna Fader on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 6:18am

On January 7, 2011 it will be exactly 4 years from the day that I posted my first post on Mommy Poppins. As the site has grown, I have asked myself what can I do, now that Mommy Poppins is read by hundreds of thousands of parents every month, to make a real, immediate difference in the lives of other New Yorkers. The answer that I came up with was to start a new site that would be dedicated to raising money for NYC schools. Education has always been a passion of mine and I have been a dedicated advocate of NYC public schools, which are struggling more than ever with terrible budget cuts.

So I am very excited to announce the launch of my newest website, Poppins Perks, which will offer great deals for NYC families with 40-90% off of products and services we love, plus each Perk will be targeted to fund an important project for one NYC classroom through a partnership with DonorsChoose.

I hope that Poppins Perks will enable you to try out more of the best things in New York City for families at unbelievable prices. Read on to hear more about Poppins Perks and our first Perk, a great Holiday gift for a friend, relative (or yourself!)

NYC Bloggers Do the Holidays

Submitted by Anna Fader on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 7:40am

This is the second year that I've teamed up with an eclectic group of NYC bloggers to put together a Holiday Guide, each posting a Holiday-themed post on our own blogs and then linking them all to each other. Each blog is a NYC-Centric blog with its own unique lens through which it views the city. The resulting Holiday Guide offers a wide range of gift ideas and things to do and I think you'll agree that this has to be one of the most eclectic Holiday Guides out there.

I hope this introduces you to some new blogs in the 'hood and some off the beaten track NYC holiday ideas. Check out our Holiday Guide for more great Holiday activities and gift ideas.