Raven Snook

Raven is a writer, editor, performer and mom, who was born and bred in NYC, just like her husband, her mother and now, her daughter. As a writer, she's contributed articles to New York Magazine, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, the New York Post, TV Guide, Better Homes and Gardens, iVillage, AOL TV and Moviefone, Parents.com, and worked as an in-house editor for ParentsConnect.com and TimeOutKids.com. As a performer, she's appeared on many downtown stages (sometimes even for pay!), a couple of obscure films and TV shows, and The Maury Povich Show as a female drag queen. She's also the founder of Hot Mama Burlesque, the world's only all-moms burlesque show. After being the NYC editor from March 2011-March 2015, she is now happy to just be a blogger as she pursues additional writing opportunities.

Latest posts by Raven Snook

This Week: Best New NYC Spots for Kids, Three Kings Day, Tree Recycling, Winter Fun for Families

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 01/03/2013 - 12:00pm

It's been another low-key week at Mommy Poppins (and hopefully at your home, too) as we slowly get back into the groove of work and school. Most of the holidays are behind us—save for Three Kings Day, which officially ends the season on Sunday—and we're all looking ahead to winter fun.

While you can certainly enjoy seasonal activities like ice-skating and (assuming it snows) sledding in NYC, you need to leave town for other winter favorites. But our regional sites have you covered with info on where to go snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in Connecticut, snow tubing in New Jersey and skiing throughout the tri-state area. And if you just can't bear the thought of being outdoors in the cold, our Indoor Activity Guide has lots of toasty destinations, including drop-in play spaces in Manhattan and indoor water parks near NYC.

Here's what else we covered in NYC this week:

Best of New York City for Kids 2012: Our Favorite New NYC Spots

Submitted by Raven Snook on Sun, 12/30/2012 - 12:00pm

Every year, we knock an experience or two off our list of 100 things to do with kids in NYC before they grow up. In 2012, my family braved the crowds at Dylan's Candy Bar (No. 8), Dave & Buster's in Times Square (No. 28) and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation (No. 98), all for the first time. And I know that Mommy Poppins' founder Anna and her kids finally made it to the Easter Parade (No. 27) and went on a couple of auditions just for fun (No. 2). But just when we think we're making a real dent in that list, a slew of brand-new must-see attractions pop up in New York City. Not that we're complaining—that's one of the reasons we love living here.

Even if you're still working on visiting all of the amazing places that opened in 2011, 2012's top new spots deserve to be on your radar. If you read the site every day, you'll probably already know about most of these, but if you missed a few of the 500 or so posts we wrote this year, here's a roundup of our favorite new NYC attractions for families that opened in 2012.

This Week: New Year's Eve With NYC Kids, School Break Fun, Final Days for Holiday Attractions

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 12/27/2012 - 12:00pm

It's been a very quiet week on all of the Mommy Poppins sites as we spend time with our families. That photo is from Christmas at my mother-in-law's house and please keep in mind, we also do Hanukkah in our home! But more important than the presents (which are still sitting in a big pile on my living room floor as I figure out where to put them all) were the memories we made. We had a particularly festive time this year and I hope your family's celebration was as uplifting. I think we all really needed that.

Although many of the holidays are behind us, Kwanza is in full swing, New Year's Eve is just a few days away and holiday break is only half over. So there's still plenty of time to enjoy holiday fun in NYC or you could even take a day trip to see seasonal sights in New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut. Our CT site recently posted about the incredible Christmas House in Torrington, which looks like it rivals the famous Garabedian family Christmas House here in the Bronx. And there are other awesome displays in Long Island and New Jersey that are worth traveling to if you have access to a car.

From all of the moms here at Mommy Poppins, we wish you and your family a fabulous New Year! Thank you for sharing 2012 with us. Here's what else we covered in NYC this week:

This Week: Best Things to Do Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Throughout Holiday Break in NYC, NJ, LI and CT

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 12/20/2012 - 4:00pm

As excited as we are that Christmas Day is almost here, it's been a bittersweet holiday season for all of us. First Hurricane Sandy. Then the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. We here at Mommy Poppins have been personally touched by both tragedies. One of our NYC contributors, Alison, lost pretty much everything in her Broad Channel, Queens home due to the storm. And last Friday, one of our Connecticut bloggers, Christine, lost a close family friend in Newtown.

It's been hard to stay positive during this trying time and yet, as Christine so eloquently wrote on the CT site, that's exactly what we need to do. As she explained, "As parents our hearts may be heavy but our children are counting down the days until Christmas arrives. One of the most important things we can do right now is to be fully present with our children and maintain a sense of routine and normalcy in their lives. This week, that includes moving forward with our holiday plans, traditions and family outings."

With that in mind, in addition to sharing advice about talking to kids about Sandy Hook and ways to help the victims, all of our sites have continued to post about holiday fun in our respective communities. In NYC, we added posts about things to do on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and throughout holiday break to our Holiday Fun Guide. Connecticut rounded up festive train rides with Santa and Long Island has a slide show of spectacular holiday light displays.

You can find out about all of the best things to do over the holidays in the tri-state area in our Holiday Fun Guides for NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut. From all of the moms here at Mommy Poppins, we wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season.

Here's what else we covered in NYC this week:

Holiday Deals: NYBG Holiday Train Show, Live Theater, Music Lessons and More

Submitted by Raven Snook on Sun, 12/16/2012 - 10:00am

Although we sent out our holiday deals email a few weeks back, we realize not everyone subscribes to our free newsletters (gasp!). And since these deals are so timely and great, we wanted to make sure all of our readers got a chance to check them out.

We reached out to some of our favorite organizations to secure discounts and bargains on awesome NYC experiences including the annual Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden, the charming new stage adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit, private music lessons on all kinds of instruments from Hey Joe Guitar and more. So while you're running around town this season enjoying all of the holiday fun NYC has to offer, see if any of these deals can help you keep a little more money in your pocket.

This Week: Dyker Heights at Christmas, Restaurants with Kids' Entertainment, New Battery Park City Ice Rink

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 12/13/2012 - 5:00pm

Is there a clever new way for us to reiterate that the holidays are here? Nope. Assuming your to-do list is as long as ours, you don't have a minute to waste, so we're going to keep it brief this week.

In NYC, we took a photo-filled tour of the incredible Dyker Heights Christmas lights and rounded up our favorite restaurants with kids' entertainment in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Meanwhile our Travel site is profiling gorgeous beach towns like Akumal, Mexico and Islamorada, Florida in case you want to plan (or just fantasize about) your next vacation. We also have a roundup of holiday travel packages and deals and many destinations are within driving distance of NYC.

It's your very last chance to enter Mommy Poppins' Biggest Holiday Giveaway. We've got a few more prizes to win before it ends on Friday, December 14. See the complete list on our giveaway site.

As always, you can find a slew of posts about the best things to do, see, buy and experience this magical season in our Holiday Fun Guides for NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut. Here's what else we covered on the NYC this week.

This Week: Huge Holiday Giveaway, Amazing Holiday Light Displays, Local Gift Shopping

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 5:00pm

If you've visited any of the Mommy Poppins sites this week, you probably already know all about our Biggest Holiday Giveaway. And if it's news to you, well, there's still time to enter. We're giving away a different prize every single day through Thursday, December 13, nice big ones like $150 gift cards to some of our favorite stores and high-end toys. See the complete list on our giveaway site.

Speaking of giving, we suspect you're doing a lot of buying these days. Our Shopping Local Holiday Gift Guide is packed with NYC spots selling unique and offbeat items, and this week we added posts about our top seasonal pop-up shops and toy stores that opened over the past year.

Holiday fun is the focus on our regional sites, too. Spectacular light displays are up all over Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut and make for great day (make that night) trips. (And if you need to stay in NYC, there's always Dyker Heights.) You can find more out-of-town seasonal fun, including cut-your-own Christmas tree farms and Santa train rides, in our New Jersey and Connecticut Holiday Guides.

Here's what else we covered on our NYC site this week:

This Week: Holiday Windows in NYC, Christmas Kids' Shows, Hanukkah Celebrations

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 11/29/2012 - 4:00pm

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or winter solstice, our sites are overflowing with seasonal fun. In NYC this week, we added posts about inexpensive holiday shows, Hanukkah happenings and department store holiday windows to our Holiday Fun Guide.

Looking to cut your own Christmas tree? We've got roundups of the best places to chop your own on Long Island, in New Jersey and Connecticut. Turn the outing into a day trip by also hitting holiday events like Christmas tree lightings on Long Island or Santa trains in New Jersey. And if you're aiming to be eco-conscious this season, our Boston site has wonderful tips about how to have a green Christmas.

Mommy Poppins is also hosting two big events this holiday season. This Sunday is our Holiday Portrait Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser, where you can enjoy fun family activities, discounted shopping and walk away with one-of-a-kind pics of your kids courtesy of Stomping Ground Photo, with all proceeds going to storm relief. And on Monday, we launch our Big Holiday Giveaway. We'll be awarding a different prize every day, really exceptional stuff like a gift package from Toys "R" Us, tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and more. So be sure to visit our site every day throughout the season and subscribe to our free newsletters so you don't miss out.

Here's what else we covered this week in NYC: