This Holiday Season Is ‘Mommy Poppin'!
If there ever was a season where we needed Mary Poppins to help us get through it, it would be at Christmas-time. Unfortunately, Mary Poppins be a fairytale. In lieu of this reality, I offer you the help of Mommy Poppins, the go-to sight to catch up on every activity or possibility for you family to consider -- at the holidays and all year through.
Comprehensive? Yes. Location specific? Yes. Extremely helpful? Mary Poppins pales in comparison to owner, operator Anna Fadar. Disney is going to kill me, I know, but Anna has managed to pull together a tidy crew of 'Mary Poppins' to make up Mommy Poppins and mass rules in the family-focused blogging world.
So before you shop, plan, pamper or vacate this holiday season, take a gander at Mommy Poppins. She’s got tips and tricks that closes the book on Mary and sends her back to the classics where she belongs. You’ll understand what I’m talking about when you read Anna Fader’s interview below.
What is your full name?
Anna Fader
What is your personal mantra?
Let’s go!
Tell us about your life, including where you live, number of children and anything else you would like to share.
I live in New York City with my husband and two ridiculous animals. I have a son and a daughter. We also have a dog and a cat.
Do you believe you have a “life’s purpose?” If so, share it.
I had a tough childhood and so for me to be able to raise my children in a way that breaks the cycle of a lot of things that happened in previous generations is very rewarding and probably the most important legacy I can offer this world.
Finish this sentence, “The best part about being a mom is _____.”
Everything. It is an incredible privilege to be a mother. I love being able to nurture small children, but also be able to see how they grow on their own completely independent of any influence from me. Plus, being a mom means having an excuse to act like a kid and play all the time.
What is the name of your blog? When was it launched?
Mommy Poppins is coming up on it’s 10th anniversary in January 2017! The name was a little bit of a conflict for me. On the one hand it’s very catchy and I get a lot of compliments for it, but I always struggled with the Mommy part of it because we are definitely a site for the whole family and are used by as many dads, grandmas, and other caregivers, as moms who are looking for awesome activities to do together.
What is the primary focus of your blog and what do you hope to accomplish through it?
Mommy Poppins is the ultimate guide to awesome stuff to do with kids. We have sites in Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, Boston and NYC and the tri-state area, as well as family travel and city guides for dozens of other cities and travel destinations. We work really hard to provide a resource that helps families find activities that create meaningful and enriching time together. We have local parents who curate our event calendars and go check things out first hand so that when you read about something on our site you can trust that you are getting the real scoop from another parent.
List any awards you have won.
The greatest award for me is getting emails from parents who tell me their personal stories of how Mommy Poppins has made a difference in their lives. I had one from a mom whose husband was killed in Iraq and described how it was a free ballet class they found on our site that gave her daughter an outlet and community while going through that trauma. I have moms all the time who tell me they just moved to NYC and would have been lost and alone in this giant city, but Mommy Poppins helped them figure it all out and meet people right away. What better honor could anyone ever ask for than touching people’s lives in that way?
Are you a Brand Ambassador and if so, for which companies?
We have worked with thousands of brands and organizations. Some of my favorite recent partnerships have been with The New York Public Library on their summer reading initiative and KaBOOM!, the non-profit that builds playgrounds in underserved neighborhoods.
Do you blog for other blogs or sites?
No.
Which social media outlet useful?
I personally love Instagram because I love photography, but obviously Facebook is where everyone is and it’s hard to avoid it’s power. I do love when Facebook is used to create authentic community, but there’s so much nonsense on there too the good stuff can get kind of drowned out. We are on Pinterest and I would love to do more there. It’s such a great tool, but I feel like that’s a rabbit hole I should probably not lose myself in.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to those who may be interested in beginning a blog?
Do it for passion. Blogging is so much more work than anyone really realizes, so if you are not 100% passionate about what you plan to write about it will be very hard to keep it up. On the other hand, the great thing about the immediacy of blogging is that it’s a great place to play around and try new things and there’s really no big cost to experimenting with it and seeing what happens.
Are you an entrepreneur or professional beyond your blog (and outside of being a mom)? Please share.
Mommy Poppins is my full time job. Full time and a half, actually.
Do you support – either formally or informally – a particular social cause?
I think of Mommy Poppins as a tool to help families in our community and we do our best to extend that beyond the website. We have worked with many different causes. For several years our community has risen to the occasion and provided school supplies, Halloween costumes and holiday gifts for a local NYC shelter for battered women and families whenever they reach out to me with a need. We also started our own initiative that donated $10,000 to public schools through Donors Choose. And we’ve worked with both Feed America and the Food Bank for New York many years.
When all is said and done, how do you want to be remembered?
I’m planning on living forever. So far so good!
All kidding aside, Mommy Poppins is one of the best sites available to help parents, grandparents and caregivers learn about family-friendly, fun activities throughout the holidays and beyond. And it is easy to peruse too -- yet, another perk to motivate you to visit the site. That, alone, is more helpful than a spoonful of sugar any day, right? Buys this Poppin' more time for shoppin’! And that’s worth its weight in silver and gold, if you ask me.