Stores

Buying local is the hip new thing, but beyond just being trendy and "supporting local businesses," buying local is important to us because it builds community and sustains what we love most about NYC: its cool, eclectic mix of unique, small shops and walkable city streets.

There are several Holiday shopping events that make shopping locally into fun, outings. Plus we've got a round-up of sample sales. Read more »

One of the things that continually strikes us at Mommy Poppins is how many people DO find time to give back to the wider community. In the Bronx we found one such business owner who, inspired by news and television reports that unveiled the horrors of childhood slavery practices in Ghana, took action. Interestingly, her business outwardly had nothing to do with global issues --she owns a local children's hair salon-- but she feels a commitment to all children and acts on her understanding that we are all connected. We hope you enjoy our Community Spotlight interview with mother, enterpriser and activist Suzanne Axelbank, and are inspired by her true global community service project! Read more »

If you think this blog is called Mommy Poppins 'cause I'm some sort of uber mom, you couldn't be more wrong. Although I admit I love organizing things, in theory, I also love procrastinating, avoiding and flat out ignoring all those yucky, boring chores that go along with being a parent. Case in point, I'm sitting here typing this while knowing I haven't filled out my kids' picture day forms, I only know where one of them is, oh, and picture day is tomorrow...And these chores are endless. You could seriously do nothing but buy shoes, and schedule dentist appointments, not to mention groceries and meals, SNACKS!, lunches! What about new toothbrushes every 6 months! Who has the time?!!

In order to be as good a procrastinator as I am, I've had to develop some good organizational habits to streamline some of those yucky chores, leaving me free to, well, mostly do all those other chores that I should have done last week. I thought today I'd share some of them. They're not big revolutionary secrets, but they do save me some time and money and hopefully will save you some too. Plus there's a giveaway at the end. Read more »

You don't hear about Fort Greene that much and that's probably a good thing. Good for me anyway. I've been enjoying spending afternoons there, with and without my kids. Fort Greene's quiet, bucolic tree-lined streets are the perfect antidote to a stressful day of work and there's lots of fun stuff to do in the neighborhood with kids. Read more »

Want to play? Here's what's happening today.

Play:
Get free Ice Cream at Stone Cold Creameries today from 5 to 8pm. Although not required, guests are encouraged to make a donations for the Make a Wish Foundation to help terminally ill children. To find the Cold Stone Creamery location nearest you, go to www.coldstonecreamery.com.

Buy:
Kids Rx, the child-focused, alternative pharmacy is opening a new location in Park Slope. Kids Rx specializes in flavoring medications and serving them up in palatable forms that kids can, well, swallow. Rather than struggle to get the pills down, Kids Rx offers medications in lollipop, gummy bear, pudding and other kid-friendly forms. There is a $5 flavoring fee, but otherwise your prescription will cost the same as filling it at any other drug store, and they do take insurance. Read more »

The great thing about shopping for kids clothes is A) Their whole wardrobe costs about the same as just one pair of your shoes. B) They look good in everything. C) You don't have to try anything on eliminating the worst part of shopping in my book. That's not to say that even shopping for kids clothes can't be a hassle, but seeking out fun clothes like these cool duds for kids makes it much, much more fun.

We had the experts at some of our favorite clothing stores for kids, tell us what the hottest items are this Fall for NYC kids. Here's what they said: Read more »

Summer is winding down and it's time to get ready for the Fall. I'm starting to think about back to school shopping and thought I'd do a special Linkin' B'Logs to share some of my favorite online shopping sites. These sites will keep your kids looking cool and you can do it all without leaving your chair.

Nonchalant Mom is a great site where you'll discover beautifully designed clothes from Lucky Wang, Kit + Lili,  Antik Batik and many other designers you may not have heard of. Carina picks beautiful things that you won't see everywhere else. Read more »

Get with the program, Oldie Square Pants, backpacks are for babies. Cool kids today carry messenger bags. But finding cool messenger bags that fit pint-sized hipsters is not so easy, so we scoured the net for the coolest little messenger bags for our mini trendsetters and have gathered them here for you (after clearing them through our own pint-sized coolness testing dept., of course.)

Cool girls want stuff that's not too flowery, but definitely not boyish either like this Little Miss Sunshine Messenger Bag. It's on the large side at 12" x 15" so it's better for older kids, but at $19.99 from Target or Amazon, it fits the bill perfectly. Read more »

I'm not a big "stuff" person, but when I do want to ogle, buy or dream about buying kid stuff, I turn to the site Cool Mom Picks where some super savvy moms select the most unique little things for babies, kids and moms. That's why I'm thrilled to announce that Cool Mom Picks is coming to Mommy Poppins. Check out what the girls have found for us this month: 

Now your little monsters can make their own big monsters.

  Read more »

We have been getting lots of great tips from readers in our in box and in the comment section of the site. It's been hard for me to keep up with it all on top of our regular posting. Some of them I've been able to slip into regular posts, but the tips are all too good to let go, so this week and next week I set aside some days that I am going to be posting the great ideas for things to do with kids in New York that you have been sharing.

If you have some tips you'd like to share with us please send them to me.

Thanks to Sharon Kleinhandler, Tricia Gillespie and Neeta Vallab for these tips: Read more »