Category Archives: Events

Holiday Party Kid Zone

December 4, 2015 lindsay-bell

Greetings, all!

If you take a look at your schedule this month, there is most likely a holiday party that you need to attend. You then face the struggle as to what to do with your child, in order for you to bust out that ugly holiday sweater. With that, I introduce you to a great offering from the BFC team, a holiday party kid zone!

Members of the BFC team will get to the party early to set up the area (make sure it’s clean, safe for kids, etc.). While you and your friends are enjoying the eggnog, your kids will be partaking in fun craft activities, including popsicle stick snowmen, clothespin reindeer, and a take home bag to put all of their goodies in. We also have fun games on standby incase their attention span is not in our favor.

This is just one of the many things that the BFC team can help organize – so this year, make your holiday season a breeze! To book your kid zone, e-mail us at [email protected].

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

Events

Gender Reveal Getting Real

December 1, 2015 lindsay-bell

Greetings, all!

It seems like gender reveal parties or special announcements are all the rage. Now, it may not be the town crier from the British Royal Family, but there are several creative ways you can make a splash with your own baby announcement, and here’s how!

Everyone loves cake, right? Revealing the gender of the baby via a baked good may be one of my favorites! My sister, Lindsay (our BFC leader), was one to conquer this exact idea this fall when she sent cakes to the local bakeries of her family members. Skype also played a key role in this one when she video chatted with her family, as they took a slice into the cake. Altogether now…awwweee.

We connected with one of our favorite cake reveal bakeries, called The Hudson Cakery, located in Weehawken, NJ. Behind the wizardry of Head Pastry Chef, Jennifer Bunce, this bakery averages two cake reveals per week, where most of the time the mother or father-to-be drops off the envelope straight from the doctor’s office, so they don’t even know – just them! To learn more about The Hudson Cakery, check out their website, and take a look at one of their beautiful creations below!

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

Events, Family

Halloween TREATment

October 20, 2015 lindsay-bell

Greetings, all!

Today I’m here to share 8 creative Halloween treats to make for the little goblins in your house. Don’t worry, I won’t tell if you hide some off to the side for your enjoyment.

1. Boo-nana Pops: Not a big fan of ingredients? Then this treat is for you! Head to the market to buy bananas, white chocolate, and mini chocolate chips. After that, a fun treat is in your hands!

2. Spider Crackers: Spiders have never been so yummy. Fill two Ritz crackers (try peanut butter or cream cheese), stick pretzel sticks into the filling, and dot with some raisins for eyes.

3. Clementine Pumpkins: Hate commercials? Me too. In your next commercial break, peel an orange, grab a stick of celery or tootsie roll, and stick it into the top of the orange. Then head back to your show.

4. Hot Dog Mummies: Consider this your main course. Just make sure you wrap the hot dog in crescent rolls, not toilet paper. I know that could easily be confusing.

5. Jack-o-Lantern Orange Packet: Did you forget it was your turn to bring the snack today? No problem! Head to the store and get the to-go plastic containers of either mandarin oranges or peaches. Grab a sharpie and doodle a jack-o-lantern face on the top.

6. Band-Aids: Don’t worry, no actual blood here. This is another recipe with only three ingredients, so no need to create a note in your iPhone for the recipe.

7. Sand-Witch: Grilled cheese might be best fall sandwich of all time. It also helps that it is one of the quickest meals to make. Try cutting a witch hat out of the bread, and let the cheese soup through (see what I did there?).

8. Jack-o-Lantern Snack Plate: This is like the appetizer sampler at your favorite restaurant, but BETTER! Take these ingredients and build your best face (gold fish, raisins, banana, cucumber).

I hope all of our readers have a great Halloween! And special thanks to Listotic, who brought us all of these creative ideas!

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

Bell Family Company, Events, Family

American Cancer Society’s Annual Mothers of the Year Luncheon

October 4, 2015 lindsay-bell

One of our fantastic former sitters who is now an expecting mom invited the Bell Family Team to the the American Cancer Society’s Annual Mothers of the Year Luncheon. Bell Family will be at the front door greeting guests & supporting this year’s event. Read below for more info & get your ticket here http://main.acsevents.org/Mothersoftheyear Hope to see you there!

-Lindsay

On Monday, October 19^th, 2015, the American Cancer Society will host the 20^th Annual Mothers of the Year Luncheon at The St. Regis Roof in New York City. Proceeds from the event will benefit critical cancer research, education, advocacy and patient service programs supported by the American Cancer Society. Marion Scotto, Rosanna Scotto, Elaina Scotto and Dr. Susan R. Drossman are the 2015 Mothers of the Year Honorees.

The Mothers of the Year Luncheon, is supported by prominent members of New York City’s social and philanthropic community and is one of the American Cancer Society’s signature events in Manhattan. The Luncheon was created in 1995 to shine a spotlight on mothers – celebrating their daily duties as caregivers to their families and the extraordinary work they do to care for their communities. Since the event’s inception, the Mothers of the Year Luncheon has raised nearly $5 million dollars for the fight against cancer.

Previous Mothers of the Year honorees include former First Ladies of New York, Libby Pataki and Matilda Cuomo. Katie Couric, Paula Zahn, Vera Wang, Kathie Lee Gifford, Susan Bloomberg, Anne and Charlotte Ford, Carolina Herrera, Sarah Ferguson, Cynthia Lufkin, Ann Curry, Tory Burch, Grace Hightower De Niro, Muffie Potter Aston, Anne Hearst McInerney, and Deborah Norville. Ambassador Brenda L. Johnson and Cricket Burns are the event Co-Chairs. Diana K. Feldman, Volunteer Chairman, of the American Cancer Society’s Special Events Committee will receive a Special 20^th Anniversary Outstanding Leadership Award for her dedication and leadership to the cause. Paula Zahn will return as Mistress of Ceremonies.

The event will begin with cocktails and a silent auction at 11:45AM followed by lunch and the awards presentation at 12:30PM. Tickets begin at $500 and Bell Family Company clients will be entitled to a discounted ticket at $395.00.

Please visit the events website http://main.acsevents.org/Mothersoftheyear to reserve your spot!

Events

MDW: Red, White, & Bell

May 22, 2015 lindsay-bell

Memorial Day is a federal holiday for remembering the people who died while serving in our armed forces. The weekend is also the much-anticipated start to the summer season. We’re excited for another summer of adventuring, camps, family vacations, beach time, relaxation, and more!

Check out some of our favorite memorial day activities for little ones below:

1) Celebrate all of the solider and veterans in your life by attending your local parade. Also check out fun events such as the Grand Procession at the Green-Wood Cemetery, which will be transformed into a Civil War-era commemoration and festival on Saturday.

2) If you’re looking to get out of the city, but don’t want to hit a lot of traffic, Governor’s Island.

3) Head to the beach, and take a BFC sitter if you need an extra hand! Beaches like Coney Island, Jones Beach, Brighton Beach, Orchard Beach, and Rockaway Beach are all easy commutes from the city and boast plenty of sand and sun-filled fun!

4) We also love heading to museums and the zoo on weekends like this! Since so many people are headed out to the beach, attractions like this usually have shorter lines.

5) As the sun heats up on Monday, you might want to bring the kids to some water attractions. Mommy Poppins created a great list of water parks in the area here.

Overall, enjoy spending time with your family and celebrating

Events

The Wedding Sitter

February 23, 2015 lindsay-bell

It may be cold outside, but we’re looking ahead to wedding season! Did you know that BFC offers wedding sitters and kid zones for your big day?

BFC can help whether you need an extra set of hands, confident door greeters, or need us to fully develop a Bell Family Kid Zone. We can assist to ensure your wedding goes smoothly. Our caregivers are extremely professional, and are comfortable playing with kiddies in event t-shirts or black tie attire.

Our Kid Zones are a custom made, interactive kid-only area designed to plug into your family friendly function. Bell Family designs a one of a kind pop-up play center fully equipped with activity stations that engage and empower your guest’s child, arts and crafts corners to further inspire even the most creative minds, princess, safari and fairy land entertainers that will light up their lil’ eyes, movie night when its wind down time and more!

Additionally, our dedicated sitters can tackle any event issue that may arise; we carefully lead a check-in/check-out station, provide custom take home gift bags and provide a level of exclusive service that will wow you and your guests. Our Bell Family Kid Zone is designed to help make your special day an even bigger success!

The Bell Family sitters & staff were such a relief during my wedding. I had sitters at our hotel caring for the lil’ ones & staff to help onsite with my photographer. It really brought me peace of mind on my big day having trusted women there to take care of anything I needed- Jessica, recent bride NYC

Check out more information on how we can transform your event with a Kid Zone or wedding staffers on our website or email us at [email protected]

Bell Family Company, Events, Family

WWW – Santa Baby!

December 11, 2014 bellfamilycompany

It’s a well known fact that I have LOVED Christmas my entire life! When my baby sister was in grade school she wrote a school poem about me entitled, “Christmas Freak”. (Yes, even then she had a biting sense of humor.) I love the cold weather, the lights & decorations, the music (I’m listening to it as I write this), the cards, selecting presents for people & wrapping them creatively, making holiday cookies & crafts and the general feeling of goodwill among people during this time. It’s just the most wonderful time of the year…made even more magical by our daughter!

It’s always been amazing to watch her little mind develop, but this holiday just puts her into overdrive. There are lights and colors and new tastes, sounds and textures! An everyday trip to Target is an adventure when she spots the holiday aisles from across the store. She tells me “keep going mommy” until I reach the sparkly trees. When we decorated our own tree, she couldn’t wait to hang ornaments and then examine each one carefully. Don’t get me wrong, her excitement lasted for about three ornaments…three longer than my husband’s…but she had fun in the moment! Now she has her favorites that she visits daily, and each morning as we walk downstairs she says, “Lights on!”

We’ve painted paper plate wreaths, made a handprint Christmas tree, cut Play-Doh shapes with cookie cutters, glued puff balls on foam shapes, decorated her own tiny tree in her play room and made daily “peanut butter guys” with our gingerbread man cookie cutter. Every morning she tries to stand higher on her tippy toes than she did the day before to put a new felt ornament on her Advent calendar. I’m loving it!!! She’s learning new concepts and I get to indulge my passion for the season.

One concept she’s got down quite well is a fear of strangers….particularly those in big red suits with long white beards. She loves the guy from afar, can’t wait to yell his name at every opportunity, gets excited when we read about him in books, but the moment we get up close, all bets are off! Last year’s Santa picture attempt was so traumatic I won’t even show you. This year we tested the waters at a local party, and in mom’s arms, with fun auntie making faces behind the camera, it wasn’t so bad.

We’re still not going near the mall Santa, but this was progress. And progress is what it’s all about with a toddler. It’s also what it’s all about with a first time mom…like the lesson that you don’t take your 11 month old to visit Santa and expect her to smile for the camera. Parker and I are navigating these waters together and everyday is an adventure. I agree that her puff ball penguins should have eyes on their tails and she agrees that our craft time together is more important than me cleaning the house….besides it develops her fine motor skills as she picks up and hands dust bunnies to me J

– jolynn

Bell Family Company, Events, Family

BFF – A Christmas Spectacular – Radio City Style

November 29, 2014 bellfamilycompany

Just in time for the onset of the official holiday season, the Bell Family Company headquarters had the privilege of attending the opening night of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular performance on November 13th! There is no better way to kick off the holiday season. Not only is it an old New York City tradition, but it is a great outing for the whole family!

The show keeps the traditional performances of the “Living Nativity” as well as the “wooden soldiers”, while bringing in the new traditions such as digital projections, floating snowflakes, and of course real animals. This year’s plot is about two young boys cannot afford to buy their sister a Christmas present. The eldest boy is a Santa nonbeliever, but he soon sings a different tune when he and his brother are taken on a journey to the North Pole, where presents come alive, and teach the boys that Christmas is not really about the toys, it’s about feeling the magic and believing in the spirit of it all.

My favorite part had to be the floating snowflakes in the number “snow”. It truly felt like magic was coming alive, and left you feeling like a believer yourself. I would recommend the show for children ages two and up.

Events, Family, Uncategorized

WWW – Mommy Poppins, Wee Work & Broadway Babes

October 29, 2014 bellfamilycompany

From our fab Moms at fave blog Mommy Poppins, the yearly opp to take your kids to their first (of many?) Broadway shows is almost upon us. Check out the deets below on how to be one of the chosen few….

The next Kids’ Night on Broadway (which really needs to be renamed Kids’ Week on Broadway) will take place Friday, January 9 to Thursday, January 15, 2015. Children ages 6 to 18 can see a Broadway show for FREE when accompanied by an adult paying full price. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, November 5 at 11am and frankly, for popular shows like Aladdin, The Lion King, Matilda: The Musical and Wicked, you have to move fast. Find the complete list of participating shows on the website and set your alarm for next Wednesday at 10:59am!

While you are whittling away the minutes to purchase tix, check out Wee Work! A great go to source for rainy day crafts or just when the kids need some focus. Most crafts are created with household items, so no trips to Michael’s are necessary. Endless hours of entertainment here as well as seasonal and age skewed activities.

Events, Family

WWW – We Love Fall!

October 22, 2014 bellfamilycompany

I’m pretty sure there is no better time of the year as a kid than fall…which means there is no better time of the year as a parent! Although the temps are dropping, especially at our home in Chicago, there is just something special about this beautiful season. Avery can always tell Fall has arrived when she gets to start wearing her boots and jackets to school every day. As she gets older (now 3 ½ years old), she is much more into the typical fall activities…hayrides, fall festivals, pumpkin carving, apple picking, and camp fires to name a few. And her little sister Sydney (now 6 months) is simply along for the ride.

This past weekend, we planned a family trip to Sonny Acres, a local farm that hosts their fall festival in September and October each year. As we pulled into the parking, Avery’s eyes grew wider and wider as the animals, rides, and pumpkins came into view. We spent the next several hours on pony rides, feeding goats, picking pumpkins, and spending way too much money on silly rides and comfort food. At one point, my husband pointed out how much money we had “wasted” on these silly rides and I asked him to look over at Avery’s face. She was taking her 5^th ride on the tilt-a-whirl and could not control her laughter. She was having the time of her life, as her little care-free spirit got dizzier and dizzier. At that moment, the money didn’t seem to matter. We paused and realized how blessed we are to be able to provide her with these types of experiences.

As we packed up the newest additions to our family – 2 very large pumpkins Avery hand-picked – we were all smiling ear to ear. Our noses were pink, our hands were cold, and our feet were tired. But our hearts were happy and our tummies were full of elephant ears, home-made apple cider donuts, and pink cotton candy. Another amazing day with the family…thank you Fall!

– Mindy is a Sitter2Mom with 2 active (and soon to be) little girls residing in the Windy City.