Use Marketing Powers for Good Not Evil: A Happy Ending

This is an old post that was very popular, that I am reposting with an update. The couple who were fundraising have been blessed with a child! Check out her blog post with the story of how it happened.

Originial Post:
Mommyhood is an amazing and exhausting experience. I wish that everyone, who wants to, could be blessed with the experience. It breaks my hurt to think of a childless mother.

A Facebook friend I went to college with posted on her wall to buy Burpies for Babies. As a mommy who loves to check out baby gear, I clicked the link and was surprised at what I found.

The link goes to a couples blog which details their path to become parents through adoption. Burpies for Babies is a way that they are raising funds to help pay the costs for an adoption.

For just $10 you can get a handmade (and very cute) burp cloth to help this couple from Shreveport, Louisiana. I don't know this couple but hope you can join me in helping them to achieve the most rewarding job of being a parent.

Check out their blog for more of their story and to purchase a Burpie for Babies. Also like them on Facebook.

The Magic Ball

So Vtech invented the Move and Crawl Ball or as it is known in my circle of moms, The Magic Ball. They are doing a terrible job of marketing it so I wanted to throw them a bone.

The Magic Ball has taught many babies, including Baby Crawfish, how to sit up within days of purchasing. I know it sounds crazy. If your child is around the time where they should be learning how to sit up or are trying and just have not gotten it yet…get the Magic Ball.

The Magic Ball is the perfect height to get them that little bit of steadiness and confidence that the child needs to figure out how the sitting up thing works. Once they get the idea, they are good to go.

The ball also rolls around by itself so now that Baby Crawfish crawls, it moves around and she chases it giggling away. There is something about it rolling by itself that she finds hysterical and fascinating.

For just $14.99 at Babies R Us, you can get a Magic Ball that sings, counts, makes animal noises, teaches shapes, rolls, lights up and has taggies. The packaging says promotes sitting, but I have been amazed at the results.

I make a motion to change the name of the Move and Crawl Ball to the Magic Ball. Any one second?

Give-A-Way: Monte's Birthday Party at Hotel Monteleone

Give-A-Way: Monte's Birthday Party at Hotel Monteleone


Winner: Erika Lehmann. Thank you for submitting the most entires! Enjoy Monte's Birthday Party with your daughter!

What:

The Hotel Monteleone's lovable mascot, Monte, is celebrating his birthday! Crawfish Tales has two tickets to give-a-way!

Monte's birthday party will be on June 11 from 10AM-noon at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter.

Monte the Lion is one of the most loved – and most cuddly - members of the Hotel Monteleone family. Children attending the party will have the chance to take pictures with Monte on his birthday and play with his mascot friends including Gumbo from the New Orleans Saints, Hugo from the New Orleans Hornets, Boudreaux from the New Orleans Zephyrs, Riptide from Tulane University and Havoc from Loyola University.

A birthday cupcake making station will sweeten the mood along with food, pictures and games. As a special birthday treat, Monte the Lion will premiere his very own children’s book and will sign copies for all party goers.

Didn't win: 
Tickets for Monte's party can be purchased for $25 online.

There is a bonus: Everyone who purchases a ticket will have the chance to win four tickets to “Shrek the Musical” at the Mahalia Jackson Theater and to meet the characters live. “Shrek the Musical” will be in New Orleans May 31 – June 5.

Crawfish Tales Details:
Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation

Fighting Hunger is a Family Event

I work with Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana to lead the fight against hunger in 23 Louisiana Parishes.

Louisiana tops the nation with one in four children ages 0-5 who are at risk for hunger. As a new mom, knowing that 1 in 5 kids under 18 struggle with hunger every day just in my own community is devastating. I can’t even imagine putting Baby Crawfish to bed at night knowing that she is hungry or deciding to buy gas to get to work instead of putting dinner on the table.

Good nutrition has such an important role on a child’s physical, behavioral and mental health. For just $5 you can join the fight.  Second Harvest Food Bank is hosting the second annual Rubber Duck Derby on Sunday, May 22 on Bayou St. John at 3:45PM.

10,000 rubber ducks will race to the finish line to help battle the everyday disaster of hunger in our community.  The derby is a fun day for the family and quite a spectacle to see!

Right now as the price of gas rises and as kids who usually receive free and reduced lunch are getting out of school, additional strains are being placed on families already struggling to meet daily needs.

Those families as well as the families facing the flooding from the Mississippi River will turn to Second Harvest Food Bank. Please help Second Harvest by participating in the Rubber Duck Derby. Ducks can be purchased for just $5 online at www.no-hunger.org.

Bottles Up!

So Brett Anderson at the Times Picayune has red beans and Tom Fitzmorris has stars, but Crawfish Tales has bottles!

As one of the most popular posts so far on Crawfish Tales, Are You or Aren't You, has prompted me to keep a log of the most baby friendly places in the Greater New Orleans area. Tell me where are your favorite places and why, or who needs a little improvement to make baby the most comfortable there.

Rankings will be listed by bottles, four bottles is the top score meaning that the welcome mat is out for baby. Let's give credit where credit is due.

When you are out and about check out the place. Is there a kids menu, highchairs, a changing table, can you fit a stroller through the aisles, what is that key element that makes it baby friendly for you.

Email your rankings and comments to crawfishtalesblog@gmail.com.

Use Marketing Powers for Good Not Evil

This is an old post that was very popular, that I am reposting with an update. The couple who were fundraising have been blessed with a child! Check out her blog post with the story of how it happened.

Originial Post:
Mommyhood is an amazing and exhausting experience. I wish that everyone, who wants to, could be blessed with the experience. It breaks my hurt to think of a childless mother.

A Facebook friend I went to college with posted on her wall to buy Burpies for Babies. As a mommy who loves to check out baby gear, I clicked the link and was surprised at what I found.

The link goes to a couples blog which details their path to become parents through adoption. Burpies for Babies is a way that they are raising funds to help pay the costs for an adoption.

For just $10 you can get a handmade (and very cute) burp cloth to help this couple from Shreveport, Louisiana. I don't know this couple but hope you can join me in helping them to achieve the most rewarding job of being a parent.

Check out their blog for more of their story and to purchase a Burpie for Babies. Also like them on Facebook.

Are you or aren’t you?

Are you kid friendly or not kid friendly? That is the question. There are a few kid friendly criteria your restaurant should meet before targeting families as your customers. Go beyond providing two crayons and a coloring sheet to providing a fully thought through experience for your diner.

 Just because a restaurant has a kids menu does not make it child friendly and the same thing goes for a store selling children’s clothes. Have you thought through you customer experience? Does your restaurant have the appropriate baby gear to meet your customer’s needs? Do you think about the parent’s experience dining with a child?

As a new parent I had not thought of these things as necessities till recently but the restaurants that successfully meet the following needs are my top choices. Here is the recipe:

•          Call Ahead Waiting. Waiting for an hour and a half before you get to the table is a recipe for disaster for the parents and the fellow diners. Children no matter what the age, have short attention spans, are frequently hungry and almost always tired and cranky. Parents have a small window of time to get in, dine and get the kids home. Help out by offering call ahead waiting. 
•          Comfortable Tables. I don’t mean cushy seats. I am talking about a table away from the drafty door as little kids are sensitive to the temperature. Also a table not in the walkway. As graceful as people think they are both wait staff and other patrons bump tables and chairs. Let’s not run the risk of someone knocking the baby carrier over or waking a sleeping child.
•          Secure Seating. I don’t want to just sit the baby carrier on the seat and hope that no one bumps the chair. Two plus a high chair, please. I don’t want just any high chair; I want the baby sling that can accommodate the baby carrier or the high chair that can be flipped over. Both of these options will keep baby safe and secure while mommy and daddy enjoy a nice glass of wine and a tasty dinner.
•          Kids First. Restaurants that bring the kids meals before the parents’ entrees get brownie points. This is a simple and much appreciated gesture. There are a few key reasons why this is needed. Kids are hungry from when they walk in the door. Keep them calm by keeping them busy…eating. Parents can get the kids fed and then when their meal arrives they can actually enjoy what they ordered without stopping every few seconds to cut up chicken tenders.
•         A Changing Station. If you have a kids menu, obviously you are expecting kids in your restaurant. Have you provided a place for diapers to be changed? I think this should be a part of operating requirements but anyways. Make sure there is a place to change a baby. Having a pedestal sink and no Koala station is not helpful. Get a counter top before I have the urge to use my table as a changing station.

Making your restaurant kid friendly is easy and is not a budget item. Most of your employees probably have kids. Treat them to dinner on the house and ask them to document their experience. Then send them over to your competitor and see how you rank.

This is so important parents that Open Table has begun giving awards for Top 50 Kid Friendly Restaurants., http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?pid=386.