Macaroni Kid Dishes Up Family Fun

With Just One Click

By Nancy K. Crevier

Lisa Agresta is the publisher and editor of Macaroni Kid, a national e-newsletter published by mothers (and some fathers) to assist families in locating events in their areas. More than 500 other publishers of Macaroni Kid have staked out their hyper-local territories, and Ms Agresta planted her flag in the Newtown/Monroe/Trumbull area this past August, claiming it for Macaroni Kid.

A stay-at-home mother for the past five years, Ms Agresta comes from a public relations background. “I wanted to do something, after being at home for so long, but I wanted it to be something that would include my family, and not interfere with family time,” she said.

The mother of three children, Capri, 11, Cooper, 8, and Carsen, 3, Ms Agresta was dedicated to finding family-friendly activities around Newtown. “I noticed there was nothing online that seemed to focus strictly on our area. I was going to one website after another to find out what was going on, taking notes, and keeping track of it all. I would scour the newspapers and magazines. It was pretty time-consuming,” she said.

Then one day, while bouncing around online, she stumbled across the Macaroni Kid site. “It is only about two years old, and still growing,” she said. She liked that the e-newsletter she saw gave families the ease of clicking on just one website to find out what was happening in the area. As an avid crafter, Ms Agresta liked that the e-newsletter also included craft ideas and tips for family together time.

“No one was doing Macaroni Kid for Newtown, so I signed up to be the publisher,” she said. The learning curve has been steep at times, since she took on the e-newsletter, said Ms Agresta, but every week she is finding it easier. “I get up and work early in the mornings before the kids are up, and while they are at school, mostly. I like that I can work around my family’s schedule,” she said.

Ms Agresta is solely responsible for the content of the e-newsletter that she publishes each Thursday. “I focus on what is going on in Newtown, Monroe, and Trumbull, as well as some larger venues, like the Beardsley Zoo and the Discovery Museum.”

She writes most of the articles that are of interest to her target audience, families with children ages 2 to teen years, but the national publishers also borrow from each other. “We exchange ideas, and if we see articles that would appeal to our audience, we can use those. I come up with a lot of the craft projects, but other ideas are harvested from other Macaroni Kid publishers. We all have our own strengths, and that’s the beauty of this e-newsletter,” Ms Agresta said.

Macaroni Kid publishes a calendar “that I try to make as comprehensive as possible,” and features contests and giveaways. “I work with Feld Entertainment, so for instance, in October I had Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey circus tickets. Or it might be tickets to Disney On Ice, or something from a local business,” she said.

The e-newsletter not only fits her lifestyle, but has come to include her children at the hands-on level. Her daughter, Capri, has writes young adult book reviews for her, and Cooper is anxious to help with some sort of food review column. “Maybe he will write about foods that he thinks other kids will like, or places we eat out. We’re not sure yet,” she said. “I’m always coming up with new ideas for the newsletter. I would like to include some kind of column that would be interactive with the reader,” Ms Agresta added.

Subscriptions to Macaroni Kid are free, with income earned from advertisers on her site. The advantage to subscribing, said Ms Agresta, is that the e-newsletter is then automatically delivered to a person’s mailbox, as soon as it is published. There is no remembering to check the website or need to log on.

“Macaroni Kid has everything I think families would be interested in. Right now, I’m trying to get out into the community to promote the e-newsletter,” she said, “by introducing myself to businesses, and taking part in community events.” Visitors to her table at any local event will receive a gift made by Ms Agresta: a macaroni necklace kit.

“I’m enjoying this very much,” said Ms Agresta. “I get to work, and I get to deliver something to the community that I believe in. I want it to be the ‘go to’ site for Newtown families,” she said.

To subscribe or view Macaroni Kid e-newsletter, visit www.Monroe.macaronikid.com. Follow Macaroni Kid Newtown/Monroe/Trumbull on Facebook, or on Twitter twitter.com/#!/MonroeMacKid. Ms Agresta can be contacted at lisaa@macaronikid.com.