National Moms Nite Out: Panera Bread, Red Velvet Cupcakes and Lots More Goodies!

National Moms Nite Out was held in Simon Malls across the nation on May 10th, 2012. Last year, I attended as a mom blogger when I was a Publisher Mom for Macaroni Kid. I was a vendor, and it looked like all the moms were having so much fun, I hoped I could attend as a mom myself some year. Now that I have found Hub Pages, I hung up my Macaroni Kid Publisher Mom title, in favor of writing about anything I want on Hub Pages. And that meant I could go and enjoy this free night as an attendee. And enjoy it I did!

What is National Moms Nite Out?

National Moms Nite Out is the first nationally recognized celebration of motherhood. It is intended to bring moms across the country together for one night of fun and pampering. They are brought together physically, in Simon Malls across the country, home parties, and virtually. There is a website that moms can go to if there isn't a live event in their area, and participate in a virtual Moms Nite Out. There were more than 100 Simon Malls that hosted Mom's Nite Out celebrations, from cities and states as geographically distant as Anchorage, Alaska, to San Antonio Texas, to Boca Rotan, Florida to Bangor, Maine!

My National Mom's Nite Out Experience

I arrived at my local Simon Mall, the Crystal Mall in Waterford, Connecticut at 5:15 p.m. The event ran from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. My daughter came along with me. I had no idea the scope of the vendors that would be there and was pleasantly surprised. The moms first had to check in at a registration table. The whole event was free to moms, but the registration allowed us to be able to enter a drawing for free items to be given away throughout the event.Once checked in, we were handed a black goodie bag with the Moms Nite Out emblem emblazoned on it. Inside the bag were lots of samples, business cards, magnets, etc. given out by vendors at the event. And also inside the bag were three beautiful roses in a cellophane package, in a small water tube so the roses would stay fresh till the moms got home. Each bag held a different color of roses including pink, yellow, red and peach.This was a very nice touch. Also included in the bag were:

Freebies from National Mom's Nite Out

* A sample bottle of Total Renewal Micro-dermabrasion Exfoliator from Boots

* 2 Lindt chocolate balls from BP Learned Financial Services

* A sunglasses cleaning cloth from the Sunglasses Hut

* A lip balm from Dr. Jeremiah Lowney ( orthodontist )

* A purse sized manicure set from Verizon Wireless

* 3 candy kisses and a coupon for a free yoga class from The Yoga Within

* A lip balm from Verizon Wireless

* A pen from Best Buy

* A York Peppermint patty with a coupon attached from Yellow Bird Cupcakes

* 3 cones of incense from Ice Imports

* 3 samples from Arbonne

* Bath crystals from Paul-n- Dina Gardens

* A Pen from Uptown Salon and Spa

* A mini photo album from JCP portraits

* A mini zip bag with an emergency kit of Band-Aids, antiseptic wipes and Ibuprofen ( all so handy for moms!) from the Crystal Mall

Participating Vendors:

There were at least 25 vendors present, including Arbonne, The Pampered Chef, Lia Sophia jewelry, Auntie Annie's Pretzels, Brio Academy of hairdressing and cosmetology, doing makeup and hair, a local tailor shop called, "The Golden Needle" which had magnetic business cards, Panera Bread which gave away free 1/2 sandwiches and small bags of cookies, a local cupcake company which gave away mini cupcakes in a choice of flavors, and there was also a photographer from JC Penney taking free pictures of the moms and their "BFFs" which may have been meant for moms and their friends, but many families lined up to have their picture taken with mom, and massage therapists giving free massages to moms.. Many of the vendors not only gave away samples, but also free candy. I had a piece of white chocolate Lindt chocolate, my absolute favorite kind of candy, and proclaimed to my daughter that the event was worth coming to just for that!

All in all, I would say the event was a huge success, and made many mothers, myself included, feel very special, and pampered. Thank you, Simon Malls, and the many vendors present, for recognizing the importance of mothers and rewarding us for all the hard work we do throughout the years! It's a night I plan to enjoy again and again each year!

If you would like to attend this year's National Mom's Night Out, it will be held in various locations throughout the country on May 10th, 2018.