Philly mama, Philly snacks…

It’s the little things in life, right?

That’s definitely what my kids think, especially after a long day at school. They’re tired. They’re jumpy. They’re hungry. And sometimes, they come home with an immediate bad attitude.

After weeks of frustrating behavior right after school, and some challenging behavior in school, I came up with an idea that has morphed into Afterschool Snack Surprise. If they show kindness in and out of school, the surprise awaits.  We eat pretty healthy food, but afterschool snack surprise is not always that. It’s just fun.  It’s always a surprise and usually inexpensive. Need some easy reward ideas for your family? Here’s a list of Northwest Philly and beyond snack ideas.  These are places I’ve come up with after months of thorough research (read: everyone is driving me crazy and I want chocolate and/or salt myself). Folks, I have Googled the phrase “snacks in Philadelphia.” I’m not fooling around.

In Northwest Philly

Soft Pretzels at Taste of Philly in Chestnut HillWhat a fine snack establishment. It offers salt and sugar in often the same packages. You can’t go wrong with a classic soft pretzel, but you also could try a delicious cinnamon sugar pretzel too.

Gummy Bears and more at A and N House of Produce in Germantown I love this produce shop for a multitude of reasons, many of which are very healthy. But sometimes, I go in quickly with the little ones and head straight for the massive selection of small plastic bags or containers of snacks. Gummy bears! Sour Patch Kids! Salty pistachios!

Seaweed and other international snacks at Joa Mart in Mt. Airy/GermantownI love seaweed. So do my children. Joa Mart has a wide variety of seaweed snacks and all kinds of other potato chip-like items that you can’t find at a regular convenience store.

S’mores bars at Night Kitchen Bakery in Chestnut HillWe had hot chocolates with homemade peppermint marshmallows and smores bars here one particularly tough afternoon. It was like a little chocolate oasis. Plus you can sit next to the TV screen they have set up to watch the bakers in the other room creating cakes and other goodies.

Downtown and other spots

Fancy tea at Random Tea Room in Northern LibertiesTake a trek into Northern Liberties and visit the cutest tea shop you will ever find, where you and your kids can cuddle up in one of the quaint corners and look at all the curiosities and get a big pot of honest to goodness tea and maybe play a game of checkers or discuss the philosophies of sassy second graders.

Indian snack mixes and/or samosas from International Foods and Spices in West PhillyOr go all the way to the west side of town and pop into this enchanting international grocery store that always has warm samosas at the cash register and whole aisle of authentic Indian snack mixes that might include some kind of puffed corn or other grain and nuts or chickpea flour-like items that are salty and wonderful.

I’m getting hungry. What are some of your favorite snacks and snack spots in the city?

Northwest Philly Parents is a partnership between Newsworks and Germantown Avenue Parents