Real Experiences. Trusted Recommendations.

Reviews, Hosted Experiences, Travel & Creative Trades

Macaroni KID helps families discover places worth leaving the house for, from neighborhood favorites to road-trip adventures. Every feature begins with a genuine experience and ends with an honest parent-to-parent recommendation.

Explore Review Opportunities

Honest

Opinions are always our own

Enthusiastic

We look for what families will love

Transparent

Hosted and sponsored work is disclosed

Parent-Led

Useful storytelling, not canned copy

We Are Always Looking for Our Next Favorite Find

Whether you are a new local business hoping to get on our radar, a longtime partner launching something fresh, or a destination that would make an unforgettable family day trip, we want our readers to feel like they are hearing from a trusted parent who actually went, tried it, and knows what families need to plan their visit.

Reviews are never purchased promises of praise. They are firsthand editorial stories built around experiences we believe are genuinely useful and exciting for local families.

Three Ways to Be Reviewed

Choose the Relationship That Fits

Availability, timing, and deliverables vary according to the type of review and whether the business is located within our local coverage areas.

Organic Editorial

Standard Reviews

These are organic features inspired by places, products, and experiences we discover on our own. Businesses may request consideration, but visits and coverage are selected according to our family's interests, schedule, editorial calendar, and reader relevance.

• No exchange or guaranteed coverage
• Scheduled entirely at editorial discretion
• Best for simply getting on our radar

Complimentary Experience

Hosted Reviews

We receive a complimentary product, admission, service, or experience and share our honest firsthand perspective. Hosted reviews are limited, must be approved in advance, and are scheduled when our family and editorial calendar allow.

• Clear disclosure of the hosted experience
• Authentic parent-to-parent storytelling
• Deliverables confirmed before the visit
• Local opportunities may include additional approved promotion

Paid Campaign Add-On

Sponsored Reviews

Sponsored reviews pair firsthand storytelling with a paid local advertising campaign. They receive scheduling priority and are timed to support a launch, seasonal push, guide, event, or ongoing partnership.

• Available to eligible local advertisers
• Prioritized scheduling and campaign alignment
• May be added to seasonal or ongoing partnerships
• Paid relationship clearly disclosed

How Scheduling Works

Not Every Review Moves at the Same Speed

We would rather promise thoughtfully and deliver well than squeeze an experience into a calendar where it cannot receive the attention it deserves.

Sponsored reviews
Highest priority and often the quickest to schedule.

Hosted reviews
Limited availability and may require additional lead time.

Standard reviews
Occasional and based on organic interest, family availability, and editorial fit.

Travel & Day Trips

Invite Us to Pack the Van

Our readers are always looking for the next drivable adventure: an attraction worth a Saturday, a show that justifies bedtime negotiations, a weekend escape, or a destination families will still be talking about on the ride home.

Hosted travel and day-trip opportunities are considered for destinations, attractions, performances, events, accommodations, and family experiences that are relevant to our audience and permitted under Macaroni KID's brand, territory, and media-access policies.

A hosted travel or day-trip feature may include:

• One honest parent-to-parent review article
• Placement within an appropriate travel, road-trip, or day-trip guide
• The guide shared according to its regular newsletter schedule, when appropriate
• Up to two social media posts using #MacKIDEvents
• Clear disclosure of complimentary tickets, admission, lodging, products, or experiences

A clear line between editorial access and advertising: Hosted travel, day-trip, show, attraction, and event coverage outside our local business coverage areas is editorial only. It does not include display advertising, sponsored emails, calendar listings, or reader discounts. Ticket giveaways may be considered separately when permitted. Locally hosted opportunities are discussed individually and may include additional deliverables through an eligible local campaign.

All nonlocal opportunities require advance approval and may require coordination with another Macaroni KID publisher or the Macaroni KID national team. Please contact us before sending tickets, confirming reservations, or announcing a collaboration.

Propose a Travel or Day-Trip Experience

What Counts as Local?

Our Local Coverage Areas

Local hosted reviews, sponsored reviews, and barter-based advertising are available only when the business or organization qualifies within our authorized coverage areas.

Harrisburg & West Shore
Eligible locations are confirmed during review.

Carlisle, Boiling Springs & Shippensburg
Eligible locations are confirmed during review.

Hershey, Hummelstown, Elizabethtown, Manheim & Lititz
Eligible locations are confirmed during review.

Trust Comes First

A Note on Honesty & Disclosure

We follow FTC disclosure requirements and clearly identify complimentary, hosted, gifted, affiliate, or sponsored relationships. Our audience will always know when something was provided.

No partner purchases a guaranteed positive opinion. Our specialty is finding the people, details, and experiences that make a business shine, but every recommendation must remain truthful and reflect our real experience.

If an experience is not a good editorial fit, we may decline coverage, recommend a different collaboration, or choose not to publish a review.

Add a Little Cheese to Your Macaroni

Professional Photos for Extra Visual Magic

We have partnered with Kendra Bradford Photography to offer professional photography during eligible hosted or sponsored reviews. It is an easy way to give your feature more visual impact while adding a fresh set of images to your own marketing library.

• Professional photography session during the review
• Five or more edited, high-resolution images
• Marketing-use images for your business
• Additional family models when needed and arranged

$150 plus required admission

Subject to photographer availability, advance approval, and final scope. Pricing may change.

No Coupons Chiseled Into Stone Tablets

Let’s Trade: Local Barter Opportunities

We love a thoughtful win-win. Eligible local businesses and organizations may propose products, services, memberships, experiences, or event access in exchange for clearly defined promotional deliverables.

Tell Us What You Need

Start with a specific goal and the deliverables you are requesting. A clear proposal is much easier to evaluate than “Would you like to collaborate?”

• Which audience or edition?
• Which promotional deliverables?
• What campaign dates or deadlines?
• What outcome are you hoping to support?

Tell Us What You Are Offering

Share the exact product, service, membership, experience, or ticket value being offered, including quantities, restrictions, expiration dates, and whether the offer is for our family, readers, or both.

• Be specific about fair-market value
• Include all limitations and dates
• Clarify what is complimentary
• Do not ship or reserve anything before approval

We Confirm the Exchange

If the proposal is a good fit, we will confirm the agreed value, deliverables, timing, disclosure, and responsibilities in writing before either party commits resources.

• Subject to availability and editorial approval
• Limited to eligible local relationships
• Advertising value should reasonably match the trade
• Nothing is scheduled until terms are confirmed

A Note on Larger Barters

Larger proposals, such as memberships, multi-event collaborations, recurring services, or higher-value trades, are generally reserved for local businesses and organizations we already know and can recommend confidently. If we have not worked together yet, a hosted review is often the best first step. It gives us a chance to experience what you offer and see how naturally it connects with our audience before building something bigger.

Important barter boundary: Barter is a form of advertising. We can only accept barter-based advertising from eligible businesses and organizations within our authorized local coverage areas, unless a collaboration has been separately approved through the appropriate Macaroni KID process. Travel and out-of-territory media access follows the editorial limits described above and is not exchanged for additional advertising.

Help Us Say Yes Faster

What to Include in Your Request

The basics
Business, destination, event, location, website, contact person, and requested dates.

The experience
Exactly what is included, for how many guests, the value, restrictions, and expiration.

The story
Why this experience matters to families and what makes it different, timely, or worth the drive.

The request
Hosted review, sponsored review, travel feature, giveaway consideration, photography, or local barter proposal.

Have Something Our Families Would Love?

Bring us a clear idea, an experience worth sharing, or even a wonderfully specific trade involving kettlecorn. We will help determine whether a standard review, hosted experience, sponsored campaign, travel feature, or local barter makes the most sense.

Request a Review or Collaboration

All opportunities are subject to availability, editorial fit, geographic eligibility, brand policies, and advance written approval. Complimentary products or access do not guarantee publication or a positive review.