A Minnetonka mom—who was happy in her career and balancing the hectic lives of her four kids—had no aspirations to be on television. Happi Olson worked for Creative Kidstuff, a local children’s store, and had a bit of television experience under her belt representing the business on local TV news segments. But she was baffled when her boss, Creative Kidstuff CEO Roberta Bonoff, asked her if she wanted her own show. “I said, ‘Sure,’ ” says Olson. “I never even imagined I would be on TV. I’m just like any other person.”
But it’s Olson’s practical, everyday-mom demeanor that makes her show, The Happi House, work so well. The show is geared toward moms and covers topics like healthy homework habits, blending antioxidant-rich smoothies, and making a thematic, Pinterest-worthy birthday party seem easy. “We like to talk in bite-sized pieces, laugh at ourselves and know it’s not going to be perfect,” says Olson. “It’s really about making the information easy, helping improve parents’ lives and letting them have fun with their families.”
In the spring of 2014, Olson’s employer Creative Kidstuff wanted to take its mantra—helping families play—a step further. Since its holding company, Curtis Squire, happens to own some Midwestern TV network affiliates, Roberta Bonoff says it was a natural progression to help families play through a television show. “We have always thought that there’s room in the marketplace for a show for moms and kids,” says Bonoff. “We are not trying to be sensational. We’re showing what a normal family is and that it is OK to be normal.”
Bonoff and Olson added Emmy award-winning producer Lynn Peterson to their team, plus style and design experts to start brainstorming ideas and design the show. “The first time we brainstormed, it was all over the place,” says Olson. “But we believed everything on this show should appeal to all families.” The first 30-minute episodes included local experts sharing their wisdom, like a nutrition expert from Lakewinds Food Co-op to talk about healthy snacks, or the general manager of Tonkadale Greenhouse to share tips on holiday decorating. Olson says, “As the show developed, we started asking questions like, ‘Is this going to teach me something I don’t know? Is it going to make my life easier? Is it something I will be able to do?’ ”
By late summer 2014, they were hard at work taping segments all around the Twin Cities, scheduling the tapings around their day jobs. “Everyone working on the show has a real job, too,” says Olson. “We shoot for four days, then sort through segments, pairing them up together.” With each episode containing three segments, the first season of 26 episodes entailed a herculean effort of producing, then shooting more than 70 individual segments.
For any television producer, it’s always a challenge to stay true to the mission of the show while keeping the segments topical and, above all, interesting. As the team thought about ways to keep the segments fresh, they looked no further than Happi Olson’s own family. “My family always has a choice on whether or not to be on the show,” says Olson of her four kids, Henry, 19, Sadie, 16, Jasper, 14, and Chandler, 9. “My youngest son Chandler is very precocious and funny. When I asked him, he was game.” Chandler was then 7, and would have to patiently sit through the set-up process and wait for his moment to assist. “He and I would have conversations about what’s fun and not fun on TV, and how much silliness is OK,” remembers Olson. Chandler was a natural, adding his own comments and flair to the segments, making the show that much more relatable for local parents and kids.
The second season launched in 2015 with an expanded audience of more than 70 television markets on FOX, CW, NBC and MyTV, as well as SkyAngel, AMGTV, CTN, Dish Network, DirectTV and Roku. From Wyoming to Florida, people can watch The Happi House weekly. “The team works so hard to make everything better,” says Olson. “We are in sync and it shows.”
Olson particularly enjoys her segments on hosting parties. Since entertaining guests at your home includes organizing décor, food and activities, Olson believes dinner parties and even themed playdates can be intimidating for parents, so she’s tried to make those entertaining options less stressful through simple how-to segments. “We talk about tricks for making hosting easier,” says Olson. “There are plenty of ways to make shortcuts, but still make it personal and make it your own.” Olson has interviewed experts about how to put together impressive hostess gifts, create the perfect cheese plate for a party, or shop for party dishes at local thrift store Arc’s Value Village.
But the show is far from superficial or fluffy. Producers don’t shy away from serious topics, like encouraging civic engagement and promoting volunteering. The show often includes charities that its parent company, GreaterGood, supports. One of the most memorable episodes was when the team went to visit a school in Haiti in April 2015. “Once we got to the village, it was very beautiful but very remote and, by our standards, very rough,” remembers Olson. “We saw so much more than we were able to shoot.” Olson remembers seeing children as young as 5 trudging to school, carrying what she describes as a “huge metal plate” on which the children would be fed breakfast before starting class. “The first thing they do is feed the kids, because once they have food, then they are ready to learn,” says Olson.
Highlighting causes like the Haiti school will, Olson hopes, inspire her viewers to give back, too. “I hope they see that our organization is making a difference, and I hope they see that there are opportunities for them to make a difference, too,” she says. “It’s not always about the money, but about getting something done.” The Happi House team has plans to visit some of the other charities the GreaterGood organization supports, like Free Bikes for Kids and the Polar Plunge.
As the show begins its third season, people are paying attention. Viewers chime in with comments and tips on the show’s Facebook page. “Every once in a while, someone in Minnetonka will tell me they saw me on TV,” says Olson. “But when someone comments on Facebook that they watch the show in Oklahoma, that’s great.” Even though the show is based in Minnesota, it remains important that they are relevant to a growing audience across the country.
In every way, The Happi House has exceeded expectations. As the show continues to inform and entertain, Olson and her producers hope the information enriches the lives of families in big and small ways. “It’s exciting to be a part of something, and it’s not just about being on TV,” says Bonoff. “It’s really exciting to formulate these ideas and share them with people.”
