Photo: Dorling Kindersley Limited
Barbara “Babs” Costellodid not plan to be the internet’s grandma.
“I had no desire to be on social media whatsoever. I didn’t even have a Facebook account,” the “Brunch with Babs” blogger tells PEOPLE, explaining that her daughter Elizabeth persistently asked her to make a TikTok. “After I said ‘no’ 150 times I finally decided, ‘You know what? One and done, I’ll make her happy and then it’ll be over.’ And I had no idea it was going to lead to this.”
The mother of four started sharing primarily recipe videos on TikTok in April 2020. Now, three years later, the grandmother of 9 has garnered over 40 million likes on TikTok for her home and kitchen tips.
Some of her most popular videos demonstrate seemingly simple tasks, like herdishwasher-loading methodthat has amassed 9 million views. But the social media star recalls a Halloween tip as one of her “biggies.”
brunchwithbabs/Tiktok
In a video from October called “The Do’s and Don’ts of Pumpkin Carving,“Costellocuts a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin, holds the gourd securely in her lap and sticks a hand mixer into the pumpkin to loosen up the seeds and strings inside.
“People were blown away. And you know what? It’s all good stuff, it works,” says Costello of thevideowhich has 28 million views. “Who wants to scrape slimy string out of a pumpkin with your hands when you could loosen everything with a hand mixer?”
With hundreds of cooking and cleaning videos on Instagram, it seems like Costello never runs out of hacks. So where has the influencer learned her genius tips?
“I’m kind of old,” she jokes. “So with age comes wisdom and experience. I was a preschool teacher for 25 years and working with children you have come across everything and anything. So I think just my history, my experience and because I’m a mom and a grandma, I just learned a lot along the way.”
Jake Fleming for Pop-Tarts
The internet fame has brought her plenty of achievements outside of the virtual world, too, like her cookbook,Celebrate with Babs, released in April 2022. And her partnership with Pop-Tarts meant she sold limited-edition boxes with her picture on it.
Costello gushes with gratitude for the opportunities. “Never in a million years did I think I was ever going to be on aPop-Tarts box!” she says.
But mostly, she’s grateful for the support of her fans.
source: people.com
