by Liz Gumbinner | Beauty + Cosmetics
My girls are totally infatuated with bath bombs, ever since my middle schooler joined a Harry Potter Potions after-school science club (so cool, right?) and made her own handmade bath bomb. So when I started combing our neighborhood looking for one for a gift, well...
by Kate Etue | Books for Kids
We discovered the cool parent-run company that creates personalized Lost My Name books for kids nearly four years ago, and became instant fans. From the gorgeous art to the compelling story, and the clever customization that makes every single book different, they...
by Kate Etue | Toys + Playthings
When my kids get bored over the summer, their go-to entertainment, other than the Xbox (of course), is board games. So when we got a chance to try out the new Beyond Tablet — an electronic, but screen-free, tabletop gaming system — in advance of its...
by Kate Etue | Toys + Playthings
My kids’ playroom has a bookshelf with piles of board games taller than me. So yeah, you could say we’re fairly avid tabletop gamers at our house. But, even so, we’re still always on the lookout for fun new games. If they’re really affordable,...
by Kate Etue | Toys + Playthings
A few years ago my kids tried out the cool service Budsies, which turns kids’ drawings into stuffed animals. They were so excited when their creations arrived, and they still have them in their beds today. So, when we heard that Budsies was launching a new...
by Liz Gumbinner | Toys + Playthings
Of our entire 2016 holiday gift guide, by far one of the most popular gift ideas were the genius handmade Hamilton dolls by Christina of Etsy’s Bobeena Shop. What can we say, you all have good taste in artists — and game-changing Broadway musicals. Now...
by Liz Gumbinner | Toys + Playthings
This past holiday season, my 9-year-old asked for a boy doll. “But not a boy baby doll,” she said, “because they’re exactly the same as the girl baby dolls when you take the clothes off. They are just girl dolls! Only in blue clothes!...
by Georgette Gilmore | Books for Kids
I did the research, and in 2013, out of 3,200 children’s books published, only 93 featured African American characters. Sadly, that’s even more than I had expected. And the numbers aren’t much better for other races and ethnicities. Thankfully, campaigns...