by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
I’m kind of in love with anything vintage, especially when it comes to toys. We always joke that generations of children somehow made it through life without dolls that walked, talked, or did the cha-cha, and ours can too, darn it. And get off my lawn, you kids....
by Cool Mom Team | Editors Best of the Year
You don’t need us to tell you about the latest Elmo toy or Hannah Montana guitar, so we work hard to point you towards toys and other playthings from small companies or independent artists that you might not know about yet. After a year of so many amazing...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
Cool Mom Picks readers know I have a serious soft spot for handmade dolls, which goes way back to the days that my mom taught me how to stuff an old stocking with batting and stitch the face to make a nose. But the incredible handmade dolls from Viola Studio? Well...
by Christina Refford | Toys + Playthings
I’m a little unbalanced when it comes to “Japanese cute” (kawaii!) like Momiji Friendship Dolls, the uber-trendy little resin dolls from London’s Artforum, which are a modern and more affordable spin on the traditional Japanese wooden Kokeshi...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
I’ve become a strong advocate of paper dolls since realizing that my girls can spend hours entertaining themselves with them. The only issue? That whole paper thing. Let’s just say freak decapitations are are not an uncommon occurrence. So when I saw the...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
While most toy companies start basic and work outward from there, I think it’s really interesting that CMP fave (and pretty much every kids boutique’s fave), Blabla Kids, has evolved from their quirky and sometimes irreverent line of fair trade hand-knit...
by Liz Gumbinner | Toys + Playthings
These days, not everyone wants (or needs) to spend money on a brand new backpack or lunchbox for the kids each school year. So I like the idea of finding those fun little doodads that help liven up backpacks and make them feel new again.If you’re looking for a...
by Rita | Books for Adults
We love Melissa Conroy’s Wooberry dolls. The originals are not only designed from her child’s sketches, they’re also handmade. And beyond adorable.In a move that touches my writerly heart, the dolls have gone meta and returned to their paper-based...