For those of us in smaller homes, finding our kids a great desk can be a challenge. With my two girls sharing a small room, it's not like I can just grab one of those giant kids' desks you see in the catalogs and call it a day. In fact, …
Okay so let's start with a disclaimer: When I describe beauty products I can't live without , I'm being a bit hyperbolic. Do they fall under food? No . Clothing? No . Shelter? No, unless we're talking sunscreen should I ever be stranded …
Just in time for Valentine's Day, cold weather, and rebellion streaks, I spotted this adorable girls mohawk snowboard hat on Etsy , beautifully handmade at the Washington State shop, Tory Makes. It can be sized for punk rock babies throu…
I learned soon after becoming a mom that there are just some years I will not get my you-know-what in order in time, to be able to send out holiday cards. New Year's cards are a terrific alternative as we've suggested before, but look, h…
We've had conversations around here from time to time about musical artists, and the few of them who are able endure over time, even managing to evolve and experiment and remain relevant for four or more decades. David Bowie is easily on…
Kudos to my sister-in-law who scored with arguably the biggest hit of all the gifts this holiday season, Telestrations . Or actually, credit may go to my 9-year-old niece who saw it in a store and said, "hey, that looks fun" which was th…
It's not like I was thinking of you when I laughed my head off at this I survived another meeting that could have been an email coffee mug . I mean, even if we do conduct business together, and we do have conference calls that seem to go…
As your kids get older, you realize you don't have to ply them with gifts or offer extra ice cream at dessert just to be The Cool Parent. (And despite what you may have learned from Amy Poehler in Mean Girls , you don't have to serve the…
Total Star Wars score! I just discovered these awesome printable Star Wars Force Awakens coloring pages from Etsy's DJ Penscript and I know my kids will be clamoring to get their markers on them, stat. This is no rudimentary clip art; Ne…
It's amazing how many printable 2016 calendars there are online now -- although admittedly they're not all style. Now that I've finally investing in some good thick paper and become like a printable maniac, I spent a ton of time looking …
Okay, so the world is obsessed with Star Wars right now in light of the premier of The Force Awakens . And hey, we count ourselves among you all. Now we can't exactly say we've covered Star Wars "since before it was cool" because 1.) no …
As we parents start counting down the days to the December break, some of us are also realizing that whoa! It's time to figure out teacher gifts , stat. I still really love our post about the best teacher gift ideas according to actual t…
My kids were in a museum gift shop with friends this summer and of everything in the store, all four spent the entire time fighting over (I mean, taking turns with ) what's best defined as a handmade voice or music recording gadget from …
H i Cool Mom Picks! Can you put to gether some unique holiday gift ideas for creative kids that go beyond the same craft kits I see everywhere? Thanks so much! Ooh, I love this question. We know that all kids have creativity in them, so …
I'm on the lookout for some cute small gifts to give out to some of the people I love, or even for my girls to give to their own BFFs. And then I came across the collection of awesome eco-friendly, recycled brown kraft paper journals fro…
Do you know how hard it is to find good free Hanukkah coloring pages for kids? Like, really hard. Who knew that tracking 8 of them down would be another Hanukkah miracle! I searched a long time to find what I think are some of the best H…
From the day that Mouth.com launched we were like...whoa! If we had come up with a Cool Mom Eats retail site it would be just that -- wonderfully curated gourmet food gifts and subscriptions, all from the best artisanal indie makers from…
There are a lot of worthy causes out there, plenty of which we feature here. And there are a lot of amazing gifts that give back to support those causes through your holiday shopping . But one cause that's profoundly personal to us as pa…
Each year, we love putting together some of our favorite gifts that give back in substantial and specific ways -- not just some undetermined percentage of your purchase going to "charities." While we try to share these kinds of gifts yea…
We've covered lots of cool Advent calendar over the years, because what kid doesn't want to countdown to the big day of toys and treats with...well, okay. A lot of little toys and treats. So I was really touched by this sweet Acts of Kin…
( This post has been updated, August 2017 ) It's been a somber mood around here lately, as it surely been for many of you. When I first wrote this post, our hearts were going out to the people of Paris. We each have been hoping and prayi…
As we get closer to the launch of our big holiday gift guide (next week, you guys!) we've been keeping our eyes out in particular for lots of affordable gifts. You know, the stuff for people on your list who deserve more than a stocking …
In this photo-obsessed world we're living in, we've seen all kinds of ways to document and share a baby's first year in pictures -- some of which are sweet, some of which are wow, you really had time to do all that? Striking the perfect …
I admit I'm a sucker for fantastic adult authors who turn their talents towards children's books -- and succeed. See also, Neil Gaiman . It's not an easy task for sure; it's hard to strike a balance between child-appropriate and childish…
