by Delilah S. Dawson | Toys + Playthings
Today I was so desperate for a new project to pull the tiny whiners off my knees that I gave them a huge cardboard box and some Sharpies. They ended up just stomping on the bubble wrap inside, much to my headache’s eternal sadness. But if you plan ahead a...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
My kids are in that nightlight phase right now. (They’re also in a Silly Bandz phase, a make me a sandwich and then I won’t eat it phase, and a fighting about who gets to drink out of which princess cup phase. But that’s besides the point.) So when I...
by Christina Refford | Toys + Playthings
There’s nothing like finally taking that summer vacation and then getting stuck in the hotel while the skies rain down on your plans. To save us from extreme hotel ennui, I make sure we take along a few easy-to-pack games to help us pass the time until the sun...
by Christina Refford | Toys + Playthings
My nieces and nephews from Israel are on their way visit grandparents. My 2 year old son will probably not have a chance to visit but would like to send something to them while they are here. Any ideas for a gift to help entertain the 2 to 11 year-olds? Thanks...
by Delilah S. Dawson | Toys + Playthings
Almost every day, we drive by a castle. No, really– it’s in a field near our house, and the moat is a swimming pool, and the iron fence is guarded by concrete dwarves painted in garish colors. I can’t make stuff like that up.”Mommy, can we be...
by Christina Refford | Toys + Playthings
Maybe toddlers shouldn’t fish. I remember thinking this as I watched my 3-year-old niece clutch a big fishing pole while my husband tried to keep her from falling into the deep dark water or skewer him with the sharp fishing hook that was waving wildly in...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
If my kids are any indication, Stickermania may in fact be an actual medical condition. It strikes kids between 2 and 3, can last as long as a decade, and side effects may include weak and broken nails–your own–after scraping stickers off the living room...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
When I was pregnant with my first daughter, now six, rattles that were actually cute, functional, and not made completely of plastic were just starting to make it onto the scene. Well it seems that now cuteness and a bit of hilarity abounds at...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
Most of the online shopping I do at UK shops is of the window variety. As in, browsing only, do not pass go, do not add to my cart, do not pay international shipping. But sometimes I stumble on a sale so good, it makes it worth it to do more than drool. At the...
by Christina Refford | DIY, Toys + Playthings
I have no trouble getting my kids to go outside on a summer’s day, it’s getting them to stay outside when the siren song of kids’ cartoons and super-exciting video games beckon from the air-conditioned comfort of our home. That’s when I, the...
by Christina Refford | Toys + Playthings
Whether you stay up late enough for fireworks this year or you’re lying in bed in the dark, fingers crossed that the loud noise does not wake the baby (PLEASE GOD DO NOT WAKE THE BABY), all of us at Cool Mom Picks wish you a Happy Fourth. May the drinks be...
by Delilah S. Dawson | Toys + Playthings
I’ll be honest — as an art teacher, I was once opposed to rubber stamps. Then I realized that giving children some handy, thoughtfully designed building blocks for their two-dimensional world can be the perfect springboard into confidence and imagination....
