Random Coolness Archives | Cool Mom Picks

The best Black Friday Deals of 2021: From the big stores to small shops and indie makers

by Cool Mom Staff | Holiday Picks, Living, Style + Beauty, Tech CMP-Style, Toys + Playthings

Each year we share the best Black Friday deals online to help you manage your time, your budget, and get back to family faster. This year is no different, as we share the best Black Friday deals 2021 from big stores and brands along with the small businesses we love....

This may be the most fun way to help kids improve their reading + writing skills

by Cool Mom Staff | Tech CMP-Style, Toys + Playthings

This is a sponsored message from Night Zookeeper Over the past couple of years, parents have really seen the value of educational apps and websites to help engage our kids in core subjects. If their excitement for reading and writing could use a little nudge, Night...

Here’s a wow: This browser extension gets you free purchase protection for the things you buy online

by Cool Mom Staff | Helpful Services, Tech CMP-Style, Tips + Tricks

This is a sponsored message for Mulberry ‘Tis the season for holiday shopping, and that also means holiday savings. At least if you’re savvy. That’s where Mulberry comes in. Download the free Mulberry browser extension from Chrome, and for 12 entire...

Cerebral has been called the “best online service for mental health” and we can see why.

by Cool Mom Staff | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Helpful Services

We are pleased to present this sponsored message on behalf of Cerebral We all know that we’ve been through a lot this past year. The need for affordable, accessible mental health treatment has grown immensely, and finally someone is doing something about it....

11 of the best Prime Day 2021 Deals from brands we trust. No “ACKHYDRO” or “PROFORL7” or whatever.

by Liz Gumbinner | Baby, Living, Tech CMP-Style, Toys + Playthings

Each year, we try to go through all the clutter and crap, and put together the best Amazon Prime Day deals for you. I mean, with all due respect to the “flash deals” on Amazon Prime Day that look like your Great Aunt Hilda just cleaned out her attic, This...

19 cool subscription gifts for men this Father’s Day…from fair trade coffee to tech toys and everything in between | Father’s Day gifts 2021

by Kate Etue | Father's Day Gifts, For the Menfolk

This has been a tough year on parents, period. With Father’s Day coming up, there’s no more perfect time to think about a subscription gift for men that shows him you really, really get him. Not only are subscription gifts available with basically every...

11 creative Father’s Day gifts for hard-to-shop-for dads

by Liz Gumbinner | Father's Day Gifts, For the Menfolk

We’ve been thinking about creative Father’s Day gifts for a while now, and how much the idea of gifting has changed over the past year. We’ve always valued experience gifts, together time, and keepsake Father’s Day gifts from the heart, but...

This air purifier gets rid of 99.99% of impurities in the air, and never needs a filter change. Whoa.

by Cool Mom Staff | Living, Tech CMP-Style

This is a sponsored message from Kronos Advanced Technologies It’s not an understatement to say we’re thinking about the air we breathe more than ever. Especially when we’re indoors — which is exactly where we’ll be spending plenty of...

Ways to get kids excited about reading: 8 expert, research-backed tips

by Cool Mom Staff | Books for Kids, Tech CMP-Style, Tips + Tricks

Not every kid comes out of the womb loving reading. (Or, even comes out of preschool loving reading.) No matter how much you read to your kids or encourage reading, sometimes it just doesn’t click right away. And that’s okay! After years of writing about...

Finally, a security camera that monitors the outside of your home securely from inside your home | Sponsored Message

by Cool Mom Staff | Living, Tech CMP-Style

This is a sponsored message from Panasonic With our families home a lot more these days, home security has become a lot more important. But have you thought about the security of your security camera? (Yes, really.) Now, for the first time, you can find a...

Math just got a whole lot easier (and less stressful) with Photomath | Sponsored Message

by Cool Mom Staff | Tech CMP-Style

This is a sponsored message for Photomath As so many parents put on their teacher or learning coach hats this fall to help their children, they have to be ready for whatever questions that might be thrown at them. That’s why they all need the free Photomath app...

Here’s one way to stress less, especially with back to school

by Cool Mom Staff | Tech CMP-Style

Considering our own stress levels are pretty much through the roof right now, we know we’re probably not alone. Trying to juggle all the challenges we’re facing is no easy task, but even some of the smaller things, like just heading out the door, has...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, more meaningful, and more fun for parents of all kinds.

Trivia: It was called Cool Mom Sh*t for the first two days. (Yeah, we rethought that.)

We had no idea our site would grow to become a major lifestyle network, that we'd end up sharing our finds with the TODAY Show and Martha Stewart, that we'd be able to make a real difference for so many small businesses and women-run companies, or that we'd end up with an incredible community of the coolest readers on the planet. (If we do say so ourselves).

We still love what we do every single day. And we're so glad you're here.