Random Coolness Archives | Cool Mom Picks

15 cool gifts for the guy who has everything. Except…well, these.

by Liz Gumbinner | For the Menfolk, Holiday Picks

Oh, men. We love them, we love shopping for them, but we hate when they seem to already have everything they need — maybe because we’re all such amazing gift givers? Ha. Fret not! Over the years, we’ve put together a lot of fabulous guides to cool...

The best deals on men’s gifts at Zulily right now: 5 gifts we love, for the men we love

by Liz Gumbinner | For the Menfolk, Holiday Picks

If you’re already up on your holiday shopping, good for you! If you need a little nudge, then our partner Zulily just may give you the motivation you need to get it going. You’ll find thousands of products up to 70% off including gifts for men. (And if you...

4 smart, simple tips to help kids make good media choices with their screen time.

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

We write a lot about the importance of raising good digital citizens. The way we see it, the internet isn’t going away, and the older your kids get, the harder it is to start teaching them good behavior. So we start young, so that as kids get older,...

How the new HomeHawk by Panasonic makes home monitoring simpler, easier, and way less expensive | Sponsored message

by Cool Mom Staff | Living, Tech CMP-Style

This is a sponsored message from Panasonic HomeHawk If you don’t yet have a smart home monitoring system, it can seem overwhelming to get started. Systems can be expensive, and complicated, with professional home-wiring to schedule, and installation to figure...

Can we please stop freaking out about kids and social media? : How to raise responsible digital kids | Spawned Ep 170

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

After seeing so many discussions in our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook community filled with parents who seem panicked — or at least very concerned — about kids and texting and social media, we thought it would be helpful to devote this week’s episode...

Plant Package: A brilliant way to give the gift of a green thumb

by Cool Mom Staff | Random Coolness

This is a sponsored message for Plant Package Whether you want to start a garden yourself, or give a gift that grows to someone else, Plant Package makes it so easy that even your kids could do it. (In fact, mine did). They ship beautiful, hand-picked seasonal plants...

Coding with Kids: The live, online classes that get kids of all ages excited about coding | Sponsored Message

by Cool Mom Staff | Kids, Tech CMP-Style

This is a sponsored message from Coding With Kids If you’re trying to balance fun and educational after school activities for your kids this year, Coding With Kids has you covered with both at once. Because, coding! For five years, Coding for Kids has taught...

Reading Eggs has helped millions of kids worldwide learn to read. Try it for 4 weeks free. | Sponsored message

by Cool Mom Staff | Kids, Tech CMP-Style

This is a sponsored message from Reading Eggs If there’s one desire all parents have in common, we want to make sure our kids are doing well in school, learning the skills they need for success, and working to the best of their ability. And there’s...

How much does the tooth fairy pay in your state? Here’s a surprising breakdown.

by Liz Gumbinner | Random Coolness

There’s one question universally asked by basically all parents once your kid gets old enough: How much does the tooth fairy pay these days anyway? So I’m fascinated by this chart that breaks down the average price per tooth paid by the tooth fairy in each...

Naruto run to grab these Storm Area 51 meme shirts: The best designs, for all your conspiratorial fashion needs

by Liz Gumbinner | Fashion, For the Menfolk, Kid Fashion

If you have a teen, surely you know of their great hopes and dreams to storm Area 51 this coming September. The meme has taken hold, and I’m afraid I’m going to wake up one morning with a note from my kids saying, Gone to see them aliens. Took some money....

We tried making Amazon returns at Kohl’s (yes, Kohl’s) and here’s how it works.

by Kate Etue | Helpful Services, Tips + Tricks

Returning items purchased from Amazon has never been all that hard, so when I heard you can now make Amazon returns at Kohl’s I was kind of thinking, Why? But then I realized, getting to the post office or repackaging a return if you don’t have supplies on...

#SpeaktoStrangers Challenge: 30 days to a kinder world.

by Liz Gumbinner | Random Coolness, Thinking : Parent

When I woke up this morning, I caught this thread on Twitter from Asha Rangappa and was instantly taken. Her premise: Spending just a moment engaging with a stranger in a kind way can create ripples that make the world, quite literally, a better, more enjoyable place....

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, easier, more organized, 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).

But we did.

And we still love what we do every single day.

We're so glad you're here.