Covid-19 and Quarantine Archives

The single most important thing your kids can do after they’ve been vaccinated from Covid-19

by Liz Gumbinner | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Thinking : Parent

I can hardly express the relief and utter joy we’ve felt over the past few weeks, since my teens got their first Pfizer vaccines against Covid-19. The feelings increased substantially since their second shot — knowing they can safely see friends, go to the...

10 cool vaccination t-shirts that let people know, even when you’re walking around (safely) without a mask.

by Liz Gumbinner | Fashion, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing

Vaccination t-shirts are more than a trend, they may be kind of important to you. I have seen so many people tell me that they are thrilled to be vaccinated, they’re ready to take off their masks outside or with friends — but they don’t want people...

Judith Warner on “that article” about adolescents getting through the pandemic | Spawned Ep 234

by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Adults, Podcast

Last week, my entire social network (online and off) buzzed loudly about author Judith Warner’s New York Times article about adolescents and the pandemic, Stop Calling It a Lost Year. Parents had very strong opinions! Especially those who didn’t actually...

5 clever and safer ways to blow out birthday candles during Covid-19

by Christina Refford | Party Ideas, Tips + Tricks

I saw a recent Twitter thread that asked about all the things we may never go back to since COVID-19: Eating from a buffet. Trying on makeup samples. Shaking hands. And one that comes up time and again is that time-honored tradition of blowing out the candles on a...

Hand sanitizer cute enough for an Easter Basket? Sign of the times.

by Liz Gumbinner | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Kids

A few years back, kids probably wouldn’t have considered hand sanitizer as a “cool” Easter gift like they would a funky lip balm or a springy AirPods case. But this year, OLIKA, who makes the cool, natural -hand sanitizers shaped like cute birds,...

3 powerful children’s books about grief, to help them process an unimaginable 12 months.

by Kate Etue | Books for Kids

You know we often turn to books when we want to help our children through their struggles and feelings, and this month feels like the right time to share some excellent children’s books on grief and loss. When I think back over the last twelve months of...

How to encourage your kids’ interests and passions: 5 expert tips

by Cool Mom Staff | Kids, Tips + Tricks

We keep looking for the silver lining in the past Year That Was Like No Other, and as we talk to other parents, one thing comes up over and over: “my kid discovered they really love _____.” Whether it’s manga or chemistry, dystopian fiction or...

We love you Moderna & Pfizer & Johnson & Johnson, oh yes we do…

by Liz Gumbinner | Fashion, Kid Fashion

Well, hey there scientists at Johnson & Johnson! Did you hear us singing your praises (loudly, and possibly with some happy tears) this weekend as your single-dose vaccine joins Moderna and Pfizer on the approved Covid vaccine list? Because we did. Clearly...

6 cool ways to support indie bookstores right now. They need it…and we need them.

by Caroline Siegrist | Doing Good, Entertainment + Media, Tips + Tricks

I’d like to put in a plug for supporting indie bookstores right now, even if it takes a little extra effort. I’m seeing a lot of people trying to get through this looooong February (what’s that even about?) by recommitting to reading. I mean hey,...

Stay Home, Stay Fabulous: Skip the spa and do these 6 things right now.

by Ibidunni Ojikutu | Style + Beauty, Tips + Tricks

If you’re like me, you’re currently on your whatever month (because who is counting at this point) of The Great Confinement. It’s not over yet! So I’m sharing my ways to stay fabulous…while staying home and staying safe. If you read between the lines,...

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.