Little Loving Hands reimagines monthly craft kits for kids in the most amazing way

by Christina Refford | DIY, Doing Good

My kids’ holiday gift requests are coming in fast and while I’m sure Santa appreciates the early input, I want to make sure my kids don’t forget how it feels to give to others as well. That’s why Little Loving Hands is one of my favorite new...

Books about manners for kids: 6 excellent options, just in time for the holidays

by Kate Etue | Books for Kids

We figured this was a pretty good time to start looking around at some great — and effective — books about manners for kids. I’m sure you feel me; my family calendar is already so booked over the next couple months, which means lots of opportunities...

14 of our favorite small shops and online children’s boutiques to help you #shopsmall for the holidays.

by Cool Mom Team | Baby, Kid Style, Toys + Playthings

Since the first November it launched several years ago, even long before American Express started sponsoring and championing the campaign, we’ve been staunch advocates for Small Business Saturday. And we’re still thrilled to mark on our calendars each...

14 of the best educational toys for kids of every age: 2015 Holiday Toy Gift Guide

by Christina Refford | Toys + Playthings

If you could use a little help picking out toys for the kids on your list this holiday, we’re about to make things a lot easier for you with a mini holiday toy gift guide, starting with the best educational toys for kids. This is the first in a three-part series...

It’s time to make some fun family memories. Are you game?

by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings

This is a sponsored message from SimplyFun board games With Thanksgiving break coming up this week and Hanukkah and Christmas not far behind, it’s a great time to be thinking about getting a few family game nights on the calendar. You probably have...

7 easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids that also make great decor

by Kate Etue | DIY

Since I’ll be busy in the kitchen next week,I’m going to put my kids in charge of the Thanksgiving table decorations. Craft projects and art are usually a fun way for them to fill their down time when they’re home from school, and what I like about...

The coolest travel books for kids of all ages. Because no, we’re not there yet.

by Kate Etue | Kids

We’re getting close to the holidays, which for many families means road trips with the kids. And there’s nothing more fun, right? Hahahahha. I recently did 16 hours in the car with my three kids — each way — and lived to tell the tale. If...

9 smart ways to organize video game controllers and reclaim your home at last!

by Cool Mom Team | Tips + Tricks, Toys + Playthings

It’s about this time every year that we need to ramp up our efforts to get our homes organized and looking awesome for holiday guests. It’s like, what the heck happened to all that spring cleaning I did six months ago? Yeah, well, welcome to parenthood....

#62MillionGirls are not able to go to school. Here’s one easy thing you can do about it.

by serena | Doing Good

Today is the International Day of the Girl. And while we talk so much here about how important it is to empower and educate our girls every day, if they’re not even in school, both of those things are nearly impossible. So we thought one of the best things we...

How to throw an awesome space-themed party

by Cool Mom Team | Books for Kids, Party Ideas

If you want to know how to throw a cool, space-themed party for kids, well we’ve just done it and we’re sharing our most successful ideas here. Having just thrown a NYC launch party for the newest, space-themed title in the highly personalized Lost My Name...