first birthday ideas Archives

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...

Celebrate Everything by Darcy Miller: The party planning guidebook so inspiring it will make you celebrate…oh heck. Tuesdays.

by Kate Etue | Books for Adults, DIY, Party Ideas

The holidays are fast approaching, which means it’s party season! I’m thinking all about Halloween this week, but before you know it we’ll be planning New Year’s parties. Not to mention the, oh… 1,285 family birthdays that my family seems...

14 fun birthday traditions you can start with your child at any age

by Kate Etue | Party Ideas

I’ve already let my secret out: I’m not one for elaborate birthday parties. In fact, we keep birthday parties simple and on a budget around our house. That said, I love to celebrate the birthday kid and make them feel really special on their big day. We...

5 creative ways to make personalized candy favors and gifts the coolest ever. Look what we made!

by Liz Gumbinner | Party Ideas

My kids believe they are the World’s Greatest Fans of Dylan’s Candy Bar. Which is hilarious, considering that every single one of the zillions of kids who visit their shops each year also believe that they are the World’s Greatest Fans of...

10 absolutely charming storybook birthday party ideas for kids

by Christina Refford | DIY, Party Ideas

Looking for some inspiration for your child’s next birthday party that goes beyond animated movies? You may not have to look any farther than one of the well-worn storybooks your child lovingly keeps by their bedside. In fact, we love the idea of a storybook...

14 smart ways to get your young kids excited about reading this summer

by Cool Mom Staff | Books for Kids, Tips + Tricks

As big-time book lovers here, we’ve learned that a love of reading is acquired and not something kids are necessarily born with, like the color of their eyes or their uncanny inability to sleep past 6 AM on a Saturday. So we love putting together tips for...

7 of the coolest printable birthday crowns for the true ruler of the household

by Liz Gumbinner | DIY

We’ve got a lot of summer birthdays for the kids in my family, so party planning is definitely top of mind for me these days. But I realized, as I’ve looked around the web, that while there are lots of gorgeous handmade birthday crowns on Etsy or...

10 fantastic summer party themes for kids, and loads of inspiration to bring them to life.

by Cool Mom Staff | Party Ideas

Oh, the joys of the summer birthday party when the nice weather means celebrating with friends out-of-doors. And whether this means gathering everyone into your backyard, meeting at the local park, or even taking over a quiet piece of sandy beach, we’ve put...

18 easy cake decorating ideas that make a store-bought cake something super special.

by Cool Mom Staff | Party Ideas

We want our kids’ birthday cakes to be perfect. I mean, you only turn 5 (or 7 or 9 or 13) once, right? But it can be daunting trying to copy so much of the beautiful stuff online created by trained pastry chefs. See also: Cakewrecks. So on behalf of our birthday...

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.