holiday gift ideas Archives

These custom photo paint-by-number art kits are the coolest gift of the summer

We’ve played countless rounds of cards and assembled literally thousands of puzzle pieces lately, but our new favorite obsession in my house has been paint-by-number kits. So when I discovered these custom photo paint-by-number art kits on beautiful canvases...

The best subscription gifts for kids this year: There’s one for every age, and every interest

by Kate Etue | Holiday Picks, Toys + Playthings

It’s final countdown to the holidays, which means last-minute gift ideas, which means subscription gifts for kids, which are always some of our favorites to give — last minute or not! Wwe know from experience that our kids love to receive boxes in the...

9 creative, healing, self-care gift ideas that go beyond bath salts and chocolates

by Kate Etue | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Holiday Picks

Kristen and Liz have talked a lot about self-care and how important it is for parents on their Spawned parenting podcast. I know it’s a big issue for me, and for lots of us. Parenting culture seems to push and push us to do more and more, until...

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...

A special needs mom shares 4 great toys for kids with cognitive disabilities.

by Kate Etue | Toys + Playthings

With the holidays coming up, grandparents and friends are naturally asking for ideas for gifts for the kids, but when you are shopping for toys for kids with cognitive disabilities, it can make the gifting a little more challenging. For my daughter, play time is also...

Holiday gift guide picks: The coolest gifts from our favorite small businesses

by Cool Mom Staff | Podcast

It’s our annual holiday gift guide Spawned episode, where we share some of our favorite cool picks that we think make fabulous holiday gift ideas. This year, we’re highlighting small makers, indie businesses, many of which are owned and run by women. Yay!...

The Best Black Friday Deals 2019 online: From the big brands to the small businesses we love.

by Cool Mom Staff | Holiday Picks

If you’re looking for the very best 2019 Black Friday shopping deals and discounts around the web, you’ve come to the right place. Because our thing is, stay home! Be with your family! Shop in your PJs! You too? Got you covered. Here are some of the deals and...

Holiday tech gifts: 11 of the coolest STEM toys and gifts for big kids and tweens

by Cool Mom Staff | Holiday Picks, Kids

STEM toys and gifts are definitely high on lots of holiday wish lists this season, so we’re rounding up some of the coolest options for big kids and tweens. From cool STEM building sets to STEM subscription boxes, in every single price range (hey, we know that...

It’s here! Our 2019 Holiday Gift Guide. And it’s very 2019.

by Cool Mom Staff | Gift Guides, Holiday Picks

We are incredibly thrilled to present our 2019 Holiday Gift Guide. Whoo! If you can believe, this is our 14th annual holiday gift guide, and this year, well, we think we might have outdone ourselves. (Or maybe it’s just the exhaustion talking). We’ve...

A modern Christmas story that will be a new family favorite for years to come | Sponsored Message

by Cool Mom Staff | Books for Kids

This is a sponsored message for Candlewick Press There’s nothing like a magical story to get kids into the Christmas spirit, which is why you’ll be so glad to have Dasher, a new book with a female protagonist (yay!) from New York Times bestselling author...

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).