holiday gift ideas Archives

The Hamilton Funko Pop figures are here, shipping, and we’re helpless to resist them.

by Caroline Siegrist | Toys + Playthings

Hamilton fans! Drop everything because I’ve just discovered that the Hamilton Funko Pop figures and keychains — you know, the ones that super fans have been eagerly awaiting — are now available and starting to ship earlier than expected. How lucky we...

When we say we need this Dolly Parton advent calendar, we mean WE NEED THIS DOLLY PARTON ADVENT CALENDAR!

by Caroline Siegrist | Holiday Picks

Whether the Christmas season is a stressful time for you or a glorious season of joy, I believe with all my heart that it will be infinitely improved with this Dolly Parton Advent calendar Yes, a Dolly Parton Advent calendar! The very thing we didn’t know we...

Create to Stop Hate: The online auction 100% supporting the work of Stop AAPI Hate.

by Kate Etue | Doing Good, Living

We have all been just devastated by the increase in hate crimes against the AAPI community. Even if you’ve avoided the horrific videos, from Atlanta to San Francisco to NYC, surely by now you’ve seen the #StopAsianHate social media posts and hashtags. In...

Last-minute holiday gift ideas: Tons of options that let you skip the $$$ shipping

by Liz Gumbinner | Holiday Picks

I totally get the last-minute holiday gift problem. Believe me! I mean, we may have started amassing ideas for our 2020 Holiday Gift Guide in, like…February, but hey, we’re busy moms. And we’re busy shopping for you sometimes at the expense of our...

The best subscription gifts for kids this year: 40+ ideas for every age, and every interest

by Kate Etue | Holiday Picks, Kids, 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...

Political gifts for women who need to laugh, need to recharge, need to keep going | Holiday Gifts 2020

by Liz Gumbinner | Holiday Picks

Political gifts from some of our favorite shops over the years, and some new ones I just had to share The truth is, it took me so long to get this post up this year because every day I found something new and amazing I wanted to highlight. At some point I had to just...

Our giant list of more than 200+ homemade holiday gift ideas: DIY gifts for boyfriends, girlfriends, men, women, kids, neighbors, teachers…

by Liz Gumbinner | DIY, Holiday Picks

I can see in my social networks this year that so many more of us are looking for homemade gift ideas for the holidays. It’s not just that homemade gifts allow us to save some money (well, depending on the gift of course!), but they allow us to give an...

10 of the best holiday gifts on Amazon this year, most supporting small businesses

by Liz Gumbinner | Holiday Picks, Living

Not to be cynical, but like, what happened, Amazon? You search for cool holiday gifts, and next thing you know there are 47 sponsored listings for the same item, from brands like XIPOSIRPOWR and HARINGOH-783. On the other hand, Amazon is often where a lot of small...

We found 50+ seriously cool gifts for men and women, all under $15

by Liz Gumbinner | Holiday Picks

We’ve shared our favorite gifts for kids under $15, and now of course, we’ve got gifts for adults under $15. After creating these affordable holiday gift lists for years now, we have one rule: No stocking stuffers! In other words, a lip balm from the drug...

More than 50 amazing holiday gifts for kids under $15: Like, GOOD gifts. Not stocking stuffers.

by Liz Gumbinner | Holiday Picks, Toys + Playthings

Each year, we love putting together a list of affordable holiday gifts for kids under $15. With budgets tight for so many this year, it really helps to know that there are plenty of affordable gifts that still seem like big deals to kids, tweens, and even teens....

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.