military Archives | Cool Mom Picks

A lovely way for kids to send a letter of thanks to our vets on Veterans Day. (Or any other day)

November 11 is Veterans Day, and while every day is a good day to honor our brave veterans and give thanks to retired soldiers for their service, it’s always good to have a national holiday to inspire us to action. So many of us here come from military families,...

Free childcare on Election Day to help parents get to the polls. Here’s how to register.

by Caroline Siegrist | Doing Good, Kids

Are you a parent or caregiver who plans to vote in person on Election Day? We have good news! Care.com and the Armed Services YMCA are teaming up to bring free childcare for parents who need to get to the polls on November 3rd. So brilliant. And considering all that...

11 top-rated veterans organizations offering everything from adaptive housing to service dogs to support exclusively for women

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good

I actually moaned when I saw an ad on TV this weekend that said something like, our veterans fought hard for our country, and now we’re fighting hard to bring you these great deals at our annual Veteran’s Day sale… I mean, are you kidding me? I love...

The US Negro Nurses of WWII | Women’s History Month Stories to share with your kids.

by Liz Gumbinner | Thinking : Parent

I believe if Women’s History Month gives you an opportunity to learn even even one single new story about important women in history who you didn’t know before — and then share that story with your kids — then that would be fantastic. So I...

What Does it Mean to Be American? This picture book says it better than any TV pundit or long-winded article.

by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids

Kids are smart. And observant. Even our littlest children know that right now, there’s a lot of talk about what it means to be American, who’s a “real” American, and what kinds of values America stand for. And it’s complicated, but that...

How buying one of our favorite kids’ toys on Veteran’s Day will support deployed military families in a great way.

by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids, Doing Good, Toys + Playthings

Each year on Veteran’s Day, we love finding new organizations that support the families of military service men and women. And wow, I am so thrilled to learn about United Through Reading and their 40 Million Stories campaign. This non-profit gives the more than...

New career opportunities and resources coming to military spouses thanks to LinkedIn

by Liz Gumbinner | Helpful Services, Tips + Tricks

Over the years, we have had quite a few military spouses and even vets here at CMP, and we know how challenging it can be for military spouses to grow their careers. In fact, the 650,000 spouses of active duty service members are four times more likely to be...

5 top-rated military family support charities on Charity Navigator: A list to bookmark on Memorial Day

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good

Quite a few of us here come from military families, or have enlistees and veterans in our own lives, which is why we have always been strong supporters of charities for veterans, enlistees and their families. So in honor of Memorial Day, and...

We’re spreading the love with these 6 great places to donate toys this holiday season.

by Caroline Siegrist | Doing Good

It should be obvious by now that here at Cool Mom Picks, we love presents. (We have 350 of them in this year’s holiday gift guide, which we think you should check out, if you haven’t already.) But even more, we love when our gifts give back in big ways....

These 5 charities are doing amazing things for dads this Father’s Day

by Caroline Siegrist | Doing Good, Father's Day Gifts

If you’ve been following our 2016 Father’s Day Gift Guide (go! Hurry!) we’ve been putting together all the coolest Father’s Day gifts for all types of dads. But for a dad who’s already got all the gear, gifts, and grill equipment he...

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.