What Does it Mean to Be American? This picture book says it better than any TV pundit or long-winded article.
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.
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
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
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.
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....
A lovely way for kids to send a letter of thanks to our troops and vets on Veterans Day. (Or any other day)
Today, November 11, is Veterans Day. And while every day is a good day to honor our brave veterans and give thanks to soldiers and vets for their service, it’s always good to have a national holiday to inspire us. So many of us here come from military families,...
These 5 charities are doing amazing things for dads this Father’s Day
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...
What’s it really like to be a solo parent (and what other parents can learn from them)
If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be a solo parent (or a single married parent, as they’re sometimes called), you’re in luck! Both Kristen and our special guest co-host Courtney Greisman have been there, and share their honest experiences...
Showing your thanks: 5 simple tips for making military care packages more personal
When my kids’ father was deployed for a few months to Afghanistan, I put together several military care packages filled with fairly typical items. Don’t get me wrong, they were definitely very appreciated by his unit! But it wasn’t until he returned...Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!
We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, easier, more organized, 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).
But we did.
And we still love what we do every single day.
We're so glad you're here.
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