music Archives | Cool Mom Picks

In the Heights movie is a celebration of love, dreams, community, family, and the melting pot that makes New York the greatest city in the world

by Liz Gumbinner | Entertainment + Media

Fair warning: This is not so much a review of the new In the Heights Movie, opening tonight, as it is a love letter. I am a movie person, as any longtime reader here knows. I’m also a Broadway person, a Lin Manuel person, and a proud native New Yorker. Put them...

The Dolly Parton Little Golden Book we’ve all been waiting for. (“We” being my entire family.)

by Kate Etue | Books for Kids

If you know anything about me and my family, you might have guessed that we’d be marking our calendars for the launch of My Little Golden Book About Dolly Parton, which will be added to the Little Golden Book library this coming September. As a Nashville-native,...

Stream our playlist of great kids holiday music, for tunes you haven’t heard 10,000 times already

by Christina Refford | Entertainment + Media

Right about now, I’ve heard enough Run Run Rudolph to last me to next Christmas, and I’m itching to mix up our holiday music playlist with some old favorites and new-to-us tunes. So, as my gift to you, I’m sharing a brand-new Cool Mom Picks Spotify...

How to get your hands on iconic photos + paintings to support equity for Black artists. We can’t pick a favorite!

by Liz Gumbinner | Art + Decor, Doing Good

By now, I think our readers are aware that that creating more equity and representation for Black Americans across every industry is one of the most impactful ways to dismantle racist systems. So as a fan of original rock portraits — and of organizations that...

Lincoln Center at Home offers the most amazing art classes and concerts for kids. Free! From home!

by Kate Etue | DIY, Entertainment + Media

Even those of us who are seasoned homeschoolers are feeling a little frazzled about how to fill our kids’ long, uninterrupted days at home right now. But I’ve loved the way our artist community has come out to support our kids and families in so many ways...

All the best free classes and memberships online right now: Get fit, learn a language, read a book, have family movie night…

by Liz Gumbinner | Entertainment + Media, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Tips + Tricks

We’ve all been seeing our social feeds fill up with amazing “OMG THIS IS FREE RIGHT NOW!” posts from friends, and it’s hard to keep track of it all! Between the online story time for kids, the Club Quarantine virtual dance parties, the museum...

The new Vans x Bowie collection: Can you identify the album cover that inspired each design?

by Liz Gumbinner | Fashion

Not that I’ve been sitting around waiting for another hot new Vans collab, but then the Vans x Bowie sneaker collection was announced, and suddenly I’m Konmari-ing my existing sneaker collection, and setting up a calendar alert for April 5. CMP is an...

This jazzy new album celebrates Nobel Laureates and inspires everyday kindness in kids

by Caroline Siegrist | Entertainment + Media

Now that my son’s absorbing language at a rapid pace, I totally get the appeal of kid-appropriate music. (At least the kind I don’t mind listening to, too.) So I’ve been stepping away from the profanity-laden hip-hop that used to dominate my...

NPR selects the 200 greatest 21st century songs by women, and we’re here for it!

by Liz Gumbinner | Entertainment + Media

We talk a lot about reading diverse women authors, supporting women artists, and shopping women-owned shops. But one thing we don’t discuss nearly enough is women musicians — at least outside of the kids’ music category. Which is why we’re...

9 swanky Father’s Day gift ideas for a stylish 21st century man cave | Father’s Day Gifts 2018

by Marsha Takeda-Morrison | Father's Day Gifts, Living

If you know a dad who is lucky enough to have a man cave, next in our Father’s Day Gift Guide we’ve got some man cave gift ideas that can help take his manly oasis to the next level. I think it’s important that a man have his own space to listen to his own manly...

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.