wooden toys Archives | Cool Mom Picks

18 fantastic Easter gift ideas for kids, from Etsy shops that could really use the support right now.

by Liz Gumbinner | Kids, Toys + Playthings

We know that this year’s Easter gifts are going to take on a lot more meaning for our kids this year. At the same time, Easter gifts sold by small businesses can really make the difference in another family’s life, too. Which makes it an extra wonderful...

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...

This baby and toddler subscription is like a 3-year Montessori education | Sponsored Message

by Cool Mom Staff | Baby, Toys + Playthings

This is a sponsored message from Monti Kids Kids learn through play. And this is the season so many parents, grandparents, and caregivers have play on our minds. Enter Monti Kids, the only at-home Montessori learning toy subscription program that’s designed and...

We found wonderfully diverse dollhouse dolls: Multicultural, multiracial, differently-abled and more.

by Christina Refford | Toys + Playthings

If a dollhouse is on your kids’ holiday wish lists, don’t forget to include some dollhouse dolls so that they can get right to the business of playing (while you clean up wrapping paper). But unlike dollhouses which come in lots of different styles, from...

Love Every Baby: the beautifully curated toy box subscription by developmental stage

by Caroline Siegrist | Baby, Toys + Playthings

Pretend for a moment you have a personal shopper for your baby — who also happens to have amazing taste and a degree in developmental psychology. Well that’s basically what you get with Love Every Baby, a new subscription service that curates and ships...

Handwriting help for kids of all ages: 11 fun and effective handwriting resources because that note says WHAT?

by Kate Etue | Tips + Tricks

I desperately need handwriting help for kids in my home, and so I’ve been working so hard to find resources, printables, and other tricks to help make handwriting practice more fun (hopefully? maybe?) for them. My requirements: They have to get them excited to...

Bevy & Dave makes Black history blocks that help build future leaders, too.

by Liz Gumbinner | Toys + Playthings

After attending the NY Toy Fair each year, there’s always one product I’m really excited about having discovered, making me want to run back to my laptop and share it with you all immediately. While there were actually quite a few great finds (you...

14 cool kids’ stocking stuffers all supporting indie shops

by Liz Gumbinner | Holiday Picks, Toys + Playthings

When we shop around for our kids’ stocking stuffers, our longtime readers know that our hearts always grow three sizes when we share handmade items or those that support indie shops and businesses. With that in mind, have we got a website for you. Our sponsor...

Women Who Dared blocks are the feminist baby gift we’ve been waiting for.

by Caroline Siegrist | Toys + Playthings

The accomplishments of women build on one other. We couldn’t have a female presidential candidate today, for instance, if suffragettes like Elizabeth Stanton hadn’t demanded the right to vote, and pioneers like Shirley Chisholm hadn’t broken that...

Keeping little hands busy without a screen in sight

by Liz Gumbinner | Toys + Playthings

While you’re getting those Easter basket toy ideas together for the kids, we’ve shared a ton of fabulous ideas, including plenty of non-candy Easter basket gifts if you’re trying to go easy on the jellybeans. And now we’ve got one more: This...

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.