Welcome to SPAWNED with Kristen and Liz! Our new podcast on Panoply, and hopefully soon, on your tablet or phone.

by Cool Mom Team | Spawned Podcast

You guys! We’re so excited to announce the launch of our new parenting podcast, SPAWNED with Kristen and Liz. We’re honored to be the newest addition to Slate’s truly fantastic Panoply network,which you can find on iTunes, Stitcher, and playing on a...

6 sets of cool wooden blocks for older kids that are anything but square

by Kate Etue | Toys + Playthings

Just when I think it’s time to put the baby blocks away, my kids will surprise me by building some huge creative structure on the living room floor, enhanced by LEGO men and dollhouse furniture. Still, I can tell the basic square blocks we’ve had for ten...

From the coolest paper dresses to designing a line for J.Crew: Meet Mayhem

by Christina Refford | Kid Style

We were all totally blown away last year when we began to see the daily paper-dress creations of one amazing four-year-old affectionately known as Mayhem. With her mom as her assistant (well, maybe a little more), Mayhem’s wearable creations have always...

Candylab Toys: Our kids can’t wait to get behind these wheels

by Christina Refford | Toys + Playthings

We fell so in love with Candylab Toys and their gorgeous, modern-looking wood cars when we saw them over the holidays last year, they easily made 2014 Best Toys, Dolls, and Games list. Now our engines are all revved up again to see that they are adding to their fleet...

Introducing #UnguiltyPleasures, a new video series starring… us!

by Cool Mom Team | Entertainment + Media

Okay, so we’ve been holding out on you all. Just a little. We are so so excited to be launching a campaign today that we’re calling #UnguiltyPleasures. We’ve been talking about this idea forever, ever since the idea of “mom guilt” entered...

11 cool kids watches for when they can actually tell time the old-fashioned way. (Remember that?)

by Kate Etue | Kid Style

Warmer temps mean my kids are outside running around the neighborhood with their friends more–yippee! And with my oldest now a (gulp) tween, I’m feeling more comfortable letting him run between houses after school. But I would love him to wear a watch, so...

17 of the most incredibly clever pop culture Easter eggs, from Star Wars to Frozen to Minecraft and beyond.

by Christina Refford | DIY, Easter Gifts

Looking for your Easter eggs to have a little more personality this year? We’ve got lots of amazingly creative ideas for pop culture Easter eggs that give a nod to those characters and creatures we all know and love, like our favorite superheroes, more than a...

18 easy cake decorating ideas that make a store-bought cake something super special.

by Cool Mom Team | Party Ideas

We want our kids’ birthday cakes to be perfect. I mean, you only turn 5 (or 7 or 9 or 13) once, right? But it can be daunting trying to copy so much of the beautiful stuff online created by trained pastry chefs. See also: Cakewrecks. So on behalf of our birthday...

19 very (very) special non-candy Easter basket gifts kids will love.

by Kate Etue | Easter Gifts, Toys + Playthings

Between school parties and Easter baskets from their grandparents, my kids will be coming home with chocolate bunnies and cream-filled eggs to last us till the Fourth of July. So I’ve been looking for some extra special Easter basket gifts for kids that go...

The coolest birthday gifts for tweens ages 9-12

by Cool Mom Team

We know it’s tough finding the best gifts for tweens, but we appreciate the challenge of shopping for kids with ever-changing interests, so we’ve put together our list of cool gifts for tweens, whatever their interests, and whatever your budget. If you...