More coolness from recent weeks…
On the thirteenth day of Christmas: PEACE.
Partridges, French hens, the splattered eggs of a dozen overactive geese. Forget 'em. If you want to say "I love you" with birds, go for the artistic, lasting beauty of paper lovebirds, another gift that gives back.Whether you'd like a whole flock in mobile form or...
Honey for the hostess
While Christmas is drawing ever so close, I know the hostess invitations and house visits will extend well into the new year. I can't stop browsing hostess gifts, looking for something more interesting than candles or flower bouquets. I think these handmade wooden...
6 great kindie music CDs for Christmas
I was fretting to my sister that I didn't know what to get her kids, my sweet little niece and nephew, who seemingly have everything. Her response: Don't you review kids' music for Cool Mom Picks? Just get them some cool new tunes! Funny how the most obvious...
A world of Discovery that doesn’t require full contact shopping
If you're sick of the frantic rush of live holiday shopping but still want to take up some real estate under the tree, you need to go check out the cool stuff at Discovery Kids, the exclusive toy section of The Discovery Channel Store. It's filled with items meant to...
Wrapping paper so cute it should come with a frame.
Don't worry, little narwhals and belugas. My kids' sticky mitts will never touch you, much less rip you to shreds to get to the booty beneath. No, my sweet blubbery friends, you are far too precious for that. Yes, I'm talking to wrapping paper. It's that cute. I'll be...
Three more reasons to visit Cool Mom Tech, totaling about $2200.
You know how much we love giving things away to our readers. Especially this time of year. The way we see it, mamas don't get year-end bonuses for changing 87 diapers in the dark or getting a kid to finally eat broccoli without ketchup.And they should. Well this may...
Prank Pack – The gift wrap that gives back. In laughter.
Around my place, we've got a house full of practical gift giving jokers. I see the old "huge box for a teeny tiny gift" trick almost every year and humor my husband each time he does it. Well this year, pay back is going to be a you know what when I stuff his...
Custom toy boxes make last minute gifts for kids easy.
My daughter is obsessed with being a dentist. Yes, just like that Elf on that Rudolph video. Of course, I'm delighted and I want to encourage her, but dentist toys are a little hard to come by. Luckily, I won't have to scour the Internet in all my hours of free time...
Crafty gifts for kids with an artist’s eye
Kids need a little ink too. (No, not tattoos. We may be hip and fashion-forward, but we're not crazy.) I'm talking about the kind of ink that creates together time, yields beautiful artwork, and teaches an interesting lesson. The all-in-one handy sumi-e painting kit...
RightCliq by Visa – making online shopping fun, easy, and more affordable. Did we mention fun?
Since we're all about shopping online here, we're also about ways to make online shopping easier. And more affordable. And more fun. We've been eagerly following Rightcliq by Visa in the last few months since their launch and it seems it's a dandy little tool for...
Lumberjack shirt 2.0
While we've featured numerous stylish, Swedish-inspired clothes for kids by Polarn O. Pyret on Cool Mom Picks since they came to US shores last year, this reversible plaid lumberjack shirt was my first personal experience with their clothing. And let me just say, I...
Our favorite dressy dresses for Christmas
I still need a dressy dress for my 3.5 year old daughter for Christmas eve, so I started diving through our archives looking for ideas. Of course there's always the mall stores that we all know and love (or accept somewhat begrudgingly at times). But if you're looking...
Make it a handmade Christmas
Still looking for a few last minute gifts for the family? Clearly we're crazy, mad, marry-us-in-Vegas in love with Etsy and all the wonderful artists and crafters we've discovered there. That's why today, on Etsy's The Storque blog, we've rounded up some of...
Calendars that hang by magic, not magnets
Now that I've gone through a total kitchen renovation and upgraded to a fancy schmancy stainless steel refrigerator I've---gasp!---lost the ability to hang my beloved paper calendar with a magnet from the front. Fortunately a cool paper-goods company has...
The coolest TV moms and the fashion they inspired: 1970’s and 1980’s
Because we are such TV junkies, we are happy to present the second in three-part series on our favorite TV moms through the ages, and the fab fashion they inspired. After all, who doesn't love fab retro fashion? And cool moms? It's all sponsored by XFNITY from Comcast...
The joy of women cooking
We often think of the art of food, and the art of cooking, but we don't necessarily think about the artfulness of the cooks themselves, and their own environments. Now a new quarterly magazine from the minds behind art magazine Where Women Create celebrates the joy of...
Color like an artist. Romero Britto, to be specific.
My daughter's first finger paintings brought tears to my eyes. "My God, she's talented!" I told my husband. I knew I was being that stereotypical overly proud parent, but her use of color was so unexpected. Really!There is something so fresh and spontaneous about...
A smart gift for a style-conscious (and maybe picky) guy
It's official. Despite best efforts, I'm in full-blown gift panic mode... but only for the men in my life. My husband, dad, and brother are all tough cookies when it comes to presents. They all have something in common, though: the love of a good dress shirt.But...
Free letters from Santa that are more about giving than receiving
People always say that nothing is for free, but here is something that really is: A customized letter to your child from Santa that you help create. And it will do more for other kids than your own. At Letter from Santa, add personal details like your child's name,...
A gift for kids that doesn’t stink.
When I was little, getting useful gifts was always a huge bummer. Then again, my Great Aunt Hilda usually went for the half-price, open-package soap-and-undies combo pack at KMart. True story: One time, they even had World's Best Lover printed across the tush. I was...
Kids bookmarks that get them drawing as well as reading
I'm still poking around etsy these days for some last-minute stocking stuffers, although in my world, 9 days til Christmas is far from last-minute. CMP fave Dana Marie Hosler of GreenStarStudio always has something nifty and new, and today is no exception. Especially...