December is here, and around my house that means the official start of cookie season. If you, like me, end up with piles of snickerdoodles and gingerbread men that you end up off to friends and neighbors (or eating yourself), perhaps you…
The biggest health chatter in my town may be about swine flu, but we can't forget that AIDS is still a force to be reckoned with, especially among women and children who make up more than half of the people living with HIV worldwide. Tod…
While we're busy here trying to support artists with our holiday picks , we love that the artists are trying to support others too . Case in point: The Ferrin Gallery Paper or Pottery not Plastic exhibition . This Berkshire-area gallery …
I love Thanksgiving. Just love it. Despite the fact that the whole history behind it might be somewhat mythological. (Were the Native Americans really that underdressed in November? Hm.) Still, I adore what it's become, at least in our f…
The nicest thing about our recent XBox 360 giveaway was seeing all the fabulous local children's charities that you wanted your second XBox donated to should you win. The lucky winner was reader Marcela W (Go Marcela!) along with her cha…
Clearly the green movement is everywhere, including, now, your underwear. Indeed your skivvies are the next if not final frontier for a demonstration of your commitment to all things eco, as we've recently discovered. At the UK's Love Ec…
Looking around the Shokay e-shop recently, it turns out one of our favorite fair trade purveyors of luxury hand knit baby clothes are doing beautiful things with accessories now too. Kristen and I pretty much gasped simultaneously when w…
Deep down, I'm a 13 year-old boy with a thing for video games, as any of my friends who have ever seen my "drum face" when playing Rock Band will tell you. So I am totally coveting the new Microsoft Xbox 360 which I had a chance to try o…
Thanks to a bit of a shoe obsession, I really don't need any excuse to buy new shoes for my kids. But when I heard that the The Mini Social , a cool members-only shopping site and past CMP fave will be offering amazing deals on some of o…
I kinda love everything about Late July organic snacks . I love that they're organic and free of HFCS and all that other garbage. I love that they're charitably-minded . I love that the company is run by a mom who even sneaks pictures of…
I'd all but retired my baby slings with my youngest just turning one, but then I remembered how fantastic and handy slings are for toddlers (hello, hip carry!) thanks to Small Wish . It's hard to go wrong considering the lovely fabric ch…
My daughter's favorite word these days seems to be "layers." She loves the idea of dressing herself in shirts and sweaters and jackets that she can peel off and put back on to her heart's content, especially with the cool mornings and wa…
I'm going to be perfectly honest with you; in general the notion of putting cashmere on a baby seems absurd to me. In my world, babies and "hand wash only" are two things that don't go together. But now I humbly eat my words, having chec…
I've always been a fan of cause-related marketing, or in human terms, charitable efforts for brands . Especially when the company really seems dedicated to the cause, and that's what I've found to be the case with Timi and Leslie and the…
It's turning into good cause day at Cool Mom Picks, which is just okey dokey by us. In this case, it's Bugaboo , whose Frog stroller saved this Brooklyn mama from three years of curbs, cobblestones, and car-eating potholes, and the noble…
It's October (holy cow) and as most of you know, this means Breast Cancer Awareness month. And that means 600,472 products jumping on the pink ribbon bandwagon. Some are awesome. Some are not. And we do our best to try and pare them down…
I am always amazed by the number of online gaming pitches we get and then I realize -duh- I am totally addicted to online games, and have been ever since I was first introduced to Snood back in the day. Let's just say there is no better …
It's music to any educator's ears: The chance for big bucks for the school, just because it's great. GreatSchools.net and Care2.com have partnered up to create the America's Favorite School Contest , and they're giving away everyone's fa…
The first thing that struck me when I saw Cleanup Soap was how cool the shape was - graphic, and symmetrical and...wait a minute. Is that a...land mine? Indeed, these naturally scented, paraben-free soaps were created by Parsons design s…
We love opportunities to get our kids involved in community service, so we're so delighted to hear that 9/11 is now officially a National Day of Service and Remembrance. It's also better than making it a National Day of Watching 24 Hour …
Designer Cath Young says her label Chunky Chooky is dedicated to "cool things for small people," but I'd argue you don't have to be particularly small to relish her adorable softies--creatures, rattles, and so-called wabbits fashioned fr…
My kids have been back to school for a few weeks already, and my inbox runneth over. I need more volunteers for the coupon drive , says the coordinator. This is quickly followed by a bevy of reply-alls which are making me crazy, so I can…
Every year, without fail, I make the same New Year's Resolution: To drink more water. And every year I fail miserably. However Project 7 water may provide me with just the motivation I need to succeed. Project 7 is a small Texas company …
The only thing more impressive to us than an adorable handmade stuffed animal is one with an awesome do-gooding backstory. Like the one behind Kathy Chereck's "critters" at the shop Ashley Petite . When Kathy Chereck lost her grandson, N…