Need a break to gab with the girls and giggle about gifting? Want to win a gift certificate to one of our favorite online shops ? Then pull up a squishy chair, grab a chai latte, and settle in for a cyberchat with the Cool Mom Picks gang…
I have this fantasy every Christmas of convincing my extended family to go together on one big gift for my children. You know, instead of everyone doing their own thing and my kids ending up with a playroom full of blinky-light, noise-ma…
I'm such a huge fan of finger puppets for kids , which inspire all kinds of creativity and good thinking. I'm thinking about tracking down a finger puppet theater this holiday, so we can have a more formal stage for all that tiny enterta…
I now have a tree filed with beautiful one-of-a-kind ornaments from years of craft fairs and museum shops, and travels to cities everywhere. But if I can't get around the world, I'm glad their ornaments can now get to me, via Etsy. This …
If we couldn't solve all your holiday shopping conundrums with our Cool Mom Picks holiday gift guide (gasp!), then we've got over 75 more fabulous gift options just for you in our brand spankin' new Cool Mom Tech holiday gift guide ! We'…
'Tis the season for lots of neighborhood parties and gatherings, and you know what that means--lots of hostess gifts . I have a closet dedicated to "cutesy gifts gone bad," like dozens of fancy soaps. (I'm a pump dispenser girl.) Persona…
A gift card can sometimes feel kind of impersonal, no matter how many zeroes are on it. (Not necessarily unwelcome, by the way--dear friends and family: bring on those zeroes!) That's one reason we're always looking for special cards and…
It's awfully daunting, standing in the hustle and bustle of a huge bookstore during the holidays and trying to find one book among millions for the bibliophile or budding reader in your life. Luckily, there's a fabulous new service to he…
Every Hanukkah, in addition to the loooong lists of requested items (i.e. toys) we always make sure to include several books as gifts . And guess what--long after my son is bored with the video game he received, he's still reading and re…
This post and the first ever Small Business Saturday , November 27, is sponsored by American Express. You can "like" the Small Business Saturday Facebook Page to help generate a $1 donation to Girls Inc., and help spread the word about s…
I am horrified to admit that I have, upon occasion, watched Jersey Shore . I mean uh, I was just flipping through the channels on the way to a very educational nature show and accidentally stumbled upon it. Once. For four seconds. It's c…
Watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is a holiday tradition around here and I can only imagine how well this greener version of the grouchy Grinch himself would go over peeking out of my kid's stocking. Now I realize that technically …
I love the hustle of the holiday season: cooking, shopping and giving are three of my favorite things. What I really don't like is finding the right wrapping paper for my latest treasures - and it can get ugly when I have multiple smalle…
My daughter has signed on to the idea of Christmas early. Not "early" like prodigy-early; I mean early like she discovered a teensy faux Christmas tree in our garage this summer and has been diligently decorating it for the past three mo…
There's no escaping the holiday music in the stores and tinsel in the windows -- the holiday season is upon us. You know what will make your life easier? Our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide ! Whoo! For the fifth straight year (wow), we've done t…
Every year, I make my Mother-in-Law a calendar with photos of the kids and she ooos and ahhhs over it as any good grandmother would. But, after doing this for the past ten years, I am feeling a little ho-hum about the whole thing and won…
I love the idea of giving out a little something more than a holiday card to my friends and family. Of course, I wish I could give everyone a gift, but since money doesn't grow on trees, here's another idea. [don't miss a great offer aft…
It's like Miss America for crafters, and you're a judge. But there's no Miss Congeniality. This one's all about looks, and you only get one vote. Actually, it's the competition for Martha Stewart's annual Holiday Craft Fair at her compan…
I'm kind of in love with anything vintage, especially when it comes to toys. We always joke that generations of children somehow made it through life without dolls that walked, talked, or did the cha-cha, and ours can too, darn it. And g…
While plastic toys tend to fall a bit lower on my own personal shopping list, I wouldn't complain one bit if the brand spankin' never seen before holiday themed toys from B. Toys just happened to fall out of Santa's sack (or Grandma's pu…
As December nears, my house is ready to to become a big, kid-friendly fun house of colored blinky lights and tinsel. With three kids, I know what to expect and have given in to All Things Christmas. Except I've just seen the most beautif…
I'm not sure which is cooler, the actual lyziwraps reusable gift bags that I just discovered, or the story behind them. They were originally designed by an 8th Grader, for an innovation competition, who was trying to find a way to decrea…
It's soooo haaaaard to open my inbox and find an email inviting me to sample a new artisanal chocolate bar. Really, it's right up there with letters from Nigerian Princes and notices about my "Paypol Account," but you know. I am so devot…
I love surprises. Especially ones that arrive at my door wrapped in a hot pink box. It's not for the kids, not for my husband, but all for me . That's just what Birchbox is all about--subscribe and you'll get a box of high-end cosmetic s…