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 cringed on that day back in October when holiday cards replaced an aisle of Halloween costumes. It's not that I dislike the holiday season or have a soft spot for grown men dressed as plates of spaghetti. It's just that the cards were …
When my kids were young, I found a trio of very cute stockings in a small local store that I thought were totally unique and special for our family. And then my mother saw them and said, O ooo, I saw those at the card store! So much for …
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…
If you're an artist, a wannabe artist, or even an artist-in-training, we sure hope you'll enter our Color Your Own paper holiday ornament design contest that we're putting on with the fine folks at Etsy . All it takes is your design for …
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…
I hardly know a mom who doesn't have a soft spot for the Madeline books of her childhood. Me included. It just seemed so romantic to live in Paris and walk to school every day wearing a yellow hat that looked like a boat. Well save yours…
I may refuse to listen to the Christmas music that has been blaring on certain radio stations since Halloween, but make no mistake: The countdown to Christmas is a big deal in this household. And what better way to countdown to the big d…
I couldn't help it. I had to eat the cookies . I don't know how many times I've said that. But with these new Ninjabread Man cookie cutters, it'll finally be true. You don't want to make the ninjas mad, do you? Those guys come out of now…
As you all know, we love Etsy. Big huge puffy heart love. And we just had such an amazing time collaborating with them on our Color-Your-Own Valentine's Day Card contest that raised over $2000 for charity that we decided get together aga…
As my milk-allergic daughter will tell you, the Thanksgiving table can hold one big heaping of "no" for kids with food allergies. No, you can't have that. Or that. Or that. And nowhere is this more apparent than when desserts are brought…
Is there a single mom who isn't stressed out by holiday cards? Like I don't already have enough to do, let alone trying to find one picture where everyone in the family looks halfway decent and then praying that the photo cards we order …
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…
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…
There's a conversation that goes on in almost every Jewish household around the holidays, where kids wonder where all the cool Hannukah decorations are? Who gets more gifts? And, how is a spinning top not lame? I'm going to answer those …
I'm dreaming of a picture perfect holiday season , like a vintage postcard, with over-sized snowflakes and smiling kids singing songs at my door. I'm also dreaming of taking the perfect holiday photo of my two girls and they'll both smil…
At the first sign of snow, every parent in our neighborhood bundles up their little dumplings and runs outside with three or four cameras-- because it's Georgia, and we go crazy over a little snow. But when we get back inside, the photos…
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…
You know what's scary? Realizing you've invited a bunch of little butterflies and superheroes to invade your home for a pre-trick-or-treating soiree, and then realizing your house is not ready. Ahem. Since making a last-minute dash to a …
For the first year ever, since becoming a parent, I actually have my kids' Halloween costumes ready to go with more than 2 hours to spare before the 31st. Well, almost. The last thing we have to track down is some black cat nail polish ,…