With my family spread out around the country, my husband, kids and I often spend the holidays alone, which means I don't have the greatest excuse to buy my children fancy holiday-best clothes. So instead, I tend to look for festive cloth…
If you're looking to knock off a half-dozen of teacher gifts or cousin gifts or classmate gifts in one fell swoop, I love the idea of the holiday ornament kit from CMP fave, Thomas Claire . This wonderful mom-run company will hook you up…
Steer clear of the fruitcake and stinky pine candles, mamas! If it's cool holiday gifts you're looking for, then we've got you covered with our brand spankin' new 2009 Holiday Gift Guide . We've scoured the web to help you solve every ho…
With all due respect to the latest pop star du jour, most modern renditions of my favorite classic holiday songs leave me wishing for stronger eggnog. But now that I've started playing the Putumayo Presents awesome new A Family Christmas…
I'm actually pretty practical when it comes to my girls' dressier shoes. I am willing to spend more than average, but I demand great design and excellent construction, and I don't want shoes that will either fall apart or feel out of sea…
I find The Nutcracker a bit hard to explain to fidgety kids, so before I fork over $50 a seat to take them to see it in person, I'm going to let them watch Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker to their heart's content. What makes this…
Sometimes we find our own best picks from our sponsors (what can we say? We click on our own ads to see what's cool!) and this week, I learned that One King's Lane , which has private sales on amazing home decor brands, is doing holiday …
Sure my son's friends get monogrammed Christmas stockings, but he can enjoy eating his latkes off one of these personalized Hanukkah plates , by Lima Bean Kids. These pink or blue melamine dishes feature a sweet menorah design with the n…
My mom would like to get my 14 month old daughter a wooden nativity set for Christmas--something she can actually play with but something sturdy, cute, and made to last. - Cara It's funny you should ask this Cara, because I was just look…
I know I'm not alone in looking for more tasteful and restrained displays of holiday cheer after being assaulted by Christmas carols, gaudy lights and huge inflatable snowmen in stores the day after Halloween. Gorgeous simplicity doesn't…
When it comes to holiday outfits, I tend to spend most of my shopping energy and yes, I'll be honest, my cash on my girls. But this year, they're going to have a run for my money thanks to the boys' clothes in the new Fall/Winter childre…
Now that my husband has just returned (yay! he's back!) from his two month long deployment as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, Veteran's Day holds a lot more personal meaning. But even if you don't have a Veteran in your family, you c…
I generally prescribe to the "small boys are suitably dressed up for the holidays when wearing a cute sweater" school of thought, but sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes even little boys must wear a tie to be suitably (get it?) attire…
As a long-standing semi-vegetarian, I have a soft spot in my heart for the hapless turkey at this time of the year. So no one will be surprised if one of my kids shows up to Thanksgiving dinner wearing this absolutely adorable Gobble Gob…
Jewish kids know all about the Hanukkah miracle but what they don't know is how hard it can be to celebrate it in cool, modern style. Well I have to tell you, when I saw Jonathan Adler's collection of modern menorahs and Hanukkah gifts I…
Happy Halloween, mamas! For those of us who like Halloween every day, we present to you a completely random assortment of cool, creepy, spider themed items we uncovered on Etsy . The hand felted wool hat from Maybel57 (above) has a littl…
You can always tell a great jewelry artist when you want to wear pretty much everything she makes. And that's just how I'd describe the innovative stainless steel pop-out jewelry from Houston artist Melissa Borrell . Just like those old …
I can't believe I'm already thinking of holiday accessories but, yup, I am. Mainly because I'll be among those "shopping my closet" this year and looking to update old looks with affordable new accessories. On a wild Etsy tear this week,…
Is it too early to start thinking Christmas gifts yet? Well, not if you have your eye on something from one of our favorite Etsy shops, the mom and daughter-run The Brick Kiln . There's so much here that makes for charming, affordable ho…
If you're looking for a fun Halloween gift for the kids without the added benefits of tooth decay and hyperactivity, I just learned that the wonderful illustrator Stephen Britt has just taken on his first children's book, Over in the Hol…
Do you hear that sound? It's my hips expanding. I know I'm going to rue the day I discovered Foodzie , the marketplace for hand-crafted and artisan foods. Whereas my resolve is unwavering when I pass the fun-size candy bars in the superm…
One of my kids thinks that Mickey Mouse is a horror figure, so I've learned to keep our Halloween "unscawy." Instead of settling for whatever I can find in the big box stores, I get to look so put together by downloading CMP fave Paper&C…
When my son comes back with his Halloween haul I scour the bag for candy that I don't approve of (and want to swipe for myself). For me it's a matter of avoiding high-impact sugar infusions, but for parents of children with food allergie…
Around our house, Halloween is right up there with Hanukkah and birthdays so of course we're looking to see what the grande dame of decorating has in store for this spooky season. Martha Stewart's Halloween Central is a great place to fi…