I am an advocate for shopping online. As a mom, I rarely have time to visit the mall or shop at my favorite local stores. So it's always a treat for me to come across new sites with an effortless style that's as fun to browse as it is to…
Last week I discovered the adorable world of finger puppets from Lindy Brown of Stay Awake when I included her adorable finger puppets in our round up of awesome hedgehog toys and gifts. But it turns out, the Ontario artist is pretty goo…
When we first started this site it was birds. Then owls. Then foxes. Now, neck-in-neck with the fox, the cutest animal trend to emerge is definitely hedgehogs. (Not that owls show any sign of going anywhere.) If you think the spiny mamma…
I suppose it's just my luck that now that my youngest has outgrown her nursery, I'm finding all sorts of cool nursery decor and accessories. But that's why I love Jonathan Adler's Junior collection so much, because it works as well for b…
We're excited to present our first gift guide series of Valentine's Day gift ideas, with lots of goodies for all the loves of your life, starting with gift ideas for kids . It's brought to you by The U.S. Postal Service's new limited-edi…
I had such a great time discovering so many cool new picks at the NY International Gift Fair this weekend. But what was maybe more interesting, was letting my 7 year-old daughter tag along so I could see her own favorites from the show t…
Whether you are looking for a stunning first-birthday gift for a special child in your life, or your preschooler just loves to build, this beautifully designed set of colorful blocks is one toy they'll treasure. Especially when they are …
I still remember taking my girls to a friend's house for a playdate, and realizing that my youngest daughter, then about two, could lose herself for an hour or more with the little girl's dollhouse without making a peep. I knew from then…
I've done a lot of babywearing in my day. A lot. And though my "baby" is a hand-holding toddler now, my daughter still remembers her little brother's carrier days and wears her own doll babies with pride. While it's no secret we at CMP l…
Growing up, I used to love spotting my name on keychains, toothbrushes, shoelaces, and whatever else happened to be hanging on those spinning racks by store cash registers. Kids today--well, my weirdly named kids, at least--don't always …
Puzzles really need to pop to stand out amongst the competition these days. When you give a puzzle, it can sometimes go unnoticed in a sea of blinking lights or licensed Harry Potter allure. I am absolutely in love with this handmade Bir…
What do you get when you combine an influx of holiday toys with a New Years resolution to declutter? A great reason to explore new toy storage solutions, that's what. Whether you're into DIY, Etsy shopping, or heirloom-quality furniture,…
Monkeys are fun, no doubt about it. I will even go out on a limb (see what I just did?) and say that watching monkeys leap from branch to branch is one of my favorite stops at the zoo. Which is why the kid inside me--along with my actual…
It only takes about 3/4" of snow to get my kids begging to go to the sledding hill in town. They used to bang a big plastic sled up and down the hills, arguing over whose turn it is to lug the awkward thing back to the top, but this wint…
Let's talk storage solutions, shall we? Or rather, my lack thereof. Bills and random paperwork end up mishmashed into the Play-Doh tub (which, of course, contains no actual Play-Doh). There's not one item of winter clothing in the winter…
One of the neat things about sending the kids off to preschool is seeing all the fun developmental toys they get to play with. It's also one of the mildly guilt-inducing things. Like, uh...was I supposed to be giving them all these fun d…
I caved. After years of avoiding the store and hiding the catalog, I finally gave in and bought two American Girl Dolls for my daughters for Christmas. But in doing so, I swore that I'd support Etsy artists and crafters by buying as much…
We love nothing more than finding toys for kids that are handmade, or at least, don't require an on and off switch and 300 batteries. Instead, our favorite toys of 2012 are all powered by the imaginations and little hands of kids. Liz LE…
In my part of the country, it is definitely more hot-cocoa time than ice-cream weather. But not according to my kids who know that any day is perfect for ice cream. Which is why this sweet-smelling six-pack of cones would be a welcome ad…
The siren song of electronics has a huge pull on my tweens this holiday, so if I'm going to ask Santa to bring them something that doesn't begin with an "i" it'd better be something pretty cool. I found something pretty cool. No... reall…
When you consider that most nativity sets include a couple of sheep, some people, an angel, and a stable, is it any wonder that most kids can't wait to get their hands on them? But after my three were finished playing with the set I had …
What little girl doesn't love tea parties? Well, I sure did. Some of my fondest childhood memories are making my grandfather sit down for nice cup of my make-believe tea. He was always the best sport about it, which meant the world to me…
We're so happy to wish a happy 40th anniversary to Free to Be...You and Me, that groundbreaking collection of songs and spoken word pieces that introduced me to the concepts of equality and tolerance at such a young age. For instance, ta…
We're not saying you need to leggo your LEGO (like your kids would ever let that happen). We're huge LEGO fans ! But this holiday season, we just want you to know about some really cool alternative building systems out there that'll get …