by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
Like all parents, I’ve learned that indeed it’s true, kids are often happier playing with the package a gift comes in than the gift itself. Of course it doesn’t stop us from giving them more than cardboard boxes. Until now.The cardboard playhouse is...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
I am a little melancholy as I embark upon my first holiday season in close to two decades without my beloved, nasty, shedding, crazy, man-eating cat. But if the trade-off means that I can justify bringing home these Little Dear Fatkitties from artist Aimee Ray,...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
So blocks are blocks, right? They’re wooden, you build with them, you knock them down. Blocks. Yeah, well, not the Graffiti Blocks from Rockin’ Blocks. No alternababy or rock n’ roll love child’s toy collection is complete without a set....
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
I honestly didn’t understand the appeal of stick horses until I set my two year-old loose on a toy store display filled with them. My God, you would have thought they were real ponies the way her face lit up as she mounted one and took off down an aisle towards...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
Everyone knows that babies go nuts for tags, but not everyone loves the mass produced tag blankets made from synthetic materials. (Raising hand here.) In which case, the Grabby Taggy pillows from the wonderful shop, Nico & Zoe might be more your style. We found...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
When I was little, I was lucky enough to go to this super cool place in Holland called Madurodam, an entire city done in miniature. You could even drop a coin into certain displays and watch a teeny wedding party enter a teeny cathedral or have a teeny boat cruise...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
If your child loves puzzles as much as mine, maybe you’ve got a collection (like we do) featuring boring animals and licensed characters that really have no business being called "a collection."But puzzles based on original art, like these from...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
Ever since our Safer Toy Guide went live, I’m growing more and more into the idea of getting all the mass produced plastic stuff out of my baby’s hands and mouth. (Hear that, grandparents?) Wood and knit rattles were good enough for babies for decades and...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
I’m beyond tickled that my daughter has taken an interest at being behind the camera. But for now, I’m thinking the wooden version from North Star Toys is probably the safer bet than my Canon. This nearly functional camera, including a turnable focus...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
Recently I mentioned having discovered that the beloved Lincoln Logs of my youth are now mass produced in China, and a savvy reader pointed me towards Roy Toy. Score!If you’ve got a budding Bob the builder (or Brayden or Bianca) on your hands, I can’t...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
For almost two years now, we’ve been pointing our readers towards cool gifts, toys and gear alternatives to the stuff you find in your local ginormous mass retailer. But now that buying handmade, indie or fair trade can actually be safer for your kids,...
by Cool Mom Team | Toys + Playthings
Is it me or are there an inordinate number of dolls out there with oddly sultry, sexy, or just plain vacant looks on their faces? When my daughter takes the time to arrange her stuffed friends around the table for a tea party, I want those friends smiling back at her,...
