It’s that time of the year again! Time to go shopping for holiday gifts!

Here are some of my favorites!

Looking for games? Here are some of our top choices!

Bold Made (Designed for the whole family – great for girls)
www.boldmade.com
Bold Made was awarded the Best Children’s Product Award by Tillywig.  Bold Made flips the script on traditional Old Maid by including Bold Women who made huge impacts on our world such as Malala Yousafzai, Temple Grandin, Ellen Ochoa, Roberta Bondar, Billie Jean King, Georgia O’Keeffe, Sally Ride, Maya Angelou, Amelia Earhart and many more.  Bold Made also has a more aspirational goal of ending the game with the Bold Made card. The perfect way to have fun and learn about inspiring women at the same time. You can find it on Amazon.com.

Taco vs Burrito (A Perfect Family-Friendly Party Game for Kids, Teens & Adults)
www.tacovsburrito.com

Taco vs Burrito is the #1 Most Gifted Card Game on Amazon. This wildly popular and surprisingly strategic game was created by a 7-year-old and has taken the card game industry by storm.  With over 600K games sold and over 12,000 five-star reviews, Taco vs Burrito sold a whopping $5.6 million in 2021.  It’s perfect for kids, adults, and families!

Double Ditto (Board Game for Adults, Teens & Kids 8 and up)

Double Ditto is a fun family party game that will challenge players to be clever and quick. The object of the game is to write down answers you think other players will write. Match an answer with another player to score a “ditto!” Match both answers and score a “double ditto!”

You can find it on Amazon.com.

Don’t Go Boom (Card Game for Kids, Ages 7+)

Your Mission? Don’t Go Boom! An Explosion of Fun – Other kids games on the market move slowly and can’t keep attention. The Don’t Go Boom card games for kids keep you and your kids guessing down to the last card. Don’t Go Boom is easy to learn and is perfect for kids ages 7 and up. Action cards help players strategize the best moves and create a fun, engaging vacation, travel, car, recess, or classroom card game your family will love! Find it on Amazon.com.

Zen Battle (Game for Adults, Teens & Kids 8 and up)

https://www.zenbattle.com/

New card game debuts on Amazon for Holiday 2022 from Toy Inventor of the Year David Yakos

You don’t need to know your Chakra from your Barista to have a blast in this quick-to-learn card game. Try to keep your calm in this chill race to become a Zen Master!
Players Compete to transcend first by aligning their Chakra cards from #1 to #7, with a Mastery card on top. The first player to transcend 4 times wins the game!
Want to prove you’re the most chill? Be the first to transcend all seven levels and become the ultimate master of Zen Battle™. Find it on Amazon.com.

Election Night! $34.95: This is the game that legendary anchor John King plays with his kids to teach them about the electoral college. Unlike any other board game, players battle for critical electoral votes as they also learn or sharpen their U.S geography and political system knowledge. Find out more at https://sempersmartgames.com/

Here are some great toys for the kids this holiday season!

Meet Star Belly Dream Lites® – the new huggable, plush night light your kiddo will love. It’s perfect for sleepovers, traveling or for those afraid of the dark! Star Belly Dream Lites® comes in different animal and color variations. Made of a soft, plush design, Star Belly Dream Lites® are perfect for snuggling and cuddling at bedtime. The button of the belly turns on the night light and it projects a starry sky onto the ceiling, instantly illuminating your child’s room to help them feel safe and calm. 

These cute cuddle toys can be purchased online for $29.99 at https://www.mystarbelly.com. They are also available for purchase at Target and Walmart!

This next one is just perfect for adults! Especially Moms!

 The Heart Mind Box  is from the Dalai Lama Center for Peach and Education and contacts a selection of ethically sourced products and experiences designed to nurture your Heart-Mind well-being; curated with love. This one is really great and is must-needed gift! I love the variety of items included in this box.

In every box there is something that will help you connect to others, something that will encourage you to take care of yourself, and a connection to the science behind well-being.  

In the box is a special team blend from the tea garden of Assam, India. The tea is directly packaged and sent to consumers from the garden, unlike generic tea brands. Each label shares the information of the tea garden(s), region, leaf quality, and harvest date to help you further connect with others. 

Looking for a fun Advent Calendar for the kids?

Yes, it’s almost time to start counting down to Christmas and PLAYMOBIL is back this year with a beautiful Adventures of Ayuma themed Advent Calendar as part of its new line. Kids will love this one! Reveal something new each day as you count the days to Christmas! This Calendar reveals Ayuma fairies, their spirit animals, and wintery forest accessories. When you’re done, you have a magical scene from the world of Ayuma! This is available now on playmobil.us for just $35!

This next one is perfect for cold winter nights and great for the whole family!

The ever-popular The Comfy^® has become a staple in so many wardrobes. I’m sure you’ve seen one by now, featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, and wonder if there’s anything new. There sure is, and I’ve highlighted a couple of my favorites below. You’ll find selections for sports enthusiasts, Disney, Lucas, and Marvel fans, and more. The OG brand created the category and always stays on top of trends with its designs. If Amazon is your go-to shopping source, then check out its store front here.

One of the appealing features consumers of all ages love about The Comfy^® is that it’s offered in three levels of warmth to keep everyone perfectly warm and cozy. Just think about all the fun you’ll create wearing one for holiday photos, lounging by the fireplace, cheering on your favorite college team, or opening gifts under the tree. You can’t help but Feel the Happy! It’s a quick pick-me-up when life gets too serious – living #thecomfylife.

The Comfy^® products are loved by everyone and are currently available online and in over 5,100 retail doors across the U.S., including Macy’s, Kohls, Fred Meyer, Target, Sportsman Ski Haus, Al’s Sporting Goods, Bob Wards, AAFES and online at QVC, Today’s Shopping Choice, ECOM, Shopify, and The Paper Store. The Comfy^® is a top seller internationally on Amazon in Canada, the UK, Australia, UAE, and Japan and holds a #1 seller spot on Amazon USA in its category.

The next one is a personal favorite of mine! I think all Moms need warm, comfy slippers in the winter and Pantuss is a favorite brand!

If you want stylish and comfy slippers, these are a must-buy! I just love them! The best thing is that they have reheatable and comfortable insoles filled with lavender and flax seeds. Easily detachable in order to heat up. Now, how cool is that?! I love that there is a wide variety and my favorites are the Ballerinas. Find out more here. These are sure to be a hit with any of the women on your gift-shopping list!

Happy Holidays! Stay tuned for next week’s holiday gift guide!

Self Disclosure: Samples were received of all the gift suggestions listed in this holiday gift guide. Information and images were also provided.

It’s time for holiday baking! Are you looking for a gluten-free option? XO Baking Co. has you covered! They have gourmet bread mixes, cookie mixes, and more! One of my favorites is the Banana Bread Mix! I can’t wait to try the Sugar Cookie Mix this holiday season when I start baking cookies.

MEET THE MOM-OWNED COMPANY MAKING GLUTEN-FREE BAKED GOODS!

There’s a reason mom-of-two Lindsey Braham puts a hug and kiss in her brand name – it’s because her relationship with food has been a love affair, and not without its ups and downs. In 2009 the trained chef and baker was diagnosed with Celiac disease, a digestive disorder that causes severe discomfort and health problems in reaction to gluten. Braham was told she had to eliminate gluten from her diet completely. A baker who couldn’t use flour? How could she go on!

Armed with a degree from UC Berkeley and expertise in the food sciences and dietic research, Braham began experimenting with combinations of gluten-free ingredients until she created the most flawless “all-purpose flour.” Soon, XO Baking Co. was born.  XO baking is the ONLY gluten-free baking brand to feature a cassava and organic coconut flour blend that is also free of common ingredients like bean and rice flour– making it a swap that doesn’t compromise the texture or taste in baking. The allergen-free and Paleo-friendly all-purpose flour has become the crux of the company, which has since grown into a full line of delicious, simple baking mixes so everyone can enjoy professional-tasting treats, no matter their dietary restrictions.

“Food allergies and celiac disease are conditions that are not going away.  In fact, the number of those diagnosed continues to grow year after year.  XO Baking Co. is such an important part of so many individuals’ lives –accommodating a range of specific food allergies and making dessert time safer for everyone,” Braham said. “It’s not just an allergy friendly food – it’s the best tasting allergy friendly food.  People shouldn’t have to settle for mediocre!”

While being diagnosed with Celiac disease was at first difficult, Braham is thankful for where it’s brought her, both as a chef, a baker and human. Every great cook loves when their culinary creation truly pleases a customer or critic. And with XO Baking Co., Braham continues to exceed expectations of countless people who must navigate the limitations of a dietary affliction.

XO Baking Co. provides quick and easy mixes for restaurant-worthy cakes (from carrot to chocolate), moist banana breads, fluffy cinnamon rolls (the dough of which is also amazing for pizza), rich fudge brownies, buttery pound cakes, crisp and chewy chocolate chip cookies, blondies, a non-GMO cornbread and much more. XO Baking Co’s products are available online on the website, Amazon and at retail stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.

To learn more about XO Baking Co. and try their incredible boxed mixes and recipes, visit them online and follow along on Instagram and Facebook.

Self Disclosure: I received free samples to facilitate this post. Information and images were also provided.

It’s that time of year when colds are common so these products from MOBI are a must! Whether you’re concerned about your parents living alone or experiencing baby’s first tummy bug, with MOBI you have a partner in health. Rest assured MOBI will provide you with the right tools to provide accuracy and peace of mind when you need it most. I had the opportunity to receive these products and am really impressed with how simple they are to use!

MOBI’s smart healthcare technology has you covered with accurate readings, reliable designs, and easy-to-use features.

Smart Emergency Alert Button – Help is just a click away with this wireless notification system that works throughout the whole house. This is great for families especially if you have older parents that live alone.

Smart DualScan Ear + Forehead Bluetooth Thermometer – Get a read on their fever with the push of a button–no struggling, bribing, or crying required! I love how simple this is to use! It actually is my favorite because young children don’t seem bothered by it at all!

Smart Wireless Wi-Fi Otoscope – Now you’ll be able to see inside your inner ear, nose, or throat so you can take the right steps for a speedier recovery. Now, how cool is that?! It is also super easy to use!

About
MOBI is the leader in reliable connected tech for your home, health, and lifestyle with products available in retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Target, Costco, Amazon, and more! MOBI has been providing peace of mind through affordable technology since 2003.

For more information, visit https://getmobi.com/

Self Disclosure: I received free samples to facilitate this post. Information and images were also provided.

National Diabetes Month occurs every November, with World Diabetes Day on November 14.  Almost 30 million people in the U.S. have some form of diabetes, and with comes that lifestyle changes.  Changing the way you eat carbs is important and just swapping in Crepini Egg Wraps can help you lower the amount of carbs in meals without sacrificing taste!

Crepini wraps are 10-inch thin crepes made from egg and cauliflower that can be used in place of traditional wraps and tortillas. Because these crepes have no grains or flour, they are carbohydrate free.  Whether you want to make a personal-sized pizza, GRILLED CHEESE PANINI, CROQUE-MONSIEUR, or a taco bowl, these wraps are a versatile lower-carb swap.

The brand has the innovative original carb-swap Egg Wraps along with 5 new varieties including a vegan option: The new Crepini Eggless Wrap, Crepini Omelets, Just Egg, and Crepini Egg White Omelets.

I had the opportunity to try them and my favorite is the egg white omelets! They were tasty and I loved adding veggies on top!

Visit www.crepini.com/recipes for mouth-watering, easy-to-make meals. Crepini products are available at more than 6,000 retailers nationwide including Walmart, Sprouts, and Costco, and are available online.

Self Disclosure: I received free samples to facilitate this post. The top image was provided. Bottom photo: So Cal City Kids.

The Only Meal Plan That Helps Parents Instill Healthy Eating Habits in Kids While Engaging and Rewarding Them For Eating Well!

Introducing the new and improved Yumble, the first and only meal delivery service that empowers kids ages 4-12 years old to plan and pick their meals and get rewarded for eating healthy. The new Yumble offers a solution to a daily challenge faced by parents everywhere, especially working parents: the obligation to provide nutritionally balanced meals every day that kids will actually eat and enjoy. 

Kids can go to www.yumblekids.com, or the new YumbleKids App, to plan their own meals, choosing from Yumble’s carefully curated menus designed specifically for kid appeal. Meals are ordered via a parent-approved ‘shopping cart’ and delivered straight to your door, ready to heat up and eat up. Kids can accumulate points for making smart choices, such as cleaning their plates and trying new things. Points are tracked on a virtual dashboard, and an exciting rewards catalog helps children set their goals. 

Yumble initially launched in 2017, and parents immediately embraced the idea. However, many children were less than enthusiastic about eating meals that Mom didn’t make, and they didn’t choose. Rather than helping to ease mealtime tension, it sometimes exacerbated it instead, as parents resented the wastefulness of uneaten pre-paid meals and fretted over the fact that their kids were not getting the nutrition they needed. 

In response, the brand consulted with nutritionists, psychologists, teachers, and parents and heard a common refrain: why not involve kids in the process and reward them for every positive step they take? Thus, the new and improved Yumble is based on the concept of “child-led eating,” which empowers children of all ages to make their own healthy choices as they develop and grow. Mealtime tension is lessened as children are less likely to reject a choice they have made for themselves. Plus, the new Prize Program & Rewards Platform is designed to encourage and reinforce good behavior, which reflects the Yumble team’s mantra of “rewarding kids for eating well.”

Yumble’s delicious and nutritious meal plans include a wealth of amazing options kids will love. The more meals are ordered per week, the better the price for each one. And because Yumble understands that life happens, plans can be paused or cancelled at any time. The following meal plans are available now:

• 4 meals per week for $9.99 per meal
• 6 meals per week for $8.99 per meal, plus free shipping
• 8 meals per week for $7.99 per meal, plus free shipping
• 12 meals per week for $6.99 per meal, plus free shipping

Kids are treated to a wide range of tasty meals for any time of day, that are perfect for even the pickiest of eaters. Some of the most popular Yumble meals that kids come back for over and over include:

• Turkey Sausage & Eggs – all-natural and gluten-free with over 20g of protein
• Classic Cheese Ravioli – with organic tomatoes in a veggie-packed marinara sauce
• Mac N Cheese & Nuggets Please – with gluten-free, veggie-packed mac-n-cheese

We had the opportunity to try the meals and I love the variety and how simple they are to heat up and serve!

More about Yumble:

Initially launched in 2017, Yumble is a favorite of kids and parents alike. Created by parents and for parents, the one-of-a-kind kids meal subscription service designed to take the stress out of planning, prepping, and cooking nutritious meals for children, many of whom are picky eaters. By minimizing the time needed to prepare healthy meals for the kids, Yumble makes it possible for families to spend more valuable time with each other instead. Using all sustainable, regionally-sourced, nutritious ingredients, Yumble creates balanced and fun recipes developed just for kids, delivered fresh to your door in a 100% recyclable, refrigerated box.

Self Disclosure: I received free samples to facilitate this post. Photos: SoCal City Kids.

The weather is cooling down and Fall seems to finally be here in sunny Southern California! I love the Fall flavors such as Maple and Pumpkin Spice. Sweet Chaos has some really delicious flavors! My favorite is their Maple Brown Sugar!

Sweet Chaos is the perfect mix of your favorite sweet & salty snacks… especially their Fall-inspired offerings that include Pumpkin Spice, Candy Corn, Black & Orange, Maple Brown Sugar, and Vanilla Chai. Sweet Chaos Drizzles are Gluten Free, made with Non-GMO popcorn, and have NO artificial colors or flavors. Handmade kettle corn made by real people. Non-GMO popcorn is popped in Coconut Oil, with just the right amount of Cane Sugar and Sea Salt, and then sprinkled with delicious drizzles! Learn more at https://sweetchaos.com/. 

You have to try all the Fall flavors!

Self Disclosure: I received free samples to facilitate this post. Images were also provided.

Eight-Year-Old Kidpreneur Takes Her Classic Lemonade Stand to New Heights with Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Soda!
Kid-Cool Gift Packs, Plus Bulk Orders Are Available for Kid-Centric Events!

While some children look forward to using their summer break for rest and relaxation, eight-year-old Zoe Mack is using the time to flex her kidpreneur spirit and build her online, direct-to-consumer lemonade soda business. Today, she announces the launch of Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Soda, available in a variety of kid-centric gift packs.

Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Soda was idea born out of her entrepreneur parents letting her stay home from school for “Bring Your Kid to Work Day” with the only stipulation that she had to come up with her own business idea. Zoe immediately seized the opportunity to open a lemonade stand and wrangled in her parents and siblings to divvy up the work. From building the stand and creating signage to ordering supplies and having her siblings hand out flyers to classmates and neighbors, Zoe led the creative vision from start to finish. On the launch of Zoe’s Lemonade Stand on May 1 (National Lemonade Day), Zoe’s hard work paid off as more than 40 customers visited her stand, even though it was pouring with rain. She now looks forward to continuing operating Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Stand this summer.

As Zoe’s excitement over her first business grew, her parents saw the spark, and offered to invest in her next idea, Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Soda, a craft soda made with real cane sugar.  While her soda is meant to be enjoyed by both young and old, her primary customer is young girls, just like herself.  With that in mind, Zoe designed every aspect of her product offerings for her future customers. Zoe’s Plushie Pack includes five bottles of Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Soda and one adorable Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Plushie. Her 12 Pack Box is packaged in a custom-designed cardboard box that includes instructions on how to continue the fun by transforming the box into a miniature lemonade stand for dolls. Zoe even includes fun collectible Zoe’s Pink Lemonade stickers with every order.

Zoe’s Pink Lemonade 12 pack preorders launched on July 3^rd, with full sales beginning July 14, 2022. Zoe explains her product best. “I made my soda for kids just like me.  It’s tastes AMAZING!  It’s perfectly sweet with just little bit of sour. You get more than an awesome pink drink when you buy it.  My small boxes can be reused as a storage box for little toys and doll clothes.  My big boxes turn into a lemonade stand for dolls.  I also created a super squishy pink lemonade plushie.  My soda makes a great gift and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do.”  Zoe’s favorite part about owning her own soda company is creating fun mocktails.  Her favorite so far is her Pink Lemonade Soda Slushie.  Her recipes are available on her website for customers to try themselves.

I had the opportunity to try out this awesome brand and I highly recommend it!

Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Soda is manufactured and bottled by a craft soda company in Connecticut.   

For more information or to purchase Zoe’s Pink Lemonade Soda, visit https://www.pinklemonadestand.com/. Be sure to follow @ZoesPinkLemonadeStand on Instagram and @ZoesPinkLemonade on Facebook for the latest product updates and announcements.

Self Disclosure: I received free samples to facilitate this post. Photo Credit: SoCal City Kids.

Looking for really cute labels this Halloween for the kids? Mabel’s Labels has the cutest styles! Since I no longer have any little children, I decided to select some for the teaching staff at the preschool program where I work. I was really happy with the cute designs!

For the holiday season, Mabel’s Labels offers a festive collection for gift giving and staying organized. From charming label packs for tucking in stockings to peel & stick labels to make gift-giving a breeze, Mabel’s Labels has thought of everything to help you make the holidays special. The new collection includes Personalized Stocking Stuffers, Holiday Return Envelope Labels, Return Address Stamp, and Holiday Gift Tags. Beyond the holiday season, Mabel’s Labels collection of durable, waterproof labels & more are ideal for getting your kids organized for daycare, school or any other activity. Learn more at https://mabelslabels.com/en_US/by-occasion/holiday $9.99 – $30

Check them out for the upcoming holidays!

Self Disclosure: I received free samples to facilitate this post.