Holiday Time: KidzVuz' Holiday Gift Guide

Once, I was supermom, able to wipe drippy noses while cooking gourmet meals, read picture books aloud, with different, consistent accents on no sleep, and the type of party guest who always showed up with the perfect, locally sourced  - maybe even handmade - gift.

Now, I am just likely to order a couple of presents from Amazon and call it day.

Which is why I felt a bit out of touch, and a bit excited, at the KidzVuz Holiday Party.

Easy bake cookies

Here’s how I needed help brushing up on those parenting skills. Sweet Loren was at the event, offering samples of two of their 'place and bake' whole grain cookies. There were oatmeal cranberry (yummy and festive) and chocolate chunk.

What I craved was the peanut butter chocolate and I thought since I was late, I had missed the boat. No, it’s just - peanut butter. Allergies. Duh. That never even occurred to me, which means I need to seriously rethink my bona fides in the future when my 20-somethings bless me with grandchildren.

[Sweet Loren cookies, by the way, are all natural, with no high fructose corn syrup or trans fat. And you can bake as many, or as few as you need, fresh]

But I have lots of nieces, nephews and little cousins who would love the wares on display, particularly the Rock Band Rivals game for XBoxOne and PS4. If you had kids who took music lessons and refused to practice, then this will be your jam; it makes playing music fun.There’s a story line built into the game; you play your way through a rock documentary.

The nonprofit Heart of Haiti sold handmade ornaments to benefit the victims of Hurricane Matthew. It's always nice to spend money in a way that will help others, and the artisan gifts were perfect.

Music - for girls?

And if Disney princesses are not your thing check out the animated series SpacePop Girls. This show has short episodes on YouTube; the music is on iTunes and Spotify and merch, including books, is everywhere.

I’d love to say that the audience is free of gender constraints, especially when the producer calls it “Spice Girls meets ‘Star Wars,’” but the reality is that most boys won’t watch a show that has the word girls in the title, while girls will watch show or read books that feature mostly male leads (see: Harry Potter).

That being said, the show is cute, catchy and sure to please any budding princesses; the five teens form a band to cover their plot to overthrow the wicked empress.

And since I have’t gotten over MY princess fixation, you can find me bingeing on episodes of ‘The Crown.’

Note: I was a guest of KidzVuz and was not compensated; opinions expressed are my own.