We have uncovered some must-have tools busy moms and parents should have and use to get them through the bustling period in the family life.

Great Undergarment – This is the season for dressing up in fancy clothes and entertaining or attending holiday parties. A little while ago, there an Oprah Winfrey show episode on bras got many women realizing how wearing the right undergarment can change up their look in clothes and have them feeling more confident. That’s what I can say, personally, about the Vera Vasi  by Marena shape wear. I have been in the high waist pantastics version and love it! I wear it each week! I also agree with the founders, pioneers in post-opp compression products, that it fits better than other popular compression tights and undergarment. It’s not too constricting, and allow room to breathe. Yet the patented fabric smooths out any lumps and rolls, perfectly. The creators, whose compression garments can be found on The Biggest Loser contestants, state the shapewear retracts the skin and helps heal the separation of the abdominal muscle (diastasis recti). I can vouch for the claim that the shape wear promote great posture and leave you feeling more confident and looking slimmer and smoother. 

The material is so top-notched and well constructed that I have even worn it alone as pants a few times. Love it! It’s mid-range priced around $100 but totally worth it when you think about how great you will look in your fab dresses.

After 20 years in the medical post-operative market, Vera Vasi expanded to the retail market and recently expanded to the maternity and post-pregnancy market to help new moms adjust to all their body’s changes. 

Host/Hostess gifts: As you are going in and out of homes for various visits and events, you will need and should take a tiny gift for your host.  Wine is a good bet but for a gift that everyone in the home can enjoy, we recommend King of Pop.com’s handcrafted super yummy gourmet popcorn. They come in all sorts of unique flavors. You can get a few bags and assemble them in a little gift basket or order a few boxes from the company’s website, and keep them on hand for the entire season. Get a RedSox Fan Gift basket, a Gluen-Free one, A Belgian Chocolate Dipped Cookie Tower, a Hanukkah Kosher Gift Basket or more from GourmetGiftBaskets.com. 

Traveling Aids: If you will be taking long trips on the road or on flights, you will need some aides to keep you sane like a map, games to keep the kids busy and to save your neck from strain during long naps, a neck pillow. We can not say enough great things about Cabeau Evolution Neck Pillow which is unlike many other neck pillows in that it prevents head bobbing while you’re traveling and it comes with space for your earphones in case you’re listening to music to drown out outside noise while resting your eyes or traveling. There is also a travel bag it comes with to keep the pillow stain free while traveling. It goes for $39.99 at www.Cabeau.com and at Hudson News.