I recently came across another item that falls along the lines of “why didn’t I think of that?”. The mom who came up with the Parking Pal, in my opinion, is a genius.  The Parking Pal is a circular magnet with a child size hand print in the center.  When you put it on your car/van/vehicle, you child puts they hand on their, and it keeps them safe while you load or unload your vehicle.  Being that I don’t have a driveway and we park on the street a lot with the minivan, I love that this keeps Madison safe.  I’ll be honest, when we first used it, I was completely surprised by something.  Madison knew what I wanted her to do without telling her.  She knew that I wanted her to stand there with her hand on the magnet while I was loading the car.  I love that this is intuitive enough that she just knew what was expected.  This has also been a hit with other moms.  They all wanted to know where I got this from, and all thought it was a great idea.  Now, the Parking Pal does come in several designs to pick from — everything from soccer balls, to fish, to flowers.  There is definitely something for your kids that you can get on there.  The Parking Pal will run you about $7.99.  However, $8 is well worth insuring my daughter’s safety.

If you have athletes in your house, you definitely need to look into getting some Cleatskins.  This is one of those products that it is hard to believe no one has come up with before, because it is so genius.  They are designed to fit over cleated shoes and quickly and conveniently take athletes from the field to the street.  These fit over all types of cleats:  baseball, soccer, football and more.  I remember when I played soccer in high school, and I would have at least two pairs, if not three pairs, of shoes I brought school.  I hated that after practice or a game, we always had to change into a different pair of schools.  I know that this is something we will definitely be investing in when my kids get a tad older and are in sports.  All of the floors in my house are real hardwood, and I will not have them marking it up.  They also protecting your cleats from wear and tear, and are machine washable (that has to be a mom favorite right there!).  It also creates a sealed barrier which keeps dirt and grass out of your home and car.

If you have an athlete in your family, this is the perfect Christmas gift.  These come in a multitude of sizes and colors, so you should have no problem finding a Cleatskin for the favorite athlete in your life.