The holiday season is certainly upon us! I’ve recently had the chance to try out lots of different companies’ products and thought putting together a big monster post of holiday gift ideas would be the best way to share them with you! So, here goes nothing!

First off, let’s start with some food, this is a food blog after all. Alouette Cheese recently sent me some cheese samples to “taste test,” specifically two spreadable cheeses: Berries & Cream and Pepper Medley. The results of the taste test? I like Berries & Cream better, but more of the Pepper Medley was eaten on Thanksgiving. Alouette also sent TONS of crumbled cheeses to try out…thankfully their expiration dates are a little longer so we have time to use them all! Anyway, Alouette’s Garlic & Herb spreadable cheese will always be my favorite, but it was fun trying out other flavors and they were great to have on hand with crackers when we had guests for the holidays.

Now onto some shopping ideas! The Silicon Valley Moms Group holiday party was a few weeks ago. We were introduced to tons of great companies and I’d like to share my favorites with you (as well as two competitors for similar products!).

Reusable Shopping Bags. Olive Smart was at the party to show off their great reusable shopping bags. A friend of mine first introduced me to Olive Smart about a year ago…she couldn’t say enough about how much she loved their product. I was excited to see them at the event, especially since it’s a business owned by two local Bay Area moms. You can get the bags in sets of 3 or 6, which fit into your car’s cup holder, which is my favorite part of their design! They provided all of the party attendees with a half stack of bags, which I’m so excited to have. On a side note…I also have some reusable bags made by Envirosax, which I love, but for different reasons. They have beautiful patterns to choose from and the bags themselves are a bit larger…although the carry case doesn’t fit into a cup holder like Olive Smart’s do.  I think that is enough reusable bag info, don’t you?  On to the next item!

Holiday Cards & Stationary. Tiny Prints was also at the event with samples of their products, which are always beautiful. They gave me a cute little set of note cards, which I can’t wait to use. They have lots of great holiday cards to choose from, if you’re still in the market. On another side note…be sure to check out the holiday cards at HauteMammas.com as well. I love Tiny Prints…but I also love Haute Mammas. Plus, I designed all of their holiday cards and holiday gift labels, So of course you should check them out!

Kids Clothes. There were was a group of local Bay Area kids clothing companies at the event. I received an adorable hat from Zooni for Anna, and a GREAT dress from  Wati Design for Cate. Cate was so excited about this dress, she chose to wear it for picture day! And how fun is that hat on Anna? Gotta love it.  Some cute ideas for unique, high-quality children’s items.

Chevrolet. Okay, I’m thinking not many of us will be buying anyone a car for the holidays, but I need to give Chevy a shout out. I was one of three lucky SV Moms writers who got to drive around a Chevrolet for a week! I had a 2010 Chevy Equinox and it was FUN FUN FUN. Great “Infotainment” system included bluetooth wired through the car speakers, GPS, XM radio and MORE (like a USB  port, etc). The passenger side airbag is only on if there is a passenger in the car. Smart, eh? I could start the car from inside my house. Not kidding. Cate absolutely loved “our new car that we don’t get to keep.” It was a fun week. I would not buy this car because it only seats five…I don’t get crossover SUVs. But it was still great and if you’re in the market for a midsize SUV, it is definitely worth checking out! Thanks, Chevy!

Bluetooth thingy that I love…my favorite find of the night! I also received the Jabra Cruiser at the event. The Jabra Cruiser is an in-car bluetooth speakerphone. This really helped wean me off the Chevy Equinox when it was time to go back to my non-fancy Ford Taurus. This speakerphone works GREAT and I like it so much better than my handsfree earpiece thingy. I think this might be my favorite find at the party! (picture from Jabra…although, it looks exactly like my car)

I’d be happy receiving any of these items as a gift (especially a car), so I hope it gave you a few ideas. Happy shopping!