October 18, 2010 Sheri

ABC Show 2010 over and out

A few days of recovery have passed since the ABC Show ended, but I’m still working on debriefing and recapping. This year, Eli and I decided to skip the last day of the show to get home a day sooner. We’d left all three kids with my mother-in-law, who was holding down the fort magnificently, but was nonetheless visibly relieved to see our taxi pull into the driveway on Wednesday.

Forced to work more efficiently than ever before, I did manage to cover the whole show in those three days. What follows are my highlights from Day 3.

At the back of the second floor I found Spuds, a new company manufacturing dishware from leftover potato skins. The plates look and feel a lot like heavy plastic. Who knew you could make a plate out of a potato?

Kidco had a great new product, the GoPod. It’s basically a low-tech, fold-up exersaucer. Modeled after those folding chairs that people love to carry around to picnics and concerts, the GoPod is a very compact way to entertain (and contain) a baby. Strap your own toys onto the loops and you’re good to go.Boppy has ventured into the world of baby toys with some wonderful new play gyms. The traditional Gymini design has two arches cris-crossing over the baby’s head. The Boppy version has more of a tri-pod layout, so it’s easier to get to the baby. There’s also an assortment of interactive toys and a teeny tiny Boppy pillow, perfect for tummy time.

As I was walking down the aisle on the second floor, a man zoomed past me riding a… motorized buggy board?! Could that be right? I flagged him down and asked for a closer look. The board, a prototype designed by Litaf, attaches to the back of a stroller and has a foot pedal for acceleration, a switch to go in reverse and a knob to control your speed. You steer simply by turning the stroller in front of you. Now I’m not convinced of its function in the real world, but I got to ride it and it was crazy fun. Probably not fun enough to justify a rumored $900 price tag, but amazing to get a glimpse of a possible future.

It was hard to say good-bye to Vegas knowing that the next ABC Show will be in Kentucky. I hope that the organizers of the show will bring it back to Las Vegas as soon as possible. While I have nothing against Louisville, we all looked forward to our annual sin city pilgrimage and we’ll miss it.