bags – the joy of five

Children, Families, Family Life, Gifts, Reviews, Shopping

A Personalised Treat For Someone Special This Mother’s Day From Funky Pigeon

March 15, 2020March 16, 2020by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment

[AD] Mother’s Day is fast approaching and I’m sure lots of you are thinking what you want to get that special person in your life.

I know for me it is always something personal and sentimental that means so much more than the a huge amount of money being spent with little thought behind it.

I also love something useful, that isn’t going to get stuck at the back of the cupboard and forgotten about which can sometimes be a tricky combination…I don’t ask for much do I!

Well after taking a look through the vast range of cards and gifts that personalised tote bag and personalised notebook that caught my eye.

These days I’m never without my reusable shopping tote and being able to choose my own wording was even better.

The bag was made from a super thick fabric, was eye catching and would certainly be something I would get a lot of use from everyday, with a lovely reminder that it had come from someone I loved.

Next up was the note book. I am a sucker for a brand new note book and love jotting down ideas as they come into my head, and it’s makes it even more of a pleasure when you have something as beautiful and high quality as this to write them down in.

For me usability was key when looking for gifts and Funky Pigeon had got this just right for me. But as I said there is something for everyone and definitely with checking out this Mother’s Day.

Children, Children's Books, Families, Family Life, Fashion, Kid Bloggers, Kids Style, London, Parents, Reviews, Shopping

Mr Men And Little Miss Tea Party With Mi-Pac

February 27, 2018February 27, 2018by thejoyoffive1 Comment

Our half term was pretty horrendous due to being housebound with coughs and colds for the majority of it. Thankfully though good health was restored just in time for us to attend the Mr Men and Little Miss Tea Party at Maggie And Rose in Kensington that had been put on to celebrate the launch of the fantastic new Mr Men and Little Miss range from Mi-Pac.

We arrived to rooms full to the brim with Mr Men themed activities from crafting to face painting, plenty of Mr Men books to settle down and read and the highlight of the day – the opportunity for the children to get their very own personalised illustration from Adam Hargreaves who has taken over from his infamous Father – Roger Hargreaves.

All worn out from all the fun the children settled to a scrumptious tea before taking a look at the brand new range of Mi-Pac bags that were a huge hit!

Mi-Pac wasn’t a brand I knew a lot about until today and I was massively impressed with not only the super cool new designs but the high quality make of the bags and their attention to detail.

The tough faux-leather of the multi character bag is perfect for my little ones as its perfect for my carefree children who are pretty reckless when it comes to looking after their bags, the adjustable, padded shoulder straps allow little ones to carry their bag with ease or the top carry handle is perfect for parents to take over when they’ve has enough!

My pre-teen was particularly drawn to the fact the bag had an internal pocket that is the perfect size for a laptop and a small front pocket to home all those little bits and pieces you need to get at quickly.

The cool and quirky new range is eye catching and fun as well as being super practical and has had people stop me to ask where they are from countless times already.

Take a look HERE for the full range they have available.

I have to say though my day was absolutely made when I was gifted my very own personalised Little Miss bag that has become a much cherished item from this amazing afternoon.

Charity, Children, Families, Family Life, Fashion, Large Families, Uncategorized

Water:A Basic Need We All Take For Granted

February 23, 2017February 23, 2017by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment

If you’re thirsty you fill up a glass from the tap, if you a dirty you pop into the shower, if your little one has a fall you rinse the graze with some fresh water.

It’s a basic human right to have clean water and sanitation and thankfully in the UK it is something we all regularly have access to.

Sadly in many third world countries clean, safe water isn’t as accessible and this has a profound affect on many people’s lives, and the tragedy and suffering it can cause has dire consequences.

Illnesses such as diorreha can be fatal simply because they don’t have the ability to keep clean.

For us illnesses like this are horrible to deal with but it wouldn’t even enter or heads that it could be fatal.

Thankfully there is the help of some fantastic charities out there to try and help this horrendous situation with Frank Water being one of them.

India has the largest amount of people in the world that don’t have access to clean water so Frank has set this charity up to provide gravity-fed water systems, watershed management, waste treatment, sanitation infrastructure and education programs that have all massively improved thousands of people’s lives.

Because of their fantastic work Mahi Leather have joined up with them by donating $1.50 from the sale of each of their outstanding bags.

They take their name from the River Mahi in India where 103 million people lack the provision of safe water. For a river that is thought to be so sacred it has bought so much suffering to so many.

Through these charitable donations Mahi Leather has helped raise $7439 (up to Jan17) and wouldn’t it be great if you could help towards those statistics.

Not only do you get the good feeling of making a charitable donation to a good cause through your purchase, by cutting out the middleman and buying online you are getting a hardy canvas of premium cow leather bag at a fantastic price made to order and even personalised if you wish.

It was their wearable duffle bags that really caught my eye and would be perfect for carrying around all the paraphernalia that come with a large family like mine and would be a great reminder each time I filled it with bits for my children of how lucky we are and how by purchasing through Mahi Leather I have done a little bit of good.

In this busy day and age it can be really hard to find the time to give to charity so by including a donation in something you can simply purchase online is a great idea that allows you to get a top quality product whilst giving back too.
*collaborated post

Children, Families, Family Life, Fashion, Kids Clothes, Kids Style

Stand Out From The Crowd With Lil Sprayground Backpacks

September 5, 2016by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment

Last year I wrote a post on the trials and tribulations of having a new bag for school every term and how I didn’t cave into the pressure.

This year however bags were needed and the search started.

Instead of going for the run of the mill superhero design or the favourited Disney princesses we looked outside the box and were really taken with the look of this new mini range from Sprayground.

Sprayground are a relatively new company that have made a rapid growth over the last few years and have become a name that several celebrities favour.

With their success on the adult market they are now reaching out to all the mini fashionistas out there with their range of mini backpacks that are perfect for little ones that like something a bit different.

The hard wearing, weather resistant material is perfect for transporting everything you need and the internal compartments make it easy for them to keep themselves organised.