Eliana got a new lunch bag! :)
Bixbee was generous to send us their Purple Sparkalicious Lunch Bag to review! Eliana absolutely LOVES it! Not only is it one of her favorite colors: purple, but it has GLITTER all over it! She loves anything glitter related, so she is absolutely loving this lunch bag :)
So one thing I learned and love about Bixbee is that with every backpack purchase they donate a schoolbag with supplies to a kid in need. Their One Here. One There does an incredible service. Being a social worker myself I stand by helping those in need and I know that programs like that are vital for some kids and will help them during their school year! Sometimes just a little help and a new backpack is enough to incite some desire to learn and start the year off right and I love supporting programs that help those in need!
They have an assortment of backpacks that range in size from small to large, are great quality and are very durable. Eliana really wanted to the Sparkalicious Butterflyer Backpack
(and that one only apparently) but we sadly did find it was too small for her already. She is on the tall side but for toddlers and shorter kids it would be soo cute! I do wish they made a larger Butterfly pack that was longer in length vertically. I know their style is the horizontal design for their backpacks, to keep everything easy to reach, but that is why it was too short on Eliana. Bixbee Backpacks and Lunch bags are available at Mastermind Toys in over 20 Canada locations, in addition to buying them online! But back to the lunch bags!!
Bixbee does refer to this as the Sparkalicious lunchbox on their site and catalog, but I prefer to call it a lunch bag because that is honestly what I'm used to calling it!
Reasons why I love the Sparkalicious lunch bag:
*Glitter, glitter and more glitter.
*AND the glitter doesn't come off -- it is "flake resistant"
*Insulated
*Has a front pocket for extra snacks or addition items
*Has a customizeable ID Card holder under the front pocket flap
*Compact/smaller
*Fits an array of lunchboxes. (see picture below)
I don't have many lunchboxes, but they all do fit into the Sparkalicious lunch bag (except for my yubo, which is a lunch bag and box in itself). For a more comprehensive list at which lunchboxes fit into the Bixbee lunch bags please see HERE.
Negatives:
*Doesn't hold your lunches up right. That really isn't a problem if you pack accordingly, but it could be a bother for some people.
*It is smaller. It would not fit a large thermos container for example.. however it does fit so many other boxes.
Having fun with our new lunch bag and getting exciting for school (starting the 28th for us!) I decided to make Eliana an Easy Back to School ABC Bento lunch:
She has half a sandwich (Peanut free & nut free Chocolate I.M. Healthy soynut butter with strawberry slices. I made sure the strawberries were not in view of the "A,B,C" cut outs but they are there!) I made a simple "A, B, C" cut out with my letter cutters
. I added a cute little School Bus cupcake ring decoration on top of her string cheese. The ring didn't fit over the cheese stick so I just stuck it in the middle.
In her smaller compartments she had sliced peaches (freshly picked from the farm this past weekend!) in a purple silicone cup and sliced cucumber below it. I added a cute ABC chalkboard bento pick to the peaches.
I decided to do the "shake test" because the Sparkalicious bag doesn't hold her lunches upright and I wanted to see how her lunch would look afterwards. We packed up her lunch, zipped up the lunch bag and Eliana ran around outside with it, swinging it around and acting her normal five and a half year old self.
This is what it looked like afterwards:
Not much different actually! The peaches and cucumbers look the same because they were packed tightly to the top and didn't have much space to move. The half sandwich moved, as did the cheese stick. If you put a bigger sandwich or something else in the main compartment it wouldn't have moved as much. This lunch passed our shake test! :) A more intricate bento lunch may get messed up if not upright, so when using this lunch bag I would pack simple and tight! :)
Overall, we love our new lunch bag! Eliana is excited to start school and start using it! :)
I'm also happy to tell you that Bixbee is teaming up with Creative Food and giving one reader the chance to WIN one of their Signature Lunchboxes! AND because of the demand through YOUR comments the Winner will also have the choice of the Purple Sparkalicious bag, if desired!The signature lunchboxes are exactly the same configuration as the Sparkalicious ones-- just the outside color is different. The winner will get to choose which color (blue, red
, pink or purple
) he or she wants!! Enter below for a chance to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway comprises of one Bixbee signature lunchbox or purple sparkalicious lunchbox. One lucky winner will get to choose which color Bixbee lunchbox he or she wants. This giveaway begins on August 12, 2013 and ends on August 20, 2013 at 12:00 a.m. Winner will be contacted through email and will have 48 hours to respond. If winner fails to respond within 48 hours I will draw another winner. This giveaway is for U.S. and Canada residents only.
**Disclosure: Bixbee sent me their purple Sparkalicious lunchbox to review.
As always all opinions expressed in this post are my own**
, I used my Lunch Punch car cutter on a sandwich. Inside her sandwich Eliana had wowbutter, sliced banana and mini chocolate chips. I put cheddar cheese and cucumber decorations on top to resemble a bus. She also had some cut up cucumber and sliced strawberries with the word "bus" written out.
, 
, 
and we LOVE it! Not only is it absolutely adorable, it is durable and easy to wash. All of Eliana's lunchboxes fit inside it (expect for the yubo which is a lunchbox and bag in itself.) 
(of course she wanted the purple lid) inside her new 
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