Crazy Dazy

I was starting to feel a little badly for sending Elise to her dance class with a broke “dance bag.” This was a leftover paper goody bag from her birthday 2 years ago that was starting to look like something the dog dragged out of the trash.  Elise has been taking a serious (as much as a 4-year-old can devote to things) interest in dance; I wanted to get her a real dance bag for her birthday this year.

I looked all over online and found this site that sells all sorts of kids’ products, from dance accessories, to backpacks and lunchboxes, to sports-related gifts, to school supplies, to diaper bags and more.  What I really liked was the ability to personalize any item.

I picked out a cute, quilted dance bag and was given options of where I wanted the personalization, custom to the product. Once I chose the location, I was given a preview of where the name (a sample name) would show up. I was able to pick the color of the thread (out of several pre-chosen colors that would match the product) and the choice of many fonts. What they didn’t show was what the name I supplied would look like in the chosen color and font on the product—I had to use my imagination.

By now, I was so psyched from getting a perfect present for Elise that I browsed some of their other products and ended up getting personalized lunchboxes for both Luke and Elise.  There was a ton to choose from and the prices were decent – $13.99 for the lunchboxes I chose, each, plus $7.00 for the personalization. Other places sell similar personalized lunchboxes for closer to $30 total.

This is a small business run out of Missouri, and I like supporting small family businesses, as opposed to The Giant Corporate Behemoth. The ordering process was seamless, and I was sent complete email confirmation when I placed the order, as well as once the products shipped (four days later!).  In fact, I was surprised with how fast I received the order (I chose standard shipping), and the products were of good quality and without error.

Downsides to this site: the pages are a little busy and manic – I could go for a cleaner, simpler look; the inability to preview personalization with the name, font and color selected relied on the power of my brain to imagine—my brain needs all the help it can get.

Referral-worthy aspects: Unique gifts, cute products, reasonable prices, quick shipping, small family business, huge selection of products, especially the dance section.