I have to admit I've had quite a time planning our summer already. Baby #5 is coming in June, Jack has tennis camp at Skidmore, Levy is doing art camp at Saratoga Paint and Sip and horse camp at North Country and Finn is going back to his favorite Ndakinna. Add in some vacation time, visiting family, golf clinics at McGregor and all of the other summer goodness and my head is starting to spin.
One thing I have already squared away is a bunch of brand new Name Bubbles, our go-to family product for pretty much every season. I'd say I buy them for each child about twice a year now, once in the beginning of the school year for that back to school craziness and once in the spring after we have run out and need to stock up before summer sets in with the pool toys and totes and flip flops and goggles and all the camp gear.
I don't know how they do it, but these labels somehow stay on EVERYTHING (I have put these on bathing suits, on the insides of a nine year old's SNEAKERS, and they do not come off) yet they are somehow easy to take off when you need to? HOW? Kids tennis racket handles, the inside of sweaty sports helmet, and they stay on! They're crazy. Crazy good.
Plus, the overall practicality of them is probably the best part. I literally could not recall now the number of items that have been returned to us solely because it had a Name Bubble on it. Especially when it seems like all the kids have the same exact water bottle or lacrosse stick, these stickers really are essential. For the higher priced items (like the aforementioned sports equipment) I always put one on that has a phone number too just in case it's left on a field in a town where there was an away game (that has happened AND it got returned to us and the mom literally said "It's a good thing you had a label on it because there were two others there too that were identical with no names").
The designs are bright and eye catching, and the kids love them (I especially love the new Camp Labels I just ordered for the big kids, pictured above), and the funny thing is now I have them all trained to "put a Name Bubble on it" whenever something new comes into the house. It has become a little insurance policy for them, they know that putting one on makes it that much more likely that their precious item will be returned if it is misplaced.
Now, I have to share a little story about the people behind this company now too. Name Bubbles is a mom run business, started by a local Saratoga mom, Michelle Brandriss, as an in-home business. So she knows the importance of these adorable little labels and how sticking one on their gear can actually save you money. The company also has some 5 star customer service. Case in point? The photo above. When it came time to order new Name Bubbles for my four year old, he wanted one thing and one thing only: rainbows. He is OBSESSED with rainbows, this kid. So I went online to peruse the Name Bubbles selection but didn't find any rainbow designs. I reached out to the company and asked if they had any plans for a rainbow designs, or if there was any way to get some rainbow labels because he really truly had his heart set on them, if something was going to be all over his stuff, it had to be rainbow. I didn't want to chance it and try another company knowing how well these labels worked, so I was hoping they might have something up their sleeve.
Turns out they had thought about doing a rainbow design and decided it was high time to put it together, and Jack couldn't have been more thrilled when his arrived in the mail. To say he loves them (rainbows AND his name on a sticker?!) would be an understatement. I actually have to hide them from him to keep him from putting them on EVERYTHING (and to keep him from "sharing" them with his brother and sisters). It was so special that they went out of their way to help a customer out, and I was really touched. Find their new rainbow design here.
A big thank you to the folks at Name Bubble for making a four year old's day, truly. To check out all of their products, click right here.