Add A Little Magic To Your Lunch With The Harry Potter Girls Softside Lunch Kit
Written: May 23 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sturdy, Pringle Keeper, cleans nicely, thermos straps.
Cons: Strictly for the girls, hard to find.
The Bottom Line: If you can pick this up on sale, it is a great soft sided lunch kit suitable for girls of any age!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Harry Potter Girls Softside Lunch Kit |
When I was clicking through the pages and pages of Harry Potter related items at Amazon.com I came across a cute looking lunch box and saw that it was listed in the sale section. I needed something to take with me when the boys had field trips or when we would be out for more than a few hours so for the price, $8.00, I figured I’d order it and give it a try. The boys had several Thermos brand soft sided lunch kits [the ever popular Pokemon ones] that they really liked using but have since grown out of. We’ve had several Thermos brand lunch boxes and kits and all of them have held up nicely, were easy to clean and were well worth the price paid. When it came to the Harry Potter Girls Softside Lunch Kit I knew that I would be the only one using it so if I didn’t like it – it would get tossed into the dark abyss [the kitchen closet] because there’s no way my boys would ever use something that’s purple since we all know purple is a “gurlie color”.
Harry Potter Girls Softside Lunch Kit
The Harry Potter Girls Softside Lunch Kit is your average, standard sized kids lunch bag [9 wide x 4 deep x 8 high] that is big enough to hold a sandwich, a few pudding or fruit cups, vegetables and of course the thermos and Pringle keeper that come with the set. The zipper that is located on three sides of the lunch ‘box’ slides along nicely and there’s no excess plastic on the inside that could get caught in the zipper when opening or closing it. You also get a shoulder strap that is adjustable so even big kids [like myself] can use it with the greatest of ease. One of the nicest features to this lunch kit has to be the straps inside that hold the thermos in place. This means no more crushed sandwiches and serves as a reminder for kids to replace it so they don’t lose it or leave it somewhere.
When I first saw this I was a little peeved that it didn’t feature Hermione Granger, the female lead character from the film. Instead it’s all about the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans – a very clever marketing tactic. Since this is a “girls” lunch kit I really expected it to at least have Hermione on the thermos – but again – it’s all Bertie Botts. The lunch bag is nicely constructed and should hold up to a lot of use and abuse. Mine has been through a lot the past few months and even though people laugh at me when I break it out – at least I’m not sitting there stuffing my face with stuff from a vending machine or overpriced deli items that claim they are fresh but look like they’ve been sitting under the heat lamp for a few hours.
Thermos
The thermos that comes with this lunch kit is the standard 8 ounce hot or cold model. The screw off lid protects the contents of the container and the blue snap-on lid makes it easy for little kids to pour their own beverage. No more searching for something to drink out of – but give them a gentle reminder to rinse out the cup when they are done [especially if you pack them milk]. The thermos is secured inside the lunch bag by two elastic loops. I’ve had mine for about six months and found that these are the only thing that can’t be cleaned properly. The interior of the bag can be wiped out to remove dirt or food but the elastic loops seemed to attract dirt rather quickly. Eventually I had to cut them out of the inside of the bag due to the extremely high possibility of germs
Pringle Keeper
If you’ve never seen these awesome little inventions, here is the scoop. Lets say you or your child is a Pringle freak – nothing wrong with that – until of course you try to pack some in your lunch. More often than not, you end up with a big pile of crumbs when it’s time to eat. While this is great if you are having chili or soup [Pringles make the perfect topping], its rather sad to open up your lunch box and find the mashed up bits of potato chips. The Pringle Keeper will store about 15 chips – no – I never bothered counting so that is an estimate. It’s made of a hard plastic to protect your crisps but you will end up with a few broken ones from time to time. The ridged edges make it easy to pull apart the two pieces so even the youngest snack monster will be able to use this nifty little invention.
Price
I ordered mine at Amazon.com and paid about $8.00 for it [plus shipping] when it was on sale. It was originally going for about $11.99 which I think is a little on the expensive side for a soft lunch bag and thermos. If you have a Big Lots or Factory2U / Factory Direct in your area you could check to see if they have gotten them in stock. Out local Big Lots had a lot of the boys Harry Potter lunch boxes [hard plastic] and a few of the girls hard plastic ones but hadn’t gotten any of the soft ones in yet. Most of the online toy stores stopped selling this about four or five months ago and it is no longer listed at Amazon.com. I checked the Thermos website [www.thermos.com] and it is no longer listed their either so if you happen to see this at Big Lots or Factory2U, snap it up!
Things To Know
Unlike the Harry Potter Boys Softside Lunch Kit, this one has a very nice adjustable strap which makes it great for the littlest of girls or adults that are brave enough to tote this around. Since I am an adult [questionable at times, I know] I thought I would have to fully extend the strap but alas, there are still a few inches of material to go. There are several different companies that are currently manufacturing kid themed lunch kids but the Thermos ones seem to be a bit higher in the quality department – especially where the carrying handle is concerned. Triple stitched seams and a rolled fabric handle make it easy for a child to carry around without the chance of it ripping if it is heavy. The strap allows your child to free up her hands as well – one less thing to have to carry.
The Bottom Line
This is a great lunch kit and since it is made of a soft plastic it’s not only easy to clean, but a lot safer than the hard plastic or metal ones. The purplish plum color is really attractive but very girly so I doubt little boys would want to tote this around. If it weren’t for the color of the lunch case, this would be great for boys or girls. I think I am pretty hard on this and it has held up nicely. The embroidered logo on the front does get a little dirty from time to time but wiping it off with a damp sponge usually takes care of that.
As always, thanks for the visit!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Other lunch accessories and necessities …
Rubbermaid Take-Alongs Sport Bottle
Rubbermaid Blue Ice Mini Freezer Pack
Thermos Superman Lunch Box
Arrow Plastic Anyware Cutlery Set
Rubbermaid Take-Alongs Storage Containers - Rectangle
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $8.00
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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