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Trademark In The Night Garden Wheelie Bag
by northernlovely
When we booked our first holiday away with our newborn (at the time) daughter, we wanted to go somewhere close so we chose a coastal town only two hours away, as a 'tester' for our holiday to Lanzarote six months later. I wanted therefore to get some luggage for her bits and bobs which was age appropriate and would to an extent grow with ... her so I went for a wheeled bag, so I could carry it, but hopefully she could wheel it when she became older.
I went for the Trademark In The Night Garden Wheelie Bag because it's very cute - my daughter is a huge In the Night Garden fan, and I knew the bag would hold her attention and be something she'd hopefully want to take charge of in the airport and so on. I paid £9.99 for it online in a sale, brand new and used the Collect+ feature to save on the delivery cost.
So, what does it look like? It's really nice looking and it's also suitable for either a girl or a boy which you don't always see with Night Garden products as sometimes they are all blue or pink but no, this is styled in the primary colours red, yellow and blue with the three main characters Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka on the front of the bag in a printed vinyl sort of finish.
The bag has a woven carry handle for hand carrying and an extendable child height pull along handle attached to two wheels for airport type use. It has a main zipped compartment and two side pockets which also zip. The pockets are suitable for tissues, small toys and possibly small change but not really much else.
The main bag is obviously smaller than a regular size wheel along but I managed to get three days worth of clothes, a bottle and a few emergency nappy change supplies in there so it's great for short trips like a night away or as carry on luggage on the plane. The only small criticism I have is that the extendable handle is slightly flimsy and I'm not sure how long it will last with a toddler, and I do wish the bag part had two zips so I could use a case lock but as it's not really meant to go in the hold it's not a huge problem.
Nearly 18 months we've had the Trademark In The Night Garden Wheelie Bag and it's been on three holidays, numerous nights away, and played with by a toddler, too. It's still in excellent condition so I do recommend it and will award 4 / 5 stars for the quality and finish of such a sweet and practical wheeled travel bag.
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Trunki Terrance Ride-On Suitcase
by kat1234
We got my son a Trunki Terrance Ride-On Suitcase for a holiday to Center Parcs that we had booked. It was only a short break - just a few days - so we knew we would need minimal luggage and this seemed the perfect size to fit his clothes in.
We purchased this online, from Amazon, for around £25. The price does seem to fluctuate ... up and down though, so it is worth keeping an eye on - it is currently £23.95 here. It is actually recommended for children aged 3-6 years but I have found that this suits my son (and his clothes) perfectly and he is not quite two yet. The Terrance is from a range of children's suitcases by Trunki. This is the 'traditional' boys suitcase as it is mainly blue in colour (there is a pink version also). The case is made of a hard plastic and is a bright blue in colour. It has 'trunki' written on the side of the case in white lettering. The case has four pea green wheels (with an orange centre) on it's base on which it can be pulled along on. It also has two green 'horns' on the front of the case and blue fabric carry handles on the top. The case opens completely along the middle (as any suitcase does) and there is an orange plastic line visible on the case where it opens. There is also an orange flick latch that holds this shut - this is lockable. There is also a detachable shoulder strap so that this can be easily carried by adults too.
The unique feature of the case is that it is shaped so that it can also be used as a ride on by the child. The top of the case is smooth and neatly indented to make a comfortable seat for a child sized bottom. The horns at the front of the case double up as little handles so that it can be used safely. One leg dangles either side of the case, so that feet touch the floor and the child can propel themselves along the floor.
Inside the case, there are green fabric 'teddy bear' seatbelts with orange clips to fasten them in place. The case has an '18 litre capacity' and is quite spacious - with secret compartments too. This is a lovely size for my sons aged 2-3 clothes as they fold neatly without crumpling too much in here. I am surprised this is recommended for 3-6 year olds as the size seems ideal for a much younger age range - although this is presumably a safety aspect for the ride-on function. It is easy to pack and the clips and compartments mean that everything stays in place well, so this is ideal for holidays. The ride on feature, or at least the fact that the suitcase can double up as a handy seat is also valuable when travelling with tired toddlers, they can also be pulled along on the case.
The case is quite robust but still pretty lightweight so it is easy to carry. It can hold a fair amount of clothes but I am unsure if this would hold sufficient amounts of clothes to go on a long holiday with. It probably works best as a hand luggage case, particularly if flying with young children, as it could hold a few clothes and toys to keep them occupied. I love this case and the versatility of it, my son also loves the bright colours and the ride-on feature. At the moment, as he is younger than the minimum recommended age limit for the case, it is a little bit large for him to ride confidently. He can reach the floor with his feet though, as he is big for his age, but I am not happy to leave him unsupervised on this just yet!
Overall, this is probably quite an expensive purchase for something that we will just use now and then but it is well made and very appealing and functional at the same time. I am therefore very glad that we purchased this and hope to get enough use out of it to make it worth the cash we spent - better get some more holidays booked!
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Trunki Toy Box Travel Case
by carlz2001uk
We holiday quite a few times a year and I was sick of using suitcases to throw toys into for when we go away. Yes holidays are fun and there is always lots to do but the girls still like to take a few toys and books for while we are away to give them something to do while we are getting ready, or to take to the pool etc. We first bought ... the Trunki ride on suitcases in early 2007 so they had only really been out for a few months. I remember wheeling my eldest daughter who was only a toddler at the time, through Manchester airport and people were literally stopping and pointing! They are of course, much more popular now and you see them regularly in airports, but despite owning the Trunki's for so long, I didn't actually realise until summer last year that they had branched out and released other products. The Trunki Toy Box has been a life saver and we love it just as much as we loved the Trunki suitcases.
At only £15 I think they are excellent value and we actually have a few now at home which are used every day. They are stackable and actually fit really well in a square Ikea storage solution, which I think is meant to house wicker baskets or tubs, but the Trunki Toy Boxes make fun and colourful alternatives for a child's bedroom. I can't actually believe the amount of use they have had for the small price.
The toy box does resemble the suitcase pretty similarly, and is made from a very durable and tough plastic. It comes in the colour options of pink or blue. We have four now, 2 pink and 2 blue which are stacked in the cube storage system, but only the pink ones travel with us (the girls choice not mine!). To be honest, although the colours are obviously aimed at girls and boys, they have splashes of other colours on them anyway, for example the pink one has green wheels, so I don't think it matters 'too' much. Each toy box has a lid on which is secure but easy enough for a child to remove. The lid actually forms a locking base to sit the toy box on so it doesn't move around on the wheels when they are trying to get items out. The toy box can also be turned upside down and can also be used as a ride on! So so versatile, it's fun, practical and durable. It can also pull along (much like a train) other Trunki toy boxes as there is a fastening mechanism on the back. The toy box alone has brought hours of entertainment. It was a life saver one rainy day in France - as we had driven to France we had brought two of the toy boxes as we had room to spare, and they spent much of the afternoon pulling one another along on the boxes! It also doubles as a rocking cradle although this part isn't suitable for children and is better suited to Ted or Dolly.
The 25 litre capacity is more than enough to store some decent sized toys in and it fits like a glove in the foot car well (measuring 30cm x 40cm x 30cm), so on long trips they can help themselves to toys when breaks permit them to be able to remove their seatbelt.
I cannot fault this toy box one bit and most importantly for mum and dad, this 4 in 1 toy box makes tidying up FUN!
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