Mama Gets Crafty with The Happy Box

Prior to having my two children I had a plan, a good one. I was going to fill their afternoons with meaningful activities such as cooking and baking and hands on educational arts and crafts. Almost 5 years into motherhood I’ve got to be honest with you- those things haven’t really been happening that much. We do the occasional cooking or baking together which mostly consists of me saying “err.. well… that’s ok, I’ll do it! Yeah, yeah not textbook mama by any means but at least I’m honest.

To me the hardest part about doing meaningful activities at home, is coming up with ideas and getting the props ready for playtime. But guess what- there is somebody else who will do it for you now! (Happy dance) They are called Happy Box and each month these guys put together a themed box full of activities for you to enjoy with your little ones at home. You order your box online and it arrives at your doorstep complete with step by step instructions (than you very much!) and all products needed (including scissors and glue).

Ready as I was to save my boys from a non-creative-childhood, I decided to get crafty and ordered their “Super Happy Shape Box”, with activities aimed at introducing shapes and basic geometry to little people.

So what was inside mamas? Well the Super Shape Box had a total of 10 activities to help you get artsy fartsy with your mini crew. We decided to start by giving the “pizza making craft” a test bake. I thought this was a really smart way of working with shapes since the boys had to first draw and cut out a circle of sand paper to fit the “paper patty” and glue it on. After that they got started on their (felt) toppings and cut out cheese shapes, tomato triangles and ham hexagons. All of these easily stuck to the sand paper, pretty smart right? We then went on to make our own monsters by cutting out evil rectangular beasts and giving them square noses. So. Very. Scary. The monster pack also came with little magnets to attach at the back of your creations to decorate your fridge. They are now in the kitchen and a topic of conversation every morning. Does monster want yoghurt? No he wants oats… (You get it mamas).

What about the younger sibling who wants to join in but does not have the finger skills required?  Two of the activities were actually aimed at the really young learners, plus there were two books included that helped keep our little demolition man busy and happy. Once the pizza box was put away and the monsters were on the fridge my boys enjoyed the bubble making cup activity in the bathtub, which was a great opp for mama to clean off excess glue from hands and hair. We still have a bunch of activities left to try and although the boxes are pricey at AED250, you really do get a lot of ding for your dirhams. And if you take up on of their monthly subscriptions the price drops quite a bit.

Btw, I’m so keeping the box it is mega cute… oh I can? Well that’s sorted then.

The Happy Box
Tel: (+971) (0) 5 050 42850
www.thehappybox.ae