The Street Art Where The Wall Tour and Colour that inspired Aaron to #HartleysYourLunchbox

Hartley's Jelly via BritMums sent us two of their lunchbox portable jellies (Jelly Pots) and a gorgeous yellow lunchbox. It came in very handy yesterday when we went on a Street Art Tour and I knew my lil Aaron would get nibbly and restless along the way.

He did. His lil on-the-go pit-stop assisted by Daddy, who did this all whilst pushing a buggy (I love him having a few days off work):

The jelly is the perfect portable pudding as it has a lid, is sweet and is lovely and cool for this hot weather we've been lucky enough to get. Don't forget to pack a spoon. I did remember thankfully. Yes, as you can see in the photo it was a proper spoon, from my £40 John Lewis cutlery set, but what can I say, I left the house in a hurry and it was grabbable. We'd been up since 7:20 and on a Sunday on a bank holiday weekend I'm not normally a morning person. Scrap that! I'm never a morning person, so yes, back to school is going to be VERY interesting to say the least, but thankfully Aaron has school dinners. So, me trying to be organised to pack a lunchbox is something that only happens on days out. Actually that's not entirely true as I meet him with one every day after school as he always comes out ravenous and won't walk home till he's eaten something. Me meeting him with a full on lunchbox at 3:15 is something we did for the whole of Reception and Year 1 and I can't see it stopping now as we enter year 2, so yes, you may see this lunchbox again :-)

The lunchbox and jelly got delivered to us with 2 sheets of stickers so yesterday over breakfast Aaron personalised it before we even went out:

Truth be told, before using the box yesterday, he'd actually already had one of the jellies when he took it for a picnic with Rachel in Real Life's lil man "Cheeky Chap" the other day at the park. But at that point he hadn't got his mitts on the stickers yet so his name wasn't yet on the box :-)

Although I have a feeling that the urge to go on the bouncy castle with Cheeky Chap saw him not finish it.

But yesterday after a 2.5 hour Street Art Tour walk I think he was more than ready for his lunchbox and didn't have the temptation of another child there to run off and play with.

More information on this Street Art on Instagram.

So our Street Art Tour finished at The Canteen - the location of Banksy's famous Mild Mild West - by which point Aaron was so inspired by all of the art he'd been looking at all morning, he sat down and decorated his lunchbox with Daddy unprompted whilst he recuperated from the long walk. He was such a good boy throughout the tour I was really proud of him. While they did this, I got to listen, along with the other bloggers, to the founder of Where The Wall talk about the origins of his tours and how/why they started. I was humbled by his approach to the artists. Very inspiring, authentic and genuine. A lovely morning.

Once he'd decorated his box he tucked into his sandwiches (ACTUALLY the photo below jogs my memory he ate his jelly FIRST) and yes they were in tinfoil. No glamorous bento box lunch box here sorry. It was practical and convenient and tasty. By the time I fitted in sandwiches and crisps and jelly our lil box was full.

My tips for lunchboxes would be:

1. Pack what they love. You want them to eat it. Aaron's favourite sandwich is ham and cheese. I make this more nutritious by ensuring it is good ham and good cheese. None of that square processed reformed ham and none of that orange burger rubbery cheese. It may be Aldi's finest but the ham and cheese are good. I then add hummus which is fabulous as it contains CALCIUM. What Google says about hummus: One of the healthier options for dips is hummus, a Middle Eastern dip made with chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and tahini (sesame seed paste). It provides you with protein and a number of essential vitamin and minerals, and while it can be high in fat, it is mostly heart-healthy unsaturated fat. Lifehack.org even makes the point that: "Hummus is gluten-free nut free and dairy free". It's also great for bones which means it's fab for growing children especially when they have growth spurts and growing pains (I'm not a medical or nutritional expert but that's my opinion).
2. Make sure they love their box. That's why I love that this one came with stickers that included letters which means you can personalise it. For kids who have a packed lunch at school anything that is a talking point with their friends is a big thumbs up.
3. A healthy pudding. There are schools that will take some puddings out of a child's lunchbox. The dinner ladies will literally do this quoting the school's healthy eating policy. As these jelly pots are sugar free I can't see there being a problem. For a dairy free child they're a great alternative to yoghurt and lunchboxes aren't left in a refrigerated place between the start of school and lunch so my money would be on jelly surviving that time better than yoghurt. Warm yoghurt? Yuk!!!!
4. Include some fruit. Yesterday we had two bananas with us and given that they come already wrapped they're so easy as long as you don't let them get bruised. Aaron didn't touch them so Daddy and I benefited but they really are a superb way to replace lost energy.
5. Easy clean. The Hartley's box is plain and simple with no fabric or nooks and crannies meaning it is delightfully easy to wash and keep clean. Hygienically clean!

So that's me. Plain and simple. I've never learned how to do one of those amazing arty types of lunchboxes and thankfully Aaron's never seen one so doesn't ever expect one. As long as he's in the dark on that score it's convenience and speed out the door for me :-) but we do mix it up. Some days it'll be grapes he'll want. BUT the ham and cheese sandwich has been a much loved staple for a couple of years now. Kids do sometimes have something that they won't be moved from. He'll regularly change his breakfast cereals but the good old favourite sandwich seems here to stay.

If you would like to get involved there is a blogger's competition but today is the deadline/closing date for entries.

If you would like to participate as a customer:

In store from July onwards, Hartley’s will offer consumers the chance to collect 12 special edition green lids from across the No Added Sugar Jelly Pots (115g), to claim a free Hartley’s lunchbox and stickers.
Consumers can claim their exclusive lunchbox by heading to the Hartley’s website www.hartleysfruit.co.uk. Each one comes complete with a sticker sheet of Hartley’s much loved characters and a sticker alphabet for children to personalise their lunchbox.

This post is an entry for BritMums #HartleysYourLunchbox Linky Challenge, sponsored by Hartley's Jelly.