kids enamelware and a great giveaway :-)

When it comes to tableware I feel I have been looking for the perfect thing since the kids came along, and now I have finally found it! Joa trying his new cup and bowl

We try to avoid plastic as much as possible. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is the concern of the chemicals within the plastic leaching into the children's food and drink. Secondly, plastic is environmentally a bugger to make and a bugger to dispose of. Thirdly, my kids tend to bite and chew on plastic and Rebe has complained in the past of having bitten off and swallowed small pieces! Lastly plastic things tend to be pretty ugly and garish and I really don't see why I should spend so much time and effort to make good nutritious food and then serve it to the kids in ugly cups and bowls. close up of Joa's cup

So Andy and I have looked for alternatives. The boys have Kleen Kanteens for their sippy cups, but for the rest of the tableware I have been relying on our local charity shops. Little espresso mugs and shot glasses were pretty good to drink out of, but we have managed to smash and chip our way through everything our local charity shops had to offer. This week I have found the perfect tableware for our family:

Joa's, Benny's, Rebe's cups

gorgeous, brightly coloured enamelware. It is made by a European firm called Spatum and is stocked by a wonderful little company here in Ireland! They are called Kool Kids Kitchenware and you can find them here. They have a truly beautiful range of enamelware. All brightly coloured and all with simply darling animal motifs. They are really well priced, the 6cm mugs are only 6 euro and the pitcher 25 euros.

I just love everything about them, the size is perfect child size. They actually have three sizes of cups. We choose 6cm and 7cm for our children. This gives them plenty to drink and it looks like they have a full cup. They are easy to hold and are just beyond beautiful and jolly :-) and they will last and last and last. I know by the look and feel of them that in years to come my little grandchildren will be eating and drinking from them. They are truly heirloom stuff!our new bowls

To go with the cups we got a bowl for each child too. close up of one of the cats on Joa's bowl

Of course as soon as the box arrived it was ripped open and the kids had to try the cups and bowls out straight away!

Rebe says that everything definitely tastes much better out of these bowls and to prove it the kids had 3 bowls of soup each at lunch time and 2 bowls of pasta at supper time and countless cups of milk and water and squash.
We have been in need of a jug (having smashed 2 glass ones this year) and I just had to have this one:

To be honest I would love to have every single one of the products they stock, especially one of the coffee pots, I think I will be treating myself soon! Alison the proprietor of Kool Kids Kitchenware is an absolute gem, she has been so lovely to deal with and so helpful.

And what is more she has very kindly given me this darling little mint green enamel mug to giveaway to one of you!!!


It is a 6 cm size mug and has 2 little cats on it, perfect for any wee boy or girl!

ETA 28/01/2012: The giveaway is now closed and the winner been chosen.
And here is how you can win it:

Like Kool Kids Kitchenware on face book
Share Kool Kids Kitchenware on face book
Blog about Kool Kids Kitchenware and link to their face book page
Blog about this giveaway and link back here
Check out Kool Kids Kitchenware and tell me which of their products you like best
Tweet about Kool Kids Kitchenware or this giveaway
Sing about Kool Kids Kitchenware from the mountaintops

Remember to leave a comment here to tell me what you have done to big-up Kool Kids Kitchenware and leave a comment for each action as each comment counts as one entry.

The giveaway will end next Friday (the 27th of Jan) when I will randomly choose a winner.
I am happy to send this prize anywhere in the world. Koo Kids Kitchenware will also ship worldwide by the way.

ETA: to contact Kool Kids Kitchenware please leave a message on their fb page of you can email Alison alisonmccullagh@eircom.net for more information. She has just told me that she is currently taking more pictures of her fabby stock and look out for some Valentines Day offers :-)

Good luck :-)