#ad – complimentary event at which I received PR gifted items
I’m incredibly lucky to have a mum in my life that I know will always be there for me if I pick up the phone, no matter how long we go in between calls. It seems only right to show my gratitude in some small way on Mother’s Day.
This year Moonpig decided to help a bunch of us to celebrate the mother figures in our lives. They invited us to their London headquarters to spend an afternoon hanging out with them, with lots of activities organised to keep us entertained!
Arriving at Moonpig HQ, Mum and I grabbed a delicious mocktail and went off to explore. The office is modern, colourful and spacious, a truly inspiring space for creative minds. The highlight for me was (of course) the bar and kitchen area, kitted out with just about every appliance you could dream of owning. Imagine arriving at your office and being able to whip up a fresh smoothie to start the day!
Moonpig’s brand guru gave us a sneak peek of their new Mother’s Day advert, then helped us to get to know the company a little better. Did you know that they produce 300 orders every minute, and send 16 million cards a year?
At the heart of it Moonpig want to help us to create meaningful connections. We can show that we care through the simple act of sending a card with a heartfelt message inside, or picking out the perfect gift to uplift someone’s day. I know first hand how lovely it feels to receive a beautiful card and a handwritten note out of the blue, thanks to my lovely friend Pippa who surprises me like this on a regular basis.
To start off our afternoon of fun we had a crack at cocktail making! After watching a professional do it, we set about recreating a fairground themed creation. Mum was soon measuring out shots and working with dry ice like she’d been bartending for years. This is one of the things I have always loved about my mum. She just gets in there and gets any job done; no muss no fuss!
The cocktails we created were sweet, syrupy and delicious but my mum wasn’t at all sure about the ‘trendy’ vessel it was served in. “It’s supposed to be a goldfish in a bag Mum.” I explained as she held hers dubiously. “How do I put it down?” She asked. Clearly my mum isn’t one for chugging a cocktail in one go with a straw. (I’m not either mum. Obviously. Cough.)
Next we made our way to the laptop stations to create our own personalised Mother’s Day card on the Moonpig website. It’s really easy to do. You simply select your design (with or without your own photo), customise the text and you’re done! The card can either be sent directly to the recipient, or to yourself with an extra envelope so that you can sign it and send it on after.
We ordered our card that Sunday and it arrived at my door the following Tuesday, so don’t panic, you still have plenty of time to buy a Mother’s Day card in time for the weekend!
Everything stops for tea and the Moonpig team had put on a lovely spread for us to enjoy. I was even treated to a gorgeous selection of vegan treats – what a lovely touch.
I had vaguely known that Moonpig offered flowers and gifts in addition to cards, but for some reason I’d never really considered using them for that service before.
Seeing their beautiful blooms and collection of gifts in person made me realise I’ve been missing a trick. From pampering treats to indulgent food hampers and more than a few gin themed care packages, they have a huge range to choose from and everything is beautifully presented.
After a good browse we were introduced to the creative team responsible for sourcing and designing Moonpig’s flower arrangements. My past attempts at unwrapping flowers and rearranging them into vases has been pitiful so it was really useful to get some tips straight from their florist experts.
The best bit of advice was something so obvious that I could kick myself for never having thought of it before! Bunches of flowers tend to arrive pre-arranged. Don’t spoil this by taking the elastic band off too soon. Instead, trim the stems whilst they’re still tied together and only remove the band once you’re ready to put them into the vase. Hey presto – no re-arranging required.
Very generously, Moonpig gave us each our own bunch of flowers to take home. Mine survived the two hour tube, train and car journey in their sturdy box and lasted for well over a week and a half at home. I’m super impressed with the quality of them and wouldn’t hesitate to order from them now.
As if we hadn’t been spoiled enough, Moonpig had one last trick up their sleeve. On our way out, we were each given a goody bag containing a selection of gifts available from their site. Mine contained Vegan Friendly Unicorn Dust Bath Crumble which smells divine, a fabulous flamingo mug in hot pink and perhaps the sassiest cocktail book I’ve ever flicked through!
I must say a huge thank you to Moonpig for hosting such a thoughtful event and for giving me plenty of fresh present ideas.
We left the event feeling very spoiled, but the best gift of all was getting to spend a fun day together creating memories!
