Immediately following the birth of our 3rd child my husband was transferred to Minneapolis, Minnesota from down south. Within hours of moving in to our new home we had 2 little boys standing at our driveway ready to play with my two oldest kids. Within 3 days we couldn't go more than 2 hours without the doorbell ringing and a small neighborhood child asking if my kids could play.
For the next 15 years it was rare not to have at least 1, 2... or 7 extra kids at our house at any time. Impromptu sleepovers, Saturday night pizza, video game days and movie nights.... with the moniker of "Kool-Aid Mom" of the neighborhood, came the snacks, the Popsicles, the food and the drinks that children go through.
"That's my cup!" "No that was mine!" "Nu-huh! I put mine right here and you took it!" And soon I would be washing 11 cups and glasses used by just 4 or 5 children.
It wasn't long before I solved the problem by bringing out the plastic or Styrofoam cups and a black Sharpie marker. For the next 10 years this was a given. Birthday parties, sleepovers, movie nights and even just playdates or when a friend of mine with children would come for coffee. Out came the marker.
When an enterprising Mom contacted me to tell me about her Twist-id My Colour Cup product and asked if I would like to try them for a product review, I jumped at the chance. Her timing was perfect. It was just after yet another blizzard had hit and I had 2 extra kids snowed in with us for two days. Kids equal cups. Cups equal dirty dishes and washing.
The set arrived and my 17 year old and his friend immediately pounced on them. I had just opened the package when they both arrived in the kitchen for a drink break from video games. They didn't even wait for me to wash the set! They each grabbed one, asked what they were and how they worked and immediately spun the black dial to choose their own color (calling out dibs on red and blue) rinsed and filled them, and took off down the basement.
My 14 year old daughter and her friend came downstairs from her room and asked me about them. I explained they were plastic cups you could spin the black rim to choose the color and that they could also be personalized with each family member name. Sure enough, purple and yellow dibs were called.
Well that was easy to acclimate them to the new cups!
After trying them on family and their friends as well as two cycles through the dishwasher for product durability I can give them a thumb up.
* sold in a set of six for $17.50
* holds 500 ml/16 oz
* made from a food grade quality plastic
* dishwasher safe
* free station mat with every set (Great for little ones - "Put your cup HERE, not in the sink")
Although my cups do not have names on them, they are usually personalized. I chose not to for two reasons. One, I wasn't sure if I would be doing the product review at home with my own family, or at the office with my co-workers. Second; my kids are teenagers. With one already off to college and the other two with a plethora of friends at our home, it would be easier for us to use color-codes more than personalized names. For families like my best friend with younger kids, I would personalize the cups with names so there would be no "he took MY cup!" arguments.
MyColourCup name labels are made from indoor/outdoor white vinyl material so they are waterproof. They resist degradation from scuffing and wide temperature fluctuations. The adhesive has excellent resistance to chemicals even at high temperatures. They are dishwasher safe on top shelf. One thing to note is to spin the black ring to choose the color, you do have to use a bit of a force to move it. This is a huge plus as it won't spin freely or with small 3 year old fingers, and mix up the chosen color to cause confusion.
For those of you who are parents wanting to support other parents - check out the story behind the cup. Who else would come up with the idea but a Mom!?
You can order your own set by clicking this link.
