The biggest trend in years has to be Subscription Boxes. There are so many out there that it's a little difficult to decide which ones to go for. If you are a dog lover, let me make your decision a bit easier and tell you that Pooch Perks is the Subscription Box you want to get for your canine companions.
Pooch Perks is a Miami based company that was founded by two busy dog-moms with a passion for pets and a desire to provide quality, American made treats and toys to your beloved pets. Pooch Perks is also dedicated to giving back to the canine community by donated a portion of their proceeds to organizations that rescue abused and neglected dogs.
The folks at Pooch Perks have been an absolute joy to work with. When I contacted them to let them know I would be reviewing their product, I received a very quick and courteous response.
I have two small dogs, Augustus and Achilles. When my Pooch Perks Box arrived the label had their names on it! I thought that was a super cute touch.
The box I received was nicely packaged and loaded with toys and treats. Our box was the December Holiday box, so the toys had a winter theme. Along with the toys and treats was a card describing each item contained with in and its value and how much you saved by packaging them all together.
Also listed on the card were the prices of items that would have been in the other levels of boxes that can be ordered.
From the end of November to December 23rd, the folks at Pooch Perks did an awesome BOGO campaign where they donated a box to a dog in a shelter for every box purchased!
These were cute little gingerbread man shaped treats that were like beef jerky, but crunchy. Augustus and Achilles loved these and ate them up very quickly. They smelled a little gross, but if the dogs love them and they are all natural then I'm good with that.
This toy has two large, loud squeakers in it and a plush covering and penguin head. Gus isn't a big toy lover so he wasn't interested in it. Achilles liked it until it squeaked. Since then, he has pretty much ignored it. I'm sure he'll come back to it another time though.
Charming Pet Christmas Murray. Valued at $6
This was a toy that looks like a snowmans head. Its a soft, squeaky ball with a top hat. Achilles absolutely loves this toy. He likes to take it by the hat and fling it around. He chases after it when it bounces. Given the amount that he plays with it, it has held up extremely well.
These are a great treat for my pups. They are a good size and they can have 2 each per day. They make a great reward for training and can be broken up into smaller pieces if needed. Both dogs love them. I'll definitely be looking for these in stores.
I'll admit, I never really thought about my dogs needing sun protection. It makes sense though. I haven't used this yet, but I'll definitely be giving it a try.
The overall value of my box was $64-$80! Pooch Perks Sub Boxes come in 4 different levels and are customized for small dogs or medium-large dogs.
The four levels are:
Pennywise Pooch: $20/month, contains 2-4 items valued at $25
Popular Pooch: $29/month, contains 4 items valued at $35
Patriotic Pooch: $45/month, contains 5-6 items valued at $55
Pampered Pooch: $50/month, contains 6-7 items valued at $60
They also have a treats only box for $20/month. Shipping is included in all their packages. If you love your furbabies, you can't go wrong with Pooch Perks.
We're so looking forward to seeing
what you've been cooking, creating, growing, decorating, reviewing,
giving away, and thinking about this week!
You may have noticed that we've begun co-hosting another link up - Party in Your PJs! It starts on Tuesday evenings, and runs through Sunday. I hope you'll join us there as well!
Here's a few of the things we've been up to this past week:
We hope you'll check these out if you haven't already! Don't forget to peek at the sidebar and check out what other giveaways we currently have going.
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TOKYOTREAT is a subscription-based service that delivers premium Japanese snacks and candies to your door monthly. From the salty to the sour to the sweet, discover limited edition Japanese treats that you won't find anywhere else. Delicious and exciting treats delivered monthly straight to your front door!
The company is based in Tokyo and ships from there. The candies are factory fresh, full size, hand picked and authentically Japanese.
You can choose from three monthly plans: Small ($14.99), Regular ($24.99) and Premium ($34.99) and shipping is always free! Easily subscribe to their box on their website, and of course you can cancel at any time.
I was very excited (like I am with every review) to do this review of Toyko Treats December Box. I am German, and my snack experiences have been limited to European treats, and I just now started exploring American snacks because that's where we live now.
The first time I saw and heard about Japanese treats was when I watched The Fast and The Furious Tokyo Drift and saw all those food courts and snack vending machines, so when I got offered to review Tokyo Treats I instantly said yes to finally catch up on that experience!
I was surprised and pleased by the fast delivery.
I received an email on December 26th saying that a package is on its way. At first I was very confused over what it could be, because I didn't expect the company to send it out that fast and the emails didn't contain information on what it was. By January 4th I received the package.
To me that was incredibly fast shipping, considering the holidays and the fact that it comes directly from Japan!
Once I had it in my hands I couldn't wait to open it and I thought it was just sooooo coool how it was all packed up nice and neatly (no crazy jumbo mumbo as you would expect from a package that comes such a long way!!) and the flyer in it was just so adorable!
I did a video unboxing I'd love to share with you! The first part explains what each item is, and then comes the tasting. I tried to take my time and read about all the products first but I couldn't wait to eat the first snacks. My son thought it was hilarious to watch my face while trying some of them and he ended up joining me. By the end of this, we are both experiencing a pretty good sugar high.\
The enclosed pamphlet explains all the contents of the box, divided by which ones are included in which sized box.
The premium sized box that I received contained the following items:
(Small box contents for December 2015)
Chirin Color Pen Chocolate:
My son absolutely loved this one! He was able to snack chocolate candy while coloring.
I personally was surprised by how good the chocolate tasted. I am a super spoiled European with delicious Switzerland chocolate and more but those tiny chocolate balls were delicious!
Meiji Banana Chocolate:
This is actually my absolute personal favorite. It tasted super yummy and the little banana shapes are just adorable. My daughter also loved, loved, loved them!
Meiji Cotton Soda Gum:
This snack was a little weird to me. It did taste like soda but for my taste it was too sour. I am sure someone who likes sour candies would really enjoy this!
Glico Light Potatoes:
These savory snacks were pretty good in my opinion but they tasted more like bread sticks than potato chips. My daughter (a toddler) was a huge fan of these because she could easily grab and hold them. They did have a very unique and tasty flavor to them.
Fun Christmas Caramel Powder Snow:
They tasted like Cheetos Puffs but with a powder sugar glaze coating. I didn't like them at first because they tasted overpowering sweet to me, but I tried some more in the evening while watching TV and they were incredibly satisfying!
(Regular box contents for December 2015)
The Regular box includes the contends of the small box and the following:
Majomajo Neru Neru
Majomajo Neru Neru:
This was by far the strangest and craziest item in the entire box. It had ingredients that we needed to mix together and somehow turn it into a bubbling, soda flavored cream, and then you have some kind of pop rocks to go with it.
My son loved it, but I personally couldn't make friends with the flavor.
What also wasn't so good about this item was that unfortunately the instructions came only in Japanese. There were some picture descriptions on the back that were somewhat helpful but how many scoops of water we just had to wing. It was quiet a spectacle when it started bubbling like a witch's cauldron, though!
Lotte Star Wars Bikkuriman E123:
My son's absolute favorite! He even kept the packaging, with its picture homage to The Force Awakens. The snack was two waffles filled with chocolate. I also enjoyed it very much, and it even came with a beautiful collector's Star Wars sticker on the inside.
Meiji Cochi Gumi Cola:
This would be my personal second favorite. It is delicious soft cola flavored candy in a sweet sour sugar coating. Absolutely delicious and not too sweet or too sour. Coris Sharitto Puru Gums:
A yummy gummy treat. The apple flavor really exploded in my mouth and was delicious. What threw me off a little bit the first time I tried it was the unexpected apple gel on the inside. When I first felt it, my instant reaction was to spit it out and see what that was, but after I understood, this was one of the best gums I ever had for sure!
Calbee Hard Fried Potato Ride: It was actually the first item I tried from the box and in my opinion the worst. I was super excited for a seasoned, super crunchy potato chip but it was rock hard and then the flavor was very, very weird and somehow reminded me of fried fish (the description says these include seaweed). I am sure someone else would probably enjoy the unique flavor a lot more than I did.
(Premium box contents December 2015)
The Premium box includes the contents from the Small and the Regular box as well.
Snowman Ramune “Special”:
A very sweet and sugary drink with an indescribable flavor. It was definitely something unique. The packaging was very, very cute but it took me some time to figure out how to open it (I guess twists go the opposite way in Japan?!) and at first it was very, very sweet, but I enjoyed it and my son absolutely loved it.
Riddle Puchitto:
This was also very yummy. The candy came in little shapes that are moldable, and my son kept on calling it “play dough candy”.
Matcha Collon:
Crispy biscuit roll pieces, filled with a green creamy center that tastes like Matcha. I personally had no idea what Matcha is supposed to taste like ( turns out, it is green tea), but we enjoyed this snack quite well. The center is very, very creamy and melts in your mouth. Meiji Cream and Caramel:
Very, very cute retro packaging. My husband and kids enjoyed this one a lot and ate almost the entire package by themselves. I liked it somewhat but creamy stuff usually isn't something for me.
All together, I think the Tokyo Treat box is a great way to explore treats from a different country. I was surprised by the variety and even though I didn't enjoy every single item in the box I thought it was a great mix of different flavors and I am sure everyone who enjoys snacks would find at least two items in the box that they love enough to go in search of more. The items I didn't enjoy so much somehow were loved by my children or husband, so everything in the box was appreciated by someone in our household.
We also had some friends over who tried them and everyone was positively surprised by the diversity of the contents.
If you're looking for a culinary adventure that's affordable and doesn't require to wear real pants, this is box if for you! And the free shipping is a real plus!