I love learning new things, and being able to learn from the best in the world is a great opportunity.
How about being able to pay a subscription and do any course from the best and most famous experts in their field and all from the comfort of your own home… in fact, you can learn with MasterClass anywhere, on a train, in a plane, on a bus or in your bedroom.
It is up to you where you login to start your MasterClass journey. The one thing that I love is that it is up to you and you can be in comfort while you are learning from the world’s best.
MasterClass is a subscription-based streaming service that offers online classes taught by renowned experts in various fields, including cooking, writing, music, business, and more. Each class is created and taught by a master in their respective field, such as Gordon Ramsay, Serena Williams, Neil Gaiman, and Martin Scorsese.
3 Reasons Why MasterClass Makes A Great Gift Idea
First, it provides access to high-quality instruction from the world’s most successful and influential people.
Second, it allows people to learn new skills and expand their knowledge from the comfort of their own home.
Third, it’s a gift that keeps on giving, as subscribers can access all classes for a full year and learn at their own pace.
The classes are unique and offer a mix of practical instruction and inspirational guidance. They not only teach the technical aspects of a craft but also provide insights into the creative process and the mindset of successful individuals. I for one love to learn how
Classes are well-organised, with lesson plans and course materials that are easy to follow. Additionally, the platform offers the ability to interact with other students and to ask questions of the instructors.
I believe that it’s an investment in personal and professional growth that allows you to learn and to invest in yourself.
Learning is fun with MasterClass. First, the classes are designed to be engaging and entertaining, featuring high-quality video production and a mix of practical instruction and inspirational guidance. This helps keep learners interested and motivated throughout the course.
Second, the instructors themselves are often famous and accomplished individuals in their field, making their classes both educational and entertaining. For example, a cooking class taught by Gordon Ramsay will not only teach you how to make delicious meals but also provide insights into the world of professional cooking.
Third, MasterClass provides learners with the ability to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. This flexibility allows learners to enjoy the learning experience without the pressure of deadlines or the need to attend classes at specific times.
My favourite classes so far have been
Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing – I loved hearing about Margaret’s background, how she started writing and learning about the Handmaid’s Tail. The course was a highlight as Margret’s dark sense of humour kept me watching and wanting to learn more.
Steve Martin Teaches Comedy – I love Steve Martin and am a HUGE fan of all his work. I think he is super clever with his writing and comedy and wanted to learn from the best. Steve was very giving and caring when he gave advice to new comic writers and it was interesting to learn from his insight on what works and how to make things better.
Dan Brown Teaches Writing Thrillers – I am a huge fan of Dan Brown and his book The Da Vinci Code. I am keen to learn more about writing a book and Dan’s course is informative and fun. You will learn lots about writing while having a good time too.
James Patterson Teaches Writing – James Patterson was fun, down to earth, and a great teacher about writing books. How to get inspired, what to do to create a book outline and so much more.
Shonda Rhimes Teaches Writing For Television – I love Grey’s Anatomy and all that Shonda has done in television. Shonda not only has been a showrunner for Grey’s she has also created many more shows that are very successful. I would love to write for TV and there is no one better to learn from than Shonda Rhimes.
Learning from experts in the comfort of your own home is also a great advantage of MasterClass. It allows learners to avoid inconvenience. This can be especially helpful for people who have busy schedules or who live in remote areas without access to traditional classroom learning.
Moreover, learning from experts in the comfort of your own home provides a more personalized and individualized learning experience. You can watch the classes as many times as you need to fully grasp the concepts being taught, and you can also ask questions of the instructors and interact with other learners in the online community.
Overall, MasterClass is a great way to make learning fun and enjoyable and to gain new skills and insights from experts in the comfort of your own home.
You can access the classes from anywhere and at any time, making it easy to fit learning into your schedule. Additionally, you have the ability to learn at your own pace and revisit classes as needed.
MasterClass is a great gift for friends and family, if you’re interested in learning from experts in various fields and enjoy the convenience and flexibility of online learning, MasterClass may be a great investment for you.
Grab a MasterClass Pass for a loved one today, perfect for Easter, Birthdays, just because gifts, Christmas, and more!
Note: I am an affiliate for MasterClass as I love the platform so much. I hope you do too. All links are affiliate links.
I didn’t know what to get my in-laws for Christmas and left the present shopping till the last minute. Even if we did magically purchase the most amazing present, we would still need to post it to them, and there was no guarantee the present would not make it for Christmas.
I said to hubby why not give them a voucher or something local that they can use. Something that will not require postage and therefore allow us to get them a gift and not have to post anything.
One suggestion I discussed with Hubby was a possible gift box for HelloFresh (We loved our HelloFresh box and enjoyed the experience and wanted to share it with family). It would allow Hubby’s parents to have meals delivered, make their life easier, and test out the subscription box. There is no incentive to sign up we just wanted to enable Hubby’s parents to put their feet up for a bit, no shopping or thinking about what is for dinner.
Bad customer journey on the HelloFresh website
We decided to go ahead with the gift certificate for a week for our Christmas gift, we thought that this would be a good due to not being able to get a present there in time. I thought it would be easy and tried to do the process on the HelloFresh website.
I navigated to the gift card link all the way down the bottom left on the HelloFresh website. I clicked the amount I wanted to spend, and the number of people and then progressed to the next page. The next page had questions like I was signing up for a subscription box, my address, delivery at home or elsewhere, and more.
Why would HelloFresh be asking me this? I am not making this decision. It is a gift for someone else.
Me annoyed that the gift voucher hasn’t arrived
I would have thought that this would have been the process
You click on the gift card link.
You select the amount you wish to spend, how many people it is for, and then where it should be emailed, along with your message to your friend or family member.
Then the next page should take you to the payment page, you then pay for the gift card, and then you get an email saying that you have paid for a $110 gift card for 2 people for 5 meals, when the email will be delivered and the time, along with the email and name of the person/s that will be receiving this email with the gift card info. With this confirmation email, you should also get a copy in case the recipient for whatever reason never receives their email.
As the page kept on looking like it was going to sign me up instead of just purchasing the gift card, I rang HelloFresh customer service helpline. I was talked through the whole process by a nice lady who understood what I was trying to do. She kept on telling me that it was only for the gift card purchase and that it will not sign me up for a subscription. I really didn’t feel confident but followed her advice and filled out the next pages as she instructed. (She was right but I was holding my breathe thinking I might get an email for something I didn’t sign up to)
As you can see in the image below it says the address and phone number for delivery purposes. I am not the person getting the gift box my inlaws are. It also asks me where I would like my gift box delivered…..geez again I cannot make this decision and this question shouldn’t be on this page at all.
Confirmation email
I was told that I would get a confirmation email with a copy of the email that the giftee would get. I only got that I spent the money on the gift card and that the recipient would get an email on the date I selected. I selected 25th December 2022 for the delivery date and as mentioned above the email has not arrived to the people it should of.
Today is the 26th of December and still, my in-laws have not got the email alerting them to their gift box from HelloFresh.
Tips to improve the customer journey on the HelloFresh website
The whole process to order a gift card is too complicated and confusing from a customer’s perspective. (You might think I have no idea about customer journeys on websites, in fact, I have over 16 years of experience with content and improving sites).
The business (HelloFresh) needs to pretend they are the customer and follow the steps to purchase gift cards and other items. During this process, did everything make sense? Was there clear information and is it easy to find?
Once you have highlighted items to fix to make the process easier and more efficient for the customer these need to be fixed. For example, have a simplified gift card purchase process. Click on the link for gift cards, select the spend amount, who it is going to, and email address, and fill out your message to the recipient.
Then the next page is your payment page. This page should only have info for the person buying the gift only…no info about the delivery address or where the box should be left. This is information that needs to be asked when the recipient enters their details to claim the gift card for their HelloFresh box.
The final step in the process should be sending the person organising the gift a confirmation email. In this email it should have the following items: Congratulations on your purchase of xxx amount for your HelloFresh gift box, a breakdown of what you bought for whom, who it will be delivered to and what email address, what date and time you can expect your family/friend to get their gift card email, and also a copy of this email to send to your recipient if for whatever reason the person doesn’t get the email from HelloFresh (like in my case)
Moving the link from the bottom of the website to the top and making it more obvious to customers (this link needs to be higher up on the page – living on the top of the page real estate rather than where most people don’t look at all) that they can indeed get a gift box as a gift would I believe increase sales and take up for new subscriptions. Also making the buying process easier and less complicated would allow more sales as well.
Having a buying process that has few steps is ideal. Too many things to do, and pages that have questions that are not relevant will mean people don’t buy and do not come back. Having a 3-step process that is simple and quick is what is needed.
Oh and make sure you have your office hours listed on your site – if you say that they are listed there from your recorded message it needs to be on your website.
Also the contact us area isn’t user-friendly to message the HelloFresh team. It needs to be updated to allow customers to send a message about other issues rather than a subscription box or missing ingredient.
There is not a lot of info about meal box gifts. All the major players in the market seem to not have it available. Personally, this is a gap in the market…… Make it easy for people to spend their money and try your product. Easy really!
I am very upset and disappointed with this gift card experience. I organised and paid for it all on the 19th of December, and was told on the phone and on the website that the people receiving the gift will get the email when I nominated it to be sent. Nothing has arrived so far. I have spent $110 and no gift has been sent!
I rang the customer service line of HelloFresh on Christmas Day to see if they had recorded information about when they will be available so that I can sort this out. The recorded message said that they were closed (fine it is Christmas) and then told me that I can check out their hours of operation on their website. Then the call dropped instantly. Nice….. Geez. Not even an updated recorded holiday message saying:
“Happy Holidays from HelloFresh, we are closed from 23rd Dec and reopen on xxx day in Jan 2023. If you have any urgent enquires please call this number xxxxx”
I went back to the HelloFresh website to see if they had details of their opening hours for the holidays and there is no such information anywhere on their site. Zilch! Nada…. Nothing!!!!!
I have no idea when I can contact them about the missing gift card email and to top it off my inlaws think we haven’t given them anything now. Insert a very unhappy customer and affiliate partner of HelloFresh.
My recent posts about HelloFresh
I do really love what HelloFresh offers. We have had some great meals with them. However, as a lover of their product and service and also a person that has reviewed them as well, I am disappointed by the customer journey for their gift card purchase, how it looked like I was going to then subscribe to a meal box and not gift if to the people I really want to give it to, and then the BIG ANNOYING PART, the email for the gift card never got sent to my inlaws. Yep, we have checked many times and they have received nothing. Zip… Zilch! Nothing of nothing has arrived.
I hope that this post will help HelloFresh understand how to fix their website, what are the pain points for the customer and fix my issue with the gift box for my inlaws for Christmas.
As said I am not anti-HelloFresh, I love the products and what they do, I just think that some of the services have fallen flat and as a devotee and affiliate to their program I am rather upset about it all.
NOTE: I Finally made contact with HelloFresh via Facebook messenger (HelloFresh was quick to respond via messenger and to sort out this issue) and they are looking into why the gift box email never arrived. I do hope they can fix it today for my in-laws. I have been told that the email was indeed sent on December 24th, but we know for certain that there was nothing in their inbox from HelloFresh. The team at HelloFresh have sent the email again and if not received I will contact them again to let them know.
No email arrived…I messaged again and was told that I needed to send my email confirmation via messenger.
I explained I cannot do this and needed an email address. No email address was given. I then was asked if I filled out the form with the person’s email, and I said I did. I asked for it to be sent to my own email address, but still, no email showed up. I then asked for the email to be sent to my Hubby, no can do that as the person who organised it can only get the email. I then get asked if I have an account and more weird questions. I explain that I can send the email confirmation but they should already know that I have paid from their end.
I then get told that I have been sent a discount (Also the email for this discount was not labelled in a different way, it is for a subscription box only, so to actually make use of the discount I need to set up a subscription with HelloFresh) to send my in-laws that will be in place of my gift box that I have arranged. The discount was for $130 off a subscription and not a one-off gift box. I explained that I didn’t want this and that this is not what I ordered at all. I told the person on messenger that I wanted a gift box for my family and would appreciate the code so that we can access what we paid for.
I then get asked about how I ordered the gift box. Did I use the website? What email did I use? And more info I had already told them.
This still didn’t explain why I still wasn’t getting the email.
In the end, I was then told that I filled in the form wrong with my email, not the email that should get the gift code for the meal box (If this is the case, I should have gotten the email). I explained that their form online for purchase is confusing, I rang their help desk and was walked through the whole process and was told that I did it correctly. Also kept on saying that the confirmation email didn’t give any info other than the fact that I paid for it and that the people I nominated for the gift box will get an email for the date I selected.
As you might imagine I wasn’t happy and wanted to talk to someone that could just give me the code so that we can access what was paid for. I finally received the code in a text message via Facebook and have created my own email to the in-laws to allow them to finally get their Christmas gift.
I am pleased that I finally got the code that I needed to send to my in-laws for their Christmas present but rather annoyed and frustrated at the whole experience. This purchase experience was anything but easy or fun. It was rather painful and annoying, to say the least.
I have given this feedback to HelloFresh and I hope that this helps others and also the customer journey on the HelloFresh website.
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Games that make you think and solve problems are fun, a game that means you can only leave the room when you have the right pin code to open the door is even better.
TRAPPED Escape Room Games allow you to turn “ANY room into a family-friendly escape-room adventure where you move around the room actively solving puzzles.”
We have never played an escape room game so as you can imagine the kids and I were rather excited.
I loved the fact that it was a game that made the kids think and is engaged, plus not staring at a screen for a while.
“Each pack contains everything you need to create your very own escape room in your own home. Wall posters, cards to display, hangers for door handles, ID cards, and secret envelopes are just some of the things you might find inside the pack along with clues to solve and awesome puzzles to crack.”
All the posters, clues and tools needed to crack the puzzles and solve the mystery.
Setting up the game
I put all the contents of the game onto the floor of the girl’s room. I then proceeded to read the instructions to understand what I needed to do. There are a lot of little clue cards and a few posters that need to be stuck around the room, on each card/poster it says where you should put them. Some will say stick on the wall and others say they should be near the exit and so on.
Fun playing the game and solving puzzles.
The pack comes with a book of clues and a code cracker (this is a cardboard cover that allows certain words to be read and others not. You need this when you get asked to read a clue). We did have some interference from a four-year-old who tried to scrunch and rip the code cracker but this was foiled by mummy distracting him and allowing sisters and their mate to play their mystery game.
The instructions didn’t give a great deal of information. I wanted to know if we had to put all cards out. Do the clues on the back of the work passes get read at any time or will that spoil the game if it happens earlier? The mystery envelope with the clues to the code that unlocks the door was already organised so I had no idea what was in there.
If the kids did decide to play in teams how do they negotiate time with the clue book and code cracker? This might prove difficult. Oh well, currently it was just the girls and their mate, so a total of 3 kids originally I was playing but I had to spend time distracting the four-year-old so that he would leave the older kids alone to solve the puzzles.
Cracking the code
Initial thoughts of the game
At first, we didn’t really know what we were doing. The kids and I were in teams. This was proving hard due to not having time at the clue book and one team saying that what they were looking at was super important.
It was then decided that they would work as one group and not have teams. It was a bit confusing about picking clues to work on. I suggested to the kids that they pick one clue and solve it and then go from there. I later found out that they took all the clues off the wall and solved them together, but also one at a time.
I thought the kids might solve the game quickly but it was a good couple of hours before girls and their friends emerged telling me that they had solved the puzzle and finally had the code to leave their room.
What did we think?
I think the game was a lot of fun and definitely worth playing. It was great to see the kids get so involved, help each other, and solve puzzles by finding clues. I believe that games that get kids thinking and away from screens are best.
This is how long the kids were playing the game for
Recommendations
I do have a few thoughts to make Trapped The Art Heist even better. When you have all the clues and materials ready to set up for the game, I would recommend having a few options for how you can set it up. It would be more like a chose-your-own adventure. You pick scenarios A, B, C, or D. These different options give you different clues in the room and different answers in the envelope when you finish. So if you pick Scenario B, you only put these clues up throughout the room. The posters might remain the same, and the mystery envelope would be different for each scenario that reveals the winners and the secret code.
The girls told me that no matter which way they went the answer to the puzzle was the same.
Great gift/party game
The kids really enjoyed this game and they were playing it for nearly 2 hours! We did thoroughly enjoy this game and it is a great gift or party game. If you are wanting a fun game for the family this Christmas Trapped Escape game would be a good one to try.
Trapped has two other escape room games to try; The Bank Job and The Carnival. You can get all three to have some fun during the holidays.
Stay tuned for the Trapped Giveaway
2 lucky readers have the chance to win a Trapped escape room game for the holidays.
I have the following to giveaway: Trapped The Bank Job and Trapped The Carnival. The Giveaway is going to be on my next post so make sure to follow and enter.
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If you wish to purchase a Trapped Escape Room Game they are available at ZING/EB Games, Mr Toyworld, BIG W and Mr Puzzle!
A HUGE thank you to U Games Australia for sending us this amazing and fun game to try. Plus the extra giveaways for my wonderful readers.
The idea came to Susanna after she saw how much time her eldest daughter Alexandra (5) was spent in front of a screen.
Now her two kids, Alexandra and Rocco don’t want to play with the iPad and favour the Rainbow Patch PlayBook.
The Rainbow Patch PlayBook comes with its own tote bag to allow you to take it anywhere and perfect for the holidays.
The Rainbow Patch PlayBook fits easily into the tote bag and allows you to take it with you everywhere.
The Rainbow Patch PlayBook is compact and doesn’t take up much room at all. Great for small spaces.
Did You Know?
“The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently found that young kids are spending over 20 hours per week doing screen-based activities”
This caterpillar is a multi-purpose page, learn to open and close many items and tie knots or bows.
The Rainbow Patch PlayBook is interactive, creative and has such stimulating activities for kids. Each page helps develop fine motor skills, like opening zippers with the rainbow zipper page, hanging clothes on the line with the clip pegs, tying knots/bows, opening and closing buttons, opening and closing clips, and opening and closing velcro.
Counting with the new Rainbow Patch PlayBook – This page has beads that count up to 10
“As a working mum of two little girls, I’m always on the lookout for screen-free activities that are fun, engaging and most importantly encourage independent play.” Susanna Polycarpou
Having fun with the rainbow zippers – Kids can open and close them, this helps with their fine motor skills.
What I love about the Rainbow Patch PlayBook:
It is very creative
Allows kids to be hands-on and to try things
It helps kids to get better with fine motor skills, opening buttons, tying laces/bows and lots more.
Is extremely well made and will hold up with the heavy-duty play from toddlers
Bright colours
Compact and able to take away on holidays or in the car – Ideal to keep kids entertained in the car…no iPad!
The monkey ate Alexander’s car… be careful what can happen with the Rainbow Patch PlayBook.
Pick some fruit and add it to your basket.
Did you know that monkeys eat cars??? Well, they do!
This quality playbook for kids is a fabulous present for Christmas, Birthdays, or just because. I’m sure your little one will love it as much as Alexander does.
Rainbow Patch playbooks are suitable for children aged 3+ and are available for purchase online for only $69.95. New fill-in pages are coming soon to the website.
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Being active is so important, walking, playing sport and just moving is ideal.
It is said that you should do 10,000 steps each day. I am not sure I get close to that at all times, sometimes close and other times I just try and move and do some exercise every day.
My kids wanted to get a Vívofit Jr. due to other kids at school having them.
It tracks how many steps and minutes of activity you do.
If you do 60 minutes of activity or more you get a certain number of moves in an online game.
You can track chores and assign pocket money or if you don’t wish to pay money you can take kids to an event, movie or special outing.
The kids wanted one so that they could compete with their friends at school.
It’s also to waterproof so kids can wear while swimming or in the shower.
We decided that it the Vivofit was a good idea, and purchased one each for the girls just before they were nine. The girls love their activity watches and find it fun to hit goals.
What the girls have loved about the new vívofit® jr. 2
The new Star Wars themed game and characters on the activity watch.
It has colour now on the screen. The original vívofit jr. the screen is just black and white.
With the new colour screen when you hit a goal you get fabulous fireworks to celebrate.
You can get adjustable bands for your new activity watch so that your child can grow with it.
“The app experience corresponds with the style of band you choose. That means the fun never has to end. Purchase additional vívofit jr. 2 bandsto let your kiddo enter a whole new world of app adventures.”
Having cool characters from Star Wars is a plus, my kids are mad Star Wars fans.
The Garmin Vívofit jr. 2 is so easy to setup and start using.
All you need to do is to download the app from the app store, available for iPhones and on Google Play.
Pair the device and then set it up with name and details for the child that is going to wear it.
You can choose an avatar, pick a name (or nickname) and once done all good to go.
If you already had the original Vivofit Jr. all you have to do is to pair the device and set it up and then it will show up on the app.
The girls called their new trial Jeff, or otherwise known as BB-8 Vívofit jr. 2.
You can set up chores and also reminders for kids that need that extra boost to do a chore.
I just synced the girl’s info from their Garmin Vívofit jr’s to get all the updated info. As you can see Jeff hit 2 goals today.
From the above image, you will see that the number in blue on the far right-hand side is the number of moves each child has in their online game.
Moves in the game are dependent on how much activity you have done.
The BB-8 Star Wars game on the Garmin Vívofit jr. 2
After monitoring the kid’s activity for a while I can clearly see that they go above and beyond 10,000 steps per day.
The kid who was wearing Jeff or otherwise known as the Star Wars BB-8 Garmin vívofit jr. 2 did 13,080 steps on Monday the 2nd of July! Yep, that’s a lot of steps. No wonder the kids are tired after school.
The activity watches also monitor sleep patterns, after a while you can easily see if your kids are getting deep sleep or constantly waking.
The kids are sad that we have to send this tester back to Garmin.
I know you can picture it but I can hear it, the tears and the constant pestering to get the new versions. Maybe we need to get the new Garmin Vívofit jr. 2 for their 10th birthday (I still cannot believe my babies will be 10 soon)
I must say that the version 2 of Garmin’s Vivofit Jr is better than the original, although the kids still love both. I think the introduction of colour and the ability to have bands change the game you play is a fab idea.
If you haven’t it would make an awesome present and help kids be more active.
Kids have iPads, computers and the television to watch and it is all more screens. Having something that helps kids get outdoors and away from screens is fabulous.
Ohhhh and having chores and incentives attached is a plus for any parent.
You can set up chores and also reminders for kids that need that extra boost to do a chore.
We loved testing the new Garmin Vívofit jr. 2. the kids had so much fun with the new BB-8 Star Wars Activity Tracker.
Note: You can get replacement bands and have access to all new games on the Vivofit jr. 2. The girls were so taken with the new version of the Garmin vivofit jr 2’s that I got them a Marvel Avengers one for their birthday this year.
Get a replacement adjustable band that allows you to play new games and have a whole new look. The twins now have the Marvel Avengers Garmin Vivofit jr 2.
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