That first pang of excitement for Christmas can be triggered by so many things (we're pretty sure it is excitement we feel rather than dread...).  Digging out your thick winter woollies, a big steaming mug of mulled wine, or that Coca Cola advert (though we think it's easily outdone by John Lewis in the advert stakes this year). But what really fills us with festive cheer is the arrival of gorgeous Christmas catalogues, brimming with wonderful gift ideas for the whole family (but most importantly for yourself!).  The Red Direct team have hand-picked everything from jewellery and bags (including our own Coromandel) to home furnishings and toys for their festive offering.  You can take a look at the catalogue here and get ready to double the size of your wish list this Christmas!

We'd like to set the record straight.

Contrary to popular belief it does not always rain in Manchester.  And when the heavens do open over this magnificent city, it takes more than a little wet weather to dampen our spirits (get it?).

If you haven't already guessed, PacaPod's home is in Manchester, and boy do we love it here.  No congestion charge, great football and Coronation Street - what more could you want from your home city?  We're also lucky enough to have the support of local businesses and press (Manchester Evening News was the first publication to feature PacaPod - click here for a piece of nostalgia!).

Earlier this summer we found two PacaPod bags beautifully featured in Cheshire Mums Magazine - a first class move by the stylish mag to leave it's readers spoiled for choice!

Our super-cute and popular Toy Pods have had a makeover - not only are they great mini rucksacks for adventurous tots but now they also double up as Changer Pods too, allowing you and your child to get even more use out of your PacaPod! The Telegraph magazine showcases the new Changer Toy Pod in Giraffe, available on pre-order now.

Dread packing for your family holiday? End up taking half the wardrobe only to find your children wearing the same thing for a fortnight?!? The school holidays are finally here, and that means it's time for mum to face the dreaded job of packing for the family holiday.  With the kids insisting that all 83 inflatable pool toys they've accumulated need to go with them and the baby screaming in the background, dad's gone off to google which inflight movie to watch on the plane and you're left reminiscing about a time when your toughest decision would be whether to take 8 bikinis or 9 (i.e. the pre-children years).

Savvy parenting magazine Mumsense knows what we're talking about and is here to lend a hand, offering advice on where to go and what to take.  The PacaPod baby changing bag acts as the perfect piece of hand luggage for the plane journey - no more frantic scrabbling around in your bag for baby wipes while whacking elbows on arm rests (and on any unlucky passers-by) - you can relax and keep calm, knowing everything is in place.

Like thousands of designers across the globe, we've always been inspired by international fashion and design magazine Collezioni, which showcases the best products on the market right now, including designs from up-and-coming brands to well-established names in the industry. As you can imagine, Collezioni's word on design is golden, so we were delighted to hear that PacaPod had been awarded the seal of approval in their latest publication.  Describing our baby changing bags as "extremely handy and elegant", we're feeling quite invigorated by such an accolade!

We're getting rather excited about the launch of our brand new Sequoia changing bag next week - we think it's going to be an absolute knockout and it looks like Pregnancy & Birth magazine agree, they've included it as one of their must have buys for summer!