Stuck for original and charming present ideas for the little ones? I’ve scoured the globe for the most amazing gifts for kids, starting at $10.
1. The Magic Tree House, AU$179 from Lark.
2. Tsumiki house, EUR91 from The Space Penguin.
3. Antique rose ballet bounce skirt by Collette Dinnigan For The Australian Ballet, AU$39 Target.
4. Kiko machi wood+magnet town, EUR32 from The Space Penguin.
5. Little Roar Head by Flatout Frankie, AU$35 from Hello Polly.
6. Rain Littlephant art print by Camilla Lundsten, AU$36 from Hello Polly.
7. Nathalie Lete Friends magnet set, £22 from Niddle Noddle.
8. Coq en Pate giraffe shoulder bag, AU$33.95 from My Messy Room.
9. Rock Your Baby ‘Masked Crusader’ blue t-shirt with detachable cape, AU$35 from My Messy Room.
10. Flensted Elephant Party mobile, AU$30 from Great Dane Furniture.
11. Maze the ark ducky hook, AU$31 from Funkis.
12. Nathalie Lete Sailor Tin bucket by Nathalie Lete, £8 from Niddle Noddle.
13. Kids Company Dodgy Panda knitted hooded scarf, £45 from Liberty.
14. Plastic Clonette Doll with Rabbit in dark blue, AU$10 from Lark.
15. Theatre “ESPAÑOL” (to assemble), EUR22 from Teatritos.
16. Rock Your Baby ‘Eat My Dust’ board shorts, AU$39.95 from My Messy Room.
17. OMM Design Tiger Plate, AU$12.95 from My Messy Room.
18. Bear jacquard knit green jumper by Tootsa MacGinty, £31 from Burp Boutique.
19. Djeco magician pencil trick book, £13 from Liberty.
20. Blink Design colours wall art , AU$60 from My Messy Room.
21. The Game of Sculpture, £7.95 from Culture Label.
22. Kiko ashiato cat print toy beach sandals, EUR17.60 from The Space Penguin.
23. Harry Potter Marauder’s Map, £36.95 from Harrods.
24. A Menotti and Y Labat’s How Many Jellybeans?, AU$24.95 from My Messy Room.
25. Lion face cushion, AU$29.95 from Lark.
26. Kiko gatcha gatcha dispenser, EUR39 from The Space Penguin.
27. Best Bead Kit In The World, £11.60 from Cox and Cox.
28. Animal crayons, £5.20 from Cox and Cox.
29. Vintage caravan, AU$29.95 from Lark.
30. Milk n Soda Sailboat Bow Tie in Sky, AU$19.95 from My Messy Room.
31. Harry Potter Hermione’s Time Turner, £51.95 from Harrods.
32. Chalkboard Cowboy, £29.50 from Daisy Mooo.
33. Blafre Giraffe Steel Drink Bottle, AU$24.95 from My Messy Room.
Want more lovely present inspiration? Click here for all my Christmas 2012 Gift Guides.
Prefer to buy all handmade? Click here for my Etsy 2012 Christmas Gift Guides.
And don’t miss my Top 20 Christmas Crackers and my Top 20 Christmas Stockings!
Do you have any little people to buy for this year? There are loads of mass-produced samey toys around for babies and kids, so why not consider getting something handmade? Here are my top picks for babies and kids from Etsy.
1. Morris little owl, US$40 from Wassupbrothers.
2. Organic colorful little worm teething toy, US$10 from BoutiqueBeauties.
3. The Owl & the Pussy Cat went to Sea Paper Craft, US$15 from Ellen Giggenbach.
4. Newborn and toddler girls’ dress, US$36 from April Scott.
5. Mario baby onuses set of three, US$42 from The Wishing Elephant.
6. Hippopotamus pillow, US$150 from Austin Plush.
7. Edie fawn print, US$14 from TinyFawn.
8. Boys shirt-little chef, US$55 from WildThingsDresses.
9. Chevron stripe sailboat, US$20 from Tweet Toys.
10. Fox felt mask for kids, EUR18.15 from Frida’s Tierchen.
11. 10 minifigure people crayons, US$2.80 from Posh Paper Creations.
12. Party bunting newborn dress, US$40 April Scott.
13. Peggy retro doll, made with original vintage fabrics, £35 from Alice Apple.
14. Baby white elephant mobile, made to order, US$109 from Patricija Garden.
15. Waldorf toy rainbow forest, US$24 from Applenamos.
16. Pretend felt veg box, £23 from Mummy Made It Me.
17. Balance birds, US$65 from Mama May I Handmade Learning Toys.
18. Hand-knitted children’s sweater, EUR67 from KuDum.
19. Crochet amigurumi rabbit toy, AU$30 from RosieOK.
Don’t miss that perfect present! Click here for my 2012 Etsy Christmas Gift Guide.
Have you got a little one to buy for this year? Anything take your fancy? Let me know in the comments below!
I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen a really gorgeous little frock for a three-year-old and wished there was a version in my size. And apparently I’m not alone. It was only last week at my local childrenswear shop that I discovered that the lovely tiny wee toddler’s frock in the gorgeous tropical print had also been the object of many a grown woman’s affection. And – hurrah! – word had got around that Zimmermann had a dress in the exact same print. For (much) bigger girls.
So I’m delighted to hear that UK childrenswear designers Poppy Children have responded to popular demand for adult versions of their delightful vintage-inspired kids frocks with the launch of their first womenswear collection. Featuring Poppy’s trademark storybook illustrations, the collection is inspired by a 1950s aesthetic and is available in a range of prints, styles and sizes (10-18).
Naturally, I adore their new London print, which also features on a range of frocks for little girls. Each dress comes with its own story book about Poppy and Fred’s adventures in London. I love that the vintage-inspired design features a thoroughly modern London, complete with the Gherkin, London Eye and a wandering giraffe. The collection is made in the UK and is one hundred per-cent cotton.
My favourite style is the Beatrice dress, which is superbly flattering with three-quarter length sleeves, a wide bateau neckline at the front and a V at the back, which can be worn either way and is available in five colour ways, for £129.99. Ladies can also purchase a matching petticoat for extra swoosh factor, as well as a pair of stripey cotton tights for winter.
The London print is also available on the Millie dress for girls, which features a Peter Pan collar and looks ridiculously adorable with a matching little cardigan. It would make a super-sweet London-themed bridesmaid’s frock, and it comes in sizes 0 to seven years for £62.50. There is also a range of matching fluffy petticoats and darling stripey tights for little ones.
www.poppychildren.co.uk
As you may already suspect, we rather like having tea parties at our place. Here’s Harry showing his teddy how it’s done. I loved playing with my tea set when I was little, so there was no way that Harry was going to miss out. I picked up this little wooden set from Aldi, and it came complete with miniature wooden tea bags, wooden donuts and sliceable wooden tea cake. Swish!
I rounded up the top 12 tea sets for kids over on Kidspot. Here are some of my favourites:
Clockwise from top: Children’s retro rose floral tea set, $41.91 from Not on the High Street; Schylling traditional tin tea set, $24.95 from Peanut Gallery; Bear tin tea set, $57 from Down That Little Lane; Belle & Boo Dollies tea set, $59.95 from Lark; and Nathalie Lete Vilac tea set US$50 from Opening Ceremony.
Read the full round-up over on Kidspot here.
* Thanks to Eeni Meeni Miini Moh for gifting Harry this very smart shirt and shorts, and to Scruffy Dog for gifting him these adorable red sandals. Loving these two Aussie fashion labels for kids.
Do you like shopping at the airport? I’ve always enjoyed that sense of freedom after I’ve checked in my luggage and found myself with a spare hour or two to fill. I’ve never been a big spender at airports, apart from the requisite survival items (water, sweets, magazines) for the flight. But at Sydney Airport recently I couldn’t help noticing the dismal offerings of Australian-themed toys for children.
So I thought a round-up of the best Aussie toys would be a great blog post for Kidspot, but what I didn’t count on was finding it so hard to scrape together a top 10 line-up. Apart from the usual mass-produced plush koala and kangaroo suspects, it seems that very few local designers are keen to fly the Aussie flag when it comes to making quality toys for kids. And I’m not quite sure how this has happened, apart from the cultural cringe that continues to pervade our culture on so many levels.
However I’ve noticed some renewed interest in Australiana, especially in homewares, textiles and design, with a nostalgic trend for retro Australiana alongside new interpretations. Hopefully the trend continues and sparks some fresh and fun ideas for children’s toys. I’d love to see some creative Aussie-themed toy designed and made in Australia. Surely this isn’t too much to ask. Australian up-and-coming designers, are you listening?
Leading the way in innovative and clever Australian-themed toys is Melbourne design studio Make me Iconic. Their beautiful wooden Sydney ferry and Melbourne trams sets are the Australian answer to London’s red double decker bus, and the superb attention to detail and potential for hours of imaginative play make them the kind of keepsake toy you imagine your kids handing down to their children. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re particularly easy on the eye, providing a splendid antidote to all the plastic crap that children seem to naturally attract.
Make me Iconic‘s wooden toy sets are designed in Melbourne by a proper old-school toy maker and are ethically made in China using non-toxic materials. The Sydney ferry is painted with authentic colours based on the First Fleet Sydney Ferry, and comes with eight wooden passengers and two sailors. There are wheels on the bottom for ease of play and the lid comes of the top and second deck, with access to all the passengers and the sailors’ cabins. The tram, meanwhile, is based on the iconic W-class Melbourne tram, and comes with 12 wooden passengers and two conductors. Like the ferry, there are wheels on the bottom and the lid can be removed so children can play with the people in their cabins. The ferry is AU$95 and the tram is AU$90 and both are toys are available from Lark.
They have also produced a ‘munchies’ wooden puzzle, featuring all the great and “unsung” icons of Australian food. From vegemite on toast to fairy bread and pavlova, the puzzle is a playful way to teach your kids about Aussie food. It’s $30 from Lark.
www.makemeiconic.com.au
Click here to see what other Aussie-themed toys made my top 10 list on Kidspot.
Have you seen any other cool Aussie-themed toys?
Oh, YOU greeting card from Perch Paper Company.
Sorry about the lack of posts on Wee Birdy recently. I’ve been sick. Mr Birdy’s been sick. Baby Birdy’s been sick. And now I think I’m getting sick again. Gah! It’s really getting a bit boring now. Many of the clothes I’ve been wearing over the past three weeks don’t have waistbands. Or darts. And if there is a waistband, it’s strictly drawstring. Also, I don’t think I’ve worn a bra for three weeks.
Sweary pencils from The Carbon Crusader.
In the meantime, I’ve been making a daily appearance on either Instagram (totally addicted), Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook. So if you need a quick Wee Birdy fix, come over and say hello. Let me know if you need an invitation for Pinterest. I’m loving the guts out of my Pinterest boards.
I’ve also been blogging about stuff for kids over on Kidspot. This week I’ve rounded up 12 clever projects to make with small plastic toys. You might also dig the 10 display shelves I found for little toys and figurines, too.
Type case display shelf from Retro Villa.
What’s news with you? Are you on Pinterest or Instagram? And do you also take off your bra as soon as you get home?
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