Bestest Christmas Gift Ideas – Maileg Mice TWINS!
Round these parts, Christmas wouldn’t be the same without a new Mouse in a Matchbox.
Only this year, there’ll be TWO.
Because this little pair has landed.
And aren’t they just the loveliest?
I know they’re not cheap – but they are sturdy little things, and if your child loves them, they will ALWAYS love them. Pink sometimes has them in bed with her, sometimes they sleep in their boxes on their shelf, sometimes they go on ‘adventures’ round the house. But I can guarantee that no matter where they are, very few days will pass before they’re out and being played with again.
The whole range of Maileg mice is available from Armstrong Ward – as well as a large array of other swoony type things. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…
Read MoreBestest Christmas Gift Guide – Scaredy Cat Splat
We just love Splat.
That’s it really…
The new halloween themed one is funny, doesn’t tire after reading countless times; and the illustrations, as always, are incredible.
Top marks, Rob Scotton. Toppety top marks.
Available from all good bookshops, or Amazon for a pumpkin under a fiver.
Read MoreBestest Christmas Gift Ideas – Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner
Love it.
And that’s all I have to say about that, really.
Oh, and don’t fret, the slice of brilliance that is Twisted Twee has thought of the boys too – my personal fave is
£16 from Twisted Twee – stop and look around, guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself while you’re there!
Read MoreKodak EasyShare – what a great little camera!
We needed a camera for the 8yr old. Something robust and sturdy, easy to use, not terribly expensive, and nothing too big or heavy for small hands. So when Kodak suggested he might like to try the Easyshare out, we snapped their hand off (snapped? Geddit? Oh, I make me smile sometimes…)
This was, it turned out, a perfect choice!
We didn’t really look at the whole sharing options for him (being 8, he’s not big on Facebook. Yet). More important for us is the fact that the camera is very straightforward and simple to use, and the screen on the back is HUGE. The pictures size is good (10MP which means 30″ x 40″ prints are easy), and there’s a decent 3x zoom too. Importantly the Easyshare has a rechargeable battery pack, so there’s no exhaustive battery requests from snap-happy small people, either.
Pictures are in the 16:9 format – which matches widescreen HD tv’s, but will need cropping for standard picture frame sizes.
What I love best is that it’s small (not much bigger than a credit card, and narrow too) and slender enough for a child’s hands; but also perfect to slip into a grown-ups jeans pocket.
It’s a great first digital camera for an older child – once they’re past the age of lobbing it down the stairs, and interested in actually taking photographs and small video clips. It’s also a fabulous camera for you to keep in your handbag or pocket and have ready at the drop of a hat to record those moments for which you never seem to have a camera handy.
Obviosuly the 8yr old simply takes photos and videos of the important stuff in HIS life. Always an ‘interesting’ look through is photo albums, here are some examples of the more *cough* suitable ones to share… (these are all straight out of camera, no editing – and all taken by the 8yr old, too)
Obviously The Blue has to feature.
In fact, there's quite a lot of her.
And naturally, the Playmobil features an awaful lot in his galleries too..
Also, it turns out that whole share thing is quite handy; I have nabbed this camera many a time for review pics and sending images to friends on Facebook, as it makes it so flipping easy!
I have to say we all love this camera. I’m married to a professional photographer, and while he doesn’t get involved with small digital camera’s, he has always overseen the buying of them before (we *bow* to the All-Knowing Camera Overlord). He’s a life-fan of a certain other manufacturer, and has never even considered Kodak; he has been really very impressed with this little baby.
The Easyshare is currently £10 off in the Kodak shop, making it a snap under £70.
Read More
Bestest Christmas Gift Ideas – What colour is your t-shirt? CD
LOVE this CD from Nick Cope (former lead singer of Oxford band The Candyskins doncha know).
Music for the under 6’s about things that really matter; jumping in the mud, colours, counting along with monkeys and exploring their surroundings.
Crucially, the songwriting is so good you’ll not be thumping your forehead on the steering wheel at the 14th consecutive school run accompaniment…
£10 from that bonkers place that is Monkey & Bo.
Read MoreBestest Christmas Gift Ideas – Lulu Australia Roses Shopper Bag
*WANT*
That’s all, really.
I know this is a beach bag, in theory, but what a fabulous every day shopper it would make. Those amazing roses, and Lulu’s trademark ultra glossy finish.
The two handles are part canvas, and it closes with a magnetic popper, and the inside is lined.
Just bluddy gorgeous!
£55 from our friends at The Beach Factory.
Read MoreBestest Christmas Gift Ideas – Quirky Alice Umbrella
Okay, it’s a well-documented thing that I find Alice a bit… creepy (yeah, I know, *gasp, shock*…well, shoot me).
But.
This umbrella? I like.
The Alice print by Nathalie Lete is just really pretty – and so cheery on a rainy day.
Large enough for the whole family to take cover under too, apparently!
Available from the awesomely kitsch Lapin & Me for £41
Read MoreBestest Christmas Gift Ideas – Simply Adorable Christmas Romper Sleepsuit
Oh, LOVE it!
Festive without a hint of tacky.
Fabulous quality Jack Spratt romper from LushBaby, personalised for a special 1st Christmas in Scarlett Red or Pure White with Glittering Gold Print.
Made in England from 100 % luxury cotton, definitely one that will get tucked away in that memory box.
£22 from the reliably lush LushBaby
Read MoreBestest Christmas Gift Guide – a great smartphone for luddites (and teens), theVodafone 858 Smart. *sigh*
The biggest boy of mine – 12 now – has been *yearning* for an iPhone since he started High School. *YEARNS* for one, he does.
Dream on, kiddo.
But Christmas approaches, and his list looks something like this:
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPod
iPhone
I sensed that something must be done. Which is where those nice people at Vodafone stepped in, and sent him one of these babies to try out (not to keep, mind. they’re not THAT daft). The Vodafone 858 Smart. Cute huh?
What did the iPhone-aholic think of it? Well, I’m not sure, actually, because apart form a quick breathy “ohhh, COOL phone!” it was whisked off behind a bedroom door, not to reappear for ages.
By which time it was all App-ed up, personalised, filled with music, and tucked into the back pocket of a saggy pair of jeans *eyeroll*.
So – he’s been using it for a couple of weeks. Would he recommend you wrap this and pop it under the tree for your own adolescent?
Erm… YES! (cue bored teen eyeroll with that ‘duh! inflection guaranteed to get him thwacked by the nearest adult)
So – whaddaya get?
Well, you pretty much get everything they want.
It’s a pay-as-you-go smartphone with apps, navigation, social-networking and multimedia.
The camera’s good, and there’s a microSD card slot so you can add up 32GB of extra space for your music, videos, photos.
So that’s the dull bit – want to see the bestie best bit? For £11 you can design your own COVER! Oh YES!
You just go here http://www.vodafonesmart-mydesign.com/designstudio and start fiddling.
Here’s mine (I SO did not spend 20 minutes playing with the addictive options before I created this. Nu-uh.)…
Battery life seemed good, the touch screen was responsive and instinctively simple to use, too.
Win win win. Thank you Vodafone – top phone!
The Vodafone Smart 858 comes in white or black, and is available from the Vodafone store for £70, but do shop around as better prices may be had elsewhere (*taps nose knowingly*).
Bestest Christmas Gift Guide – Fab Fab FAB Retro Ride-On Racing Car
Loo-o-o-ok!!!!
Retro Red metal racing car – just a great toy for the little car lovers, and definitely an heirloom in the making. Made of steel, no less, it has a working steering wheel, long lasting rubber tyres (no damage to your floors!) and finished with scratch resistant powder coating for the toughest of races.
For age 1+ we simply LOVE it.
Available from the amazing I Love Toys site at a corner under £70
Read MoreBestest Christmas Gift Guide – Stunning Classical Silhouette Portraits Of Your Child
I’ll pause while you gaze a little.
Just beautiful, aren’t they?
I was thinking they’d make a wonderful gift for the grandparents, but actually… I would LOVE one of these for myself.
Bestest Christmas Gift guide – Razor Ultra Pro Lo, the big boy of kick scooters
I have three boys, and they are all mad keen on the skate park.
But.
(*whispers*) They’re all a le-e-tle bit afeared of the whole skateboard thing.
No, they’re all MUCH happier when they have a handle to hang on to.
And of course there comes a time in every child’s life when they realise that the fantabulous Ben 10/Fifi/ ScoobyDoo scooter they’ve been hurtling around on just isn’t quite cutting it on the social front anymore.
For your 8yr old, that green plastic scooter they had when they were 5 is NOT going to be taken to the Skate Park. It’s NOT up to bunny hops. And they refuse to even take it out any more, telling you the old lie
“Oh, no, I’m not really into scootering any more, it’s for babies”.
Pfffft.
This is the point that Razor step in.
If you’re not au fait with scooters, you’ll have to trust me on this.
Razor are Where It’s At.
Socially, they’re deemed “coooo-o-o-ol” by Those Who Know.
More importantly to any sensible parent – you actually get what you pay for. Solidly built to stand up to any amount of Jayhop-and-Grind practice (Impressed, arencha? *smug face*), they can get continuously hammered at the skate park and STILL carry their tired legs home smoothly.
And this particular model, the Ultra Pro Lo Scooter
Want the geeky tech bit?
“The rigid down tube increases stability and ride performance. The deck is double-welded to the down tube and thicker for superior strength. The bearings have been upgraded to ensure a smoother ride and the grips are low profile to enhance mobility.”
Razor is the most trusted brand in scooters for a reason, and I honestly won’t get anything else for my boys.
Read MoreThe Bestest Christmas Gift Guide… here we go!
So – December approaches, the advent calendars are out of the loft (you HAVE got yours out already, yes?) and there’s no more escaping it.
Christmas Shopping looms.
Sometimes you know just what to get – but often you don’t. Sometimes you just want a small something extra, a little something different, quirky, unique – and that’s where we come in. For the next four weeks we’ll be firing off ideas at you, a mix of products we’ve seen and reviewed and totally recommend – and other stuff we’ve just spotted and instantly LOVE.
You can get a head start by checking last years Gift Guide – they may be ‘so last year’, but they’re still gorgeous (and do shout if you find something that no longer exists!)
Oh, and don’t forget the Advent calendar of comps starts on Wednesday. You do NOT want to miss it – a brand new comp every day in the run up to Christmas, and some of the prizes are spec-tac-u-lar. We’re SO excited for you!
In the mean time – stick with us.
It’s going to be FUN.
(those fab letter blocks are available from Etsy for just under £24!)
Read MoreChristmas Shopping (I know, I know. Sorry).
Gorgeous, aren't they? £3.99 from Amanti
And Before Christmas Shopping too.
For the next week or so we’re talking about Pre-Christmas Christmas Shopping. You know, the stuff you need BEFORE you get on with the other stuff. Advent calendars, stockings, decorations…
You can see what we talked about last year if you visit our Pre-Christmas Christmas Shopping page – there’s stacks of lovelies in there to get your seasonal teeth into.
Once we’ve shown you some of those, then next week we’ll start on the 2011 Bestest Christmas Gift Guide. Stand by – it’s going to be a good one.
Read MoreThe Bestest Christmas Gift Guide #30 – Oh. *want* this notebook.
I have to say – I do try and stay clear of The Literary Gift Company. I actively avoid it, if I’m honest. But… temptation to get the better of me, and I wandered over for a quick peek. And once again, I sqeee-ed, oooh-ed, gasped, and was stabbed with longing everywhere I turned.
So. Anyway. Once I dragged myself away from the bulging shopping basket, this is the one little thing I couldn’t resist showing you… The MOST perfect notebook. It’s one of my favourite quotes, it looks sooo pretty, and it’s just chock full of lovely empty paper waiting to be written on. And don’t tell me you don’t LOVE an empty clean new notebook, because it’s a universal truth that we all do.
*WARNING – you will lose at least 20 minutes browsing the Literary Gift Company web site. FACT.
Read MoreThe Bestest Christmas Gift Guide #29 – Brilliant shape sorter
This is going to be a big hit with babies aged 6-18 months! All little ones loves shape sorters and these lovely little soft shapes are perfect for babies little hands to put inside the cylinder!
It has lots of crinkly sounds and different colours and textures for baby to explore. Sure to be a big hit is the mirror and the handles for baby to grab and hold!
The Bestest Christmas Gift Guide #29 – the MOST Beautiful Gift For Mummys With Small Babies
*Pauses while you all regain your breathe from that “ooooh!” of wanting*
We have a full review of this delicious Lin & Leo bag from Lush Baby (yes, it IS a practical change bag too – who’d have thought?), but it would make SUCh a wonderful new Mummy gift we thought you might want to wave it under your mans nose as soon as possible…
Here’s Emilys first thoughts when she received it:
“Love the very VERY lovely, cheerful changing bag. Been stroking it all evening and a bit worried about putting stuff in it! Couple of my Mummy friends have been stroking the bag with jealousy in their eyes. Red definitely, gorgeously best.
It is so much more glamorous than my usual bag – the leather is lovely, the colour is bright and I feel quite the yummy mummy! It isn’t cheap, but if I had the money to spend this is what I’d be spending it on! Off to go and gaze in adoration at the bag once again before actually doing something constructive today.”
Oh for Father Christmas to pop one of THOSE under the tree, eh?
Read MoreThe Bestest Christmas Gift Guide #28 – There Are Cats…
…in this book.
And they are of the very best seriously sensible, naughty, purr-ey, hidey sort.
I bought this book on a whim – at £2.45 it was hardly going to break the bank, and seemed like a good stocking filler.
When it arrived, I flipped through it, like you do. And despite being all alone in an empty house, I actually laughed out loud. Not smiling with a huffey sort of noise, not an amused “hmmm!” but a real, genuine burst-out-of-the-middle-of-my-chest laugh.
I ADORE this book!
It’s such a quirky little tale, and written in such an endearing manner that I can’t help thinking it’s an overlooked classic.
Do what I did – splash out on the couple of squids next time you’re on Amazon. Or hunt it down from your library. If you like cats you will LOVE this book, I promise.
Oh, and, um, your children will like it too…
Read MoreThe Bestest Christmas Gift Guide #26 – Jonnys Sisters Letters
Don’t forget these gorgeous lovelies from Jonnys Sister.
Only they’re not His Sisters. Or, in fact, Jonnys.
They’re mine.
Or yours.
Or whomever you buy them for, presumably.
Gorgeous, lovely, wonderful, sweetly delicious letters. Simple, stylish and just wonderful.
Can you tell I have a bit of a soft spot for ours?
You can read why I love Jonnys Sister here – but honestly, they are very special, and the sort of present that will grow in your affections year on year. And never ever be cast out or grown tired of.
And if you do, throw it in our direction. Whatever the letter, I have plenty of children, I’m sure one will fit it.
Read MoreThe Bestest Christmas Gift Guide #27 – Christmas Maileg Mouse! *Squee!*
Yes, yes, I know, Maileg Mice. Again.
But Look!
They have Christmas Hats!
SUCH a perfect thing in a certain Big Long Fillable Sock.
There’s a baby girl or baby boy mouse each in its own seasonal matchbox (complete with mattress, pillow and blanket as always).
Oh and the festive hats are removable, so you won’t have Christmas Mice in July, honest!
(you might also want to take a peek at the really VERY special Mama Mouse. Or indeed Armstrong Ward’s Christmas Festive favourites section, which is stuffed to the gills with oh SUCH prettiness for your home)
Read MoreFollow Us!
