Gifts for Children's Friends

Now that my daughters are both a little older (6 and 7) they like to buy their close friends a small Christmas gift. This is lovely, but finding something that is both a reasonable price and that isn't just going to get put in a cupboard, is often a difficult task. So I was delighted when my problem was solved by @snapdragonjane onTwitter. Yesterday Jane posted that Snapdragon's applique mirrors were selling well and were maybe being bought as children's gifts. So after a look on the website my girls had fun choosing which design they were going to get for each friend. I particularly like this spacehopper one, but unfortunately neither of them choose that one.

However, it maybe mirrors are not quite what you are looking for, so I have searched for some alternatives, that will be a hit but not cost too much.

                                                     

These lovely fairtrade flower keyrings from Hatti Trading are ideal as just a little something for your child to give to their friends. They come in packs of five and so are also ideal for party bags.

                                                  

For the boys there is this lovely eco-friendly dynamo powered torch. Available from ECOutlet, parents will love this as it requires no batteries, simply childpower, and children always love torches. ECOutlet also has pencil cases made from recycled car tyres which may also appeal to your child's friends.

                                                    

On Misi I found this lovely bracelet by Trinkerbell. Made from polymer clay and nickle free spacers Trinkerbell makes a wide range of girls bracelets in some lovely colours. Each bracelet is sent out in a pink or lilac organza bag.

                                                 

Made 4 Your Books is a seller on Folksy and sells fantastic bookmarks. There are ones suitable for both boys and girls, but I particularly like this football book mark.

Hopefully there is something that I have found which is suitable for your child's friends. However, if you have any other suggestions please let me know.

Win Childs and Co A-Z Bookends

This months fantastic prize is a set of A-Z Sage Bookends from Childs and Co.

Childs and Co is a design studio in Kendal, the Lake District. Set up by award winning designer Iain Childs when asked by friends to create storage for their children’s toys. They were looking for something functional, attractive and a little different. Childs and Co now specialise in making functional solid wood furniture for the home as well as colourful and child friendly children’s furniture, wooden platters and pegboards. Childs and Co will also take commissions for one off pieces to fit with your invidual needs for your home.

The A-Z contemporary bookends come in a range of six different colours. The competition winner will receive bookends in sage. The bookends are made from high quality Finnish plywood from responsible managed forests and are painted with child-friendly paint from The Little Greene Paint Co.

To win simply contact me  at my website http://www.thepresentcupboard.co.uk/ with your suggestion for a unique and interesting Christmas gift. The winner will be selected at random on 30th November 2010.

Links

http://www.childsandco.co.uk/
http://twitter.com/#!/childsco
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Childs-and-Co/113699315310996?v=wall&ref=search
http://childsandco.wordpress.com/ .

Storing Children's Artwork

As any parent knows when your child starts nursery or preschool you will be faced with an ever mounting pile of their artwork. I have to admit that I am a little sentimental over these pieces of paper and have kept almost everything that my daughter's have produced. However, I think it won't be long before I have to face up to not keeping everything, either that or we will have to extend our loft space! A similar problem is faced by one of my blog readers who has been looking for art storage, so I set about finding beautiful, but practical ways of storing those masterpieces.

 

Artful Kids is a website dedicated to showing off your children's artwork in beautiful ways, be they on canvas or framed. Artful Kids also sells via Not On The High Street, and produces these fantastic art portfolio posters that can display up to 27 pieces of your child's work.

At Cox and Cox you can buy this wonderful art storage frame that can store several pieces of artwork, that can be rotated to the front for display. This would make a lovely addition to any kitchen or playroom. You can also get a two frame version from Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous.

 

If you are just looking for storage rather than display then this accordian style portfolio from Bright Minds is ideal with 9 expandable pockets to hold paper and the front can be personalised.

Another great idea that I have seen is turning your child's art into a photo book. Many of the online digital photo printers such as Photobox can make up photo books from your scanned images and then you will have all the images in one place. They can also turn your child's art into a canvas or a collage.

Finally you can have your child's artwork turned into a 3D stuffed animal by stuffyourdoodle. Simply send your choosen piece of art to lucymoose and it is turned from a 2D image to a 3D object such as the ones shown. These are not intended to be toys, but will be great unique handmade keepsakes of your child's artwork.

Toys for Toddlers

Today Toy Talk announce their winners of the 2010 Toy Talk Awards. I love choosing toys for my daughters and I am quite sad that they are now moving on more grown up toys. However, I think it is a testament to the wooden toys that I bought when they were toddlers, that they still play with them now. I want them to have toys that are stimulating, environmentally friendly, that aren't all pink, and that will last more than 5 minutes. So I have put together some of my environmentally friendly favourites for toddlers and preschoolers.

One of their all time favourites was the baby walker with wooden bricks. It won hands down against the very irritating flashing lights and sounds version from V-Tech. The walker was great for helping them take those first steps and they could also use their imagination to create alsorts from the bricks. This version is one of many available from Why Wood Works.

For my eldest daughter's second birthday we bought her first Brio train set and she loved it. Now she is nearly 8 and still enjoys setting the whole thing out, making cities and role playing. The great thing about the train set is that you can add to it over time and children can save pocket money to spend on a new train or other accessory. Available from Amazon and many other online stores.

I have to confess a love of Pintoy and Plan Toy. I am just a little sad that there is no more room in the playroom to add a Pintoy hospital or a Plan Toy kitchen set. However, the girls do have a Pintoy doll's house which has given them hours of pleasure rearranging furniture and acting out little scenarios.

As well as the big companies I think it is important to support small companies who are making limited numbers of toys. However, it is vital to ensure that any toys purchased have a CE mark and meet European Toy Safety Standards.

This tractor and haywagon from Toys For Children is a beautiful example of the type of toy that will last and become a family heirloom. The beauty of wood is that as it is handled it increases its beauty unlike plastic that is not meant to last.

I have often found with jigsaw puzzles that although my children love them, they can easily get damaged and once you have done them a few times the interest wears off. However, we bought a magnetic version of one of these wooden puzzles from Myriad. They can be used to build and make as many patterns as a child has the imagination for.

Finally something that I wish I had invested in. Ostheimer are a German company who have handcrafted toys for more than 50 years. They make a beautiful range of wooden toys that would look stunning in any playroom or bedroom. It is almost impossible to choose my favourite, but I think that this beautiful dragon just makes it to the top. Available from Myriad and Laughing Bear Toys.

So why settle for plastic make your children's toys something that are a pleasure to play with, and that will last for years. I know I am already planning to store all my children's toys for future nephews/nieces.