One of the great things about living in the Netherlands is that you’re never far from the beach. Dutch beaches are wide and sandy and perfect for wintery, windy walks, but even better to enjoy on a sunny summer day — what’s better than playing in the sand for hours and hours? Even I still like to build a good sand castle! Besides the obligatory buckets and spades, these fantastic Monkey Print Sandals found at the new web boutique Sweet Pea will also provide hours of beach fun this summer. My son has already tested them out endlessly on our wooden living room floor, he sounded like the perfect clog-wearing little Dutchman but thankfully no foot-stamps were left. I can already imagine the fun he will have at the beach pretending to be a little monkey!

xxx Esther

So cool and so innovative and so eco-friendly! These clever Tube Toys are a series of vehicles to assemble (car, tractor, fire engine, train) where the packaging (the tube) becomes the toy.  Using the packaging considerably reduces the amount of material you throw away after buying it and the extra cost that traditional packaging involves. Each Tube Toy comes with components like stickers and wheels inside the cardboard tube with pre-cut slots for easy assembly. And all the pieces are recycled or recyclable — so smart! I think they make really cute gifts. (Available from the always stylish and always eco E-Side boutique).

x Courtney

Posters made out of felt and decorated with hand-embroidered details. Sweet screen printed t-shirts made out of fair trade, organic cotton sourced in Africa. Handmade toys with funny legs and big bellies and interesting stories to tell (and with a back that is as nice as the front). Fun! We’re loving what Carly and Nick from Corby Tindersticks have done for their first collections, and are anxiously waiting to see what they’ll come up with next! (Their sketch book looks promising!)

xxx Esther

Here is yet again a product that I am officially buying for the good of my children, but to be honest, I actually also want it myself. It is a 3m (which I believe is 10 ft) long giant colouring poster! Can you imagine pulling this out of your hat one rainy weekend, when everyone is cranky and a little bit bored?? I reckon this could be a hit for the whole family! It can be used as wallpaper that kids officially can draw on,  or you can spread it out on the floor or use as a tablecloth for a party — the possibilities are endless.

- Emilie

This stunning Mozartkugel wooden musical ball is made of solid beech wood and plays Mozart melodies whether it’s sitting on a shelf or rolling across the floor. You simply wind the ball, remove the key and let it amuse (or soothe) your baby.  Such a unique baby gift I think! (Available from Toyella.)

x Courtney

Christmas has come and gone and some toys have been played with and others neglected! Today I wanted to share with you one of the toys that was and still is a success: The Djeco, 3-layer puzzle. My daughter, who is 2½ now, wasn’t very much into puzzles and that worried us a little at the time, so I decided to get her some puzzles for Christmas. The Djeco 3-Layer puzzle is just wonderful — it’s a gorgeous wooden lift-out puzzle with multiple levels. We got the Tree House, and so in the first layer the child discovers all the animals that live in the tree, then in the second you discover their different activities and in the top layer you see where they live. We are fans of the Djeco toys in my household, but we weren’t expecting this puzzle to be such a huge success, even my 4-year-old loves it, which is the cause of many disputes!!! Available from Niddle Noddle in the UK and Amazon in the US.

-Celina

I saw these adorable crochet teething toys on the LMNOP blog the other day, and instantly ordered a few for baby gifts (if you’re a friend of mine and you’ve just had a new baby, please don’t be surprised when one of these arrives on your doorstep!). Aren’t they so sweet? I just love the mix of colours with the natural wood. All handmade and crocheted with organic cotton yarn, so they’re perfectly safe for your baby to nibble on. Available from the NiHaMa Etsy shop.

x Courtney

In our little household, we have actually gone through more tea sets than an elephant in a china shop. These tea sets have been made out of plastic, china, paper…most of them have been truely hideous, especially as they have been coloured on with markers and otherwise defaced.

A tea set is the ultimate toy though and little Violette can spend hours making tea, pouring out the tea and serving it to her imaginary friends (she actually still thinks it is called a “coffa’ tea” -mix between a coffee and a cup of tea… which cracks me up every single time).

So I have been on the lookout for a new tea set and discovered this super sweet set by Natalie Lété, one of my favourite current designers. I want one in my size! I love the retro bright colours and the little suitcase it comes in. This little tea set is perfect to have my coffa’ tea served in…

- Emilie

We recently compiled a list of ten handy kiddie travel products for our friends over at i-escape. Check out our list here, and while you’re there make sure to have a look at their newly launched Kids Collection offering more than 700 amazing, family-friendly holiday accommodations.

x Courtney

I’m always learning the handiest tips from my son’s teacher. Last week when I met with her, she told me about Numicon and how it’s her favourite tool for teaching maths to kids. So I rushed home from the school and ordered a set from Amazon. Numicon is a simple but effective set of plastic numicon shapes, each representing a different number (colour coded for easy recognition). You can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division all with the help of these simple shapes. It offers a visual resource for children to easily practice their maths without really knowing that they’re learning or practicing. (Meant for children from aged 4 upwards!)

x Courtney

I came across these cute printable animal sets from UK based company Mibo while looking for last minute Easter decorating ideas. You simply purchase and they email you templates for your animals that you can print, cut and fold for a fun afternoon activity with your kids. They offer a wide variety ranging from safari animals to forest friends with the sweetest little expressions. You’re bound to fall in love with them!

xo Elizabeth

These upcycled dolls are 50cm or taller, most come with the cutest little baby and some even come with a removable mask or hat. I just love all the details she puts into them, especially the fabrics and color combinations, just lovely!

-Celina

A friend gave my daughter these fun non-toxic crayons for her third birthday. I wish I’d known about them sooner! They are wildly entertaining as you can color with them, stack them into towers, turn them upside down and pretend they are ice cream cones, and put them on little toddler hands as extra colorful finger puppets. I always carry a box around to keep Elodie occupied during those in-between moments when she is starting to get restless. Such a fantastic little gift!

-Elizabeth

Ava has a new favourite toy: the ‘House of Balls‘ from stylish French toy company Vilac. The concept is simple: four coloured balls (perfectly sized for a toddler’s hand) and a house-shaped track with a little bell on the end. It’s amazingly addictive for babies and toddlers! They love to see the ball roll down the track, over and over again. The toy is really cute looking, nice and sturdy and easy to carry around, and such a perfect present for little ones aged 12 months and up!
Available through VUP baby.

xxx Esther

(Photo of Ava and her friend Luka, by Elke Mendelsohn)

The team from AlexandAlexa came over to my house recently for a little interview (!!) about the children’s fashion world. They wanted to know about Babyccino Kids and how it started, and about how online shopping has shaped the way mums can buy for their kids. They also asked what sort of considerations I make when buying clothes and toys for my kids and to share some of my favourite brands from the AlexandAlexa shop.

So…. I got to put on a bit of make-up (a real make-up artist came over!) and I sat down for a bit of q&a. It was a fun afternoon! I’m slightly nervous about sharing it with all of you — it’s a bit like hearing your own voice on a recording machine — but if you’re interested, you can watch the video here!

xx Courtney

I’m loving these fun stamp sets from Little Scout. We have the Seascape stamp set and my boys went crazy stamping out sea and beach scenes this past weekend. Each set comes with a set of five rubber stamps on a maple block and they come in a cute, handmade birch box so it makes a cute little birthday gift.

x Courtney

I love Lego and I bet there isn’t anyone out there who doesn’t like it.  Well apart from cursing it when you stand on a rogue piece that didn’t get put away and you look down and can’t believe that a little square of plastic can cause such pain!  Anyway… there is no need to write about how cool Lego is.

But let me tell you how shocked I was when I was introduced to the new Friends range. This is a range that they recently brought out for girls. Now I’m not sure who came up with the names for these people but it’s like they looked at my life!!  The names of the ‘friends’ are Stephanie (me) Andrea (my sister) Olivia (my sister Andrea’s daughter), Mia (my daughter) and Emma (my best friend)!!!!How weird is that?  I prefer the original Lego though and the style of the original Lego people.  What do you think of the new range?

Steph xo

With Easter just around the corner, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite little bunnies found on my Pinterest. If you like what you see here I highly recommend you check out my board solemnly dedicated to bunnies entitled “Dust Bunnies”. You will find some cute DIY projects, jewellery, room décor, clothing and much, much more. Some of the images above are old, but nevertheless inspiring — you can discover some great artists and other amazing blogs through them…

1. Kenzo 2009:
2. Mr &Mrs rabbit plushies by Little Miss Loolies
3. Mustache Rabbit Print by Andrew Bannecker
4. Rabbit Clock by Misako Mimoko
5. Rabbit Friend by Fox and Owl
6. Mrs Bunny by Lieschen Mueller
7. Mr. Lewis by Le Train Fantome
8. Hop & Pek Egg Cup via Handmade Charlotte
9. Krys Kirkpatrick Bunny pillow via Kickcan & Conkers
10. Kanae Entani Embroidered Rabbit heads
11. Pohadky book from Cedok
12. Circus Bunny by Evangelione

Enjoy!

I love the colors and illustrations of these little Piquages sewing cards by French designer Marc Vidal. I found them at a local Los Angeles shop and quickly snatched up a few packs for birthday gifts. I remember sewing similar ones with my mother when I was a little girl. They would be adorable hanging in a nursery or as a gift tag, don’t you think? I’m really excited to try these out with my little girl Elodie!

-Elizabeth

Discover more of Dominique’s dolls in her Etsy shop and follow her creative process on her blog. Now why I didn’t discover these before Christmas? There are always birthdays, right?

-Celina