KidStyleFile

Written by Leah

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This week on the KidStyleFile Facebook page we have flung ourselves into sourcing stylish, awesome and affordable Christmas gifts! Each day we have been providing a large variety of opportunities to take advantage of: from KSF exclusive deals, right through to limited edition products that will ensure a unique surprise. Have you finished your present hunt yet? If not, don’t despair as we will continue to offer deals and finds in the coming weeks too!

Each morning (for those of you who like a little Facebook over breakfast) we have continued reminiscing with our flashback series, although we have moved on from 80s toys to 70/80s kid shows. Over the coming week we have plans to explore movies from our childhood which kick-started yesterday with Shiloh Jolie-Pitt revealing a ‘Gizmo’.  What do you think we should include?

Don’t forget to subscribe to the KidStyleFile Weekly Burst of News and Inspiration so you don’t miss your opportunity to win 1 of 5 $200.00 gift vouchers from eeni meeni miini moh + e3-M during November. Not many chances left!

Written by Domenica

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I really admire people who can turn something they are passion about into something they do for a living, especially in the field of the arts. Sophie Cooper, owner of Scoops Design – www.scoopsdesign.bigcartel.com – is one such person who has turned something that used to be a release from her day job into her day job. What I love, apart from the cool name born from a hybrid of Sophie’s name (S Cooper = Scooper = Scoops), is that all of Scoops Designs are limited edition, hand made and based on characters and an illustrative style that Sophie has been developing since early childhood.

If you are looking for some unique gifts for family and friends this Christmas, then Scoops Design is a must stop virtual destination. For babies, check out the gorgeous framed Bird Print “Hello, Hello”. Perfect to add a pop of colour to children’s bedrooms, the black box frame measures 27.5 x 22.5 cm and is Australian made from Tasmanian recycled timber. Each print is different as they are raised from the background to give a 3D effect. I also think these shatterproof mirrors are just gorgeous, and make a perfect Christmas or new baby gift. Made out of shatterproof perspex, they come in a set of three and are available in a range of different designs; including my favourites: the Owl Family, the Bird Family and the Monkey Family. A new range of cushions, sure to jazz up any baby room, have also just been added to the store. My fave is the Sausage Dog cushion, so adorable!

If you are after stocking fillers then look no further than these gorgeous Christmas Ornaments. They come packaged with a ribbon, and make a great thank you present for all the people that help us out throughout the year including family, friends and teachers. They also make a great Kris Kringle gift and are priced well for your children to give out as gifts to their BFFs this Christmas. Similarly, the Scoop Design hairclips are too cute, and make great stocking fillers or special little gifts for girls.

KidStyleFile readers, you are in luck  because Scoops Design has decided to offer all KidStyleFile readers a 25% *storewide* discount – just enter KSF at checkout to redeem. Plus, as a special Christmas gift to all you lovely readers, all orders over $100 will receive a free gift. Both offers expire 20 December 2011. Enjoy!

Discounted prices below are valid with code KSF, while stocks last until 20 December 2011.

1. Red Dove Christmas Decoration $12.00 LESS 25% = $9.00
2. Little Boy & Girl Christmas Decorations $18.00 LESS 25% = $13.50
3. Silver Reindeer Christmas Decoration $12.00 LESS 25% = $9.00
4. Hello Hello Bird 3D Effect Framed Print $65.00 LESS 25% = $48.75
5. Mother & Baby Owl Framed Print $45.00 LESS 25% = $33.75
6. Set of 9 Limited Edition Cards $30.00 LESS 25% = $22.50
7. Shatterproof Rabbit Family Mirrors $60.00 LESS 25% = $45.00
8. Shatterproof Elephant Family Mirrors $60.00 LESS 25% = $45.00
9. Elephant Cushion $60.00 LESS 25% = $45.00
10. 10. Various Brooches – From $25.00 (ALL LESS 25%)
11. Shatterproof Bird Family Mirrors $60.00 LESS 25% = $45.00

Scoops Design ships within Australia and internationally. Delivery charges are dependent on weight, you can proceed through checkout to confirm delivery before committing to ordering.

Post written by Miki

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Besides your own, how many other kids do you need to buy gifts for this Christmas?  Nieces, nephews, God-children, step-children, friends’ and neighbours’ kids, your child’s class Kris Kringle… it all adds up pretty quickly, doesn’t it?

The good news is that there are loads of amazing gifts out there for under $25, meaning you can stay within budget and delight the recipient at the same time. These are also the kinds of presents I like to put under the tree for my own kids; after all, not every gift they receive needs to be huge and expensive.  I sometimes find that they get just as much fun from a $15 bath toy as from something costing ten times more!

I’ve put my top 20 gifts under $25 below, but do have a hunt through the online stores to find other options. Many of KidStyleFile’s favourite boutiques have fabulous categories set up specifically for inexpensive gifts, such as Little Styles (with 11 pages worth!), Dragonfly Toys, Baby’s Got Style, French Bazaar and Design Child among others.

I hope that helps with keeping your Christmas budget balanced, and the special kids in your life overjoyed – good luck!

Post written by Anna

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The giving and receiving of gifts is one aspect of the festive season that my family relishes in. By the time Christmas day rolls around, the space below our Christmas tree is a joyful celebration of every member of our family; from Great Grandma who will be ninety five this year, down to our newest little niece who will be just four months old. A wonderful store that truly embodies the spirit of giving is Kindred Gifts – www.kindredgifts.com. They have a fabulous range of funky, sustainable and charitable Christmas gifts for every member of the family.

For babies there is a lovely range of toys, clothing, blankets, wall prints and the stunning ‘Night Night Lights by The Original Metal Box Company. My personal favourite is the Elephant. If you have occasion to celebrate the arrival of a Christmas baby, there are some great ‘welcome to the world’ gifts at Kindred Gifts like the ‘It’s a Boy’ Magnets by Kate Grenier Designs and the delightful Dogeared It’s A Girl! Sterling Silver Necklace.

For children there are lots of lovely items including the bags by Fluf who make cutest lunch bags ever. Kindred Gifts now also stock the bigger Fluf backpacks including the Robot and Apple designs as well as top pick I Heart You! which is pictured below for your viewing pleasure. These clever bags are fully washable and a totally clean and green present for your little people.

With two nephews entering the teenage years, I have been keeping my eyes peeled for some unique and funky gifts to keep my place as the ‘Cool Aunty’. I am well pleased then with the Teen Edition of the Boom Boom! Cards and some other great picks too like the Resource Revival key chains and the Vers Audio 1.5R iPhone dock/radio/alarm for a more extravagant gift. I also really like the Kate Grenier magnet packs – there are over 70 designs to choose from including Zen, Veg Out, Shopping, Paris and the very teenage Twilight packs.

The gifts just keep on coming at Kindred Gifts with jewellery, art like the Bold & Noble Type Map Prints, personal coffee makers meaning their are gifts for men and women of every age and taste. Get to what you want fast by checking out the various categories gifts for women, gifts for men, corporate gifts, green gifts, handmade gifts, romantic gifts – so many lovely items to choose from.

This Christmas source some amazing gifts up to 50% off their RRP, via the Kindred Gifts Sale Page AND make sure you make the most of Kindred Gifts gift to you this Christmas: *spend $40 or more and sign up to their newsletter to receive a FREE $10 Gift Card to spend in store. Kindred Gifts also offer a great loyalty program and FREE shipping on all Australian orders $99.00

{ONE} The Original Metal Box Company Night Night Light – Elephant $64.95
{TWO} Resource Revival Bottle Opener Key Chain – Red $12.95
{THREE} Boom Boom! Cards – Teen Edition $19.95
{FOUR} Vers Audio 1.5R iPod/iPhone Speaker/AM-FM Radio/Alarm Clock $329.95
{FIVE} Fluf Organic Cotton Lunch Bag – Chirp $27.95
{SIX} Bold and Noble Type Map Australia Print $74.95
{SEVEN} Same Sky Wrap Bracelet – Tangled Up In Blue (Long) $49.95
{EIGHT} Dogeared It’s A Girl! Sterling Silver Necklace $59.95
{NINE} Kate Grenier Designs Six Pack Magnets – It’s a Boy $21.95
{TEN} Handpresso Wild Domepod Portable Espresso Maker for Ground Coffee – Black $199.00 $159.00 (for pre-order)
{ELEVEN} Fluf Organic Cotton Backpack – I Heart You $39.95

Check the stunning line-up of brands in stock at Kindred Gifts: Kee-Ka, Makedo, ScooterBees Baby Shoes, Dandelion Baby, Isak, Aden & Anais, Naturapura, Little Pumkin Organics, Diaper Dude, Raggidy Rag Dolls, Bold and Noble, Dogeared, The Original Metal Box Company, Fluf Lunch Bags, Fun In The Sack, Blue Orange Games, Gigamic, The Green Borad Game Company, Echidna Kidz, Dynomighty, Trefl, Resource Revival, Isak, Pompadour, Fuz, Dolly Rockers, Same Sky, Dogeared, Martha Goes Green, Fleabags, Vers Audio, Manor12, Purestuf, Same Sky Glass Beaded Bracelet, Oliveria Peace With Earth, Li’tya Alchemy Goods, Me Old China, Yoga Paws, Homesum,  Lexon and The Slow Guides.

Kindred Gifts have a capped shipping rate of $9.95 per order for standard shipping Australia wide and FREE shipping on all Australian orders over $99.00. They are also more than happy to ship internationally and these charges are calculated at checkout. For full delivery information click here.

Written by Raquel

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Hooray! Only 44 more sleeps and Santa will be piling up goodies under the tree! Whether you need ideas for little relatives, your own children or those of friends, there’s no shortage of fabulously fun eco friendly fillers for stockings – the only problem you’ll have is deciding what to go with from these affordable, kid-cool picks!

The Green Guide is published on the second Friday of each month. Read previous ‘The Green Guide’ posts here.

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1.  Makedo Cup Critters $6.95 – A little package with big play potential, Makedo’s crafty kit includes a couple of cups (to get started, then recycle your own) and reusable parts for kids to make a cast of playful characters – neat!
2. Blue Q Butterfly Coin Purse $6.50 – Where to put all their collected rocks and shiny things, along with the odd pocket money windfall? Why, in a funky purse made from recycled material of course. Super cool Martian and Robot versions also available.
3. Fly Balloon Organic Dress $79.95 – If you’re after an excuse to buy a pretty party frock, then surely Christmas is it! With blue frill and balloons, this whimsical number will be simply adored by little girls, as will the equally sweet Carnivale (pink) and Starry Night (yellow) designs.
4. UniquEco Juggling Balls $25 – It could take the kids a while to master these amazing recycled thong juggling balls which is exactly the point!
5. T-Rex & Fawn Stainless Steel Water Bottles $19.95 – The nifty drink bottles are awesome enough to impress kids and are a gift parents love too!
6. Seedling Anna & Lily’s Amazing Wardrobe – Designed by Me! $12.95 Finally, little fashionistas get to have total wardrobe control with this creative design activity for the over fours.
7. Boogles Doll $69.95 – Aww, a Christmas list wouldn’t be complete without a doll and this hand knitted, fair trade Boogles Doll is a real cutie pie!
8. Seedling The Art of Folding Paper $9.95 – This origami kit from Seeding will keep small minds busily entertained… excellent rainy day (or tired mum) activity with awesome kid appeal.
9. Eco Torch $19.95 – Torches are way cool, finding batteries for them is not! Save yourself the hassle and stick to something kid powered this Christmas, like a nifty hand pumped version from National Geographic that powers for 45 minutes when fully charged.
10. Uncle Goose Upper & Lower Case Blocks $36.00 – Boy, the ABCs of stacking and crashing certainly look snazzy these days! Wonderfully bright, Uncle Goose’s blocks are a fail proof gift for toddlers and preschoolers.
11. Sun Jar $59.95 – There’s just nothing quite as cool as a little sunlight captured in a jar, and it makes an especially neat night light for those who still need a little illumination to ward of those scary thoughts. (Plus, you’ve gotta love a gift that’ll last more than one Xmas!)
12. Hugg A Planet $59.95 – My eight year old son has spied this in a local shop window, and there’s not a day we go by when he doesn’t put in request for it—I’m with him, what’s not to love about being able to hug the earth? The awesome, multi award winning Hugg A Planet comes in three sizes and will be massive hit with kids of all ages.

The Green Guide is published on the second Friday of each month. Read previous ‘The Green Guide’ posts here.

Please check individual sites for pricing and postage details and be sure to survey the KidStyleFile All Current Deals page to make sure you’re getting the best possible deal. Need to convert currency? Use the Xe.com currency conversion tool.

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As part of our Christmas coverage this year we are sharing with you our own personal picks for our kids. Today we’re featuring Anna’s picks. You can also check out Dom’s picks, with more team picks to come in the following weeks. Enjoy! – Ange
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From Left to Right – Hudson (6)  & Wesley (7) , Anna, and Harriet (2)

1. MailegMouse baby girl in box – from Nordichouse Living I spied these little treasures at KidsInStyle in Melbourne earlier this year and tucked them away as a present idea for our little girl.

2. Minti Happy Face Layer Dress $44.95 – from Little Pinwheel Satisfying the pink requirement, this is a super cute little dress for summer.

3. Hip Kids Pink Balance Bike $89.00 – from Hip Kids The time has come to get our little lady on two wheels. Because she tells all and sundry that ‘pink’s my favourite’ I can’t wait to see her on her very own pink bike!

4. KeepCup Piccolo Pink $10.00 – from Baby Be Natural For Babycino’s with mummy.

5. Fred Ninja Bread Men $14.95 – from Lime Tree Kids My boys love to bake and these will make for some seriously cool biscuits for their lunch boxes.

6. ‘The Sneaky Book for Boys’ $11.34 – from The Book Depository For Master 7 nearly 8, who will totally dig it -  How to Perform Sneaky Magic Tricks, Escape a Grasp, Craft a Compass, Walk Through a Postcard, Survive in the Wilderness, and Learn about Sneaky Animals and Insects, Sneaky Escapes, and Sneaky Human Feats.

7. Fred Munchstaches Cookie Cutter $13.95 – from Lime Tree Kids Because I couldn’t choose between these and the Ninja’s I figured we might just have both. We might even sneak a few munchstaches into Daddy’s lunch box for work!

8. ‘Let’s Make Some Great Art’ $21.37 – from The Book Depository Though he may still need some help, Master 6 is our budding artist, so it will be lovely to teach him about art as he makes his own – he can complete the Mona Lisa’s smile, and design his own Jackson Pollock.

9. Munster Wheelside Tee $40.00 – from Little Pinwheel A cool tee for Master 7 who loves his skateboard.

10. Scrunch Bucket $17.95 – from Urban Baby Digging, building and water play never grows old and these buckets will be a great addition to our house this summer. Great to scrunch up and throw in the beach bag or car. Plus in winter we may even bring them inside as another storage option.

11. Anchor Ski WetSuit – Junior $99.00 – from Anchor Wetsuits Our water babies spend all summer in the water, but in Tasmania it’s freezing! This year we’re helping our skinny sons enjoy the water even more with a wetsuit each.

12. Minti Tiger Crown Tee $39.95 – from Little Pinwheel Another cool tee, this time for Master 6 who truly thinks he is king of the castle.

 13. Green Hat Workshop 200 PLANKS $119.95 – from Green Hat Workshop I got up close and personal with these fabulous planks at KidsInStyle in Melbourne earlier this year, and I know my children (plus all our visitors) will get a great kick of creating with these innovative building blocks.

Please check out KidStyleFile’s All Current Deals page for any special deals that might be available.