KidStyleFile

Today’s post brought to you by Miki.

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It’s the time of year again when everyone who has to buy a Christmas gift for a small child – whether their own children or someone elses – starts scratching their heads and wondering what would be appropriate.

With this in mind, I’ve put together a gift guide for babies to preschoolers at one of my favourite online stores, The Hip Infant - www.thehipinfant.com.au, purveyors of the finest clothing, toys and accessories for babies and kids from birth to 2 years.

Without further ado, here are my hot picks for you!

For babies (up to 12 months of age), I recommend the Alimrose handsqueekers which come in all sorts of different designs and make the cutest noises when squeezed.  They’re also very sensitive so the tiniest baby fist can get a sound out of them.

THI also has an excellent range of wooden toys, rattles and pram strings which go down a treat – I love wooden toys, they’re classy and last forever.

If you want to give clothes, I personally love gifting The Hip Infant basics range, which is affordable, stylish and excellent quality.

On to the toddlers now. From here I’ve done gender-specific gift suggestions, but it goes without saying that they’ll work just as well for the opposite gender if you simply choose a different colour or design.

Toddler girls will love the range of soft toys, especially those from Alimrose and BlaBla which are incredibly sweet and whimsical. You could also give her a lamp for her room, as it’s possible by this stage that she’s spooked by the dark.  The soft glow of a night light can be very comforting, and these ones look great as well!

My favourite idea for toddler boys is to get a funky little bag such as a Tiger Tribe drawstring bag, and fill it with board books.

Toddlers are often very proud of being able to feed themselves, so a funky dinner set (I love French Bull robots and monsters) is another idea.

Preschoolers looooove water play (don’t we all!) so I think bath toys are a great way to go here. THI has a big range of Alex Toys and Bud Luxury Ducks so there’s plenty to choose from.

Most bath toys are fairly unisex, but if you want to go gender specific then girls will love the Alex Toys Princess In The Tub set while boys are likely to shun that in favour of the Alex Toys Shaving In The Tub set – he can shave just like Daddy!  Why not make up a lovely gift package by adding a funky Annabel Trends bath cap to the bundle?

More ideas for preschoolers are to make up a parcel including a Hip Stuff Wooden Hairbrush and a selection of JewelQueen hair clips for a little girl, and the For Walls chalkboard robot or truck for a boy – as they’re designed to be safely removed and repositioned on walls, you (or his parents) will love them!

To give you the added incentive (as if you need it!) to snap swome goodies up for Christmas, Mel at The Hip Infant is offering KidStyleFile readers 15% off store-wide… but only for 48 hours! So get moving NOW as the discount ends at 9am on the 4th of November.  Enter code ‘KSF1′ at checkout to redeem.

From top left in rows:

Dicounted prices quoted are after the 15% discount has been calculated. This offer is applicable until 9am November 4, 2008 only, so get your skates on!

Fiesta Crafts Jungle Bowling, $49.95 $42.45
Eyetribe Sunnies Squids Turquoise, $39.95 33.95
Alimrose Pram Tie – Bumblebee Navy/Red, $39.95 33.95
Hip Stuff Wooden Hairbrush – Pink Hearts, $5.50 $4.67
Tiger Tribe Drawstring Bag – Wheels, $17.95 $15.25
Alex Toys Shaving In The Tub, $19.95 $16.95
Elegant Baby Bath Duck – Aqua Stripes, $9.95 $8.45
Flip A Shape – Yum! $13.95 $11.85
Elegant Baby Bath Duck – Polka Dot Orange, $9.95 $8.45
Alex Toys Dirty Pigs, $14.95 $12.70
Alimrose Doll Rattle – Delores, $29.95 $25.45
What’s That Noise? by Sally Rippin, $10.95 $9.30
Jewel Queen Hair Clip – Pink Cherries, $4.95 $4.20
Jewel Queen Hair Clip – Red Spot Bow, $5.95 $5.05

The Hip Infant stocks a huge range of designers including AKA Pipik, Albetta, Alex Toys, Alimrose Designs, Anna & Sally, Annabel Trends, Anne Claire Petit, Baby Einstein, Baby Legs, Babylicious, Benny Boy, Bical, BlaBla, Blink Designs, BUD, Built NY, Bump Buddy, Cheeky Monkey, Christmas Ideas, Coco & Eli, Cuddlefish, David Fussenegger, DiddleDumpling, Dirty Laundry, Elodie Details, Eyetribe, Fiesta Crafts, Flensted Mobiles, Fleurville, For Walls, For Windows, French Bull, Gertie and Me, Go_Home JNR, Green To Grow, Haba, Heimess, Hip Stuff, ID Tee, Inch Blue, Infancy, Jazzy Toes, JellyCats, JewelQueen, Kathe Kruse, Keptin Jr, Kid Squidgy, Kiddopotamus, Kipiis, Lima Bean, Limo Basics, Little Chipipi, Little Einsteins, Little Joey, Little Twig, Liz Knits, Milestone Press, Mill & Mia, Mini Glow, Mitty James, Mon Ange, Moppit, Mum To Mum, My Child, Oeuf NYC, OUCH, Peanut Shell, Present Time, Pure Baby, Rockabye Baby, Rondeau Industries, Rush, Sigikid, Simple Gorgeous Storage, Skip HOP, Smirk Kids, Snugglebum, Snugzeez, Teeny Me, Tiger Tribe, Tippy Toes, Toys Pure, Trunki, Vessel, Wall Candy Arts, WalRUs, and Wee Gallery.

The Hip Infant charge $7.50 postage Australia-wide.  All orders are shipped via Courier or Express Post.