KidStyleFile

Here’s some names you won’t forget: Haggus and Stookles – www.haggusandstookles.com.au.

Named for the nicknames H&S’s owners, Donna and Andrea’s kids gave to their younger siblings, Haggus and Stookles equip you to handle every outing with your baby or kids, from a trip to the local park, to a multi-country overseas expedition. You will be oh-so-glad you’ve met them: they will absolutely revolutionise and improve your life!

Donna and Andrea joke that Haggus and Stookles began with ‘a poo in the park’: kids needing to go the toilet at a park with no toilets – who hasn’t been caught out that way when toilet training kids?

Donna and Andrea saw a need for good quality and functional products to handle these sorts of situations, and many others, that parents encounter every day whilst experiencing life with kids. They then searched far and wide for the best products to help make your life easier and more enjoyable when you are out and about with the little ones.

With shopping categories like ‘In the car’, ‘For the pram’, ‘Eating out’, ‘Play on the go’,  Naptime, For bums, ‘Packing for travel’, ‘Allergy Traveller’, and ‘For bums’ (my favourite! I’ll tell you why in a minute!), and an incredible range of top quality products from — hope you’re ready! — 4 My Earth, Aden & Anais, Adore-A-View, Alex Toys, Allergy free passports, Amadeus, Annabel Karmel, Baa Baa Blind, Baby Mel, Baby Nation, Baby Sherpa, Baby U, Bags & Boxes, Bazoongi Kids, Bella Tunno, Boo Boo Buddy, Brolly Sheets, Bubbaroo, Dad Gear, Danish by Design, Design Go, Djeco, Dripstik, Drop Buddy, Easyfeed, Ellaroo, Envirotrend, Fit & Fresh, Fridge to Go, Goldbug, Goober Baby, High Road, Hurphy Durphy, Infantino, Irony Homewares, Kaboodle Bags, Kiddysac, KidsAlert, Kindy Kamper, Kozyepi, Lalapanzi, Lollipop Monkey, Longitude 151, Made by Angie, Made by Mums, Medibuddy, Melissa & Doug, Moochie-Moo, Munchee Mug, My Little Seat, myBagTag, Nest, Oobi, Pigeon, Playgro, Pure Wipes, SIGG, Snug as a Bug, Stuffit, Tantrums, The Mummy Hook, Thermos Foogo, Vanchi, and Woobee, you’ll be set and ready for anything!

Ok, so why is ‘For Bums’ my favourite category? Well, it contains the Potette Travel Potty.

This little item has been a life-saver on many occasions I cannot count. One memorable incident where it came in handy was on a plane, just before take-off, when the on-board toilets were closed, and the seat belt lights were one. Cue a little voice from one of my 2 year olds: “Mummy, I need to do a wee”. Never fear, I whipped out my trusty travel potty, with it’s special liner fitted, and saved the day (and the plane seat!)

This little wonder folds flat, is small enought to fit anywhere – a small handbag, for instance, will save your bacon through an array of toilet emergency locations, and is extremely cheap to boot. This is definitely one for you out-with-kids survival kit!

Another great little innovation is the Design Go Mosquito Bite Reliever. Drug free and effective, add it to your first aid kit; it is sure to come in handy over the summer months.

Fit & Fresh lunch boxes are an essential when you’re on the road, or even for school days, as they keep food nice and cool for 6 hours. No more spoiled yoghurt at lunch!

Sleeping is a major issue, whether at home, daycare, or travelling, and Haggus and Stookles has the perfect solutions.

For little babes, you can’t go past super-stylish Lalapanzi Collapsible Moses Basket. For bigger kids, the Kindy Kamper Day Bed is just the thing. Fully featured with bottom blanket, top sheet, pillow and removable top blanket, it rolls up into a portable swag. (Miki reports it goes perfectly in a portacot, and also uses hers for her son at daycare.)

You’ll also need a picnic rug for outdoor expeditions. The super-luxe Woobee Large Blanket is the way to go! With weather-proof backing, and the snuggliest top layer, it’s great as a picnic rug, a tummy-time blankie, or pram snug.

My super cheap and utterly gorgeous pick of the day award goes to the Envirotrend EnviroShopper bags that Haggus and Stookles are stocking.  They are enviro-kind, incredibly stylish (choose from 4 beautiful designs) and, at just $4.25 each, are an absolute STEAL!

Speaking of steals, have a look at the great range of free activities for kids you can download from Haggus and Stookles, including colouring in pages, dot to dots, travel games and a fantastic travel diary for when you are on holidays. Also, make sure you check out Haggus and Stookles’ Tips for on the Go: there is a wealth of knowledge there on being out and about with the kids in the car, on holidays, international and plane travel and for general outings to the park, shops, toilet training when out and much more!

From top left in rows:

Design Go Mosquito Bite Relief $29.95
Adore-a-View Baby Car Seat Mirror in Teddy Bear $49.95. Also available in Butterfly design
Fit & Fresh Lunch on the Go Lunch box $12.95
Lalapanzi Collapsible Moses Basket in Retro Red $325.00, pictured with co-ordinating Lalapanzzi Blanket $70.00 , and Lalapanzi Travel Sack $70.00. Also available in Chocolate Sage colour- way
Danish by Design HandySitt $139.95 Available in Beech and Cherry
Annabel Carmel Small Bowls Set $14.95
Envirotrend EnviroShopper bag $4.25 Available in 4 designs
Potette Travel Potty $14.95
Kindy Kamper Day Bed $54.95
Sigg Drink Bottle $22.95
Moochie-Moo ID Bands $4.95
Baby Mel Camille Nappy Bag in red $99.00
Super Woobee Large Blanket in Chocolate/Pistachio $132.00

Haggus and Stookles’ poistage charges are based on weight, and start at $7.50. Express, registered, and international post options are available. See the Delivery information page for full details on shipping.

Today Miki tells you all about the Kindy Kamper, an innovative product brought to you by an Aussie mum, and shares with you her personal experience of it. Mum is definitely the word!

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I am the proud owner of a Kindy Kamper – www.kindykamper.com.au. If you haven’t seen the Kindy Kamper before you should know that they’re only *the coolest* travel and kindy bedding for kids around!

Essentially the Kindy Kamper is a complete portable bedding solution for kids, designed to fit most kindy mats and stretcher beds (and it fits most portacot mattresses a treat too).

The bottom layer is lovely soft quilting with a 100% cotton cover. Then there’s a removable pillow and the top layers are a cotton blend top sheet, and a cosy and soft embroidered polar fleece blanket, which is removable, so it’s great all year round.

When the kids head off to kindy and need to take bedding the Kindy Kamper is absolutely perfect. No more naming each and every sheet and blanket and having to dig through lost property each week when part of the ensemble has gone missing yet again. Nope, none of that with the Kindy Kamper, because it’s all attached together!

It rolls up into an easy-to-carry ’swag’ with a panel for the child’s name easily visible on the outside, and voila! You’re ready to go without needing to hunt down a single pillowcase.

When the Kindy Kamper needs washing you simply remove the pillow insert and throw everything else into the washing machine. You can even tumble dry it afterwards, handy if your climate is anything like mine!

There are a great range of designs to choose from (I love the new Denim Kampers with denim sheeting and a bright red fleece blanket complete with appliquéd denim star – it’s gorgeous!) , and also a great new product in the Kindy Kamper stable that will be of interest to those of you with older kids.

The Big Kamper (in fabulous denim) is designed for bigger little people from age 6 upwards. It’s the Kindy Kamper but upsized: ideal for primary school camps, camping trips, sleepovers, and cubby camp-outs. What a blessing!

It’s a great time to scoop up some Kindy Kampers as Cassy at Kindy Kamper is offering KidStyleFile readers a 10% discount via reimbursement on the Kindy Kamper. Mention ‘KidStyleFile’ in the PayPal comments field at checkout, and Cassy will refund you back 10% of your Kindy Kamper’s purchase price.* Offer ends Friday 5 September.

Just some of the fab Kindy Kamper designs available:
Jungle Animals, Flower Power, Denim, Butterfly, Transport all $54.95 each $49.45 each after 10% discount

Just on a personal note, even though the Kindy Kamper is aimed at pre-schoolers (and now school aged kids with the new Big Kamper), even the very littlest ones can use it. My son is only 12 months old and we use it all the time. It fits perfectly into our portacot and makes for super-easy travel bedding. It’s cute, cuddly, cozy, convenient and absolutely ideal for babies and toddlers when travelling.

This is my son Alex in his portacot with the Kindy Kamper. My Kindy Kamper is the Transport Green model – I love it!

Also, while you’re over at the Kindy Kamper site, check out the great range of other products available.

The Fridge To Go (TM) lunchboxes are such a clever innovation. No longer will your drink be unpleasantly warm and your sandwiches hot and soggy – now you can keep food and drinks cold for up to eight hours! There are no batteries, ice or external power and it’s completely portable. Can’t get easier than that! They’re great to look at too, with two bright, attractive colours: pink and pacific blue.

Kindy Kamper also stocks the ever fabulous Penny Scallan backpacks, and the highly useful Reward Charts and really nifty kids calendars.

Kindy Kamper charges from $10.00 within Australia. Please see here for a full list of postage charges.

*Please note that you must pay full price and Cassy will refund you 10% – a vagary of PayPal. 10% refund applies to Kindy Kamper orders only; does not apply to other stock items.

Post written by Miki
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One of the occupational hazards of KidStyleFile is that I find myself in temptation’s way all too often: so much cool stuff at such great discounts – how could I not buy at least some of it?

My poor old credit card has taken a hammering over the last few months, but you know what? I don’t regret a single one of my purchases so far.

Because I think that’s a pretty solid endorsement of what I’ve bought, I thought I’d showcase some of my favourites today. (I’ve taken my own photos for this, so I apologise for the slightly dodgy photos; hopefully you’ll get the idea at least )

Threads
I love little boys’ clothes. My son Alex (aged nearly one) has a fairly extensive wardrobe, but we do have a few favourites.

I know I rave on about these at every chance I get, but the American Apparel baby rib karate pants are revered in this household. Comfy, stretchy and still really cool looking, he wears them… well, most days actually, now that I think about it!

I always get ours from Frock You – www.frockyou.com.au – because Kat stocks such a great range of sizes and colours and has such kick-ass sales. There’s also the My Child magazine discount code*(see bottom of page) which gives you 20% off storewide!

I’ve bought a few tops from Frock You too – currently Alex is wearing Smirk tees (I love the Smirk designs, it’s my absolute favourite kids tee brand) and Ej Sikke Lej too.

The other favourite top du jour is his Oobi ‘Bella the Martian’ hoodie, which I bought from Fairy Kisses – www.fairykisses.com.au.

Fairy Kisses have a brilliant price on this one at the moment, check it out! The other great thing about this hoodie is that Angela gave Alex the matching Oobi Timorous Beastie: too cute!

Kindy Kamper

The Kindy Kamper – from www.kindykamper.com.au – was another present from Angela (yes, she spoils us rotten). Even though it’s marketed at pre-schoolers it’s actually really great for babies too because it fits into portacots so nicely!

We do a lot of travelling to see our respective families and having the Kindy Kamper has made bedding for Alex a breeze. I just grab the KK and the portacot and that’s it – nothing else needed! The little loops on the bottom of the KK padded base fit over the portacot matress perfectly (they’re adjustable for different sizes of matress too) and the padding in the KK base makes the portacot matress softer too. I can tuck Alex in just like normal, so he’s happy and comfy.

Once we’re home again it’s just as easy. The KK gets flung in the washing machine, then it dries just as well either on the line or in the dryer, and then it’s ready to go all over again.

It’s also Alex’s cot bedding at daycare – no more lost sheets or having to sew name tags on to about eight different items, as the KK covers it all. Couldn’t be easier.

Here’s a photo of the KK set up in my portacot (which is a Phil & Teds T2), and with Alex in it. Please excuse the rather, erm, ‘vibrant’ playroom floor in the background!

Bags

My ISOKI petite traveller (from Ekidna Kids – www.ekidnakids.com.au) goes everywhere with me these days, whether I have Alex with me or not. It’s small enough to be easy for me to take around (not much bigger than a clutch really) but big enough to fit everything a mum could need when she’s out running errands.

I’ve just emptied mine out on the desk, and this is what I fit in it:

Two disposable nappies, a travel pack of nappy wipes, a few nappy sacks, a twin-pack of teething rusks, a little box of sultanas, a muesli bar, a bib, my mobile phone, some cash (sadly not very much), a notebook and pen, my keys and all the cards I use on a daily basis – credit card, EFTPOS card, library card etc. And I still have plenty of room for a bottle and my sunglasses etc.

It’s amazing how much fits into such a little bag!

Another favourite in my nappy bag collection is my Vanchi Carry All Nappy Bag in choc tudor.

The best price I’ve seen on these is at La Toriana when you use the My Child magazine discount code*(see bottom of page) to take 15% off AND get a free gift.

It’s had a hard life, my Vanchi, but I have to say that it’s so well made that it’s taken all the abuse I’ve thrown at it and not batted an eyelash. Once I brushed the smooshed biscuit off it I realised that it actually still looks like new! I love this nappy bag precisely because it doesn’t look like a nappy bag – perfect!

The other bag that really deserves a mention is the Fleurville kids messenger bag, which hails from from Itty Bitty Yuppy – www.ittybittyyuppy.com.au.

Things I love about this bag (besides its obviously gorgeous looks) are its size; small enough that a pre-schooler can carry it, but big enough that I don’t look silly carrying it either, and the unique PVC-free fabric it’s made from. It feels great (really soft but tough) and it’s such good quality.

It also came with an insulated lunch bag which is very handy for being out and about. This is the bag that goes to daycare with Alex as it fits everything he needs for the day: lunch, nappies, change of clothes, bottle etc. etc.

Please visit individual website for product prices and postage information.

* If you can’t get to a newsagent then email Angela; she’s nice and she’ll give you the code

When enterprising Mum, Cassy Tapper couldn’t find a bedding solution suitable for her kids to use at creche and kindy, she designed her own, and so the award winning Kindy Kamper – www.kindykamper.com.au – was born!

Cassy is having an end of financial year clearance on current stock, and is offering KidStyleFile readers a $5.00 reimbursement on the Kindy Kamper. Mention ‘KidStyleFile’ in the PayPal comments field at checkout, and Cassy will refund you $5.00*

I got one for Miki’s son Alex to use while travelling, so I’ve had first hand experience of the product. I can tell you that the Kindy Kamper is a very clever piece of design engineering, and it’s practical and cute too!

The Kindy Kamper has two top layers: the first is is the polar fleece layer and the second is 100% cotton sheeting.

The polar fleece layer can be zipped off, for when the weather is warmer, or for use as a separate blankie. Both the sheet and the polar blankie are oversized on the horizontal plane, so they can be tucked snugly under the bottom layer.

The top sheeting of the Kindy Kamper is permanently attached to the bottom layer, which is quilted with polyester fill for warmth and comfort, and comes complete with an attached pillowcase with removable pillow.

I love that the sheet and pillow are attached; they can’t be thrown off or lost, and the flexibility of the polar layer is a very thoughtful innovation.

The Kindy Kamper comes with adjustable velcro corners for a snug fit and at 125cm x 90cm x 90cm, it will fit most kindy mats and stretcher beds (Miki says it fits a portacot just great too!)

Kindy Kamper rolls up and is secured by sewn-on velcro straps for easy transport complete with an attached carry handle. There’s even a special spot to write your child’s name for ease of identification.

Choose from eight great kid-friendly designs. The Kindy Kamper is priced at $49.95 (and will be going up by $5.00 from 1 July, so beat the price rise!)

Mention ‘KidStyleFile’ in the PayPal comments field at checkout, and it’s yours for just $44.95. That is a super bargain: you couldn’t make it for that!

Cassy has also just started stocking Cushy Couches on the Kindy Kamper site. Single couches are $99.95 and double couches are $139.95.

Stay tuned also for new stock from Kindy Kamper, including the ‘Big Kamper’: a jumbo version of the Kindy Kamper made especially for bigger kids, and the Fridge to Go lunch boxes, great for school days and days out.

Kindy Kampers composition and care is as follows:

100% acrylic polar fleece , 100% cotton sheeting, polyester fill base and pillow. Kindy Kamper is warm machine washable, and can be tumble-dried.

*Please note that you must pay full price and Cassy will refund you $5.00 – a vagary of PayPal. $5.00 refund applies to Kindy Kamper orders only; does not apply to other stock items.

Postage starts at $10.00. Please see the Kindy Kamper website for full postage details.