Welcome to the Bambino Goodies Christmas Gift Guide 2011! If like us, you’ve spent spent oodles of time investigating gift ideas for children but have forgotten about yourself or another ‘big kid’ in your life, we’re here with more than fifty ideas for everything from stocking fillers to a few splurge items starting from under a fiver. All of them are of course cool and there’s plenty of inspiration to go around for both mama’s and papa’s.
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Gadgets & Technology
Eye Scope for iPhone. Ideal for the iPhoneographer and capable of 8x optical zoom, we love this! £35 Science Museum Shop (there’s also an iPhone 3 version).
Kindle. Wonderful for sleepless nights, impromptu access to a digital library of your favourite reads, commuting, rediscovering your love of reading, and leaving plenty of room for all the kid paraphernalia that tends to fill up your bag, the latest Kindle is the lightest and smallest yet – the boyf loves his! £89 Amazon. There’s also a 3G version.
Moshi Moshi retro handsets. Plug one into your iPhone, Blackberry, iPad, or certain Macbooks, and kick back on your phonecall old style. Will also appeal to those of you cautious about radiation from your phone. £24.99 HMV. The limited edition gold-tone phone is £59.95 at Harrods where there’s also bluetooth versions of the handsets available for £99.95-£119.
Orla Kiely stem print Pure Evoke Mio and Roberts Solar DAB radios plus a cardboard radio. One year on, we’re still gaga for Orla’s deliciously retro offering, £149 John Lewis. For block colour and energy efficiency, Roberts solar offering is available in red, green, white, and black, £71.03 (RRP £80) Amazon. For pared down eco friendly chic at a great price, look no further than the cardboard cool, £20 John Lewis.
iPad2. A splurge gift, you could pitch this as an investment piece that the whole family will use. And yes, really, don’t say we didn’t warn you that about tech savvy preschoolers monopolising it! RRP £399 Apple plus a gazillion stores. Failing that, upgrade to an iPhone 4s (camera’s great by the way) and lose your patience with Siri, your new Weakest Link voiced personal assistant.
Foodies
Belkin chef stand. Prop this universal tablet stand on your worktop and use the included stylus to tap through your recipes instead of having to keep washing your hands. Love it. £31.99 Expansys.
Jolly Christmas Mixture Bag. Perfect for the big kid that gets nostalgic for the sweeties of yesteryear. £5.49 Hope and Greenwood plus they’re in stockists such as John Lewis.
Le Creuset petite casserole dishes. Great things also come in small packages. Versatile enough to be used beyond individual portions of casserole, they’re 9cm in diameter and .25l capacity in a great selection of colours. RRP £15. Try John Lewis, Amazon, and House of Fraser.
Hotel Chocolat hot chocolate. A tasty stocking filler for a cocoa lover, think notes of caramel, chilli, and malt. Nom. £10 each.
Kitchen Sticky Notes: Helpful Notes for the Home Cook. We do love sticky notepad and this double-sided portfolio contains 21 kitchen themed stickies of various sizes for marking recipes, making shopping lists etc. £6.48 Book Depository. Also check out the divine recipe cards at Papermash, £8.95 for a set of 12 in two designs.
The Great Food Box Set. A collection of the finest food writing from the past 400 years, this is definitely one for the passionate foodie. £140 Penguin.
Kitchenaid artisan stand food mixer. A serious splurge gift. One can only dream…hint hint. £419.99 Currys.
The SuperJam Cookbook by Fraser Doherty. Packed full of recipes for jams, marmalades, chutneys and jellies plus recipes for what to make out of them. £10 Liberty and other booksellers.
Stationery Freaks
Oh My Motex embossing label maker. Perfect for the stationary freak that likes to leave their mark. £5.99 Etsy and pimp them up with some neon tape, £5.99 per pack.
Mini Penguin notebooks. Ideal for design and literary lovers, this set of four lined and plain notebooks based on original classic covers make great stocking fillers. £6.95 Penguin.
P&C office in a jar. Full of vintage geekery including a Kodak case filled with pins and paper clips, a tag book made from found paper, labels, a wooden peg and a notebook. £16.95, Present&Correct.
Pie chart stickies. Organisational, visual and cool, £4.85 Present&Correct. For more sticky coolness, try Papermash’s leaf post-its, £3.
R&R
Liberty eye masks by Otis Batterbee. Talk about luxe sleep gear, these handmade eye masks feature a hint of lavender hidden within and velvet backing to caress your face. £45 Liberty in three beautiful prints.
The Yoga Deck by Olivia H. Miller. A pack of cards for tips and inspiration for stress relief, and promoting energy, strength and relaxation, this is a great stocking filler for a weary parent.
Tapestry kits by Emily Peacock. Greetings long, cold winter with plenty of indoor time, hello cool stitching project. Emily Peacock is where it’s at for contemporary tapestry with lots of kits to choose from, including a Rob Ryan collab. From around £36.
Vivienne Westwood flannel. Whoever thought I’d be saying that something was the hotness in flannels? Perfect for a decadent bathtime. £15 Vivienne Westwood.
Barielle 60 Second Mani-Pedi. I’m sure I’m not the only mama who hasn’t the time nor the money to be traipsing in and out beauty salons each week – cue, a shortcut in the form of a tub full of fast acting Dead Sea salts that will cure you of a hammertime. £15 Salon Skincare.
Murdock Pre-Shave Oil. I hear great things about this oil – packed with Wheat Germ, Bergamot, Sweet Almond and Orange to moisturise the skin for changing, this a luxe bit of shave gear that will be greatly appreciated. £20.43 Murdoch London.
Gin & tonic bathing foam. Great for having a cocktail soak without the hangover, £7.95 Handpicked Collection.
A cool pair of slippers. Hearting Toast’s Fair Isle bootie slippers which come in mustard, oatmeal, and washed black, £39, and I’m actually wearing the striped Moccis as I type this (they’re so good I’ve worn another pair all the way into theatre to have our second child), £28.99, and Muji are the goto for cool, understated slippers for both men and women, starting from around £8.95. Also check out Plumo’s satin and embroidered slippers, £18, plus although they won’t be delivered until after Christmas, do check out Glerups felt shoes at Cloudberry Living, £59.95 in orange, pink, black and grey.
Mollie Makes magazine subscription. I’m a big fan of this lifestyle and craft magazine which I was originally tipped off about by another mama at the school gate. Stuffed full of tutorials and inspiration (I’m currently knitting mustard coloured mug cosy’s – very easy by the way), £48.49 for a years subscription.
Homebirds
Fuzzy Felt fridge magnets. Containing over ninety magnets, this is a serious dose of nostalgia heaven! £7.99 Hunkydory Home.
Scrabble mugs. Available in all 26 letters with the letter score plus the letter distribution chart on the back. £6.95 Colloco. We also have the Scrabble fridge magnets set which many a house guest has been unable to resist.
Blossom & Bill mug. Perfect for a cheeky cuppa featuring ISAK’s retro Scandi couple. £10 Hunkydory Home.
Decorate: 1000 Professional Design Ideas for Every Room in the House and Design Sponge at Home books. I know it’s not just me that likes to drool over pages and pages of interior inspiration – these must-haves are by two of the most popular interiors bloggers around. RRP £30 and £20 respectively and available at all good booksellers.
Bakelite style clocks. Hit the oversized snooze button in retro style. £10 Berry Red. Also try Dotcomgiftshop.
Tala 1960’s range of vintage bottles. I gave a couple of these to my aunt a few months back rather grudgingly – they look fabu in kitchens and are by one of the oldest British cookware brands around. £5.95 for 500ml and £7.95 for 1L Kitchens.
Johnston Type Double oven glove. Perfect for the typography geek that’s handy in the kitchen. £12.99 London Transport Museum.
Jewellery & Accessories
Maria Allen personalised love letter necklaces. Ticking our quirky, handmade, delightfully purse friendly, cool, and personalised boxes, nab one in silver or brass and put your message of choice on the wooden insert which goes inside the envelope. £30 and there’s also some other far too tempting creations starting from a tenner!
Liberty print knot watches. Absolutely loving these watches available in a selection of some of Liberty’s most swoonsome prints. £59, Liberty.
Marc Jacobs earrings. For fun, standout earrings, these are the hotness! £25-£50 Harvey Nichols
G-shock watches. Billed as ‘mens’ watches but definitely suitable for both sexes, these chunky buys popping with colour (you can get black and white too) are robust and packed full of features – my yellow delight is one of my all time favourite possessions. RRP £90-£125 Selfridges. I also spotted the red shown at The Watch Hut for £70.
Shak-Shuka We’re a big fan of these here at BG (you can even get Mama & Me sets with a mini version of yours included) and they’re made from beads from renewable forest plantations in scrumptious colours. €28-€52 Shak Shuka
Out & About
Converse for winter. Converse have toughened up for the winter weather with a range of boots – yay! £45-£90 Converse – be warned that the flash site is a bit bonkers (go to the search page and put in ‘winter’) in Firefox but they do have sale on currently so worth checking out or check their stockists.
Kristin tote. A roomy, sexy bag that you can toss everything including kid gear into in style, it’s also a steal in the sale. Oh and check in store for the orange one which seems to be unavailable online! Was £79.50, now £39.99 Banana Republic. For bolder colour and contrast strap, but with a bigger pricetag, try the Mary Portas for Radley London shopper, £189 House of Fraser.
Anorak Kissing Animals bags and purses. We’re still hardcore fans of all things Anorak – the canvas shoppers, purses, and toiletry bags are fantastic. £7.50 – £25 in various sizes and prints at Anorak.
Stylish travel cups. A cool alternative to the flask and eco friendly too. Floral cup, £12.50 Oliver Bonas and Sagaform’s leaf and striped cups, £12.50 The Pod Company.
Clutch fantastic. Seriously loving Zid Zid’s roomy clutches that can be used for kid paraphernalia, your paperwork for toting in style, £22 Sisters Guild in metallic elephant, as well as orange and green. ASOS is great for large clutches including their leather and metallic envelope buy, £35. Then there’s Topshop, which is a hotspot for chic clutches that don’t bust the bank including the yellow leopard print faux ponyskin joy (also available in other popping colourways), £35 and the seriously hubba tan leather clutch, £30.
Covers and cases. You know you need something fabulous to stow your tech pride and joy. The Marc by Marc Jacobs range of cases are great including the Havana shown from £60, Selfridges. Cote et Ciel sleeves made from diver fabric, £35-£40, plus they also do some very cool totes and rucksacks, Selfridges – if you want to go swish there, check out the Mulberry cases. Let us not forget Orla Kiely’s range of cases, from £70. Moleskine Kindle (for version 2 not the latest), £34.99 and iPad covers.
Bits & Bobs
Rice DK glasses cases. Ever weak for a bit of granny boho chic from the Danish superbrand, these come in three different designs. £18 Nelly Pepper.
Chase Marmalade Vodka. I tasted this a few months ago at their Christmas in July event – it’s made from all of the leftover potatoes from making my favourite crisps, Tyrrells. £34 John Lewis
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our gift guides.
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