All Budget Gift Guide for Under Fives

Whether you're shopping for your own children or someone else's, it's fair to say you probably have a budget in your head. Nobody walks into a shop or logs online with no idea of how much they'd like to spend. With that in mind, today I'd like to show you my pick of Christmas gifts for the under-fives for all budgets!

Under ones.

Tutu - £20 - Itsy Buts Boutique.

I'm not going to lie...there's nothing cuter than a little girl in a frilly tutu. Hands up, I can't resist a bit of frothiness! Itsy Bits have lots of lovely things on offer but these are by far my favourites! They're also running some great Christmas promotions at the moment making them even more the best-value tutu boutique online!

Tummy with Mummy - £45 - Amazon.

Super-sweet little chair that grows with your baby, a safe space for tummy time before evolving into a sitting space for toddlers.

Play Duvet - £75 - Play Duvet.

Such a simple but genius idea. I love it and I want one oh-so-bad! A gigantic, squishy play mat big enough to fit all the family on, fully-washable and lasts for years! I love the pattern also. Just don't forget to grab yourself a double duvet to pop inside!

1-3.

Happy Hopper - £20 - Amazon.

Moo's had one of these since she turned one, she loves it and still gets a lot of enjoyment out of it now! They come on a variety of sizes also to suit different ages/body types!

Trampoline - £35 - Mothercare.

Who doesn't love a trampoline?! And it's a Giraffe!!

Train table £100 - Mothercare

Chop chop! Brilliant fun and it comes with all the parts, a definite for any transport made boy or girl!! £100 well spent I think.

3+

Bean Bag - £28.50 - Teeny Beanies.

Such a cutie! I love the beautiful faces and how you can personalise them. This is a really unique and attractive gift, one that I doubt you'd find under the tree from anyone else!

Innotab - £70 - Amazon.

We bought Moo one of these for her birthday and she adores it. It's fun and educational and gets her off of our iPads! You can buy games, once again, in different age groups to ensure they are age-appropriate and keep your child's attention.

Rocking Horse - £300 - Little Bird Told Me.

You probably already know that I love a traditional toy and the rocking horse is the king of them. These offerings are beautifully crafted with stunning fabrics. They will last you many, many years and many, many children! A great investment.

Clare

Flamingos and Dominoes

If you pop by here semi-regularly, then you'll know that I'm a sucker for design. Colourful, unique and quirky patterns and fabrics are like cat nip to me. I love them. I can't resist them and it's because of this that I stumbled upon Flamingos and Dominoes.

Flamingos and Dominoes is the brainchild of Helen, a mummy and independent designer, that make beautiful, colourful and unisex clothes for children from baby to four-years. There are currently three collections in their shop; 'Alphabet', 'Horsey Horsey' and 'Zebra Spots', all of which are made in the UK.

We were lucky enough to receive a little baby vest to try in the 'Horsey Horsey' print. I'm quite fond of our equine friends, and these particular ones, in blue and pink, look like old-fashioned rocking horses. I love the kitsch, retro-esque, screen-style print and the vivid colour.

The cotton is incredibly soft to touch which is ideal for babies delicate skin. The label looks as if it might be rough against skin, but it's not and Bear seemed utterly unbothered by it. The size seen is 3-6m, Bear is approximately 12lbs at two months (chunky boy), so as you can see it is very roomy with lots of space to grow.

I found the item washed really well with no shrinkage or colour-run, and dried very quickly on the line. The poppers at the bottom were easy to clasp shut and remained so throughout wear.

Here are my pros and cons...

Pros.

- Good quality fabric with attractive design.

- Washing instructions printed directly onto the inside of the garment so if you are the type who cuts the tags out, you'll still have them to reference.

- Washes beautifully at both 40 and 30 degrees.

Cons.

- Although the print is unisex, the pink horses are brighter than the blue, making them stand out more which to me personally makes me think more feminine that unisex, but that's a personal thing.

You can buy the Horsey Horsey Short Sleeve Babygrow for £24 from Flaminos and Dominoes, I would make a great new baby gift, you can even get a beautiful, reusable, castle-shaped gift box to wrap it in (£4).

Clare

Please note this item was provided for the purpose of review, however all opinions and thoughts are my own.

The Baby Box Buzz

Somewhere around late 2010, early 2011 a new phenomena hit the UK; beauty boxes.

Based on a French idea, they're monthly subscription boxes costing around £10 a month that give you a chance to sample brands (not always luxury, some more affordable) that you might not necessarily discover otherwise. The front runner of this was Glossybox which I subscribed to for awhile, but I found their customer service to be somewhat lacking (and I am very much focused on service when it comes to value for money), I also subscribed to Jolie Box which was my favourite of the two. I subscribe to neither now as the novelty wore off somewhat as I was only interested in make-up. Glossybox are still prominent in the beauty world, though every beauty blogger and then some seems to have them and approximately once monthly my Bloglovin' is filled with 'unboxings'.

All that said, it's old news and old hat and to those of us who are getting just plain 'old', it's done and there's something new on the scene; the baby box.

Once again, an idea that started in Europe and has made it's way to our humble, little island; this time offering a monthly subscription box of 'baby essentials'. As a mum, this now excites me more than a box aimed just at myself, and I think that the majority of parents will agree. Being a mum is a huge sacrifice and you do tend to stop focussing so much on yourself, it's nice to have treats, yes, but I'd much rather spend my disposable income on my children than myself because their happiness is my everything. That said, the new boxes on the scene do promise to include treats for Mum and Dad too so hooray for that! I love a treat!

The obvious advantage to a monthly subscription service is that as a busy mum to one or more, the best products on the baby market suitable for your child are being delivered strait to you, negating the need to shop, price-compare and stress! I need that in my life! Need. Do you hear me? Need!

There are two big names on the block and here's a quick round up of what they each have to offer!

Nonabox.

Originally a European brand (Spain, Italy, Germany and Austria), they've hit the United Kingdom, launching last week with their boxes from new baby up to two years of age, saying they target the contents to your 'stage of motherhood'. They promise to provide a variety of luxury products from the United Kingdom for you and your baby at a cost of £25 per month (including delivery) with the contents averaging a retail value of around £70 with 7-10 items per box. They also plan to have themed seasonal boxes throughout the year.

Nonabox are currently offering 20% off when you sign up online as well as a free Cloud B Sheep Aroma pillow worth £16 to the first 1000 subscribers.

Image curtesy of Nonabox.

Sassy Bloom.

Sassy Bloom is a British brand (whose first customers were Wills and Kate) who also intend to launch this month. With prices starting from £22.15 per month (with free postage), Sassy Bloom promise to deliver a specially tailored 'sassy box' monthly to you with contents aimed specifically at your child's age across a range of luxury brands in development, nibbles and practicality from around the globe as tried by their panel of mothers and babies! It's not just branded baby goods either, there'll be treats for parents too as well as personalised gifts. The brand vows to bring to you the 'latest and greatest', in tried and tested products of the baby world elite! Each box guarantees a retail value of upwards of £30 in retail value with 5-6 items per box.

Sassy Bloom are running a competition on their website at the moment to give away a generous twelve month subscription to one person! They're also giving away five monthly boxes and promise a complimentary box with every twelve-monthly subscription.

Image curtesy of Sassy Bloom.

I'm not here to tell you which box to subscribe to because to be honest, both excite me in a way that handbags and blushers once did!

Unlike beauty boxes, it is a much quicker moving market. Children grow quickly, but there are constantly more being born to replace those who have grown up and new products with modern designs being released constantly whereas there's only so many sample lipsticks and hand creams one person can own (seriously, I had such a stash of it all from beauty boxes, I was giving it to my friends)! Because of this, I'm confident that the baby box will be huge and will be staying!

If you're really not sure but would like to try, you could buy one as a gift for an expectant friend as they would make a wonderful present for a new-mum or mummy-to-be! Look out for reviews coming soon...

If you've got your mitts on one of these boxes then lucky you, what did you think? Please let me know!

Clare

Please note this is not a sponsored post from either company, nor a comparison, it is an informative piece about baby box subscriptions within the UK. All information is accurate on date of publishing and all opinions are my own.