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If you’re a regular on AlexandAlexa.com, you might have noticed that our range of merchandise has been growing and growing, with more and more products being uploaded online every day. Now, not only have we got a huge range of luxury kids wear designers available at the click of a button, we also have a brilliant range of toys and gifts. From tea sets to crayons, to building blocks to racing cars, we have an amazing selection of playthings that will no doubt keep your little ones happy and occupied for hours!

One of our more dominant brands is Vilac. Starting life in 1911, Vilac wooden toys are still made in a factory in the beautiful French Jura Mountains. The popularity of wood as a construction material is as strong now as ever, and Vilac toys take full advantage of this reputation. Their toys are beautifully made, still partly by hand, and the rich, deep and bright colours are obtained by using a special lacquer in which they are dipped. There is something quaint and old fashioned about the Vilac toys which makes them extremely appealing! Click here to view the full range of Vilac toys, which include a pirate jack-in-the-box, a wooden plane and an ice cream handle skipping rope.

A particular favourite of ours here at Alex and Alexa, is the pull along Elmer toy. Some of you may already be familiar with Elmer the Elephant; Most of us at A&A distinctly remember being read this book in primary school and absolutely loving it!

The story is by David McKee and is about an elephant called Elmer who is very different from his fellow elephants… He is patchwork! The story follows Elmer and his worries about his colour and standing out from the crowd. The story is sweet and heart-warming, and teaches children that it is ok to be different. Over 20 book titles have been created since its first publication in 1989, and it has sold nearly 5 million copies in 40 languages around the world. The character has also been turned into a children’s TV series.

 Made from multi-coloured lacquered wood with big coloured wheels and a black string to pull him along, Elmer the Elephant is super cute and is sure to accompany your little one wherever they may go!

If you like him, and want to know more about his story, check out the website http://www.andersenpress.co.uk/elmer. There you will find information on more Elmer books and the author David McKee, a free colour-me-in print out of Elmer himself and a fun Elmer puzzle game for your little one to enjoy.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Paper dolls have existed as long as there has been paper and creative people to apply images to it. The first manufactured paper doll, Little Fanny, was produced by S&J Fuller, in London, in 1810.

200 years later, paper dolls are still a cherished toy for little ones, and when it comes to paper dolls today, we could find nothing better than the dolls created by the artistic mummy behind minimepaperdolls.com

THE MUM OF MINI ME PAPER DOLLS

Having always loved paper dolls herself, minimepaperdolls.com creator, Hannah, remembers her mom pulling out a box full of paper dolls that she had saved from girlhood, just for Hannah and her sister. Inspired by her mom’s gift, Hannah wanted to give her daughters the same experience and allow them to discover the world of paper dolls for themselves.

WHY THE DOLLS ARE SO DELIGHTFUL

With her past experience as a muralist, Hannah had seen how much children’s eyes light up, there was something in their bedroom murals that had their name on it, or something they had picked out and wanted to translate that experience for children to her dolls.

To achieve this, Hannah customizes each doll, so that as you order, you can choose the doll’s name, hair colour, hair style, eye colour and skin tone to resemble your little girl.

SWEET STYLE

Each of the dolls come with a collection of outfits to get her though her busy day of imaginative play. On top of fashionable seasonal outfits, minimedolls.com also has a fairytale line, where your little ones doll can transform into their favourite fairytale character, and a literature line with outfits that can transform the doll into storybook favourites like Anne of Green Gables. Kiddies can also join the ‘outfit of the month’ club to receive a new outfit for their dolly.

To top it off, with each order you also receive a disk with all the artwork for the dolls wardrobe so you are able to print out new dolls and clothes as they get worn out from play.

THE AMAZING STICKY STRIP

Each paper doll comes with a clever little sticky strip which is a double-sided reusable adhesive that attaches to the doll and enables little ones to change the dolls clothing without tabs or tearing!

COMING UP

Hannah will be adding a boy doll to the line, a Sportswear range, and both male and female Fall clothing.

THE PERSONALIZED PAPER DOLL GIVEAWAY

The Ultimate Paper Doll Package (Customized for your little one!) includes:

*Personalized hand drawn and digitally coloured MiniMe doll with name stand

*6 adorable outfits

* Amazing reusable adhesive strip so you have the option of playing with or without tabs!

* “All About Me” pages (four pages for your favourite girl to fill out and keep as a memento).

* A special “Keepsake Doll Set” that is signed and dated by the artist Hannah Stevenson.

* A CD with custom doll outfits and “All About Me” pages for reprinting.

HOW TO ENTER

Either:

a) Leave a comment below with your favourite paper doll memory from childhood or what impresses you most about minimepaperdolls

b) ‘Like’ us on facebook

(if you like us on facebook, leave a comment on our wall saying: “enter me in the mini me dolls giveaway!”)

OR

c) Follow us on Twitter

(if you follow us on Twitter, Tweet “@theirlilworld my mini me dolls entry!” to let us know).

* Contest Closes Friday, August 6. Winner will be picked out of a hat!

Most of us will remember, a time in childhood, when you turned a simple cardboard box into something amazing.

Perhaps it was a rainy day when you were about four. Perhaps your mum had put your little sisters down for a nap and it was your special mummy-eldest daughter time. Perhaps your mum had just bought a new appliance which left a large empty box when un packed. Perhaps your mum decided you should make a stove together. Perhaps, you spent the afternoon painting the box pink, creating elements out of tin foil, temperature knobs out painted of jar lids and so on. And, perhaps, it was the pride and joy of your playroom until a jealous play date destroyed it, just to stop you from bragging. Just perhaps.

Most adults have a hypothetical story similar to this, and every holiday or birthday, you will watch your children become far more interested in the box the gift came in than the actual gift itself. It is no secret that kids love to play with cardboard boxes, transforming them into everything from forts to robots.

One clever parent, inspired by his son’s passion for ‘cardboard box remodelling’, came up with Makedo, which is a construction set containing clips, hinges and a miniature saw allowing children to safely combine them with found materials and assemble anything they can dream.

The idea is to inspire social change through creativity, enabling unwanted objects that would normally be binned a new chance at life.

The Makedo website is a great place to pull inspiration from for projects you and the kids can do, or to share your own creative constructions as users have sent in pictures of things they have made with their kids, ranging from incredible forts and cars to costumes and creatures.

You can find Makedo at www.makedo.com.au

How to makedo – extended from MAKEDO on Vimeo.

While taking part in our daily routine of reading our favourite kids blogs, we came across one of our favourites, Little Scandinavian where Scandinavian Mum Bianca had written a post on one of the products from Danish brand Maileg.

As we are HUGE fans of Scandinavians and Scandinavia, we had no choice but to steal her lead and cover the brand for ourselves…..så tak Bianca!

The products produced by Maileg are cute as can be, with sweet and soft rabbits, teddies, clowns, mice and even rats all of which are 100% cotton!

We chose our favourites of each for your viewing pleasure; let us know what you think of this cute brand and special thanks to Bianca for making us aware of the brand!

MOUSE IN A HOUSE

PRINCESS AND THE PEA

PETER RABBITS EXTENDED FAMILY

BIRTHDAY CLOWN

For a list of retailers selling Maileg, visit http://www.maileg.dk/frontpage

Unless you grew up in a cave in some remote part of the world, when you were a child, Lite-Brite was in your Top 5 Favourite Toys.

The only problem with this particular toy was that once you had completed your masterpiece, often you inspired to do another; however, this meant you would have to destroy your newest piece of art and the thought of that was just too much to bare.

But times have changed with the introduction of the Lite-Brite Cubed which gives your kids four faces for four pictures, or room for friends and siblings to join in too!

You can find Lite-Brite Cubed online at Think Geek

If your kids love drama or are little story tellers in the making, this beautiful wooden retro wooden finger puppet theatre is the perfect toy for them.

Complete with stage and five charming wooden characters and packaged in a Vintage style box, this timeless toy is sure to appeal to your kids and you as it encourages imaginative play and creative fun.  

The charming retro style toy comes from Berry Red, a Lifestyle Boutique that specializes in Home and Garden products, all of which are chosen based on their quality of design and vintage-based style.

You can find the Finger Puppet Theatre online  for £12.50

If your little ones have a bit of a green finger and you want to take advantage of the great weather, now is the perfect time to show your little ones how to garden!

Mr. McGregor’s Gardening Kit is a great kid friendly kit that encourages children to grow and eat their own veg! Plus at £3.95, this locally made product is the perfect little gift for your 3 and ups and can keep the whole family entertained outdoors during the weekend!

The kit contains 1.4m of seed tape to grow a long straight row of vegetables, a label to mark the seeds and a little rabbit soap to wash muddy hands afterwards!

The Zoomster bunny is a great addition to your 18 months and older kids riding toys, Easter season or not.

The brightly coloured, cute as a button toy has multi-directional castors, meaning your little Zoomster can go forwards, backwards, sideways and around with minimum effort!

All of the Zoomster Roller’s are made from quality, sustainably-sourced materials. Each one also features storage space under the seat (incase Barbie and teddy want to come for a ride too).

Any of the woodworks4children Rockers and Rollers are a great buy as they facilitate the advancement of children’s gross motor skills plus, they’re loads of fun too!

you can find woodworks4children products at www.notonthehighstreet.com

Toys that children can be entertained with, allow them to be creative and let them dip into the world of make believe are a must for any toy chest. And one type of toy that can do all that is a play scene.

We picked our Top 5 Play Scenes that are sure to keep the kids at play for hours.

1

Berry Red: Great Ark, £75.00

2

Mintyhen: Medieval Castle, £29.95

3

Crafts4Kids: Build and Play Wooden Fort, £40.00

4

I Love Toys: Fold and Go Barn, £54.49

5

The Great Little Hamper Company: Teepee, £26.99

The Ecotronic Farm Flashlight from International Playthings turns scary places into fun spots, and best of all, they never need a battery. Kids simply squeeze them and they light up.

Whether your kiddie is a night time adventurer or just a bit scared of the dark, these eco-friendly, kid-sized flashlights are perfect for exploration of shadowy corners or instant ridding of monsters, all with one simple squeeze.

The four fun designs include a cow, pig, duck and dog. Each animals nose lights up when switched on and the side lever that when squeezed gives the flashlight energy, stores inside the body.

You can find Ecotronic Farm Flashlights at www.intlplay.com