Recently I went to the Mothercare UK Christmas in July event to get a preview of some of the new ranges that will be coming out for Autumn Winter in Mothercare UK. I am quite fond of Mothercare, its one of the shops I really relied on when expecting my first baby and he has even modelled for them as he got a bit older so they do have a special place in my heart for that reason 😀
The Christmas in July event was over two days and I was only available to go on the first day so unfortunately I missed Myleene Klass and Jools Oliver coming in person to show off their new ranges (Baby K and Little Bird) which is a shame but I did still get to see loads of the new clothes and toys, which I will share with you now!
Both the collections are quite different and I really like both in their own ways. As you would expect from these ranges, the new Baby K collection is very funky and modern and fashionable with animal prints and bold statements and whereas the Little Bird collection is very timeless with the cute simplicity of rainbows, toadstools and little ducks. I love Little Bird for a young baby or every day play and Baby K for those days when you want to dress your little one to impress! And I must say I do love the knitted toadstool in the Little Bird display above – so cute for a baby’s nursery!
Here’s a hint of some of the other new ranges coming out for Autumn/Winter at Mothercare:
Bright wellies!
Lovely Autumn colours
Black and red, rock style!
The Early Learning Centre were also at the event, showing off the next seasons toys which will be out in time for Christmas. I really like kids toys – for some reason I have just never grown out of this so I still get excited over them almost as much as the children. I love having an excuse to buy toys for my kids or friends and relatives cos it is always so fun to browse and choose, so seeing the new ranges from ELC was great.
Like Mothercare, ELC is a brand I really trust and rely on.(See here to see what I recently got from them for the Portage charity in my #RetailRoyaltyChallenge) I have memories of enjoying trips to the Early Learning Centre as a child as they used to keep toys out for the children to play on. I am still meaning to go and have a look at the new and improved Mothercare and ELC store they have in Edmonton as that sounds lovely (I wish they would make one a little more over my way in West London.. hint hint Mothercare – Build us one in Hillingdon 😉 )
Anyway, over to the toys!
The first thing I spotted when I came in was a big display of toys which I didn’t recognise at all. They are the new ToyBox range which is suitable for 12 months+ so for slightly younger than the familiar HappyLand range. They are slightly chunkier and have pose-able moveable limbs, and are very cute! Here you can see some of the soldiers, which are lovely – Very British, they remind me of the Buckingham palace guards. My littlest one would love these. He has been very into small world and little figure since he was about 12 months (now 23 months – can’t believe the time is flying so quick he is almost 2!!) so its nice to see these aimed at the slightly younger age range as that is not something I have seen so much, with most of these type of toys being for 18 months+
Here’s the full stand with all sorts of different characters available from animals to people. My favourites are the soldiers shown above.
For those who want to stick with their tried and tested HappyLand there are also some great HappyLand sets out, like this medieval style castle which looks a lot of fun! HappyLand is suitable from about 18 months to 5 years, so a little older than the new ToyBox
Another really visually appealing range are these bright colourful wooden instruments. These are beautifully made and very reasonably priced too as they will be starting at £5 for the shakers and bells. These would make a lovely gift as they are so well made and would be nice to have out on display in a playroom too. They have quite a different look from other toy instruments I have seen around, with the distinctive stripe designs.
Another toy I liked the look of is this wheely wooden kitchen which is really compact. I love some of the really large kitchens you see around but for many people space is an issue. Although I might struggle to get space for some of the bigger kitchens in the house, this one would definitely be no problem. It looks really handy and is in lovely bright gender neutral colours. This is always a plus, as I have boys who do enjoy playing kitchens. Again, very reasonably priced at £45
And finally some ideas for the littlest ones:
Such cute bright building blocks, very chunky and a great traditional toy for baby and toddlers development
Cute soft activity toy – Awww! I Can’t dwell on this younger baby stuff too much or I will end up making myself broody! But this would be lovely for a little one with lots of textures and different bits and pieces to explore.
Let me know which ones have caught your eye in the Mothercare Autumn Winter range! These will all be out in shops very soon.
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