10 Best: ideas for a tree-themed room

  The branches may be bare at the moment, but I can’t help but think of spring and greenery. Although far removed from trad teddies and bunnies, trees are a fantastic unisex theme for a nursery – great if you don’t know what flavour you’re expecting. Designers love them as well – there’s a veritable [...]

Kid O A Night at the Opera wooden play set

If your house is anything like ours, it’s swamped with toys post-Christmas, but I must admit I’m sorely tempted by this little beauty from the ever-fabulous Kid O. The opera-themed play set comprises 16 wooden play pieces (singers – love the large pink-haired soprano – and props), a wooden base tray, a double-sided backdrop and [...]

BG Christmas gift guide 2011: stocking filler ideas under £1

Welcome to the BG Christmas Gift Guide 2011. Austerity measures may be in place for Christmas this year, but that doesn’t mean you need to forgo the traditional stocking. And cheap needn’t mean nasty. We’ve trawled the web to find a myriad of mini treasures for less than a pound. Bookmark and refer back when [...]

BG Christmas Gift Guide 2011: Age 3 – 4

Welcome to the BG Christmas Gift Guide 2011. Here is our selection of goodies for children aged three to four. Older toddlers still love pretend play, so small world toys and role playing sets are extremely popular, as are simple board games, puzzles and, of course, the ubiquitous mini micro scooter – how else does [...]

Miniio dolls houses

I have to admit an irrational dislike of most modern dollhouses. I don’t know whether it’s because most of them are so twee or whether it’s because I’ve got the best one ever at my mum’s, handmade for me by my aunt and uncle, oh, aeons ago. But I have to say my opinion is [...]

15% off at Funky Moose

Online family living hotspot Funky Moose is giving BG readers a cool 15% off their range which includes mealtime accessories, wooden toys, ride-ons, playhouses, party bits, changing bags, creativity and educational gear. Some of my favourites include the Babymel’s big slouchy changing bag in twisted olive, £45 and the high up on my gift shopping [...]

Tegu magnetic wooden blocks

You know that moment you see something and think, ‘What an excellent idea. Why didn’t I come up with that?’ Well, I’m experiencing that over Tegu magnetic (yes, magnetic!) wooden blocks. Handcrafted in Honduras from sustainable woods the ‘blocks’ are actually a mix of cubes and planks containing inaccessible magnets within.  There are three different [...]

Hot Preview: Muji Christmas Gifts

Here at BG, we’re mega Muji fans and every year I keep an eye out for their always amazing Christmas collection of gifts which are always high quality, well designed, lots of eco friendly wood, and popping with imagination and style. This year, Muji have actually tipped us off early and given us a preview [...]

Stacking Rings

Sometimes you see a product which blows your socks off. These Stacking Hoops from Play to Z are one such product. Taking the classic stacking rings toy and mixing it up with treasure basket principles a brand new sensory toy is born. There are twenty different stacking hoops made of diverse tactile materials including banana [...]

Little Sapling Toys Brainbow

One of the loveliest presents Alfie received as a baby was a Grimm’s wooden stacking rainbow. He loved fitting the arcs together then and still enjoys playing with it now. I really love Little Sapling’s neutral take on the theme, the Brainbow, about £20 – a beautiful set of six arches in Maple, Cherry and [...]

Cubebot wooden robot

How cool is this little chap? I can’t get enough of Cubebot’s cheeky obsession and ability to squidge down into a cube, like some sort of retro transformer. Made from cherry and beech and keenly priced at £23 for small and £32.40 for medium, it’s an affordable way to own a piece of David Weeks’ [...]

To Be Us wooden car

To Be Us is an ultra-cool Italian design company who have created a range of minimalist wooden toys. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to track down the whole collection on sale anywhere available to the UK, but style spies Orfeo Design do stock the La Berlina car, £39, designed by Matteo Ragni and handmade in Brianza, [...]

Mini ice-cream shop… or open-topped building

We all know that, provided with nothing else, kids will play with three pebbles and a bit of string. That is the beauty of open-ended toys like this piece from Mouta. It’s sold as “a small open-topped building… or an ice cream shop?” – the question mark is theirs. I could form a theory that [...]

Normann Copenhagen New Born Box

Tired of all the dull new baby gifts on the market? Danish design company Normann Copenhagen (they of the squishy rubber washing bowls) to the rescue! I am absolutely loving this cute gift set containing Ole Søndergaard’s classic laquered wood Plane (plus wire so you can hang it as a mobile) and a long-sleeved cotton [...]

10 Best: Ideas for a New York-themed room

After researching goodies based on London’s iconography, I got to thinking about New York as a possible theme for a children’s room. Then a prompt from a BG reader for ideas propelled me into action. Firstly, the walls. There is so much Manhattan art around, but I really like the educational slant (and blue and [...]

Next Page »