Gifted Originals

It’s official: old favourites like Winnie and Noddy are no longer the supreme rulers over the children’s toy industry. While the veterans have failed to see a rise in sales, Peppa Pig, the five-year-old pink lady who likes to jump in puddles, has seen a whopping 30 per cent increase in growth, only being pipped to the post by Thomas the Tank Engine.

In January this year, £831,000 worth of Peppa merchandise was sold compared with £320,000 of Winnie toys and £205,000 for Noddy. Only Thomas was more, with £1.17 million of sales, though according to toy industry sources, in some months leading up to Christmas Peppa outsold Thomas.

The figures are seen as further prove of the shifting preferences of toodlers, with the sales of Winnie and Noddy being attributed to the nostalgia of adults, but the kids preferring the much more fashionable Pippa.

Lasting just five minutes long, the animated programmes are about Peppa, who is a five-year pig, with a fondness for ballet, biscuits and getting her trotters wet. She lives with her annoying younger brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig, who snores loudly. Colin Fox, the marketing manager of Character, the company that manufactures most of the merchandise, said: “Five minute bursts are perfect to hold the attention of preschool children. And it is perfect family friendly viewing. Peppa is a good girl in a happy family.”

Like a cup of warm milk, Winnie and Noddy will always associated with soothing childhood memories, forever providing that little bit of escapism for adults, and the enchantment and excitement for children. Yes, sales may drop, but who can put a price on memories?

We all know the great difficulty of trying to capture a child’s imagination and attention when learning, then the added pressure of keeping it. Whether it’s learning their ‘ABC’ or ‘123′, a canny little tune is incorporated to make learning fun and most importantly, easy to learn; even now I can’t think of the alphabet without the little rhythm I originally learnt it to.

Always the most difficult to learn, time and date are a stumbling block for even the most brightest of children, but once you throw a few bright colours in the mix and moving hands, then voila, you’re halfway there.

The Calendar Clock, £10.99, has all the essential ingredients to help facilitate the learning of all children. Everday, the month, date season and weather condition can be recorded, and also has the essential moving hands so they can learn to tell the time.

We admit, this particular Calendar Song may not be the best, but hey, it’s a start. Once they become more comfortable with the calendar, they can start writing their own little catchy numbers that will ensure June and July will never get mixed up again.

Knowing the sex of your unborn baby really is a personal choice. There are those in the ’surprise’ camp who want it to play the guessing game for from 16-weeks onwards, to those in the ‘tell me now’ camp who just have to know. But, did anyone regret not finding out the sex?

That’s the question ‘mommy’ website, Lil Sugar, is asking. Here’s the post submitted by Beany:

“Hi all. I’m almost 16 weeks pregnant with our first baby, and my hubby and I are overjoyed. In about a month, we have the big appointment where we can learn our baby’s gender (if he or she cooperates). It’s very exciting, but the thing is, when we first found out I was prego, my husband wanted to find out if the little one was a boy or girl, and I was adamant about not finding out. Now that it’s getting closer to the time when we can find out, he’s changed his mind and wants to keep it a surprise till the big day, but now I’m leaning toward finding out.

I guess I’m just feeling like if we don’t find out at our next appointment, then we’ll have to wait another five months or so. I’m also thinking about how much fun it will be to decorate the nursery, make a baby quilt (that’s not just cream-colored), and start picking up some baby dresses or baseball hats. I still love the idea of keeping it a surprise until August, when he or she is born, because really, when do you get to have such a huge surprise like that in your life?

Plus, about 98 percent of the other pregnant women I know all know what they’re having, and it seems so few people are waiting until the big moment when the baby arrives. So I’m wondering if there are any moms out there who regretted not finding out, and if waiting the full nine months was really tough.”

So which camp do you fall in, ’surprise’ or ‘tell me now’?

One of my fondest childhood memories is baking apple pie with my granny. From mixing the pastry, to stirring the cooking apples, I relished every moment of seeing, smelling then tasting the pie. What’s more, I could’ve burst with pride as it dished out on to everyone’s plates along with a dollop of cream, ahhh…..

Although it wasn’t the real thing, the toy kitchen in mine and my sister’s bedroom provided hours of fun; from the role play of granny and grandaughter (as the older one, I was always granny), to head chef and sous chef at the Michelin-award winning Chez McAuley’s, our kitchen felt like the real thing when the orders came flooding in, with only 15 minutes to plate up.

Now, I absolutely love to cook for me and my family, and my sister? Well, she’s at catering college and has dreams of becoming a patissier.

As Oscar Wilde once said, “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives.” Food really is one of life’s most pleasurable activities, from preparing and cooking a nourishing, homely cottage pie, to baking a naughty but delicious belgian chocolate cheesecake, to serving it up and hearing the “Mmmm, ahhhh” from the guests around the table – truly gratifying.

If you love to get the little ones in on the action when preparing dinner, but don’t have the time to make it a daily or weekly activity, then the Kitchen Cooker Centre, £81.99, could be ideal for those in-between moments. Providing hours of fun, it can be the opportunity for Ramsay Jnr to practice cooking three dishes at once, but because it’s not real, mum and dad don’t have to worry about the health and safety in the kitchen.

This well-made, double sided wooden kitchen comes with a sink and dishwasher and a 2 ring hob and oven – perfect for alternating between the head chef and porter roles.

Whereas the names Michael, Robert, Laura, and Katie, were once seen as sensible, good, ordinary names, celebrity parents are striving to call their offspring the most unique, some say strangest, names possible.

These days, any A-lister worth their salt have to conjure up the most imaginative (or daftest) name possible to show and prove their credentials. From Brangelina’s Shiloh, to Gwyneth’s Apple, and Beckhams’ Romeo, one American study published in the Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science, found that in recent years, even ‘ordinary’ parents have been less likely to give their children popular names.

Controversially though, researchers concluded, “The most compelling explanation left is this idea that parents are much more focused on their children standing out. There’s been this cultural shift toward focusing on the individual, toward standing out and being unique as opposed to fitting in with the group and following the rules.”

This was then followed by the most cutting statement of all, “I think it is an indication of our culture becoming more narcissistic”.

It’s not doubtful that being called Princess Tiaamii will make her stand out, but does it really make Katie Price is narcissistic, wanting the hog the limelight years down the line when her youth and success has long left her?

According to 72 per cent of Lil Sugar’s readers, ‘No — Picking a less common name for your kid doesn’t mean anything’, compared to 28 per cent who think that ‘Yes — I don’t know why people are going name crazy these days!’

But what do you think, are our offsprings’ names a reflection of out creativity and imagination, or just a way to feed our narcissistic impulses?

Most girls dream of being a prima ballerina – pirouetting across the stage to the backdrop of the Swan Lake, with Tchaikovsky’s magical music providing the soundtrack to the arabesque-fest and the grand plies galore.

As we get older, the dreams of being Margot Fonteyn subside to the realities of earning a decent crust, and what was a burning ambition aged 5 is a childhood memory at the ripe age of 30…it was good while it lasted, though!

If your little one is mesmerised by the images of ballerinas, and wants to look like one minus all the hard work, then the Stella Ballerina Outfit is the perfect solution. Recommended for ages 2-5, this gorgeous ballerina set, £9.99, comes with tutu, ruffled pants, boots and tiara headband.

While we’re not going to pretend it will turn Milly into Margot, it will provide the perfect costume to show mum and dad she can spin, kick, and bend. Who knows, it could be the start of something special, igniting a burning desire to take to the stage and become the prima ballerina many have dreamed of, but few have realised.

Every Forteyn has to start somewhere, and who says the Stella Ballerina Outfit isn’t it?

You can always count on Tim Burton to make the darkest, wackiest films in cinema. With his favourite actor Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, and actress and wife Helena Bonham Carter as the ‘ugly, oppressive queen’, Burton’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is the latest of his Victorian-period films.

This time though there’s a difference. This time, Alice and all that delicious but dark Wonderland will be in all it glorious 3D, jumping out of the screen to spellbind and thrill the audience. Opening to mixed reviews, such as “Tim Burton tampers with the children’s classic to his cost” (Observer), to, “In all, a fantastic film that gets curiouser and curiouser” (Times Online), Alice in Wonderland has always been a book, then film, that has divided audiences with its less-than-obvious themes.

Already grossing $41m on its opening on Friday, Alice and Wonderland 3D is apparently the biggest 3D release of all time, beating James Cameron’s Avatar, and will go a long way to reassure Disney, who spent a whopping $250m on the remake of the classic book.

So will it leave you grinning like the Cheshire Cat, or as Mad as a Hatter?

With Spring beckoning and the daffodils ready to bloom, now is the time to start tending to the garden. After the cold snap that saw Britain’s gardens covered in snow for weeks, some TLC is desperately called for to get them pruned and prepared, and what a better way than to tackle it as a family?

Miniature versions of mum and dad’s, our children’s Garden Tools are a fantastic way to introduce the young ones to the joys of gardening. Rather than forking out on expensive days out, the mud, worms, and ladybirds to be found in the garden are more likely to bring out their sense of adventure and wonder.

Including a trowel, shovel and rake, these three brightly coloured metal tools are heavy duty enough for Titchmarsh Junior to tackle his own little patch and create a haven for all the creepy crawlies he has discovered. Priced at £4.99, the Garden Tools really are the essential accessories for children who want to dig their way to the centre of the earth, and get covered in mud in the process.

For more information, type ‘garden tools’ into the keyword box on the Gifted Originals website.

When it first hit cinemas 15 years ago, Toy Story captured the imagination of adults and children alike. Introducing Woody and Buzz Lightyear, the Pixar animation was to mark the departure from classic 2D to cutting edge 3D.

Set for release in July, Toy Story 3 sees Andy leaving for college and after some twists and turns, the toys are accidentally donated to Sunnyside Daycare Center, where new characters such as Peas-in-a-Pod and Ken – of Barbie fame –  join the old favourites. Realising some of the new toys aren’t as friendly as they first thought, the toys discover Andy is desperately trying to find them.

Set for release on July 23, Toy Story 3 will once again capture the imagination of its older audience, while also appealing to a younger one.

Click on Toy Story 3 Official Movie Trailer to see the toys in action.

Dear readers, brace yourself for what you’re about to read.

Toys are our thing, we love them in fact – but maybe not as much as the people at Toy Travelling agency in the Czech capital, Prague. Recognising that in these recession-hit times we humans can’t afford the luxury of city breaks, the travel agency will take pictures of your beloved toy at Prague’s favourite sites for the fraction of the cost.

Most probably inspired by French film Amelie, Toy Travelling will keep you updated on his adventures through daily email communication, and send him home with photos of his journey. But what if Paddy is a vegetarian? Well, because your toy may have special preferences, you can opt for vegetarian-only meals for him and specify whether he drinks alcohol. This information will be useful to the tour operators, who, with your permission, will take your toy and a group of fellow toy travellers on a picnic.

On offer are three different packages, with the least expensive being the most basic, although if you’re going to go to the effort of sending Paddy to Prague, then he’s going to need a spa treatment to recuperate.

If this all sounds like good fun, then visit sendyourdarling.com