Gifted Originals

Logic would have that people who love good food are more likely to bring up children who share this appreciation. Mealtimes are when the family sit around the table, discuss the food, try different foods, and bond over the food, so what must it feel like for a foodie whose children don’t like food?

Writing for the Daily Mail, self-confessed foodie, Alex Renton, tells the readers he has ‘turned them into food bores of the worst sort – picky, suspicious and utterly determined to avoid anything new’, much preferring to live on plain pasta with cheese. Renton goes on to write, ‘This is a particular nightmare, because I am a foodie – it’s my job and my favourite activity. I want nothing more than to go on adventures of the stomach with the people I love most. But they only really want to go to KFC.’

Picky eating is synonymous with childhood. How many parents have had to endure the 5, 10, even an 18 year nightmare of having to coax, disguise, and near-force children to eat a bit of broccoli when they’d rather endure a thousand deaths? It must be particularly soul-destroying for a foodie to have a picky little eater, but this foodie admits the blame must lie with him.

‘I am to blame for this,’ he writes, referring to the time ‘when I offered a then trusting little four-year-old a pound if he would drink a teaspoon of Thai fish sauce. No, I don’t know what possessed me. Yes, Adam vomited. And I lost my boy’s confidence – in food matters, at least. “My relationship with food will never be the same,” he said the other day, having told the whole story again.’

I suppose the idea of a foodie breeding a food junky is akin to a vicar bringing up an atheist, but Renton, much like a clergyman, never gives up hope.

‘If I relax, stop pushing, keep paying the bills, perhaps one day he and I will sit down over a good glass of Orvieto to discuss the finer points of a risotto alla Milanese. If not a garlic-fried arachnid.’

Is that clear skies I see, freshly cut grass I smell, dogs barking and children laughing I hear? If so, it can only mean one thing: it’s a warm sunny day.

Such is the rarity of a warm sunny day, British people all tend to do the same thing: cut the grass or go to the park. Both activities imply that indoor-bound Brits descend on to any open space, desperate to bask in the warmth of the sun before the deluge of rain sends us back inside for another nine months. Aahh, but you’ve got to love our grab-it-while-you-can mentality.

As this behaviour becomes engrained from an early age, chances are the little one is basking in the freedom the warm, dry weather permits. While we don’t do al fresco like the Italians (we don’t get enough practice!), we do love a good picnic and barbeque, with the latter being in the adults’ capabilities. For the children, our Mini Picnic Basket is the perfect little set for little people. Each set includes 4 cups, 4 plates, 4 spoons and a delightful little tea-pot, sugar bowl and milk jug, and is perfect for Emily to entertain her friends. Packed in a perfect wicker basket, this is almost as quintessential as a British summer’s day.

If you thought ‘toy drops’ only happened in war-torn countries, think again. The act of making a toy then anonymously leave them in a public place for strangers to enjoy, is happening across Australia, and emerging around the world

Started as a street art project two years ago, the women behind The Toy Society are ’spreading the love throughout the streets of the world’ by inviting members to create handmade toys, place them in a bag to protect them from the elements and anonymously leave the packages in a public place (high enough to elude wandering dogs, low enough to catch a lil one’s eye) for a stranger to enjoy. Members notify others of their ‘toy drop’ on the group’s blog and finders are invited to inform the group of their discovery, if they so choose.

The only goal of the group is to ’spread happiness’ with more than 1200 toys distributed around the world as its membership has grown over the years, with over 60 toy drops being recorded in the UK. Gifted Originals cannot think of a better way to teach children (and adults) about the kindness of others, and that people don’t always give to receive.

Being able to tell your Shropshire from your Oxfordshire, and your Banffshire from your Lincolnshire, is a skill that not even most adults have (me included!). Providing your child with a headstart to secondary school geography classes can do a world of a good, least of all, making sure they know their own national geography just as well as they know Kuala Lumpur’s.

According to the Association of British Counties, “the historic counties of Britain are sources of identity and affection to many people. They are places – places where people live, places they are proud to “come from”. And they give us something else. Like every country Great Britain needs a stable geography- a set of commonly accepted names and areas for communication between people in all walks of life: business, education, the media etc. For centuries, the traditional Counties have fulfilled this role.”

Just as learning their ABCs opens up the world of language, learning about the British Isles through its counties provides a way to further understand its history and geography. What better way to start this than with the Map of the British Isles? This wooden, handmade and brightly coloured jigsaw of the British Isles comes with 28 pieces and a tray, making it a fun and educational gift, that will act as a reference guide through primary school and beyond.

Going through the Golden Arches as a child, is undeniably thrilling. For all its faults, McDonald’s really does make kids happy, with the Happy Meal the lynchpin of its success with children. Packed in the brightly illustrated box sits a hamburger, chips, strawberry milkshake and best of all, a toy – I’m filling up with nostalgic excitement as I write.

It seems though one Californian politician has had enough of Ronald McDonald’s toy offering, and wants to ban them in his county because he thinks they make kids fat. “We’re talking a very serious health issue,” Ken Yeager, of the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, said. “In Santa Clara County, childhood obesity is such a major issue.” SO much so, Yeager has asked county staff to draw up a law that would limit restaurants’ ability to offer a toy as incentive to buy a less-than-healthy meal.

“The fast food industry is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on these advertising campaigns to get kids to go into the restaurants and these kids have no idea the amount of calories and the poor nutrition in these meals,” Yeager said.

One can speculate and say that the politician has a point. Take Pavlov’s dog for example. Pavlov used a bell to call the dogs to their food and, after a few repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the bell. Thus, a neutral stimulus (bell) became a conditioned stimulus as a result of consistent pairing with the unconditioned stimulus (meat powder). Pavlov referred to this learned relationship as a conditional reflex (now called conditioned response).

Would it be totally outlandish to say that the toy is the neutral stimulus, but after always being presented with hamburger and chips (unconditioned stimulus) becomes conditioned, and children will grow up to be adults that pair McDonald’s with being happy, and explains the nostalgic happiness (conditioned response) I feel for Ronnie despite being fully aware of his faults?

If so, we’re all under Macca D’s grip, but so long as a balanced approach is taken to the fast food company, it “can be enjoyed as part of a healthy lifestyle”, so they say.

The eruption beneath the the Eyjafjallajoekull (a lot easier to write than say) glacier in Iceland has led to thousands of flights across Europe being cancelled. It’s reminded us once more who rules the roost when it comes to Planet Earth, and that nature should be nurtured and explored.

Living in a relatively stable part of the world, it’s not often a natural event occurs that captures the attention of most Brits. From the BBC Q&A page to the analysis offered in the usually science-phobic tabloids, it’s one of those blue moon moments where the nation wants to understand nature.

For the little ones, now is the perfect time to bring nature in to the home. With a large array of nature toys and kits at affordable prices, we’re sure you’ll find something at Gifted Originals that will take their imagination further than the life-span of the media’s attention.

If you’re still telling the little one she can be anything she wants when she’s older, you need to get with the programme.

In a measure to avoid damage limitation from telling Rufus he can be a rock climber, only to then realise he’s got vertigo, you should have said: “Look here Rufus, life’s like a box a chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. That’s why I’ve bought you Little Tikes Young Explorer so you can get prepared for your inevitable office job.”

Here’s the spiel: “In this age of technology we think it is essential that children learn about computers as early as possible. This technology can enhance critical and cognitive thinking skills, problem-solving abilities and analytical thinking. Having child-appropriate computers and software in your facility shows parents that you understand the important role technology plays in providing an enriched learning environment for their child’s growth. It’s a hallmark way to set you apart from other childcare facilities.”

At Gifted Originals, we a little sad at the prospect of this. The work cubicle is aimed at 3-7 year olds, priced at a mere $2,500, and is a the ‘hallmark way’ to zap your child of all creativity and get them into office mode 18 years early. The spiel’s right, it’ll sure set you apart from other childcare facilities, but one suspects not in a good way!

This blog has written a great deal about names. Whether they should be considered narcissistic or what to consider when choosing a name, the Gifted Originals blog just can’t get enough of writing about names! Today’s angle is the reservation rights we place on name choice, regardless of whether a baby isn’t planned for another 10 years.

Apparently, it isn’t kidnapping you ought to be worried about, but namenapping. Yes, you read correctly, the term for stealing another’s name choice is ‘namenapping’, and if found guilty, makes you a ‘namenapper’. I have, at times, had an irrational fear of a friend getting pregnant and stealing my chosen name; I’m not sure what’s sadder: being fearful of falling victim, or being the namenapping perpetrator.

In a ‘what if’ moment, I’ve imagined how such a crime would be committed. Sitting in a coffee shop on a mild sunny day with my friend, I take a sip from my tall, skinny cappuccino which has one sugar and is dusted with cocoa. As I place the cappuccino on the table, said friend tells me she is 12-weeks pregnant, and is over-the-moon as her and the boyfriend have been planning the pregnancy since this time last year. As the talk moves away from the “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! I’m SO pleased” exclamations and on to baby names, I casually say, “Oh, if I have a girl, I’m going to call her Amelie.” With thoughtful consideration washing over her face, so-called ‘friend’ says in a whimsical fashion: “I LOVE that name, so much so, I think we may call the baby Amelie if it’s a girl…Yes, that’s what we’ll call her, Amelie.” Feeling like I’ve just been mugged, the once sunny sky turns dark, and my cappuccino stares back at me looking all deflated and robbed of its froth.

Perhaps not the worse crime in the world, or maybe not even a crime at all, stealing names is an unwritten of what a true friend must never do, alongside not being your husband’s mistress.

Recently, they’re have been auctions of ‘vintage’ toys that have sold for thousands upon thousands, and the media have been keen to emphasise the lots’ nostalgic quality and design – but is ‘vintage’ objective or subjective?

Take the fashion world. Ask Kate Moss “what are you wearing?”, and regardless of whether she’s painting the Camden Town red, or popping to the shops, she will no doubt reply: “it’s vintage, daaarling.” Admittedly, when the vintage-ball got rolling, I was keen to get a piece of a moth-ridden action. Nipping down to the local charity shop, I scanned the ugly, dated, odourlicious clobber for a diamond among the rough, a treasure. After a few fruitless visits, the ‘vintage-alert’ was at ‘critical’ and through desperation, I grabbed and paid for the most vintagesque top I could find; needless to say, it’s yet to be worn.

According to the thefreedictionary.com, ‘vintage’ can be described as: ‘characterised by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal; classic’. Ahh, so it wouldn’t be outlandish to say that anything from Primark or the other mass produced, made-for-today-not-tomorrow products are unlikely to be of value in years to come.

Here at Gifted Originals, our commitment to quality, traditional, educational and wooden toys means you can be confident you’ll find something your child can enjoy now, and for many years to come. Offering such a great array of toys, we can say with confidence that they’ll be most definitely be vintage in a few decades time, daarling!

Now, if only the choice was so easy and affordable in the fashion world…

If there’s ever a reason why adults should leave children’s toys alone, then this is it:

A former RAF aeronautical engineer has been handed a three year driving ban for driving his son’s customised Barbie car drunk. The 40-year-old found the dumped jeep a year ago, and together with son Simon had customised it for a college project – cooling down its pink bling with a white paint job, and fitting a set of bigger wheels.

After fitting the battery-powered jeep with a new gearbox, the father of four couldn’t resist a spin in the modified automobile, and crammed his six-foot frame into the driver’s seat, apparently forgetting he’d been drinking.

Driving at full speed – 4mph – he was pulled over by police. “I’d had a few drinks but I felt fine,” the dad said. “I hadn’t spoken to anyone all day – then I found out I couldn’t talk!”

Colchester Magistrates’ Court failed to see the funny side and fined Mr Hutton, who admitted driving the toy jeep while over the drink-drive limit, £85 in costs and gave him conditional discharge. As the dopey father had a previous drink-driving offence within the last 10 years, he was also handed a mandatory three-year ban from driving.

Speaking after the case, Hutton added that he wasn’t unhappy with his punishment, but confessed that he was “surprised to get done for drink-driving” the four foot long toy car. Summing up, he said, “I was a twit to say the least.”

Never a truer word said.