Yet to hit the UK’s big screens, Toy Story 3 has opened to rave reviews across the pond. Aside from the usual straightforward reviews, some writers have sought to look beyond what they see and discover any hidden meanings, deeper implications, and what this means for parents.

The writer for Catholic San Francisco looks at the morals of the story, after providing a synopsis of Toy Story 3. Summing up, he writes: “The journey is perilous, but Toy Story 3 never forgets its core audience. Good triumphs over evil, and the denouement is heartfelt, hope-filled – and handkerchief-worthy.

“Directed by Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo) with music, once again, by Randy Newman, Toy Story 3 is a film for all ages. Baby-boomer parents will appreciate the gag-driven script with plenty of innuendo (the blossoming relationship between the Barbie and Ken dolls steals the show), while kids will delight in all the new characters – and drag their parents to the toy store afterward.”

On the east-side of the States, The New York Times seeks to find what the film implies for parenthood and childhood. David Hajdu writes: “Watching the film as both a father and a son, I realized that Woody and Buzz stand for an idealized conception of moms and dads as selfless, wholly subservient providers of unconditional love. As much as this view of parenthood is a fantasy, it is one held dear by both grown-ups and their offspring, including my parents and me. And it yields only in the face of aging, which forces us to confront the humbling, myth-busting reality that parents have multiple emotional priorities.

“In Andy’s presence, the toys are inanimate — polyethylene, wires, patches of cloth. Only when he leaves the room, when the toys are not serving him as impassive objects of his fancy, do they come alive.

“Like all parents, the toys clearly have unique, vital identities apart from being providers of boundless love. Like many parents, too, the toys fail to realize this until late in life, when the truth is hard for all involved to take. I’m planning on taking my 7-year-old son to the movie, and I think I may drive out to the retirement home and see if my parents want to join us. I’m sure they’ll come. They would do anything for me.”

All that’s left to do now is to book your Toy Story 3 tickets for July 23, and see what hidden meanings and philosophical conclusions you can draw. Gifted Originals likens it to the Gold Rush – so many conclusions to claim, but even more people claiming them!

First things first, we’d like to state that the internet has been very kind to Gifted Originals, allowing us to start with very little and grow to become the North West’s largest independent toy retailer. Buoyed by the high customer satisfaction, but knowing you like to toys in the flesh, Gifted Originals has a real-life home to go along with its homepage.

Our mantra is, if you’re going to do something, you should aim to do it properly. This is why our store has all the toys you’ll find on the website, but can boast that we have mobility access and chairs, a children’s play area, and a soon to be Christmas savings club. Oh, just in case you’re wondering, unlike other toy retailers Gifted Originals doesn’t operate a two-tier pricing system, so the prices you see on the internet are the same you’ll see in-store!

When you’re next free, pop down and see the Gifted Originals staff for a natter about our products, and any suggestions you may have. You’ll find us at:

Gifted Originals Ltd, Units 3 & 4, 12 Lane End Road, Burnage, Manchester, M19 1TU

At Gifted Originals, we have a slightly irrational love for toys. Maybe it’s to do with being surrounded by them all day, but we suspect it has its roots in our childhood – working with toys instills a bit of Peter Pan in us all.

How we go about explaining this, we can’t tell you, but we may have just found something that can. Writing for Playthings, Peter Wachtel (aka) “KID Toyology” is an award winning creative toy and entertainment designer, inventor and teacher, and has sought to explain the emotional connection of design and toys.

In the article he writes: What makes us fall in love with a toy? Is it a look, feel, shape, color, smell, sound, taste, or a texture? It is all of the above, and is about where you come from. It starts with the idea. Everyone’s tastes are different, but there are some similarities. Familiar smells, surroundings, colors, what is cool, patterns, etc. it is basically what is familiar to you in some way.

Whether it’s a car, a toy or a person- there are subtle clues that make you have an emotion connection. Good toys have these attributes in them. We fall in love with toys that remind us of our childhood, play patterns, friends, colors of rooms, toys, etc. It is very important when designing or selling a toy that you really think about the end user and where it will be. This is what sells toys. I tell this to both my toy design students as well as my design teams. There have been a lot of psychological and philosophical studies that show how things are cathected and loved (emotional energy). What can be the next hot toy may be as simple as mixing a few things we love, and combining it with things we want and need in our lives.

“How can you turn people on to discover new ideas? Take the invisible and make it visible“.

England, hey? They exasperate their loyal fans who spends thousands of pounds following them, only to witness something amateurs would be ashamed of. Then, suddenly feeling the urgency, the England team play like the professionals and world class players that they are, and delight fans at home and abroad with a 1-0 win over Slovenia.

So what do we expect today, then? Will Germany show England how it’s done within the 90 minutes, or will England take them to the penalty spot for a shoot out which hopefully won’t end up in tears? Gifted Originals would like to hold judgement on the outcome, just in case we jinx it, but what we do predict is that it’s going to be a real nail-biter.

Whatever the outcome, the World Cup always seems to get everyone fired up for football, especially the little ones, and chances are the theme for the next party will be all things football.

This is where Gifted Originals can help you out with a large array of football-themed party products. Ranging from the plates that are modeled on a stadium, to the football party boxes, we’ve got everything you’re football-mad youngster could want!

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Ever since Suri Cruise was spotted in a pair of heels, retailers have clamoured to churn out similar versions. Asda, GapKids and Next are among the High Street brands who offer heels for young girls, sparking fury among some parenting groups.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s three-year-old is often photographed sporting a pair of the two-inchers, with Holmes defending her choice of footwear saying, “Like every little girl, she loves my high heels. They are actually ballroom dancing shoes for kids. I found them for her and she loves them.”

Some mums aren’t singing from the same hymn sheet though. Justine Roberts of Mumsnet, the parenting forum, said: “Some of the shoes I have seen on sale look more suited to a lap-dancing club than the feet of a young girl. The items in question are prematurely sexualising young children. We are saying to retailers, ‘Have a look at your range and ask yourselves if these items are appropriate. Some of the school shoes Tesco sells have got a two-inch heel. You shouldn’t have a high heel if your feet are developing.

“It’s not about being Mary Whitehouse. It’s about not sleepwalking into a world where this is normal.”

Mumsnet feel so incensed about high heels for tots that it’s set up the Let Girls Be Girls campaign, whereby retailers are being asked to sign up to a code of practice and given an undertaking not to sell products which prematurely sexualise children.

A spokesman for Asda, which is currently selling a pair of Disney Princess children’s sandals with a 3cm heel, said the retailer had received no customer complaints. A Next spokesman said: “Their popularity suggests many parents agree we’ve come up with a look that’s special without seeming inappropriately grown up.” GapKids said their child heels had been tested to ensure safety.

Back in April, Primark was criticised for selling padded bikinis for 7-year-olds, prompting David Cameron described the clothing as “completely disgraceful” and condemned the “early commercialisation and sexualisation of our children”.

So what do you think, do retailers have a responsibility to preserve childhood? Or, is it up to the parents to decide what is appropriate for their child? Whatever the answer, something tells Gifted Originals that this issue isn’t going to disappear any time soon.

You may think your kid can dance when he does a little twist of the hip, or she waves her hands-in-the-air-cos-she-does-not-care, and rightly so. But just have a look at this Brazilian baby shaking his nappy like a seasoned carnival dancer.

As a youngster, dancing was everything to me. From being one of Ken Dodd’s Diddymen (no, I was not from Knotty Ash), to being a ballet dancer and everything else in between, I was never happier than when I was dancing. During my teenage years, Shakira was the muse, Whenever, Wherever having only what can be described as having a hypnotic effect over me.

Watching the Brazilian baby bust his samba moves, one can only imagine how amazing he’ll grow up to be. For now though, he seems perfectly happy sticking to the kitchen table, with mum dutifully filming his every shake.

The thing is, dancing doesn’t always instantly appeal to all children. Shyness, embarrassment, and lack of confidence are usually the main obstacles to kids participating in dance, but like drama, dancing can be a fantastic way to overcome these. ‘But how do they overcome this?’ I hear you ask. Well, in my experience holding something is a great way to keep the hands occupied, while the dancer works out what they want to do.

Enter the maracas. One for each hand, they keep the hands distracted, but also create a sound and rhythm the little one can control and dance along to. Brilliant as musical instruments in their own right, the maracas by Gifted Originals are brightly coloured, inspiring fun and confidence.

Go on, encourage them to shake it like a Polaroid picture!

Sun cream? Check. Passports? Check. Tickets? Check. Waboba Ball? Erm…

This summer holiday, why not ditch the usual bucket and spade, and give the youngsters a challenge they’ll really relish? The Waboba Ball has been at the centre of games held on beaches around the world, from Esphino in Portugal to beach volleyball tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, bringing out the competitive side in all those involved.

Even though they weigh enough to throw properly and bounce off floors and walls they also bounce off water! They’re ideal for days out at the beach, and are even accompanied with a set of rules for a great fun game. What’s more, the Waboba website is jam packed with inspiration to all the different games that can be played, and YouTube has a fair few clips, too.

Small and easy to pack, the Waboba ball costs just £4.99 from Gifted Originals (the cheapest on the net), making it better value for money than the boring beach ball that gets left behind with the lilo!

Children love food that isn’t good for them, and up until a few years ago, most parents were none the wiser about the amount of rubbish seemingly alright food had in it.

These days, food labelling has gone a great way to helping parents get clued up about what’s in their family’s food, and making us feel extra sinful when we want a guilty treat. Aside from the turning us all in to obsessive calorie counters, the British Food Standards Agency’s front of pack labelling system which displays red, amber and green “traffic lights” to indicate levels of salt, fat and other nutrients, has empowered us all to get to grips with healthy eating.

So it’s shocking to hear food manufacturers have been pouring millions of pounds into a last-ditch attempt to block a European plan that would follow Britain’s lead. The Independent reports: In one of the biggest lobbying efforts ever seen in Brussels, lobbyists for Europe’s £800m-a-year food industry have been bombarding MEPs with thousands of emails, letters and phone calls and sponsored reports, lectures and conferences ahead of a vote in the European Parliament tomorrow.

Although the scheme devised has the backing of doctors and dietitians, because it could cut Britain’s annual toll of 70,000 diet-related deaths, the retailers Tesco and Morrisons and the multinational firms Nestlé, Kellogg’s, Danone, Kraft, and PepsiCo have refused to introduce it. They back a rival scheme called Guideline Daily Amounts, which expresses the nutrients as percentages of an adult’s recommended daily intake…independent research shows that traffic lights are more effective than GDAs in putting consumers off unhealthy products.

In Gifted Originals’ opinion, these food manufacturers and retailers are toying with our children’s health by trying to ban the traffic light system, effectively trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

Taking the little one for a stroll around the park is pleasant occasion: watching dogs play with one another, hearing the birds tweet, and basking in the moment. In a perfect world, that is. What’s a well-meaning exercise on mum’s part, is usually uber-boring for the little one, who isn’t sure what they’re looking at, or what an earth they’re doing.

Enter the inconspicuous pram clip. With an array of toys and tools all lined up, the pram clips by Heimess are sturdy enough for even the most active, encouraging the motor coordination and mental development of your baby. Made from wood, the clip can also be used on cots, so even when you don’t fancy a wander the little one can still play with the chain.

Gifted Originals love Heimess as they are not only a great toy manufacturer, but are dedicated to delivering safe, traditional toys that will further the development of children.

“Why isn’t there a Children’s Day?”, I used to ask my mum and dad when I was younger. “Because it’s Children’s Day everyday, we look after you, feed, wash clothe etc, etc, etc….” the relevant parent would respond.

Back then all I could take into account was the sheer injustice of it, that my parents have a day that’s not aimed at me? Older, and hopefully a little wiser, I really look forward to Mother’s and Father’s Day; not because I’m a parent (I’m childless), but I now understand how much mummies and daddies deserve the day of respite.

Me-time is usually hard to come by for parents, but for today only fathers around Britain unite and bask in your day off. As a little celebration, Gifted Originals has taken a poem from poemsforfree.com for you to read and enjoy.

Children need a Daddy

For many, many things:

Like holding them high off the ground

Where the sunlight sings!

Like being the deep music

That tells them all is right

When they awaken frantic with
The terrors of the night.

Like being the great mountain

That rises in their hearts
And shows them how they might get home

When all else falls apart.

Like giving them the love

That is their sea and air,

So diving deep or soaring high

They’ll always find him there.

Gifted Originals wishes all daddies a wonderful Father’s Day!