I've brought together a selection of my favourite brands to show you that clothing doesn't have to be the 'boring' present under the tree. In fact with some of these ideas it may just be the most exciting! So read on to discover the best alternative Christmas jumpers, beautifully handmade girl's dresses, fabulous organic pyjamas, t-shirts with an educational twist and the cutest sheepskin earmuffs...
Christmas Jumpers from Tipsy Elves
Everyone loves a Christmas Jumper but who wants to blend into the crowds? Tipsy Elves offer a fabulous selection of alternative festive woolies guaranteed to make you smile. This jumper features a festive Christnas Eve scene with the twist that Santa's reindeer have run away and he's hanging from the sleigh! Will he he manage to regain control a deliver all the gifts in time? My seven year old thinks this is the best Christmas jumper ever as he found some of the cutsie ones we'd been looking at a bit 'young' for him. We've had some lovely comments when out and about too as it really grabs attention!
Tipsy Elves' festive offerings also include a jumpers, dresses and onesies for grown ups in cheeky designs from geeky rudolf to some rather randy reindeer! Their Children's jumpers come in sizes to fit ages 4 to 12 years. We went for the 8-9 for Ben and found it a good fit but the sleeves were a little long. The jumper is good quality and washes well. Prices usually start from £32 but today they have a promotion offering 40% off jumpers.
Fantastic handmade Dress from Little Dot
Regular readers will know that I value local businesses and love shopping at local markets and seeking out unique items especially when it comes to my children's clothes. Earlier in the year I discovered local dressmaker Little Dot at a charity market in Ramsbottom. I bought Elizabeth a gorgeous summer dress that she has had lots of wear out of and always gets lovely comments where ever she wears it. So when I was searching for the perfect winter dress to pop under the tree I of course went straight to their website to see what they had to tempt me.
Sophie Allen began by designing and making unique one off dresses for her family and friends children and very quickly she established the Little DOT brand. Little dot dresses are one of a kind and have all been carefully designed and handmade to include beautiful finishing touches. Sophie also offers custom dresses that are even more special and ideal if you know just what you want but can't find it!
Sophie Allen began by designing and making unique one off dresses for her family and friends children and very quickly she established the Little DOT brand. Little dot dresses are one of a kind and have all been carefully designed and handmade to include beautiful finishing touches. Sophie also offers custom dresses that are even more special and ideal if you know just what you want but can't find it!
After chatting with Sophie about Elizabeth's favourite colours and animals I was thrilled to open a beautifully wrapped package a few days later to discover this vibrant purple cord pinafore dress with the cutest applique owl design.
The dress is amazing quality and finished to an excellent standard. The extra little touches such as the contrasting buttons are things that you would wouldn't get from a high street brand. The fit is true to size and paired with a long sleeved to and tights this makes an ideal winter outfit for any little girl.
This dress was custom made for Elizabeth but similar Dresses are available to purchase through the Little Dot website or facebook page starting at just £20. Do pop over and check out their excellent range on twitter and Instagram too, I'm loving the gingerbread man fabric at the moment!
Solar System T-Shirt from Tiger Shark
My eldest had inherited his Daddy's liking for funky T-Shirts and as soon as I discovered Tiger Shark I knew he would love their fun and educational designs so was delighted to be sent the Solar System T-shirt.
Tiger Shark give these tips to get the best education value from the the T-shirt:
Use our solar system t-shirt to discuss the movement of the Earth (and other planets) around the Sun with your children. Schools introduce this topic at around age nine to ten but we’re sure your little ones will be fascinated in the night sky and our place in the Universe at younger ages too. The eight planets in order from the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.) A mnemonic you can use to remember this order is My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos!This fabulous quality top is available to fit ages 5 through to 11 and is made from 100% ringspun cotton. It fits true to size, washes well and is a great way to get your children learning about the solar system without them even realising!
Priced at just £15, the Solar System is one of seven stylish designs that also include Minotaur, Centipede and Dinosaur! Tiger Shark have a great offer on white T-shirts at the moment, half price at just £7.50. You can also get £5 off your first order when you sign up to their newsletter. An ideal stocking filler! Check out the full range over on the Tiger Shark website and why not say hello over on Facebook and Twitter too?
Sheepskin Earmuffs from the Natural Baby Shower
They come in an choice of adorable powder pink or neutral chestnut colours and are designed to fit children aged 2 to 6. My four year old found them really comfortable and was happy to wear them all afternoon when we went out for a winter walk at the weekend.
When not in use the circular sections fold in to the head band so they can easily be popped in a handbag.
Retailing at just £15 these would make a cute addition to a little ones stocking and will be sure to keep them both warm and on trend this winter!
Red Robin Pyjamas from Frugi organic children's clothes
I've been a fan of Frugi's funky organic cotton children's clothes since my daughter was in cloth nappies thanks to the extra room in their 'cut for cloth' baby clothes, now both my children are well past the nappy stage but I still regularly shop at Frugi, I've come to love their unique colourful designs and find that their clothes wash and wear extremely well.
It's become a family tradition that each Christmas Eve the children get a brand new pair of Christmas themed pyjamas so that the man in red gets to see them looking their best when he pops his head in (and I get to take cute pictures for the photo album!)
This year Elizabeth will be sporting these festive Poppy PJ's. The cherry red and white polka dot design is complimented by cute little applique penguin and of course like all frugi products they are made from high quality organic cotton. The bottoms feature a contrasting drawcord and elasticated waist.
These are a really cute addition to Frugi's winter range and would make an ideal gift this Christmas. You can still order from Frugi with Free standard delivery in time for Christmas and make sure you check them out on Facebook and Twitter for the latest offers.
These are a really cute addition to Frugi's winter range and would make an ideal gift this Christmas. You can still order from Frugi with Free standard delivery in time for Christmas and make sure you check them out on Facebook and Twitter for the latest offers.
Win a Frugi Christmas Stocking and £20 Voucher
As a special treat for my readers the very lovely folks at Frugi have sent me one of their limited edition Christmas stockings and a £20 voucher to spend at www.welovefrugi.com.
For your chance to win this great prize follow the rafflecopter instructions below. Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The competition will close at 12.00am on 24th December 2014.
I was sent samples of the items featured to include in this gift guide.
