Happy holidays! And some favourite posts from 2016…

Oh what a busy month it’s been! With all the holiday festivities and Christmas preparations, the past month has sped by and we can’t believe the Christmas holidays are here already. It’s time to slow down now and enjoy this magical season with family and friends.

We wanted to wish you all a very happy holiday season and to take the time to thank you for being a part of our online community. We are so thankful to all our readers for joining us here and contributing to our daily discussions and blog posts. This past year has been a big one for Babyccino, with a website re-launch and lots of new features and events, and we are humbled by everyone’s support, by our community of readers and by the wonderful, independent shops and brands we get to work with. So thank you and big hugs to you all.

We’ll be taking the next week off from blogging, but before we go we wanted to leave you with some favourite posts from 2016…!

Esther’s Favourites:

1. My Girls’ Shared Bedroom — Emilie recently bought a flat in Paris and is currently renovating it. I can’t wait to see her new place all done up! But I am going to miss her old flat, where we have spent so many wonderful evenings together (and with this super fun vertically split kids’ bedroom!)
2. 5 Questions with Ana from MamaOwl — I love this new series we started this year, giving a peek-behind-the-scenes of the brands and shops we work with.
3. Some Exciting Changes to Come and The ShopUp in LA this coming Sunday and Monday!  — Ok, two posts, but just because I’m so proud of our beautiful new website design and the amazing ShopUp events we have organised this year.
4. A Blanket of Love — Losing a child is one of the most tragic things one can overcome. This post is about how a community can embrace a family, and how they can help to give support together.
5. Some big news — another baby! — Well, of course this is one of my favourite posts on our blog EVER! : )

Emilie’s Favourites:

1. Weekend Getaway: Edinburgh — I loved this guide to Edinburgh. It is a special city and I am currently trying to book a weekend away there myself.
2. A Family Trip to Morocco — As you can tell, I am in a travel mood at the moment. Morocco is an amazing family destination and easy to get to from Europe. I love Esther’s post and all the beautiful photos.
3. Bread on a Stick! — Love this post! So fun and inspirational. Also the photos are great.
4. What kind of music do you listen to with your children? — Reading this post, it felt like the soundtrack to Courtney’s trip abroad and I loved that. Also there are some great family music recommendations.
5. A Genius Swim Trick! — I love this little ‘Tuesday Tips’ series, and I thought this was such a simple and easy trick. Encouraging children to swim can be of a bit of a headache so every tip helps.  Also, I know Esther already chose this post, but it’s also my favourite post EVER! : )

Courtney’s Favourites:

1. A Flower Birthday Party and A Stick-Themed Party —  because I love Esther’s birthday party ideas. Always so simple, beautiful and most importantly, fun!
2. The Power of the Embarrassing Parent — I love Emilie’s approach to parenting and this easy tip is a great one! Any time you can achieve a result in parenting without having to raise your voice or use ultimatums, you are doing something right.
3. Do you talk about sex with your children? — Such an interesting topic and I couldn’t agree more with Esther’s straight-forward and natural approach for speaking about sex with her children.
4. Tandem Breastfeeding — Lara’s post about breastfeeding both of her children at the same time was so fascinating to me. I didn’t even know that was possible!
5. Depression During Pregnancy — I loved reading everyone’s honest comments about their own experiences with depression or anxiety. I feel like these types of discussions are so healthy for mothers and am proud that we can initiate them here on our blog.

See you all in 2017!

Lots of love,
Esther, Emilie and Courtney xxx

from kid games toys http://ift.tt/2i1RLSO via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2i2eb6f

Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden

New York is magical place to be at Christmastime, with tree stands lining the sidewalks and filling the air with the woodsy smell of pine and fir, store windows decorated with enchanting displays, lights strung across avenues and intersections, European-style Christmas markets to visit, and special holiday shows and sights to take in. As I sat down at the end of November to plan our activity advent calendar, I added a holiday activity I’d heard about for years but never visited myself, despite rave reviews from friends – the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. Our tickets were arranged for this past Saturday, and though we woke to weather that switched from lovely snow to messy freezing rain, we forged ahead to the show anyway. There, we were rewarded with a fantastic morning spent under the cozy glass domes of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, marveling at the fanciful and elaborate world constructed for the model trains among the conservatory’s plant displays.

Celebrating its 25th year this winter, the Holiday Train Show is a beloved, and increasingly popular, New York holiday tradition. New York landmarks past and present are created to scale from leaves, twigs, berries, branches, bark, and other foraged natural materials. The buildings are nestled into the existing plant displays of the Conservatory, and nearly a half-mile of train tracks are threaded over and around them, through hollow logs and up along and over replicas of New York bridges that span the conservatory walkways. The effect is nothing short of amazing: a entire tiny world to explore and marvel over that leaves children and adults alike completely spellbound. Younger children likely won’t recognize the majority of the landmarks (the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Chrysler Building may be exceptions), but that doesn’t detract from their enjoyment at all – while they’re entranced by tracing the paths of the trains and watching each train make its circuit, adults and older children can read the labels on each building and the historical plaques scattered around the exhibit for further background on some of the structures.

We spent well over an hour slowly making our way through the exhibit, nearly reaching the end before doubling back to visit favorite sections. Once we finally did reach the finale we were rewarded with our favorite display of the entire show: a tribute to the attractions and architecture of Coney Island’s amusement park, including the Wonder Wheel, the Cyclone, and the long-gone Elephantine Colossus. In the days since we visited, my daughter has asked to return to the train show several times – a clear indication of what a hit it was. Given how much we all loved it, I know the Holiday Train Show will become a part of our annual Christmas traditions, and I can’t wait to see the additions the organizers of the exhibit dream up for next year.

Notes and details:

• This year’s show runs November 19, 2016 – January 16, 2017. If you’re planning to visit you’d do well to make advance reservations, which will allow you to choose a time slot to visit the show. On the day we visited crowds weren’t insufferable because of the poor weather, but given the size of the queueing area, it looks as though waits might sometimes be quite long, making an advance reservation all the more important. Tickets can be purchased here.
• We drove to the show, but the New York Botanical Gardens are accessible by several different methods of public transit. The easiest involves taking the Metro North Railroad from Grand Central Station to the Botanical Garden stop, 20 minutes away, but you can also take the subway (B, D, or 4 trains) to the Bedford Park Boulevard Station, and then either take the Bx26 bus or walk 20 minutes from the subway stop to the gardens.

from kid games toys http://ift.tt/2hxqDKi via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2inivfc

Some yummy seasonal cookies

We love baking during the Christmas season and these two cookie recipes we make every year. Speculaas (just like pepernoten) are very specific to December as we relate them to Sinterklaas, but where pepernoten really only hit the scene when the Saint is in town, we like to enjoy speculaas the rest of the year as well. Traditionally they are made using moulds depicting Dutch scenes like windmills, but we don’t bother and simply use a cookie cutter to make shapes.

Christmas wreath cookies are delicious and I think very Dutch. They look so pretty in the tree, and children love making them! Here are my recipes:

Speculaas

• 200 g plain white flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1,5 tablespoons speculaas spices (see PS)
• a pinch of salt
• 100 g muscovado sugar
• 125 g diced butter
• 1 tablespoon water
• optional for decorating: one egg yolk, blanched halve almonds

Combine flour, baking powder, spices, salt, sugar, butter and water, using your hands until it all comes together and forms a soft dough. Wrap dough in clingfilm and let rest in the fridge for about half an hour. Then give it a quick knead and roll out to approximately 5 mm thickness. Cut out shapes and place them on lined baking sheets. If you like a glossy finish, you can paint the cookies with the egg yolk. You can also decorate the cookies with halve, blanched almonds. Bake in a preheated oven of 190°C for about 15 minutes until they are nicely browned around the edges. Place on a wire rack to cool and harden.

Christmas wreaths

• 1 vanilla pod
• 125 g butter (room temperature)
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 200 g plain white flour
• a pinch of salt
• to decorate: 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspoons shaved almonds and 100 g powdered sugar

Cream the butter with the sugar (beat for 4 minutes). Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla pod down its length. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add to mixture, together with the egg. Sift the flour over the mixture and add the salt. Mix / knead quickly with your hands to a nice, even dough.

Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for about an hour. Then, starting with half of the dough, roll out to 5 mm thickness. Punch out round cookies, punch out the holes. Keep rolling out the scraps until the dough is finished, while placing the cookies on lined baking sheets. Paint half of the cookies with the egg yolk and sprinkle with the shaved almonds. Leave the other cookies plain.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a 160°C preheated oven until light brown. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack. When cooled down, decorate the other half of the cookies with a frosting you create by mixing the powdered sugar with a tiny bit of water. Leave to dry. Store in an airtight container or hang on the branches of your Christmas tree! (In that case, eat them within a day or they will get soft.)

Happy holidays everyone! And have fun baking!

xxx Esther

PS Speculaas spices can be store bought in the Netherlands but can also easily be homemade. Just mix and store in an airtight jar:

• 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
• ¼ tsp ground aniseed
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ¾ tsp cinnamon

PPS pretty serving platters from Lollipop.

from kid games toys http://ift.tt/2i7SAJl via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2hPmnsz

Artist Residence – boutique hotel in Pimlico

Pimlico’s Artist Residence is a stylish boutique hotel, conveniently situated just 5 minutes walk from Victoria Station. From this quiet stucco fronted side street you are within easy reach of some of London’s most popular tourist destinations such as Hyde Park, Mayfair and The Embankment.

As the name suggests the focus here is on art, big, bold and lots of it! From the moment you walk in the door you just know this place is going to have bags of personality and the rest of the hotel certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Each of the 10 individual rooms in this elegant Georgian townhouse are unique but all share the same eclectic pared back glamour. Rustic materials and repurposed furniture are combined with luxurious soft furnishings, freestanding baths from Catchpole and Rye and seriously comfy king size beds. Even the smallest of the rooms offers uncompromising quality and style.

On the ground floor you’ll find hearty breakfasts, delicious juices, milkshakes and an exciting seasonal lunch and dinner menu served up in the Cambridge Street Kitchen. This sociable foodie hub has become as popular with locals as it is with hotel guests so be sure to book ahead. The Eggs Benedict and hot chocolate with marshmallows definitely got the seal of approval from my hungry gang and we even got to share our breakfast with Santa, how fun!

With rooms starting from around £225 per night the Artist Residence offers affordable luxury in a central yet surprisingly peaceful location. The staff are friendly and helpful, the vibe and decor – cool but unpretentious, and with a great on site restaurant you’ll have plenty of reasons to stay put.

Kids of all ages are welcome but the only drawback here is that rooms cannot accommodate any extra beds.  For babies up to the age of 2 the medium rooms and suites can accommodate an extra cot, and children over the age of 12 can stay in their own room.

Artist Residence

52 Cambridge Street
London
UK
SW1V 4QQ

Phone
020 7828 6684

Email
london@artistresidence.co.uk

Kate x

from kid games toys http://ift.tt/2hNn99i via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2hO2QsC

‘A Beauty Collected’ by Rachel Garahan

I’m a real believer that we as parents are our child’s first teacher. We encourage our child’s natural development. We enrich their lives from the experiences we provide and we guide them through their very first pathways of life. I’m also a firm believer that play and nature is so beneficial to the developing child. Taking a walk through the woods, strolling along the beach, scavenging through the countryside or simply adventuring through the back yard children can find so many wonderful items of nature and the learning they gain from that is so enriching.

Finding a book, particularly an ABC book which encompasses this form of natural play and highlighting the vocabulary which goes with each item has been a joy. Rachel Garahan has put together, with the support of wonderful photography, a book which will encourage children to name and find organic objects in their own neighbourhood or in more exotic reaches.

A Beauty Collected has encouraged so much curiosty in our household. Not just for the children but I am also enjoying this book. It’s one of those books where you can dip in and out of and each time find so much more than the last read. It’s a stunning book which celebrates the wondrous world we live in. It’s certainly a book which we treasure and it would make such a lovely gift this holiday time.

Available online at Amazon (UK) or (US).

Vanessa x

from kid games toys http://ift.tt/2idhvyw via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2hgYB9I

Easy Christmas craft: ribbon and stick christmas trees

Around this time every year we take our kids off to our local garden center to pick out a small Christmas tree for the corner of their bedroom. I did the same growing up and I can remember the excitement of choosing my very own tree, opening my special box of decorations and falling asleep each night bathed in the warm glow of fairy lights – so cozy.

It’s one of our favourite Christmas traditions and each year we add a few new decorations to the kids little box of treasures. Some are bought and given as advent or stocking gifts but most of them are handmade by the children, either at home or at school. It’s so fun to see how different they all are, each one sparking memories of happy craft sessions around our kitchen table or at school with favourite teachers. They are definitely some of our most treasured ornaments.

Last year we made these super easy ribbon Christmas trees and they turned out so great that we decided to make a few more for friends this year. They only require a few simple supplies, most of which you will probably have lying around the house and garden and it’s straightforward enough that most age groups can have a go. Plus it’s a great exercise for younger children to practice tying knots.

You will need:

• Straight twigs (between 10-20cm long, nobbly bits are ok)
• Scraps of ribbon (wider ribbon is easier to work with for younger children)
• String or garden twine

Cut enough strips of ribbon to stack along the length of your stick – leave strips long enough for little hands to tie, you can trim later. Start at the bottom of the stick and work your way up to the top tying loose knots around the stick. Leave a few centimeters at the top of the stick for your hanging loop.

When all the ribbons are in position adjust the ribbons so that they lay straight and flat, then tighten the knots. Trim the edges of the ribbons to create a Christmas tree shape. Starting at the bottom, cut the edges at an angle gradually making each row shorter until you have a fairly symmetrical triangular shape. Tie a loop of string or twine around the top of the stick to hang your ornament.

So simple and pretty and a great way to recycle all those old Christmas ribbons from last year.

Merry Christmas!

Kate x

from kid games toys http://ift.tt/2iaeY8d via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2hdIB8r

Handmade knitwear from Mouse In The House

How beautiful are the images above? The gorgeous embroidered knitwear is from a Seattle-based brand called Mouse In The House, which I discovered while I was in the Pacific Northwest earlier this year. The brand was created by husband and wife team, Ashley and Scott Jensen, who aim to create quality heirloom pieces that can be passed down from one generation to the next. Their use of neutral colours means that the pieces can be worn equally by boys and girls and will remain timeless over the years.

What I love most about the brand is that they’re dedicated to bringing economic opportunity to underprivileged women in developing nations. By paying an above-average wage, providing job skills development training and reinvesting 5% of all sales directly into their communities, they help improve the quality of life and self-reliance for underprivileged women. Each piece of clothing comes with a tag which tells you a bit about who knitted and embroidered the piece, and you can also view their website to read about all the makers.

I have a cosy little cardigan tucked away for our baby’s arrival and it was hand-embroidered by Sapana Shrestha, a 24-year-old woman in Kathmandu, Nepal. I loved reading her story and knowing that we’ve helped to support this woman and her family.

Courtney x

from kid games toys http://ift.tt/2hS5WK2 via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2hGNUMA

Noordermarkt

One of the most enriching and enjoyable experiences when travelling to a new place can be found in visiting the local markets — somewhere you can truly immerse yourself in local culture and cuisine. Markets always offer beautiful seasonal produce, fresh foods and an atmosphere that is representative of where you are. In Amsterdam there are many markets all over town, some smaller than others, and most of them are typically open on Saturdays only (with the exception of the Albert Cuyp market — Amsterdam’s largest markets open every Monday to Saturday). One of our favourite Amsterdam markets to visit is the Noordermarkt in the beautiful Jordaan district. Set up at the foot of the Noorderkerk church alongside the beautiful Prinsengracht canal, this outdoor market — which has been operating since the mid 17th century, is truly a beautiful one.

There are many stalls to explore providing an array of goods. You can buy delicious fresh produce — local fruit and vegetables, beautiful Dutch cheeses, fresh baked breads and treats, preserves, and many more edible delights to take home with you. There are also always stalls providing fresh meals and snacks that you can eat on the spot (these tend to vary with the seasons).

As well as the many foods available, you can find a wonderful range of gifts and clothing at the Noordermarkt. There are beautiful ceramics, antiques, vintage clothing, prints, artworks, toys, flowers, plants and more. There is also a sweet little playground at the centre of the markets which provides a perfect spot to give the little ones a break when the atmosphere gets busy.

The Noordermarkt is open every Saturday from 9am -4pm. It tends to be at its busiest from around lunchtime onwards, so if you are after a quieter experience it is worth visiting earlier in the morning. The Noordermarkt also opens for half a day on Mondays with a smaller selection of stalls available to shop from.

(Also worth a mention while you’re in the area is Winkel 43 — a cafe opposite the road from the Noordermarkt which is famed for having the best apple pie in all the Netherlands – a bold claim but they are definitely worthy of the title. The cafe is very popular for this reason and it is not uncommon to see a long line out to the main road, so get in early or be prepared to wait it out.)

Noordemarkt

1015 DK Amsterdam
Tel: 06 22166022

Opening hours:

Saturdays: 9.00 – 16.00
Mondays: 9.00 – 14.00

from kid games toys http://ift.tt/2gZLzsa via kid games toys
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2hSDisi