I have been waiting eagerly for “Moomin Book One”, which has just been released by Canadian comic book publisher Drawn & Quaterly. Ever since I was a child I have completely adored all the publications I could get my hands on by Tove Jansson, the creator of the Moomins, and this will be no exception. First published in the London Evening News in 1954, her comic strip version of the Moomins was syndicated around the world to readers in 40 countries and continued until 1960. Now Drawn & Quaterly has published Book One, the first in a plan to reprint the entire strip.

US $19.95 from Drawn and Quarterly

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This black crochet owl by the ever fabulous Elisabeth Doherty from Gourmet Amigurumi is aproximately 5″ x 3″ (lying flat) and is completed with a glow in the dark star bead. A little cutie which would look very appealing sitting on a pillow or a desk.

USD $32.00 from Cut + Paste

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Pump these safe foam rockets up with air and watch them fly! Includes 3 rockets, foam launcher and foot pump. Ages 6+

US $14.98 from Amazon

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How cute and friendly are these little fuzzy speakers? Designed to work with a laptop, iPod, CD or MP3 player or any media player with a headphone jack for audio output. Choose from penguins (my preference!) or monkeys. Ages 6+

Size: approximately 5″ high

US $25 From Red Envelope

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Set of 6 cute ceramic musicians from the Andean Mountains. While they are not seasonally themed, we have a set of these as part of our special Christmas ornaments which get brought out, unwrapped and placed along the mantel each year. They are quite small and delicate, so need to be put out of reach of little fingers but will bring a smile to your face.

Size: 3.5cm tall

AUD $19.95 from Oxfam Australia

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This cute wooden bowling pin set includes 10 pins and three balls.

AUD $22 from Infancy

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Steve Mack started publishing his ABC images to his blog over 26 weeks. Each letter has been a lovely surprise with a bright, bold and quirky illustration. He has just released the entire series as a book and it’s available through Amazon.

Paperback; 30 pages

USD $16.99 from Amazon

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Balancing and stacking chairs any way you can is the aim of the game… the first to topple the tower loses the game. The 24 chairs in eight different styles come in a durable collectible tin with instructions. Ages 5+

US $20.00 from MoMAstore

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This cute interactive nightlight displays real constellations on your child’s wall and ceiling, helping them to fall asleep. It features three colour options and shuts off automatically after 45 minutes. Ages 0+

US $31.96 at babycenter

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Advent calendars can be wonderful things full of surprises or awful shockers full of cheap chocolate. This awesome set from LEGO falls into the first category - In the lead up to Christmas open a door each day from December 1st through 24th to find a little LEGO holiday model. Once a week use the instructions provided to combine the smaller models into a bigger one! Includes string so you can hang models from your tree. Ages 4+.

Also available for older kids (and available to the US) is the LEGO City Advent Calendar.

AU $24.99 From LEGO

Shipping to Australia and selected International destinations