Stuck On You

So we’ve blogged about gifts for Mums, gifts for boys, our Stationery Collection and our super dooper pyjama sale but it’s been a while since we’ve mentioned the very product that got Stuck on You started back in 1995 – name labels!

Many of our loyal customers don’t know the story of how Stuck on You came to be. It all started with Stuck on You owner, Carrie Felton, needing name labels for her son to start daycare. She was told by the centre that all of his clothing, drink bottles, favourite toys and lunchboxes needed to be labelled.

Now, until this time, for many of us name labels came in the form of writing on a bandaid or scrawling on a tiny clothing tag in thick black texta. To Carrie it meant phoning a local printing company and ordering name labels in fabulous bright colours with her son’s name printed on them.

Other mums at the centre started asking her where she got these gorgeous name labels and Carrie saw a fabulous business opportunity. In order to get her new name labels business started she hosted a lunch for twenty of her friends and gave them all free name labels for their children in exchange for the addresses of ten of their friends.

Orders started to come in from all over Australia and Stuck on You was on it’s way. From it’s humble backyard beginnings, while raising three boys of her own Carrie has turned Stuck on You into one of the most recognised name label company in Australia. Stuck on You name labels are now available internationally and the range has grown to include countless personalised products.

But name labels are still at the core of the business. Back to School is one of the most busiest times for Stuck on You quite simply because the labels stick and stay stuck. As with the very first name labels that were produced every one of the labels has come into being out of necessity.  As a working Mum, Carrie simply introduces products that she has needed and knows that other Mums must need too.

So now we can go back to using bandaids for minor cuts (and imaginery ones) and big black textas for your kids’ class presentation posters. Stuck on You name labels can be found for every purpose – shoe labels, sock labels, stick on clothing labels, mini pencil labels, iron on clothing labels, address label, gift labels, name labels that can go in the dishwasher, the microwave and the washing machine.

Even though we have now been providing name labels to every school, kinder, daycare centre and creche in the world (ok, maybe not all of them but we’re keen to try!) for 16 years our ever-talented design team are always coming up with fresh and fabulous, bright and bold, fun and funky, cool and creative name labels to keep Mum and kids coming back for more.

Just as Carrie decided when she first began Stuck on You name labels must always mean quality, always be better than the rest and must always stick and stay stuck!

Here in Australia Mother’s Day is fast approaching and as my Mum lives on the other side of Australia it often means thinking ahead. It should be known that while Stuck on You have a bunch of personalised gifts and gifts for kids we though it was timely to share with you some of the gorgeous personalised gifts that we have to suit mums.

I’m all for a theme to make a more personalised gift so I’ve also included some ideas for what you can include with your Stuck on You personalised gift to make the perfect combo.

Special Mum Book

This is a truly beautiful memento to give to a Mum and our design team are super proud of it. It is a hard back book with a linen cover with over 20 pages of activities for kids to complete and then give to their Mum. They share their favourite moments, family tree and more.

Only available in Australia at the moment but coming to other countries soon. Stay tuned on Facebook.

Goes great with: it comes with coupons for kids to fill out with lovely things they are going to do with Mum: breakfast in bed, an uninterrupted bath or a massage will go down a treat.

Embroidered Beach Towel

Soft and fluffy these luxurious beach towels make fabulous personalised gifts. Made from 100% cotton and measuring 1400 x 100 mm any Mum will feel mighty special wrapped up in her brand new beach towel. They come in navy, red and pink so there is a colour for every Mums tastes.

As all good beach towels need to be the personalised beach towels are high quality and huge.

Goes great with: a fabulous new pair of sunglasses or a great book for her to read when she’s lying on the beach on her new towel.

Personalised Journals

If you know a Mum who loves to write this is the personalised gift for her. Hard cover with over 60 pages she can fill the pages with memories, recipes and journal entries.

Over ten gorgeous and bright coloured designs from so you can create the perfect personalised gift for you Mum

My Mum actually gave me one of these when I left home and she filled it with all of my favourite recipes that she cooked for me at home. I still have it now and am still collecting recipes.

Goes great with: a really nice pen or if your Mum loves to draw a good quality pencil set.

Kitchen Labels

You’ll know whether or not this is the right gift to give to the Mum in your life. Some may see it as a veiled hint but for lovers of organisation and they will LOVE them.

There is a label for everything from cornflour to crackers and they are available in four designs. I’ve gone for Metro at my house and while I wish it wasn’t true I get the hugest buzz every time I fling open my cupboard doors.

Goes great with: a nice bottle of wine. Once she’s labelled everything in her cupboards she’ll want to sit down and revel in her awesomeness.

Personalised Activity Planners

Again with the personalised gifts that involve organisation but any busy Mum knows how nice it feels to feel on top of things. This is the Personalised Activity Planners but we also have weekly family planners, daily to-do lists, shopping planners and shopping lists. All designed by a Mum to make life easier, all able to be personalised and all come in over 10 gorgeous Stuck on You designs.

Goes great with: any of the personalised stationery in this collection work great as a set.

So you see, at Stuck on You we are not just thinking about personalised gifts for kids, we’ve got the Mums covered too.

The clever, hard-working design team at Stuck on You couldn’t resist all the fun of Easter and have designed a range of FREE Easter Printables to help keep the kids occupied over the holidays.

While playing with…I mean, designing, the gorgeous activities for the Easter Printables we came up with some fun ways you can use your Stuck on You Easter Printables to get maximum fun (and child distraction) over Easter:

• Print out all of the pages, bind them together and design your own cover page to make a little booklet of Easter fun.

• If you’re doing any travelling bind the pages between two bits of cardboard with punch holes and coloured wool and pop them in a special travel activity bag with crayons, stickers, kid safe scissors, a drink bottle and a few little snacks.

• If you’re going away with a group of kids print out several copies of the colouring-in pictures and hold a colouring-in competition with delicious chocalatey prizes.

• Print out the Easter Puppets, get the kids to colour them in, stick them to popsicle sticks and use them as little flags to guide them on an Easter egg hunt.

• Get the kids busy making the Easter puppets. You could then make a little stage out of a shoe box turned on its side with the base cut out and get the kids to put on a little puppet show. Get them busily making their own tickets too!

We’d love to hear about the fun and exciting ways you have used your Free Easter printables – photos too please!

Travel safely, enjoy a few days off and from all of the staff at Stuck on You we wish you a very Happy Easter.

At Stuck on You we could not wait a moment longer to share our brand new personalised Artist Series Activity Packs. Each personliased activity pack is available in all of the gorgeous designs from the Stuck on You Artist Series including ARRR ZZAP, Pretty Garden, Sweetie Pie, Wheels Go Round and Woodland.

As with all of our Stuck on You products you can go online choose your favourite design and add a name to create the perfect personalised gift. Looking for boredom busters for the kids? Look no further – each personalised Activity Pack comes with a personalised pencil case, personalised pencils, personalised markers, a mini scribbler and a personalised Artist Series Activity Book – check out the youtube video below to take a sneaky peak at what’s inside the activity books.

That’s the kids sorted, now all there is to do is to make yourself a nice hot cup of tea and enjoy the peace and quiet!

Stuck for kids gift ideas for Easter? With Easter just around the corner and Stuck on You are super egg-cited to introduce our Easter Collection for 2012. While most of us love choccy eggs sometimes it’s nice to have some alternatives for Easter gifts for the kidlets. Hop online, choose from our gorgeous Easter designs and create your own personalised Easter gifts with the product previewer on the Stuck on You website.

Stuck on You has Easter licked – here’s our top ideas for Easter this year

Give your kids a huge advantage in Easter egg hunts with their very own personalised Easter Hunt Bags available in mini and small, fully lined and made from durable poly canvas.

Super cute Easter Name Labels and Easter Jumbo Dots are perfect for making personalised Easter cards or adding to Easter Eggs.

Easter in a Cup is a 500 ml BPA free cup adorned with gorgeous Easter designs and personalised with your child’s name. Fill with chocolate or little gifts for a treat that will last beyond Easter.

Cute and cuddly Easter Rabbit – comes with your child’s name, or whatever name you choose embroidered on her dress.

Personalised Easter Bibs and Easter Jumpsuits make a great gift for those who haven’t quite developed their sweet tooth and make a perfect personalised memento.

Our Easter Trail Labels come in big bunny feet or Easter Eggs that can guide kids on an Easter Egg hunt to find their goodies.

Our brightly coloured Easter mini magnets are fun for kids and will brighten up your home. Each pack comes with six Easter designs including two personalised Easter magnets.

Happy hopping – I mean, shopping, from all of us at Stuck on You.

Whoever said ‘it’s the journey not the destination’ had never been on a long flight with children. While sometimes it all goes very smoothly and you step off the plane feeling fabulous and looking like Posh Spice with a trail of kids behind you, other times you get vomited on 15 minutes into the journey.

This holidays me and my two children are embarking on a five hour flight followed the very next day by an 8 hour car journey. This is not the first time we have done this so I have picked up a few tips along the way that I thought I would share with all of the mums out there who may have a short or long trip on their horizon too.

For me the key is to pack things that will keep the kids amused and entertained (and quiet), especially on a flight where you are in such close proximity with other travellers.

Personalised Wheelie Bag of Goodies

While we may be blowing our own trumpet the Stuck on You wheelie bags are ideal for flights, bus or car trips. They are the perfect size for carry-on, can be packed with entertainment and kids as young as two can wheel them themselves. I have many a fond memory of my children proudly swanning through the airport with their wheelie bags in tow.

Fill with a sticker book, an activity book, a couple of picture books, stickers, a sketch book, pencils, crayons, an electronic game or ipod if they have one. Magnetic games are perfect for travel and there are some gorgeous ones around on the market or you can make your own with minimal fuss.

Top Tip – The Magnetic Fishing Game

This is a great distraction for younger kids from about 2-8. Tie or glue a magnet to a piece of string attached to a little wooden pole (chopstick or a bamboo skewer will do) and put it in a little box with a few metal pieces that stick and a few that don’t. Nuts, bolts, fridge magnets and paper clips will do. Or drag it out by getting your kids to draw their very own fish, cut-out and colour them in and stick a paperclip to them to catch while fishing.

Personalised Activity Books

It’s a good idea to put in a few items they haven’t seen before, that way the very act of rifling through their wheelie bag will keep them busy. May we recommend the Stuck on you personalised activity books? For kids aged 1 – 10 there are puzzles, pictures to colour in and activites to keep them busy for hours! Our Tools 4 School (pics below) and travel kits are pretty good for distractions too!

Top Tip – Wrap a few things like presents

This is most effective for kids aged 2-4 on a plane. Wrap about five things and your kids can slowly bring them out and open them one by one. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant – a packet of sultanas, the activity book or a small packet of pencils. Tell them they can open a new one every hour or just remind them about one anytime they get restless.

A Packed Lunchbox

Of course, we recommend the Stuck on You personalised lunchboxes packed with goodies. Your travelling companions and your sanity will thank you if you keep the snacks in your lunchbox low in sugar and stickyness. Some ideas – little packets of sultanas, packets of nuts and seeds (for older kiddies), banana chips, cheese, carrot and celery sticks, little tub of yoghurt, corn chips, fresh fruit, soy crisps, a savoury muffin…

Fresh water is a must too. Naturally, in their Stuck on You personalised drink bottle (pictured below). If you’re on a plane sending them off to refill it will buy you a few moments to yourself every now and then too.

Top Tip – Spotto with a Sketchbook
This game is ideal for long car trips. Take a plain sketchbook (hmmm…how about a Stuck on You personalised sketchbook?) and fill a page or two with things for your kids to spot on the journey. If they are older you can write a list if they are younger you can draw pictures – a bird, a tree, an aeroplane, a train, a bus, a bike and some harder ones like a dog with a hat to keep them keenly searching.You could fill another page with things they have to collect on the stops to make sure they stretch their legs – a stick, a rock, a feather, a leaf.

Those are my top tips for distracting kids on long journeys but we have more journeys ahead so I would love to hear all of yours too. Wherever you are going and however you get there, have a safe and pleasant holiday and do your best to enjoy the journey.

It takes me a little while to get into the Christmas spirit but once I’m there – I’m there! The tree is up, there’s a big red star on the door, I dug out the Christmas carol albums, I’ve done all my online Christmas shopping and am now bracing myself for the Christmas wrapping frenzy. It can be a crazy-hectic time (it certainly is here at Stuck on You) with a gazillion trips to the shops, furious list writing, preparation and planning.

A great way to unwind and gently ease into the Christmas spirit is to sit down with the kids each weekend leading up to the madness and watch a Christmas movie. Or, buy them a copy and pop it in their Christmas stocking!

Here’s a review of my all-time favourite top 3 Christmas movies for kids.

Miracle on 34th Street

Don’t let your kids’ initial disgust at the thought of watching a black and white movie discourage you – this movie is a must-see for Christmas. Sure, it’s a bit earnest and over the top  but it gets me all choked up and mushy inside every time. It stars a very young Natalie Wood, Maureen O’Hara and Edmund Gwenn who won an Oscar for his performance in this film. The story follows Kris Kringle (Gwenn)  and the cynicism and non-believers he encounters as he ventures outside of the North Pole. He goes about performing Christmas miracles and attempting to instill faith and Christmas spirit in those around him.

Central to the story we follow Kris Kringle as he tries to convince Susan (Wood) that there really is a Santa Claus. As I said, it can be a little heavy on the cheesiness but in my book it delivers everything you would want from a good, old-fashioned Christmas movie.

Home Alone

This is the ultimate family Christmas movie and as it’s a little dated a lot of parents forget all about it.

My son has the entire Home Alone collection (they go to 4 and get progressively worse) and he loves them! For those who don’t know, it’s all about Kevin (Macauley Culkin) who gets accidentally left behind in the chaos as his entire family go on an overseas trip. Left behind to fend for himself Kevin learns to face many fears including a scary neighbour and domestic chores!

The fun parts are when two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) repeatedly attempt to break into the home. Kevin plants all sorts of ingenious booby traps leading to lots of slapstick and genuinely funny moments.

I often find bits of string tied to saucepan lids and door knobs after my son watches these movies as he tries to replicate the same traps on me!

A Christmas Story

I’ve saved the best ’til last – my absolute favourite Christmas movie is hands-down A Christmas Story. Released in the mid 80s it wasn’t a huge commercial success and many have missed it. Every now and then you will catch it on TV around Christmas time which is how I first stumbled upon it and it had my little brother and I in absolute stitches.

At the heart of the story is Ralphie Parker who desperately wants “an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time” for Christmas. It’s slightly left of centre but you’ll love the quirky ways of the endearing Parker family from Mrs Parker who stands in the way of Ralphie’s ultimate wish believing he’ll shoot his eye out and Mr Parker played brilliantly by Darren McGavin.

It’s a simple story about a simple family but is filled with plenty of warm and touching moments and plenty of laughs too. If you haven’t managed to catch this one I highly recommend it. A perfect present because it’s great to rewatch year after year.

At Stuck on You we’d love to know about your families’ all-time favourite Christmas movies. From the old to the new – what do you watch every year at your house?

For my son’s first Christmas I made him a bright red, faux fur Christmas stocking that measures a metre high. Of course, several years later his sister came along and she had to have one the same size. They absolutely love them and even though she’s now 8 and he’s now 12 they still hop in them every year and we take a photo before hanging them near the tree.

I love the challenge of coming up with creative ways to fill them every year. I usually start accumulating bits and pieces around October so it doesn’t get too pricey all at once. I thought I’d share a few ideas for those of you struggling to fill enormous Christmas stockings and Santa sacks this year.

A little flower pot and a packet or two of seeds

I’m all for the gifts that take up a bit of room and won’t end up broken or in the bin before the day’s out. Planting the seeds gives you a fun project to do together once all of the Christmas madness has died down.

Multi-packs of cereal

It may seem a dull but my kids have come to expect their little packets of cereal each year. There are six in a pack and it gives you a chance to let them enjoy the sweeter cereals you might not normally buy, they take up plenty of room and kids love lining them up and deciding what they will eat each morning.

Some practical stuff

Do they needs bathers? A new beach towel? Underwear? A new lunch box? Sandals? Slippers? A sun hat? Put them in the stocking too. (Isn’t it nice that Santa is on our side?)

Magic tricks and practical jokes

These are great fun as the kids slowly bring them out throughout the day. A fly in an ice block, a whoopee cushion or a fake severed thumb bring plenty of laughs to our Christmas lunch.

Something yummy

I like to pop a few yummy treats in there and pretend to be horrified that Santa would do such a thing. The lolly Christmas stockings have treats they can bring out each day after Christmas and, again, they take up room!

A book or two

I like to give them a few little Mr Men, Golden Books or Dr Seuss to add to their collection and a big picture book they can pour over once all of the excitement has died down. Any of the books by Graeme Base keep them quiet for hours – or minutes, at least!

Of course, there are plenty of stocking filler ideas from Stuck On You too…

What’s that? Your kids don’t have a Christmas stocking yet? Well, not only do we have plenty of things to go into your Christmas stocking, Stuck On You have bright, bold monogrammed and personalised Christmas stockings too!

Our Christmas elves are super busy working away in the Stuck On You workshop to get all of your personalised Christmas gifts out in time. We are decking the halls, putting tinsel, mistletoe (and a few Christmas wall stickers) on everything that doesn’t move. We are so excited about our Christmas range and have been getting such lovely feedback from our fabulous customers that we’ve decided to release our Top Ten Favourite Christmas Gifts Ideas to make it easier for you to choose gifts for your friends and family this year!

OK! It’s actually 11 Top Ten Christmas ideas but we just couldn’t narrow it down any further! We hope this makes your Christmas shopping decisions a little easier. Remember the sooner the better with your Christmas order!

Do you have some favourite family books that you bring out every Christmas? It can be such a hectic and crazy time, I find sitting down and reading Christmas books to my kids is a great way to build some gentle excitement before the madness begins.

Here’s the three favourite Christmas books at our house, each one reminding us of some of the wonderful things about Christmas to be treasured.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr Seuss

Before the movie there was the book. Written with typical and bouncy Dr Seuss rhyme and rhythm ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas‘ tells the story of a grumpy creature living in caves above Who-ville who hates Christmas. He goes from house to house and steals all the presents, trees, decorations and food believing that this will put an end to the Who-folks celebrations.

It contains the fabulous sentiment that perhaps Christmas isn’t just about all of the material things:

“‘Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”‘

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

One of the most famous Christmas stories is A Christmas Carol and while the complete Charles Dickens version might be a little hard for kids to follow there are plenty of adaptations for kids. Our copy at home is adapted by Victor Barnes and has gorgeous, colourful illustrations from the animated film of the same name.

For those not familiar with the classic tale it is about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge who is nasty and mean-spirited and, of course, hates Christmas. One night he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come  who show him what will become of him unless he changes his unkind ways.

Not unlike the Grinch, Scrooge realises that happiness comes to you when you have made someone else happy.

 The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore

Written back in 1823 this delightful poem starts with one of my favourite lines:

“‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…”

I love reading it to my children on Christmas Eve as it paints such a glorious picture of Santa Claus and his reindeer going from house to house delivering presents.

“He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.”

Watch your kids’ faces glow with excitement as they picture Santa (or St Nick in this poem) on his way to their house.

 
Do you have a favourite childhood Christmas story or two that you share with your kids at Christmas time?