Tag: tribal dreaming

A Thoughtful Guide for Children’s Gifts

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Update: I developed this list for December giving, however it is suitable for any season or occasion, including Valentine’s day and birthdays. 

It’s that time of year when many people are thinking about gifts for the children in their life. So I decided to share my best recommendations in the interest of thoughtful acquisition. We are very minimal when it comes to gifts: for birthdays it’s one gift, for Christmas it’s two gifts. Over the years the children have grown a nice collection of thoughtful toys, books and play things, that are sustainably made, high quality and heirloom worthy. This list is based on our favourites (and a few wish list items) that both Ro (age 10) and Sen (age 4) enjoy now and did so at a younger age too.

 

Full Children's Gift Guide 2015

I didn’t include any clothing on the list because my children get little enjoyment from what they wear, but if you are looking for clothing recommendations, you can always email me or leave a comment, or check my Label Love series of posts, featuring ethically made, sustainable clothing.

  1. Studio Escargot Doll – small, soft loveable dolls that are beautiful but can still be played with, handmade by Sophia Smeekens, available here
  2. Mozartkugel Music Ball – handmade in Germany from sustainable wood sources, this wooden ball contains a wind up music box that plays Mozart, beautiful sound and beautiful to look at, available here
  3. Once Upon a Balloon – written by Bree Galbraith, a story about the magic and whimsy of childhood imagination, widely available, but you can find it here
  4. 12-piece Wooden Rainbow – made by Grimm’s Wooden Toys, this toy is deceptively complex and yet simple enough for a toddler to enjoy, hours of creative fun, available here (note: the entire line of Grimm’s toys is amazing, you can’t really pick something your children won’t love)
  5. Play Silks – hand dyed silk and cotton play scarves and scapes, hours and hours of creative fun, your children will never cease to come up with something new with these scarves, available from Sarah’s Silks here (note: you can’t really go wrong with anything from Sarah’s Silks)
  6. Global Guardian Project Learning Capsules – monthly digital magazine (including videos, podcasts and art downloads) for children and families to learn about global stewardship. Each month features a different country’s wild life, landscape and challenges, and includes art projects, activities, meditation, recipes and more! You can use my discount code: HIPPIEINDISGUISE for 10% off  and find them here
  7. Felt Bee Costume – handmade felt bee wings and mask from Wishing Elephant and Opposite of Far collaboration available here
  8. Ocean Warrior Necklace – handmade necklace made from amber and sterling silver, a reminder of our connection to the health of our waters and planet, from Tribal Dreaming available here
  9. Dancey Pants Disco Doll – sweet homesteading, yet adventurous dolls handmade by Michelle Housel available here (but often sell out quickly, so keep checking)
  10. Felt Vegetables – handmade felt vegetables, a friend of mine made Ro and Sen a set and they have been enjoyed for hundreds of hours, you can find the set shown as well as many others on Etsy from Little Farmer Felt here
  11. Slingshot with Felt Balls – handmade wooden and felt toy, made in Canada from sustainable wood source with eco paints, by Des Enfantillages and available here
  12. Swurfer Swing – handmade wooden surfing swing, watch some videos here to understand how fun and versatile this swing is, available for purchase here
  13. Blank Notebook – always in use for drawing, taking notes, blank notebooks are a staple, but always exciting as a gift, our favourites are from klt:works available here
  14. The ABCs of Homesteading – a fun, beautifully illustrated book with a hand screen printed cover, written and illustrated by McKenzie E. Ditter available here
  15. Jump Rope – handmade adjustable length wood skipping rope, made from sustainable wood and rope, water based paint, in Canada by Des Enfantillages and available here
  16. Toy Camera – handmade wood and recycled bamboo and finished with oil, made by Park Wood Shop available here
  17. Coloured Pencils – our favourite colouring pencils are made by Lyra, beautiful colours and great hand feel, widely available, but you can find them here for sure
  18. Binoculars – handmade wooden toy binoculars made by Fanny and Alexander and available here
  19. Sonya’s Chickens – beautifully illustrated book about love and nurturing, the realities of nature, life and death, written and illustrated by Phoebe Wahl available here
  20. Pencil Case – young artists need to be able to travel easily with their pencils, handmade from upcycled materials and available in a range of styles and colours, made by El Quiltro and available here

My favourite toy shop in Canada is Three Little Monkeys, they are located in downtown Ottawa, but have an amazing online shop and ship everywhere, so check them out.

Check out my Thoughtful Women’s Gift Guide — good for any season or occasion.

*Full disclosure: I’m not compensated for purchases or clicks to sites. I’m recommending these gifts because my children enjoy them, they are durable, sustainably made, and are likely to be kept and passed on to their children. They are heirloom quality gifts that children will thoroughly enjoy, that inspire creativity, open-mindedness, care and nurturing. UPDATE: I have updated some links on this page as Amazon Affiliate links, purchases made from links to Amazon from my site I will receive a small commission for.

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Tribal Dreaming with Heidi and Kimberley

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In late summer Sen got a special package in the mail, it contained an Earth Warrior necklace from friends in Australia, Heidi and Kimberley. Sen put it on immediately and has not gone a day, or even a moment, without it since. I initially got this necklace for Sen as a reminder of his connection with the earth and the rhythms of nature inside him and around us. At this time Sen was also starting to verbalize his care for the natural world and I thought the necklace would be a nice ‘thank you’ for his thoughts and serve as an embodied reminder of the importance of stewardship. It did both of these things, and more.

Sen also started school around this time and he was very apprehensive, to say the least. Sen is an introvert and so the thought of a room full of new people and new routines was worrisome for him. We supported him through this transition in a variety of ways, but one thing I said that seemed to resonate was that his warrior strength and care for the earth could be directed toward himself when he needed it. I started noticing that when he showed signs of nervousness he would pause and place his hand on his necklace. It seemed that after these pauses he felt some peace and confidence and could move on. I would never have guessed that his necklace would be such a great support in this way. The energy put into that necklace by Heidi and Kimberley has helped my little boy immeasurably.

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After experiencing such positive outcomes from the necklace I asked Heidi and Kimberley if they would share more about themselves and the necklaces they make (under the name Tribal Dreaming). In the interview that follows, Heidi and Kimberley have shared a wonderful glimpse into their hopes and dreams and how these intertwine with their daily rituals in their home and with their children. It is inspiring to see two people live such an integrated life where their values and passions are lived and breathed every moment. Thank you Heidi and Kimberley for sharing your way of life and for putting such good intentions out into the world.

Heidi, Kimberely, what part of the world do you live in?

We are from Brisbane, Australia.

How many children do you have and how would you describe them?

We have five gorgeous children between us. Heidi has two boys Archer (4) and Rafael (18months) and Kimberley has 3 girls Estella (5), Ellula (2) and Elsie (4months). Our children, like us all, change from one day to the next so holding the space for them to discover and experience every part of themselves is something really important to us. It’s a daily challenge especially since we are rediscovering lost parts of ourselves every step of the way. They are all spirited individuals so it’s quite the juggling act meeting everyones needs in our homes. Our kids really are our greatest teachers aren’t they?

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What are your core family values?

We are committed to conscious living and try our best at incorporating this into all aspects of family life. From what we eat, wear and speak, this is strong throughout our days. We are actively involved in non violent communication education which we have found an invaluable tool to nurture our relationships. The spoken word has so much power so we set an intention of mindfulness around what we say especially to our little loves.

How do you spend most of your days?

Our days are spent immersed in life. Constant demands of the varying ages of our children. Both of our husbands work shift work so we are the home-makers. It’s busy and intense and has it’s ups and downs but we love it all at once. We are always striving for ‘balance’ in all aspects of our lives, we never quite manage to achieve this perfectly but we find that just being aware helps.

Being a stay at home Mama in our modern society is quite isolating so we have both placed great importance on finding our own village to keep our sanity while raising these pure little people. We love to get out first thing and explore the neighbourhood on foot to ground us into the new day and create a strong connection with our surroundings. The children witness the small changes as the seasons change and form relationships with neighbours. We both feel a connection with the Steiner philosophy on daily rhythms so we try to stick to a light flow of breathing in and out throughout the day and weave play dates and outings within. The afternoons are usually at home for rest and then pottering in the garden, climbing trees, being dinosaurs or fairies, acrobats, digging holes and for us Mamas just trying to stay present and mindful as best we can.

We always finish our days with nourishing food, stories and cuddles and then if we are lucky some time to unwind and breathe out for ourselves before the new day begins. Yoga and meditation is also an important part of our week and we try to get this in wherever we can.

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Ro has a Puka Bells Necklace from Tribal Dreaming

What is your favourite thing to do as a family?

We both love being out in nature with our families. Everything seems easier when we are all outside and where there is only mother nature to play with. We do a bit of camping all together and these are some of our most treasured times. We always comment on how enjoyable it is and how at ease the kids are. Lovely to get back to our true nature, needs and desires as humans.

What are you passionate about?

We are passionate about conscious living, slowing down, random acts of kindness and living in harmony with Mother Earth and the universe. As we have entered motherhood, one of the biggest challenges we have found is finding balance in our lives. Self love and taking the time to be present has slowly become a priority for us. When we give first to ourselves, the love flows out into all areas of life and everyone benefits. We are learning to quieten all the noise and check in more regularly with our hearts and faithfully following its guidance and wisdom.

We believe in abundance and the power of our own magic, creating a life we love, an authentic life; one of togetherness, connection and community. Then, to weave this into our lives to nourish and provide for our families and the greater community. We both truly believe in the need as woman to create and make alongside our sisters and since starting this project together we can feel a fire inside us burning bright.

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What inspires you?

The world around us is so full of inspiration we both get quite overwhelmed at times. When we are together planning and creating we both bring lists of all the things we have read/seen/watched/imagined to help us keep some order. We are passionate about life and everything that surrounds us. It is a blessing and a curse which never leaves us bored!

What is Tribal Dreaming and why did you decide to start your own business?

We have both been on our own individual journey of healing, self discovery and transformation to move further into our own light, truth and authentic self . Our souls had been craving a channel for the inherent creativity that was bubbling under the surface, and as we continued to make choices to follow our dreams down wildly unconventional paths, Tribal Dreaming was born.

A common interest we have always shared are pieces of beauty that can be worn for healing, balancing and the expression of who you are at that moment in time. We are especially passionate about finding unique, healing and soul inspiring pieces for our children. Our Children being the true beginning of Tribal Dreaming.

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What are your dreams for your business and for motherhood?

We created Tribal Dreaming to be a part of our parenting journey, it’s much more than making jewellery, and so far seems to have a life of it’s own, evolving all the time.  What started as making jewellery for our children is now so much more. We have lots of exciting plans that we’re working on. One thing we are really good at when we meet up is getting carried away talking about our ideas and plans for Tribal Dreaming. We both get all giggly and excited and feel inspired and then realise that the season of our lives at the moment is so intense, with our families, that we can’t action all these ideas as quickly as we’d like to so we take a big breath and try and calm down…We’re certainly not lacking in the ideas department!

Our dreams for motherhood and our business are connected. We are totally open to being the best versions of ourselves and living a life we love, trying to stay aligned in ‘love’ all the time and reflecting this message in our business. Motherhood has been transformative for us both. We both had the most wonderful pregnancy and birthing experiences with all of our children and have chosen to ‘unschool’ our children. Our husbands are supportive and believe in us and our dreams.  Our business allows us to do what we love, stay at home being the ‘home-makers’ for our families, and work doesn’t feel much like work at all. We feel like we are children in a sense too, undoing and learning about who we are in this crazy world. We strive to make our homes secure and loving for all, a place where our children are free to be who they are without unnecessary limitations. We want them to feel and have freedom in life,  to know and live their truth, feel secure in who they are and be connected to mother earth and her rhythms.

Could you tell me more about your decision to donate funds to support women in developing countries?

We are so excited about this! We have just recently launched our new ‘Rock Your Chakra’ range and have made a commitment to provide the funds for 3 Birthing Kits per necklace sold through Birthing Kit Foundation Australia (BKFA). The BKFA works to provide a clean and safe birthing environment for women in developing countries to reduce the incidence of infant and maternal morbidity and mortality. These packs are very simple but provide the essential items for a hygienic birth which makes a huge difference for these women. We had the most amazing birthing experiences and truly believe every woman should enjoy the right to birth safely. It really is the least we can do for our fellow sisters and we plan to get more involved with this association as we grow. We have set a very big goal of donating 3000 before the year is out!

Thank you so much, Heidi and Kimberely for sharing your way of life and your projects. Friends: you can shop the Tribal Dreaming collection online here and you can follow Tribal Dreaming on Instagram @tribaldreaming.

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I love how Sen gently holds his Earth Warrior necklace

You might also like my post:

Slow Living Project

Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation for Children

Slow Fashion: Four’emKi for women and children

Social Responsibility: WOOLN Knits

Ethical Wool: Love Your Mother in Luv Mother

Fashion for Good: Punjammies Made From Hope

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