We will be traveling to Europe this summer with our kids, and I’m wondering if there are specific products or types of products that are worth going out of our way to purchase while we are there. For example, is there a good kid’s sunblock that blocks against UVA and UV radiation (unlike U.S. sunblock that just focuses on UV), an amazing sleep sack free of flame retardants, a magical umbrella stroller not sold in the U.S., etc. Any thoughts or recommendations? Thank you!
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brilliant post - we're going to Italy at the end of this summer, and this never even occurred to me. DS will turn 4 right after we get back.
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When we lived in Europe, I would buy this sunscreen for my kids. They are extremely fair and never got burnt. https://www.garnier.fr/soins-solaires/beaute/ambre-solaire/sensitive-expert-plus/easy-peasyvery-high-protection-on-the-go-lotion-spf-50plus
How old are you LOs? A ton of big baby gear is imported from the US, or big European brands (Stokke, Bugaboo) so I can’t think of any “gear” that is specifically European that you wouldn’t be able to get at home. Beauty products, toys, clothes, shoes, all of those you can find great Euro stuff. I love Aigle rain boots for my kiddos, Petit Bateau for clothes, and depending on your LOs ages, I could recommend some toy brands. Also, this site is fun to browse with a mix of brands from
different places. https://en.smallable.com -
Where in Europe?
I’m living in Europe now. The European sunscreens are in fact amazing. La roche posay and other brands are all great and they are formulated better than us brands. Have a pop into a pharmacy and ask. Also if you are a retinol user it’s otc here and like 3€ a tube. It’s called airol
Clothes: Brit brand marks and Spencer makes great cotton kids clothes
If you are in Scandinavian countries I’d buy some merino wool basics. They also make weather gear that is without compare (but they sell great stuff online at polarn o pyret )
Honestly a lot of the toys like plan and hape are available online for less.ETA: I know lrp is available in the us but the actual European formulation is better and different than the us.
Frezyderm is a popular one hereI can make more reccs but it depends on where you will be
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@Littlebit7: agree, it really depends on the country as you can’t find everything everywhere. Also, going along with Scandinavian winter wear, I really loved Finkid. They make great hats for summer and winter and super cute and durable but very pricey coats/snowsuits.
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I really liked things that I could buy at the drug store, like arnica gel for bruises and acetaminophen suppositories when my son was of the age to use them.
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@Littlebit7: @lamariniere: @looch:
This is all so helpful already, thank you so much! I will definitely keep an eye out for some of these things.We are traveling both through Scandinavia and Switzerland and my kiddos will be about 2.75 years and 9 months when we go. We live in a big city so we can find some things here, like Grimm toys, Hape, petite bateau, Jacadi, etc. although I’m definitely open to looking there too if they are cheaper or have a better selection etc.
I figured most of the big name gear is available here too, but I know Recaro strollers recently pulled out of the US market for example, so I was curious if there were more brands like that.
@MrsLonghorn: That sounds awesome, I bet the food will be amazing for a 4 year old. Enjoy!
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@cityliving: my in-laws used to stock up on Petit Bateau clothes for DS (onesies when he was little and pj's as he got older) when they visited France and Italy -- they claim that it was significantly cheaper there. IMO, the sizing is different so you'll want to try them on....but they were VERY high quality and adorable. We loved the PB onesies, and his pj's are super soft.
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@MrsLonghorn: Ooh, the sounds great and good to know about the sizing - I know it runs small here, but never would have assumed they were different. Thanks for the heads up!
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@cityliving: oh sorry to be confusing!! I think the PB sizing is probably the same as if you buy PB in the US....I just meant that PB is not consistent with American brand sizing...we always size up at least 1 full size in PB
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@lamariniere: That website you linked is super cute and is definitely having me prioritize shoes!
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@cityliving: fun! I wish I could go kid shopping in Scandinavia, they have such cute stuff!
@MrsLonghorn: for PB, I buy 2-3 sizes up. It runs SUPER small. But the quality is excellent. Outside of France, it’s a bit more expensive, but less expensive than US prices. My ILs live near an outlet in France so every time we visit them, I go wild and stock up!
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From my Euro DH from Milan... the mainstream nice stuff is Chicco, PB, H&M, Trudy (stuffed animals). Rody Horse is another Italian one but not mainstream. Grimm’s (toys) is German — good stuff. We have totally fallen in love with Living Kitzbuhel for worsted wool slippers.
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@Amorini: yes! The Living Kitzbuhel slippers are super nice and cozy! My DD had a pair for daycare. Collégien slippers are also fun, they are like socks with nubby rubber soles. The kids and I all have slippers from them. Now I’m getting excited about the shopping prospects for my trip to Europe this summer, too.
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@Amorini: we're going to Milan! SIL lives there, and is getting married there. We'll be there for 5 days. The required wedding hotel is right outside Parco Sempione and a 10 minute walk from the Duomo, so pretty much in the heart of the tourist are.... I'm hoping we can spend most of our free time in the park, but I would love it if you could wall me any Milan favorites with kids so that I don't totally hijack this thread.... (activities, restaurants, etc)
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@lamariniere: On the marino wool shoe topic. There is also a brand calles Geiswein and they also make adult sneakers and they are seriously the most comfortable shoes ever.
I definitely like European shoes way better than the American ones. Brands that we use are Superfit, Richter Shoes and Däumling which are awesome for narrow feet. Clarks UK has a really great selection for a wide array of foot width.
Alvi and Julius Zöllner are brands that make great sleepsacks.
For strollers there's Cybex and Cosatto that I am unsure of whether they are available in the US.
Clothes wise there is German brand Steiff (yes the teddy bear company) that has really expensive but well made pieces. If you get those on a sale they are something to look out for.
Also a lot of the baby wearing companies stem from Germany so you can get pretty good deals on Didymos, Storchenwiege, Kokadi etc. wraps/slings/carriers.
Brio is another thing that is possible easier to get in Europe than in the US and the toys hold up so well.
One thing I have noticed when we visit the US how small the doll section seems, I find that over here in Europe the selection when it comes to baby like dolls is way bigger.
I'll add things if I can think of more. Sometimes it is hard to tell what other people find useful if you see things all the time and are just so used too
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we love Schleich animals -- are they cheaper, or is there better variety in Europe?
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@MrsLonghorn: What do they cost in the US?
ETA: It is a German brand so I could imagine that the selection is bigger here (I am in Germany). They are quite easy to find and retail starting at about 4 EUR
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@cityliving: I thought of something else, which is base layers from the brand Odlo. I lived in CH for 5 years and I always bought these for my son and I.
I also liked the neoprene rain bibs, I could find them at any sports store, but in the US, they're harder to come by.
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@Pumuckl: price varies by animal here. I just checked Amazon, and most of the ones we have are $8 (6.86 EUR)
(longhorn, polar bear, moose).
It seems like smaller animals are a bit cheaper (seal is 4.5 EUR) but some are significantly more (walrus is 11 EUR) -
@Pumuckl: This is an awesome list, thank you!!! We have Cybex here, but I’ve never heard of Cosatto and a lot of the baby carriers you mentioned were actually new to me too.
Dolls are a great idea, especially since I’m a more picky about them then my daughter since so many of them are creepy...@looch: Awesome thanks! I’m literally taking notes at this point.
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@Pumuckl: I’ve never heard of those sneakers. I’ll have to look out for them this summer when we are back in Europe. My DD has a Steiff teddy, it’s so sweet. She calls it her baby bear since she’s had it since she was a baby. I used to see kids in Vienna wearing Steiff clothes, but you are right about them being pricey!
@cityliving: If you are looking for dolls, Corolle makes lovely, high quality baby dolls and dolls with hair, along with all the accessories. I think you can get them in the US, but they are probably cheaper with a larger selection in Europe.
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@looch: on your recommendation I bought Odlo base layers last year for skiing and it was great! So soft and warm!
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