My sister is in Europe right now and can bring me back a few things for my 7 month old. Any suggestions on what I should ask for? Online stores I should look at? I may order some things and skip them to her friend's house with a bag since she only had a carry on.
If anyone has any suggestions on French books for babies or toys that speak French that might be e especially fun for us.
Thanks!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
That's a website I've ordered from while living abroad because I had no other options. You might get sticker shock on that website though, stuff in Europe is expensive and you can probably do better ordering on Amazon.
pineapple / 12566 posts
France: Collégien slippers, anything from Petit Bateau, A-derma skin care products. Djeco and Janod make really great kids toys for all ages.
We have a bunch of the Drôles de Petites Bêtes books at home, some are really cute and some are kind of dumb (I like Mireille, Léon and Margot). http://recherche.fnac.com/SearchResult/ResultList.aspx?SCat=0!1&Search=dr%C3%B4les+de+petites+b%C3%AAtes&sft=1&sa=0&submitbtn=OK
From Germany:
Steiff teddy bear
Haba brand wooden toys
I think a lot of brands like Fisher Price and Chicco make the same talking toys as in the North American market, they just use French instead. I've never found any that I like, but we have several that I want to throw out of the window. 
ETA: Easy Peasy slippers from France, they are SO cute!
pineapple / 12566 posts
@looch: agree, most things in the US are way less expensive than here.
grapefruit / 4649 posts
@BandDmommy: Those are awesome! He is so cute!
@looch: Thanks! You are definitely right, I am hoping to just find 2-3 cute things that would be hard to buy here, I appreciate the link, I will see what I can find!
@lamariniere: Thank you! The book suggestions are especially helpful, I speak French and keep trying to get kids books for her but so far they have all been translations. The slippers are unbelievably cute! We can get janod here but I will check out the other brand!
pineapple / 12566 posts
@Cole: What I have found is that the French don't have a huge culture of children's literature. Every time we go, we spend hours looking at the children's book section to add books to our library, and there honestly isn't a ton of original work. There are series of course, like T'choupi (who I want to strangle), Barbapapa (which I find terrible) and Babar. And there are lots translations of English works and classics, of course, but not a ton of original children's stories. I have found some books for preschoolers that are REALLY great, Un Bleu Si Bleu, Les Echasses Rouges, Le Baron Bleu, but they are probably a bit too advanced for now.
grapefruit / 4649 posts
@lamariniere: That's what I am realizing too, it's interesting but I guess the up side is it's really easy to expose her to favorites in both languages. I will write down the ones you suggested though, we are close to the Canadian border and it's usually pretty easy to order French books on their sites and have it delivered to a friend's parent's home.
eggplant / 11716 posts
When my brother was living in Paris, he sent my LO cute stuff that was on sale at Petite Bateau and Jacadi.
nectarine / 2180 posts
We have several of these Kididoc books, and I would love to have more. They have parts on the page that slide and move, and they're always a favorite with kids at our house. They're very sturdy and can take a beating (or chewing 
).
http://www.amazon.fr/Mon-imagier-aliments-Nathalie-Choux/dp/209253033X/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1432131833&sr=8-12&keywords=kididoc
@lamariniere: my French children's book collection consists mainly of T'choupi Especially stateside, it's so hard to find French children's books that aren't translations of English books.
grapefruit / 4649 posts
@Anagram: I need to check and see what I can find on sale! I love both of those brands and they get expensive but it's definitely worth looking!
@Pancakes: Those books are adorable! Thank you! They are for sure coming home with her!
nectarine / 2600 posts
I would just ask for something "typical" of the region. It's so expensive in Europe and honestly I've ordered most of LO's clothes from Carters in the US! I'm not too fond of the style for kids clothes here, the only things I've bought here have been from H&M, and a few things from some of the local department stores.
I feel terrible about my registry, especially for my US friends and family who have wanted to buy us things. The same things here cost double what they do in the US!
I have heard other moms raving about wooden German toys for babies though. So that might be something.
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