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Cuddledry Review | Parenting

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The Cuddledry is something that immediately caught my eye. Reason? Because it is so damn cute. It would take a hard person indeed to look at the pictures of the cute baby wrapped in this towel and not go ‘aw’. But we can’t be worn over on cuteness alone (mostly). Does it work? Is it convenient? Read on…

cuddle dry cuddledryreview cuddledry

First of all, it looks good. It is obviously high quality. It is very soft and feels great. Perfect for baby’s skin. If you don’t already know what the Cuddledry is; it is an apron style towel that lets you dry your baby hands free. This is not to be underestimated. Anything that stops you dropping your baby is a good thing. The baby bath towel also keeps you dry and it has a hood which makes baby look adorable and keeps the water away from baby’s skin and hair. We love this apron towel. It makes life with a newborn significantly easier. A brilliant, yet simple invention.

Made with natural bamboo fibre and pure cotton, the Cuddledry is much softer than a normal towel, and stays that way after washing – ideal for snuggling and drying your little one’s soft skin.

Cuddledry designers, Helen Wooldridge and Polly Marsh, were inspired to create the Cuddledry after they and their husbands struggled at bath time with slippery babies, and realising this was a challenge every new parent faces:

“We asked hundreds of parents and found that mums and dads everywhere battle with baby towels held awkwardly under their chin, or in their teeth, or put crying babies onto towels on cold bathroom floors, to get over the need for an extra hand to hold the towel at bath time,” explains Polly Marsh, one of Cuddledry’s creators. “It is of course impossible to safely lift a baby without two hands, but you also somehow have to hold a towel and wrap them in it!”

“Cuddledry have thought of everything, it clips around the neck to free up your arms for picking up your bubba and drying them in a flash, before you know it baby is all snuggled up in the cuddly side. Fantastic invention, why didn’t I think of it first” – Zoe Ball

“I’m so glad my mum bought a Cuddledry for me, it’s the best thing anyone can buy for a new parent.” Denise Van Outen

Helen and Polly were asked by the BBC to take the Cuddledry apron towel onto Dragons Den. They amazed the dragons by turning down three offers of investment. Since the show, the entrepreneurial duo has secured private investment and the business has expanded beyond all expectations. The Cuddledry is now used by tens of thousands of parents, endorsed by celebrities and recommended by midwives and maternity nurses worldwide. It has won over 40 prestigious awards and is recommended again and again as the number 1 baby bath-time essential.

The Cuddledry apron is available to buy for £29.99 here or from Boots.com, John Lewis.com, JoJoMamanBebe.com and Mothercare.com as well as the Cuddledry website www.cuddledry.com

 

 

 

M&S To Launch Childrenswear Pop-up ‘Kids Shwop Boutique’ For Oxfam

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clothesMarks & Spencer to open first-ever charity Kids Shwop Boutique at Marble Arch store

Shwop Boutique to sell the best childrenswear items donated to Shwopping campaign
A host of celebrities including Joanna Lumley, Abbey Clancy, Rochelle Humes, Peaches Geldof, Alex Gerrad and Zoe Ball have donated items that will be sold
All money raised go to charity partner Oxfam as part of their Mother Appeal initiative
Over 1,000 shwopped childrenswear clothing will be on sale over three days

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is set to open its first-ever childrenswear pop-up store when a three-day Kids Shwop Boutique opens to the public this March in aid of Oxfam’s Mother Appeal.

Open from Thursday 6th – Saturday 8th March at the retailer’s Marble Arch store, the one-off secondhand store will sell the best childrenswear items donated to M&S and Oxfam’s sustainable fashion initiative, Shwopping by the UK public and a host of celebrity donations.

All proceeds raised from the Kids Shwop Boutique will go towards Oxfam’s Mother Appeal campaign – which is being supported by M&S – that aims to raise £10 million for projects that help mothers around the world lift themselves and their families out of poverty for good.

Shwoppers will be able to pick up once loved childrenswear items from Britain’s top style icons and celebrity mums including Abbey Clancy, Peaches Geldof, Alex Gerrard, Zoe Ball, Rochelle Humes, Sarah Story, Mel Giedroyc and Shwopping ambassador Joanna Lumley. And, thanks to the UK government, every pound raised for the appeal will be doubled. *

Each celebrity-donated item will include personal words of wisdom stitched into the fabric of the item allowing advice to be passed onto the new owner.

Entry to the Kids Shwop Boutique is free, but visitors will have to shwop – hand over an unwanted item of kids clothing, using old or unused clothes as their ticket to the exclusive sale.

M&S has asked the public to donate childrenswear items to support the Oxfam campaign through its joint Love, Mum initiative. All other items of clothing donated will also go towards the appeal.

The public can show their support by Shwopping items in any M&S store add their words of wisdom on social media mentioning @shwopping and the hashtag #LoveMum.

M&S and Oxfam’s Shwopping collaboration urges shoppers to donate – or ‘shwop’ – an unwanted item of clothing that will go on to be re-sold, re-used or recycled by Oxfam, cutting waste while raising much-needed funds for the charity.

Since its launch in April 2012, Oxfam has received 6.9 million items of clothing thanks to Shwopping, worth £4.5 million for the charity. All money raised by Shwopping is used to support Oxfam’s projects around the world working to alleviate poverty.

Shwop Boutique

Where: Marks & Spencer, Marble Arch, 458 Oxford Street. London. W1C 1AP
When: The Kids Shwop Boutique is open from 10am – 9pm on Thursday 6th March and 8am – 9pm on Friday 7th and Saturday 8h March 2014
Entry: Free with a shwopped item of clothing

For more information on Marks & Spencer and Oxfam’s Kids Shwop Boutique visit www.marksandspencer.com.

 

The Barclaycard Mercury Prize. Plan B, Florence Welch, Mark Ronson Attend

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Plan B, Florence Welch, Mark Ronson and co celebrate after The Barclaycard Mercury Prize

November the 1st saw a whole host of music’s finest celebrate the Barclaycard Mercury Prize at The Box including shortlisted artists Plan B, The Maccabees, Jessie Ware, Ben Howard, Django Django The party featured a special performance by Marina & The Diamonds.
Florence Welch turned up dressed as Joan of Ark choosing to leave The Machines Birthday bash to party with Mark Ronson, Jamie XX and the shortlisted artists.

Celebs in attendance were 

Plan B
Django Django
Maccabees
Jessie Ware
Ben Howard
Florence Welch (Florence & The Machine)
Mark Ronson
Jamie XX
Luke Treadaway
Sam Brandon
Ty Wood
Mat Horne
Will Poulter
Marina Diamandis (our guest performer)
Grace Woodward
Charlie Speed
Isaac Ferry
Otis Ferry
Sasha Bailey
Fin Munro
Billie JD Porter
Gizzi Erskine
Orlando Weeks
Percy Parker
Will Best
Zoe Ball

Lauren Laverne, Jo Whiley, Claudia Winkleman, at Lauren's Oxfam Get Together

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Lauren Laverne, Jo Whiley, Claudia Winkleman, Dee Koppang at Lauren’s Oxfam Get Together event for International Women’s Day,

Lauren Laverne gathered together a host of celebrity friends to support Oxfam’s Get Together campaign for International Women’s Day this week, raising funds for women around the world.

Guests at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party included Jo Whiley, Claudia Winkleman, India Knight, Sali Hughes, Grace Dent, Gizzi Erskine, Mary-Kate Trevaskis, Dee Koppang, Hemmo, Polly Samson, Sophie Heawood, and Donna Grant.

Lauren who is an ambassador for Oxfam’s Get Together Campaign, joins over 3,000 women around the UK who have registered to hold their own events to mark International Women’s Day. At her tea party, she served guests multi coloured sandwiches, and praline ice cream lollipops which exploded with a single bite.

 

Lauren said: ‘Such a pleasure and a privilege to host a Get Together for IWD today. My friends are all busy mums and/or working women, but they were all so keen to make a donation and to take the time to come together on behalf of the campaign. It was inspiring and surprising and a lot of fun. We’re already making plans for something even bigger and better next year!’

Claudia Winkleman tweeted: tea with amazing women for #oxfamIWD Have a look at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/women’sday.

Zoe Ball will be celebrating International Women’s Day for Oxfam this evening with a Get Together frock swap with her friends – last year she hosted a tea party for International Women’s Day. Zoe tweeted: Shout for all dames hosting a #gettogether with girls for International Women’s Day

Other celebrity ladies holding Get Together events for Oxfam include Miquita Oliver, who held a women-themed quiz night. And a dazzling array of celebrities put on a glamorous Get Together jumble sale, with stalls organised by Dawn Porter, Gemma Cairney, Caroline Flack, Chris O’Dowd, Kate Nash, Sara Cox, Cherry Healey, Gizzi Erskine, Grace Woodward, Harry Potter actress Jessie Cave, singer Brigitte Aphrodite and TV presenter and stand-up comic Jeffrey Leach. The ‘Rumble in the Jumble’ raised £7,000 for Oxfam.

Oxfam’s Chief Executive Barbara Stocking said: ‘We are so grateful for the support of everyone who is holding an Oxfam Get Together event for International Women’s Day. There are 1.3 billion people living in poverty worldwide – and the great majority are women and girls. Oxfam is working hard to change this through all of our programme work.’

 

 

Fearne Cotton, Alistair McGowan and Harry Hill go Mad for the Fairtrade Facebook Challenge …

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Fearne Cotton, Alistair McGowan and Harry Hill go Mad for the Fairtrade Facebook Fearne Cotton, TV Burp star Harry Hill, Zoe Ball and DJ husband Norman Cook, ex-model and presenter Lisa Butcher, Fast Show star Mark Williams and more are all going Fairtrade Mad on the Fairtrade Fortnight Facebook Challenge at http://www.facebook.com/FairtradeFoundation .

Each day, the celebs are inviting people to take part in a different, fun challenge such as creating a wacky Fairtrade Banana Smile, Outrageous Fairtrade Label Waving, painting a Fairtrade Chocolate Moustache, Random Acts of Fairtrade Kindness, Fairtrade Your Mum, create a Fairtrade fruit inspired hat, and the Fairtrade Ice Cream Pile Up.

Other celebrities have pledged to take part in the challenge, including singer Mica Paris, Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave, chef Sophie Grigson, How Clean is Your House presenter Aggie McKenzie, as well as Tory MP and DFID Minister Stephen O’Brien.

Alistair McGowan is launching the ‘Outrageous label waving’ challenge by replacing his tennis ball with a Fairtrade pineapple as he impersonates John McEnroe. ‘We are all thinking a lot about the sustainability of our world,’ says Alistair McGowan. ‘I believe that we have to start with the people who produce the foods and goods we put in our shopping baskets. When I buy Fairtrade I know the farmers and workers receive enough for their products so that they can put food on the table and enjoy a better standard of living’.

Each challenge comes with a fabulous prize for the funniest, most outrageous and creative contestant. Up for grabs are prizes like a Sainsbury’s supported trip to the Dominican Republic to visit Fairtrade certified banana farmers; a flower arranging lesson with top florist Simon Richards who designs all of Marks & Spencer’s floral arrangements; a cupcake making course with cake-maker extraordinaire Lilli Vanilli whose bespoke cakes are sold in Harrods; a week’s holiday in Sri Lanka which includes a visit to Fairtrade tea growers who sell their tea to Jacksons of Piccadilly; a Starbuck’s ‘sensory weekend’ with all sorts of delights; a Green & Black’s chocolate Masterclass; and a year’s supply of Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream.

The rules are simple. Log onto the Fairtrade Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/FairtradeFoundationUpload a photograph of yourself taking part in one of the daily challenges and encourage your friends and family to vote on your entry. The entry with the most votes wins. The funniest and wackiest photograph is likely to win. For those who don’t win the grand prize, there are lots of great are Fairtrade-inspired consolation prizes.