Feel the force

It's scary how quickly Halloween seems to creep up on us every year. Even more frightening is the realisation that Xmas is just around the corner. But before getting into credit crunch Christmas shopping panic mode, enjoy some of the All Hallow's spirit by scouting around for costumes for your little terror. Sadly this adorable Darth Vader outfit at Style Kid is out of stock but Star Wars fans can unleash the force with the Chewbacca romper suit or Obi wan Kenobi kit complete with lightsabre. Check out more fiendishly cute cossies at the Style Kid web site.

The Show must go on

The Baby Show, the UK's biggest exhibition for new and expectant parents, came back with a bang (shake and rattle) at London's Earl's Court arena last weekend. This three-day event features all the top baby and toddler brands like Mothercare, Maclaren, Graco and Avent, along with indie retailers and mumpreneurs eager to share their wares.


With live fashion shows, parenting experts on hand to guide you and row upon row of stands, the Baby Show is a great place to try out loads of gear and finally whittle down what you'll really need for those 0-3 years. The sheer range of goodies on offer can be exhausting and after what seemed like miles of trekking I was ready to nap in the giant bouncy chair set up at the Fisher Price stand. Mr. Cheeks was having a fab time scoping out toys and other toddlers - apart from being totally freaked out by a super-sized Bob the Builder. Luckily the kid was soon worn out leaving mama free to wander/shop in peace for another hour.

Sadly we weren't able to bring you live reports from the show, but over the coming weeks Hype Baby and our sister blog Brand New Mama will be featuring some of our favourite products and exhibitors. If you missed the weekend gig, you can catch the Baby Show in Manchester on November 14-16 or plan ahead for 2009 outings at London's ExCeL on March 1, Birmingham on May 15-17 and Earl's Court on October 16-18. For more info check out the Baby Show web site.