vintage baby gifts

One of the many lovely things about having a baby is that you (or rather your new child) get lots of gifts.  As my family and friends are well aware of my obsession with all things vintage, a few of the gifts we received are of an old fashioned nature, one way or the other, plus being a terrible hoarder I have a few hand-me-down's myself that are now decorating the nursery. I thought I'd share a few of my favourites here.

I completely love this vintage baby booties given to me by my friend Lynsey. She went to one of the London vintage fairs to find them after seeing me moon after some similar ones over a year ago. I'm not really sure wheth their age is - I'd guess early to mid 20th century (anyone who can narrow this down, I'd be very interested to hear). They're very unlikely to ever make it onto baby's feet, but make a wonderful decoration in his nursery.

vintage style cardigan gift from my mum's friend

Continuing the clothing theme, one of the best ways to get a vintage look for your baby is good old fashioned knit wear. Given the way babies destroy clothing with puke and poo so quickly, I'm not keen on putting original vintage clothing on mine, so this is a good alternative. There are a variety of vintage knitting patterns available, including books such as 'Vintage Baby Knits' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vintage-Baby-Knits-Heirloom-Patterns/dp/1584797614 , but even better is being given some by you knitting mum and her friends:

mauve knitted baby set by my mum

Peter Rabbit is a classic for baby themed gifts going back quite some time. It's still available today (http://www.peterrabbitstore.co.uk), but rather pricey it has to be said! I have to pull myself back from spending lots of money on the lovely stuff - my favourites include this Peter Rabbit jack-in-the-box http://www.peterrabbitstore.co.uk/*/Toys/Peter-Rabbit-Musical-Jack-in-the-Box/10A8V00Y9000?back=*%2FToys%2F%3Foff%3D27 , this old style stuffed toy http://www.peterrabbitstore.co.uk/*/For-Baby/Collectable-22cm-Peter-Rabbit/1079C00X2000?back=*%2FFor-Baby%2F%3Foff%3D54 , and these book ends http://www.peterrabbitstore.co.uk/*/For-Baby/Wooden-Bookends/10B1T00X2000?back=*%2FFor-Baby%2F%3Foff%3D18 . I've managed to just stick with one small cuddly toy, but also luckily have a few Peter Rabbit heirlooms. My mother has given me this Peter Rabbit crockery set to replace the one I had as a child but is sadly now broken;

Which matches the money box that is still intact from my own childhood (albeit with a few chips here and there:

Finally there are the Beatrix Potter books themselves that have been passed down to me from my cousins and my father - my Dad's copies would date from the 1930s, so they're pretty delicate now, but hopefully will last one more generation!:

Finally, being a terrible hoarder, I have a number of my own toys from childhood to pass onto him - I just need to work out how to get them clean, as I doubt they are machine washable like most modern toys - any tips gratefully received!