Bondville Christmas Gift Guide 2015: For Beach Bums

This Bondville Christmas Gift Guide 2015 is dedicated to little beach bums. Summer and Christmas in Australia are made for each other - school holidays, festive food and drinks, lazing around with full tummies and spending all day at the beach. Pop a couple of these Australian-designed beach items for kids under the Christmas tree to celebrate long days in the sun.

Sun Smart beach getaway + WIN Australian beach shade and bags!

In my third Paint The Town Ford challenge as part of the Kidspot Voice Of 2014 program, our family of four drove up to Avoca Beach for a weekend getaway in my borrowed Ford EcoSport Titanium. We had glorious weather and spent lots of time on the beach with a cast of thousands.

We're always conscious of being Sun Smart, and covered up in style with great Australian products. Read more for details on our weekend, my favourite Australian-designed kids' swimwear, and how you could win the amazing Hollie & Harrie Sombrilla beach tent and stylish-and-practical waterproof beach bags from Project Ten.

SunSmart rashies for the whole family

I've got to stop wearing my husband's rashie. It's not a cute look. And there's no excuse for us all not to have our own rashies (aka lycra swim shirts) with these Australian brands designing great options for Mums, Dads and kids:

Images: Mini Sandcrabs

Brisbane-based Mini Sandcrabs have a range of cute, bright UV sunsuits, rashies and swim shorts for kids. So preppy cute! You can find Mini Sandcrabs in the online store.

Images: Summer and Salt

Summer and Salt is a Sunshine Coast swimwear label that caught my eye at Peregian Beach with a range of stylish swimwear tops for the whole family. You can find Summer and Salt in the online store and at the Peregian Beach boutique.

Images: Babes In The Shade

Babes In The Shade is based in Brisbane and designs a range of rash vests, all-in-one UV suits, matching one-piece bathers and hats. I love the spotty, ruffled numbers. The boys rugby-style shirts are also fantastic (and on sale too). Lots of great options for Mums and kids. You can find Babes In The Shade in the online store.

Images: Salt Sea Teas

Brisbane-based Salt Sea Tees feature cute designs on great-quality fabric, made in Australia. We have the sweet matryoshka doll design and it has lasted for years. Find Salt Sea Teas in the online store. They are clearing all stock, so grab yourself a bargain.

Images: White Soda

These gorgeous lolly-coloured rashies and bathers for kids by Melbourne-based White Soda are super-fashionable. You can find White Soda in the online shop and at stockists around Australia, NZ and online.

Images: Bobbi Sunshine

There are few sun-smart swimmers sweeter than Bondi-based and Bali-made Bobbi Sunshine for girls. You can find Bobbi Sunshine in the online store. 

So there you go friends, some great brands giving us even greater reasons to cover up and look cute in the sun, not just in summer, but all year around. For more information on being safe in the sun, head over to the SunSmart Victoria website which has wealth of information that we all need to brush up on.

Guest Post: Sara loves Sirens Swimwear

My dear friend Sara went to an amazing Sirens Swimwear pop-up shop/trunkshow at her friend's house in Sydney last week and shares the details of this great Australian swimwear label with us:

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Hello, summer!

Sydney may have been blowing an ice storm outside, but at the Sirens Swimwear trunkshow Sally and Margie (see pic of the sassy gals above) were bravely walking on sunshine in their gorgeously retro swimsuits and high heels.

It was a girl’s night with a difference at my pal Emma’s home. Racks of flattering – yes, flattering – swimsuits vied with glasses of champagne, nibbles and chit chat. The perfect antidote to the dreaded pre-summer swimsuit shopping dilemma.

If you’ve said goodbye to the string bikini but you’re not quite ready to hang up your va va voom, Sirens Swimwear is for you. With a strong dash of Esther Williams screen siren glamour, Sally and Margie have taken inspiration from their mothers’ swimsuits to design a range with incredible built in support.

They describe it as ‘Nancy Ganz meets Ava Gardner’. And every girl in the room, whether a lean and lanky size 8 or a curvaceous 14 plus, looked amazing in the results. We all loved the polka dots and cheeky gingham prints as much as the clever tummy-hiding ruching and ruffles.

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Thanks Sara for the inside info. I'm all about the gingham. You can find Sirens Swimwear in the online store. If you are interested in hosting your own Sirens trunkshow, contact Sally.

Images: Sirens Swimwear

Stylish Kids: MonetPaisley Swimwear

Elisha Niven from MonetPaisley Swimwear is totally inspiring. And inspired. Through craft blogging she was inspired to find her niche. And through a chambray and red gingham cotton bikini that her mum saved from the 70's, she was inspired to design her unique and beautiful line of vintage-style swimwear for toddlers to teens.

Based on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Elisha found that the cotton bikinis she made for her girls six years ago fit for longer and lasted longer than lycra swimsuits. And after honing her design and testing on friends and family, she launched a beautiful range of two-piece swimwear in light weight cotton fabrics that dry quickly and are light and breezy for play before and after dip.

These are not your ordinary togs. I adore the sweet prints, gathers and ruffles that take these bikinis to a different level. Sweet and sassy, they really are very special. And handmade!

Lucky for us, Elisha has also been inspired to design kaftans, maillot for toddlers that can fit over a swim nappy, sun hats, sun dresses and beach bags. I can't wait.

You can find MonetPaisley swimwear in the Etsy store and soon at various markets in the Mornington Peninsula area. Keep an eye on the blog for details.

Images: MonetPaisley

Rebecca Manning Swimwear

It's totally the wrong time of year to get excited about swimwear (unless you're off on a tropical holiday or living in the northern hemisphere), but I had to share with you these fabo togs from Brisbane designer Rebecca Manning.

I discovered Rebecca's glamorous swimwear through *that* Mum at swimming classes. You know the one... with the fabulous figure and year-round tan and collection of flattering and chic swimming costumes. I just had to ask about the gorgeous blue and white floral print swimsuit with tiny charms that she wore one day (Luella Full Piece pictured above in pink) and was thrilled to find out that Rebecca is a local and this piece is from her first collection (proudly debuted at Brisbane Fashion Week last year).

I love all the pieces in Rebecca's collection (especially the black structural Sienna Bikini Double Side bikini, also above) which is made in Australia using Italian Lycra and works well with the Saskia detachable skirt. You can find Rebecca Manning swimwear in the online store (great time to get sale pieces at the moment!) and at stockists in Queensland and New South Wales.

Images: Rebecca Manning

Stylish Kids: Miss Haidee

It's definitely swimming season again, and there are so many great togs to choose from out there, but I can't resist the cuteness (and styling) of Byron Bay-based Miss Haidee's swimsuits.

Miss Haidee uses antique, retro and vintage fabric and trims to create adorable clothes and swimsuits for boys and girls from newborn to 8 years old. You'll find the staple swimsuits (for little one and a matching suit for Mum!) and beach tote bag in various recycled fabrics as well as adorable hats, bags, hair accessories, baby slings, nappy covers, baby rompers, dresses and pants. The organic cotton Star Wars Tommy Boy pants are absolutely killer!

You can find Miss Haidee clothes for kids on MadeIt (main store), Etsy and at upcoming markets in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, including the Finders Keepers market this weekend and the Mathilda's Market this Sunday in Brisbane. And check out the Miss Haidee blog for some behind-the-scenes information.

Images: Miss Haidee