I bet you couldn't find a child who wouldn't like one of these (Identity Direct)

Member Name: NizPerson

Product:	Identity Direct
Date:	04/11/08 (345 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely gifts, good quality, featuring child's name

Disadvantages: Slow delivery, some products are expensive

How do you make a child's gift uniquely theirs? Personalise it of course!

The site
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www.identitydirect.co.uk is where it is. Just log on and see their range. A whole host of toys, books, stationery and school items, home accessories etc., all of which can be personalised with the child's name.


So what exactly do they have
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One of their most popular products are the adventure books. Your child (or the child you are giving the gift to) can star in their own special adventure featuring some of their favourite book or tv characters.

Then just for Christmas, you get another range of products like song CDs (featuring the child's name in the songs), stockings, advent calendars, baubles, santa hats, christmas tree skirts etc. All with your choice of wording on it.

For your child's bedroom you get wall clocks, growth charts, jewellery boxes, throws, blankets, book racks, mirrors, quilt sets, cushion covers, bookends, storage boxes, beanbags, folding chairs etc. Not only are all of them personalised with the child's name but are also available in a choice of themes like Spongebob, Thomas, Mickey, Dora, Cars and Disney princess.

Then there's also bathroom items like towels, bathrobes and toiletry bags as well as personalised placemats for your dining room.

There is a big selection of school items - lunch bags, lunch boxes, backpacks, personalised stationery sets, vinyl labels etc.

For babies you have cute teddy bears with the child's name and date of birth embroidered into each of its paws, baby quilt sets and cute fluffy blankets.

All these are very cutesy, colourful products that are aimed at children.


My Adventure Books
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The adventure series go as "My Adventures with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "My Adventures with Winnie the Pooh", "My Special Christmas Adventure" and so on. The other adventures available are Disney Cars, Disney Princess Collection, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street, Ratatouille, Disney Fairies, Elmo and Friends, Pirates of the Carribean, Finding Nemo and Toy Story 2. New adventures get added sometimes too.

First select the book of your choice. On the inner first page (title page) will be the inscription "With love from" and you can have your name printed there! So you supply the details like child's name, gender, birthdate, address, and even the names of three friends. All of those details will be incorporated into the story, making it extra special for the child. For example when I ordered "My Adventures with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" for my niece, in the story she was given her birth stone as a gift by a prince. Her address is mentioned when she tries to get back home after her adventure.

These books are of very good quality, with beautiful illustrations, colourful and pleasing to the eye. What a lovely keepsake for the child even when he/she is older, a book with their name on it!

Adventure books come in two sizes - large and standard. Prices range £6.99 to £12.99. For £14.99 is a new chrismas adventure book where your child's picture will also be printed in the illustrations.


Ordering other products
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Ordering the other products are fairly straightforward as all the information needed is the child's name. Fonts for most products are fixed, you cannot change the fonts, but you have an option to preview what your child's name will look like on the selected product.


My opinion on products I've ordered
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Delivery time isn't the best. Goods take 28 days (yes you read that right) to arrive. They are dispatched from Australia so best not to order these if you want them in a hurry.

The books are of proper book quality, like the normal children's books you'll find in shops. The only thing I did not like was the blatant advertising on the last page. Nothing unusual, but a bit too in-your-face for my liking. They also had the very helpful message "Other books in your order may be dispatched seperately. Please allow X days for delivery" printed on the said last page. Maybe they're doing the environment a favour and saving on paper, but it's not the kind of thing you'd expect to be printed on the PRODUCT itself.

The other products I have ordered have been of very good quality too. The only exception are the placemats. My elder daughter has a princess one and the younger has a Sesame Street one. Don't get me wrong they absolutely love their placemats and I feel that it even helps with the little one recognising her name. But they are a just a piece of laminated card, I wouldn't recommend it for that price (£7.50).


The website itself
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Pretty standard website. Straightforward sign up and order process. All delivery and payment details on one screen.

No postage charges for orders over £75. £1.99 P&P for orders upto £15. £4.99 for orders between £15 and £75.


If your children have unusual names like mine do, chances are they never get to buy the "readymade" personalised stuff you find in shops. No problems now that I've found Identity Direct!

Summary: Go have a browse. You wont be disappointed.