It’s that time of year again. Christmas is still reasonably far off, but close enough to want to make a start on getting organised. I’ve only bought a few things so far, but that’s better than nothing!

I know I say (or write it) every year but it gets harder to do this list every year! Certainly the past few years there hasn’t been much in the way of new merchandise or anything to suggest. But I’ve found various things and quite a mix of stuff for this year.

Many things from my lists in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 will still be available too.

Beginning with the books

Well, it wouldn’t be an Enid Blyton gift-guide without some books!

There is of course the Jacqueline Wilson continuation of the Faraway Tree series (I have a review of it here).

The Magic Faraway Tree: A New Adventure £10.99, from Waterstones

Hodder have released three new short story collections – Stories of Wonders and Wishes, Stories of Mischief Makers and Stories for Bedtime.

Stories of Wonders and Wishes £7.99, Stories of Mischief Makers £7.99, and Stories for Bedtime £7.99, all from Waterstones (£1 dearer than the previous years’ books!)

There is also a new Enchanted Library series for younger readers. There appear to be ten so far, all picture-books, each with three stories inside.

Stories of Animal Secrets
Stories of Nature’s Treasures
Stories of Favourite Friends
Stories of Dreamy Adventures
Stories for All Seasons
Stories of Starry Nights
Stories of Fairy Fun
Stories of Woodland Adventures
Stories for Cosy Days
Stories of Tasty Treats

Stories of Fairy Fun £5.99, Stories of Starry Nights £5.99 and Stories of Cosy Days £5.99, all from Waterstones

There has been a new release of the Adventure Series books with covers based on Stuart Tresilian’s work (iconic, retro covers as they are being advertised), though sadly they appear not to be illustrated internally.

The Island of Adventure £6.99, The Castle of Adventure £6.99 and The Valley of Adventure £6.99, all from Waterstones.

Also out this year is a new edition of Bunny’s First Christmas. There’s was 1993 Parragon version of this, with the story being taken from the Christmas 1954 issue of Enid Blyton’s Magazine.

Bunny’s First Christmas – Paperback £6.99, and Hardback £12.99, both from Waterstones.

Lastly, Zoe Billings – 1970s series superfan turned author – had her second book out this year which is perfect for fans of Blyton.

The Secret of Flittermouse Cliffs £6.99, Waterstones

Handmade gifts

While we may be lacking in official merchandise at the moment fans of Blyton are keeping us going with hand-made items.

Over on Etsy there is actually quite a lot of nice stuff. There are the usual second-hand books, pieces of fabric, and a lot of packs of loose pages from books (not very good value, you’d be better buying a tatty book and taking the pages out of it if you can bear to do such a thing) but there are also quite a few hand-made items.

I quite like the dolls’ house miniatures you can get. Even if you don’t have a dolls’ house, these tiny versions of the real books are super cute. I’d put them on a dolls-sized shelf and put them beside the real books on my real shelves.

8 Famous Five books £8.95, 4 Round the Year books £5.45, both from Landauhouse on Etsy.

CherishbyNicola who I bought my Noddy Christmas tree decorations from a few years ago still has several Noddy items in her Etsy shop while MyOldToyShop has some nice Noddy fridge magnets and pocket mirrors.

Bookmark £7.50 from CherishbyNicola, magnet £2.90, and pocket mirror £4.90 from MyOldToyShop

If you’ve got a big budget then ElfKendalFairies has several felted Faraway Tree characters back in stock. They’re only £75-85 each! At the moment there is Dame Slap, the Saucepan Man, Moon-Face, Mr Whatshisname, Silky, the Angry Pixie and Dame Washalot.

The Saucepan Man £85, Dame Washalot £75 and Silky £85, all from ElfKendalFairies

DVDs

The only new DVDs out are from the Malory Towers TV series. All three series are now out on DVD – in the UK, anyway. I have seen one and two on Amazon abroad.

Series one £9.99, series two £9.99, and series three £12.99 all from Amazon

And lastly…

I almost missed this one. I’ve bought a wallet from Yoshi Goods before and I like their book-themed handbags and purses so I always look when they release a new collection. It wasn’t until I looked again at the gardening book collection that I noticed they’d snuck an Enid Blyton book in!

There are several items in the ‘Green Fingers’ collection but only three have the Blyton book.

Cross body bag £59, Hudson purse £39 and Oxford purse £33, all Yoshi Goods.

Happy shopping!