My friend is moving to Toronto and needs recommendations

[hipmaman]

Since she is in Hamilton she should check out Springy's on Barton St. He carries a large selection of Peg products and wonderful Canadian wood furniture (but not over the top in term of price).

There is also an OshKosh outlet in Hamilton, but for the life of me I can't think of the street name. Ask around, most moms from the radius of 100 miles seem to know of this place, lol.

I'm sure there is a Bonnie Togs in Hamilton too. They carry a good selection of clothings and outerwear. The big stores like the one in Oakville also carries baby gear.

A little further out of Hamilton (toward the Niagara direction), there is BabyWorld in Stoney Creek. carries zooper, peg, baby bjorn, nice selection of furniture from cribs to beds.

A little out toward Toronto direction, she can go to Burlington. There are several baby boutiques. The closest Ikea is also in Burlington for more affordable furniture and wooden toys.

And of course, going closer toward Toronto or in Toronto, the selections for baby gear and clothings increase many folds. Toronto is probably the best place to shop in Canada, in terms of availability. If she needs to find anything American that is not sold here, she can always try shopping in Buffalo which is only about 45 minutes from Hamilton.

As for where to meet other moms, she should try the Early Years centres like Kathy suggested. But also try the libraries, community/recreational centres which usually have programs for babies/toddlers.

Btw, I'm Oakville which is about 25-30 minutes drive from Hamilton. If she ever needs to venture to Burlington/Oakville/Mississauga and need help, I can try to help.

There will be more things for her to enjoy comes the spring and summer, but the winter in Southern Ontario is probably one of the mildest (beside lower BC). It has been great this year. And Mac is a great institution (no I didn't go to Mac, lol).

Hope that helps further.

[KimberleyDawn]

*Ottawa* BBB Friend here! Well I think everyone covered all the bases!
How is your friend adjusting?
Kim

[LittlePrince_Mom]

Thanks for asking. I've only spoken to her once and she sounded pretty shell shocked, but she's already been to IKEA, so the shopping is ok :) I don't know what the weather is like now, but I'm sure it will be tougher for her when the real cold hits. We're from a warm weather climate, winter here is a little bit of rain and temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius, LOL. Thanks everyone again, maybe once she gets settled and gets internet access I'll convince her to become a regular poster on this BB.

-E

[curiousgeorgia]

Sadly, the OshKosh outlet is no more...it used to be on Sherman Avenue North, just a bit north of Barton. They had a huge sale around this time last year when I went, and now they are gone :(. It looks like the whole factory shut down. It's too bad...more Canadian jobs gone, and they made the BEST pyjamas.

There is also the Kushies/Kooshies outlet out on Barton St. in Stoney Creek. They have their cloth diapers plus a lot of the clothing and other baby stuff...last summer I picked up a couple of pairs of their swimming/beach shoes for $1 each! It is pretty far east, past the Mohawk campus.

Hamilton is great- a much underrated city. I grew up there and miss it, even though I love Ottawa.


>There is also an OshKosh outlet in Hamilton, but for the life
>of me I can't think of the street name. Ask around, most moms
>from the radius of 100 miles seem to know of this place,
>lol.

[hipmaman]

LOL, I grew up in Ottawa. Love it but now that I'm in the Toronto area, I think I have grown soft was the winter in Ottawa is now too harsh for me, lol.

It's the best place to be in the other 3 seasons though...

[nupe]

What other B&M stores sell Kushies items arount T.O.?


Thanks,
Nupe

ETA: I guess Kushies items are everywhere--the first baby store I went to in GTA had a complete line. Interesting how I couldn't find two PNP sheets in the same pattern though.