Buying your grandchild’s first pram? This 16-piece bundle is the smartest investment you can make

It’s a time-honoured tradition for grandparents to treat their children and new arrivals to their very first set of wheels. And while baby gear isn’t something we cover every day, we know plenty of our readers are shopping for it, with the rise of multigenerational living and shared childcare.

If it’s been a while since you last shopped for baby gear, navigating the modern world of pram systems, foldables, ISOFIX car bases, and separate chassis attachments can feel overwhelming at first (even after a hallowed trip to John Lewis).

That's why I'm a big fan of baby bundles that include the pram and car seat together. They give new parents everything they need to travel for appointments, coffee dates (or even to visit their lovely grandparents) when the baby is born. And they give you peace of mind that you're investing in something long-lasting.

Instead of leaving you to navigate a confusing maze of brands and compatible accessories and risk you buying the wrong package, we've put together an ultimate shortcut. We took delivery of the new Ickle Bubba Stomp Luxe Elements Edition and handed its massive 16-piece travel bundle over to an expectant mum to assemble, try and test for herself.

Whether you’re shopping for kit for your own children, grandchildren, or a new arrival in the wider family, Ickle Bubba's Travel System could be just the thing to set your growing family up for the years ahead – especially if you're looking for a blend of practicality, style and reasonable price in your purchase,

Shop the Stomp Luxe Elements

First impressions

When you're buying a gift of this size and importance, you want it to look and feel special. Right out of the box (four arrived in total), our reviewer told us the Stomp Luxe looked and felt very well-built. This package is crafted with premium touches, without the terrifyingly luxe price tag. In fact, the whole Ickle Bubba travel system is less than half the price of top-end bundles we've recently tried for ourselves in store.

After a smooth delivery, our mum-to-be built the system at 32 weeks pregnant, a task that she found "exciting and stress-free, thanks to the clear step-by-step paper instructions and the pram's straightforward construction. It was so nice being able to follow along each page's description, and I had the pram section built in under twenty minutes."

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Once built, the pram and bassinet combo was immediately "lightweight and smooth to manoeuvre – perfect for someone tired and moving quickly towards being heavily pregnant. I couldn't resist rolling it around my kitchen at any opportunity!" The Stomp Luxe Elements' design includes very soft woven fabrics and matte leatherette detailing on the handle and bumper bar.

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You can choose from four gorgeously sophisticated shades to customise your gift. We tested the practical Raven shade (classic black), but Forest (deep green), Chestnut (rich brown) and Moonbeam (a very soft creamy/beige) are also available to suit the new parents at hand.

A closer look at the full 16-piece bundle

The quickest way to stress out expectant parents is to buy them a gift that's hard to assemble and get to grips with, or that requires a dozen extra accessories just to get out the door. That's one major reason we love this 16-piece bundle so much. It genuinely eliminates the hassle and worry. Here's exactly what your investment covers:

While most travel systems include only an infant carrier, Ickle Bubba's 16-piece Travel Luxe bundle includes two distinct car seats, covering the parent's car travel safety needs for up to twelve years.

Buying car seats separately as a child grows is a massive, ongoing expense for parents. By gifting this bundle, you'll be ticking off their car safety checklist from newborn to teenage years in a single swoop. We'll break down both seats below.

Nimbus 180° Spin i-Size car seat & ISOFIX base

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The infant seat is the rigorously tested Nimbus 180° Spin i-Size Car Seat, which clicks straight onto the pram chassis with the adapters included in the box. It fastens onto traditional car seat belts or the (included) Nimbus Spin ISOFIX Base. There's a magnetic buckle pad for fuss-free access to your babe and, of course, it meets the latest safety standards.

Radial i-Size Plus 360° Spin car seat

The second Radial i-Size Plus 360° Spin car seat grows with the child from birth up to 150cm (around 12 years). As its name suggests, the seat swivels a full 360 degrees for easy boarding. With three reclining positions, an adjustable headrest, removable harness, padded headrest and soft infant insert, your little one will travel safely and comfortably until they're not so ickle. "I also loved discovering that the removable fabric cover can be machine washed for quick cleaning," said our tester. "I'm sure we'll be doing that a lot over the course of its lifetime!"

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Real-world testing: how does the Stomp Luxe bundle handle?

A gift as important as this needs to perform brilliantly, smoothly and safely in the real world. And let's be honest, you want it to look a little stylish, too. We know it's not always easy to try full pram bundles before you buy them, so we asked our mum-to-be tester to assemble and try the Stomp Luxe bundle for you. Here's how it handled during her practice runs.

Smooth on different surfaces

"After assembly and a few spins around the house and garden, I took the pram out to my local park to see how the all-terrain wheels fared on uneven pavements, muddier trails and grass. Even with my dog trotting alongside me and pushing one-handed, it felt smooth to steer and like baby would be protected from bumps and judders. I also gave the umbrella and rain cover a go (they were easy to attach and remove), which did get a few bemused looks from passersby when they realised the pram was empty."

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Lightweight and easy to steer

"The frame itself feels lighter than other multi-terrain travel systems I’ve tried picking up for size. The brake can be activated with a gentle foot press, and the self-locking front swivel wheels are fantastic – I spent plenty of time practising tight turns, and I know it's going to make navigating the cramped biscuit aisles in my local M&S a whole lot easier."

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Thoughtful, flexible pram design

"I've found that while almost all prams have adjustable handles, a flip-bar often just changes the angle, and my 6'4" partner can end up kicking the back wheels. The Stomp Luxe uses a proper telescopic slide that extends out and up; it gave him genuine legroom to walk with a normal stride, while easily sliding back down for me when we swapped turns pushing mid-walk."

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Rotating car seat on a lightweight carrier

"While I've seen rotating car seats getting more and more common, having a spinning infant carrier included as part of the pram bundle was a must for us as new parents. The Nimbus 180° Spin i-Size car seat's turn will mean I can load the seat straight from the open car door without twisting my back, and I think the magnetic buckle pads are a genius touch, too. I don't want to be wrestling tangled straps from under a sleeping newborn."

Our verdict

If you want to give new parents total peace of mind, the Ickle Bubba Stomp Luxe Elements 16-Piece Bundle is the smartest choice on the market. While most all-terrain prams weigh upwards of 11kg, this 7.55kg frame is genuinely lightweight, and we can confirm it doesn't skimp on quality, detail, or safety.

At a very reasonable £784, you'll be lifting a huge mental and financial weight off their shoulders. It delivers a well-designed pram, all the tricky weather accessories (as well as fair-weather ones), and over a decade of car seat safety in one effortless delivery.