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Mouse&Hatter Car Seat Poncho Review

Updated February 2018

My daughter is very fond of blankets and items that she can use as a blanket. These include but are not restricted to large dish rags, wet bath towels, cloth diaper inserts and now, her Mouse&Hatter Car Seat Poncho.

Her biggest gripe about regular blankets and most blanket substitutes is that they slide off her body when she moves. Imagine her delight when she discovered I could snap her poncho around her neck and she could walk around with a blanket that would never fall off?! Best. Day. Ever.

The purpose of a car seat poncho is not, surprisingly, to appease a blanket-loving toddler. It is to keep a child warm in their car seat without the use of bulky snowsuits, which interfere with the harness straps. If you read the part of your car seat manual that most of us never read, it specifies not to dress your child in thick winter clothing while riding in the car seat. You need to loosen the harness straps to accommodate the extra bulk and that can make straps dangerously loose in the case of a collision.

Here in Calgary, we enjoyed more snow in the first four days of November than we usually experience in the entire month. I’ve had to bust out the big guns to keep the kids warm much earlier than normal. To keep Miss Cub warm in the car seat, she wears layers:



  • A long-sleeved onesie
  • A long-sleeved T-shirt or thin sweater
  • Fleece pants
  • Skights thigh-high socks (kinda like wearing long johns but without extra layers at the bum, since her cloth diaper is already bulky enough)
  • Stonz Booties or snow boots
  • A neck warmer
  • A toque
  • Mittens (depending on thumb-sucking desire)
  • Ski goggles (depending on whether she sees them before we leave and insists on wearing them)
  • Her compressible down coat from MEC (called the Cocoon)
  • Her Mouse&Hatter Poncho

All of this is in lieu of full-on puffy snow pants and a winter jacket. When I drop her at daycare, I send along her snow pants and winter shell jacket (which fits perfectly over her MEC coat) in case they play outside. That said, not only is she plenty warm enough with her poncho on to go from car to destination, but also to wait for the school bus with her brother or to take transit home after dropping off our car at the mechanic.

The Mouse&Hatter Poncho unsnaps fully down the front. When you seat your child in their car seat, you flip the back of the poncho over the back of their seat, then buckle them in as normal. If you want, you can button the poncho back up. My daughter prefers it open so she can play with her toys and suck her thumb. You can also use snaps inside the poncho to create “sleeves” if that makes your child more comfortable when playing outside.My daughter is just over 2 years old and typically wears size 2-3T. She wears the Size 4 Mouse&Hatter Poncho. It’s a perfect fit, and likely would’ve also worked last year. I expect it will be fine for next season as well.

The poncho is made of a solid or printed (ridiculously soft) minky outer and is lined with anti-pill fleece. Prices start at CAN$75 for the smallest sizes. The quality is obvious and impeccable, and the Mouse&Hatter Car Seat Poncho does exactly what it’s supposed to do: keeps your child cozy and safe in the car in cold weather.

Update: Miss Cub is now on her third winter season using her poncho! She is just over 3 feet tall and is 3.5 years old. She is now riding forward-facing and her poncho still keeps her cozy on frigid days.

 

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42 responses to “Mouse&Hatter Car Seat Poncho Review”

  1. Elizabeth Matthiesen

    What a marvellous poncho, I like everything about it and I’m sure that my granddaughter would too. 🙂

  2. Barbara

    I really like this poncho. My daughter loved to wear capes and is now having a child of her own. It would be a very nice gift to give for her first child.

  3. Monina Ester

    I like theses ponchos as they are cute and soft. The sizes are great as well. I have an alpaca wool manta (Chilean poncho) for both my boys but they are getting small 🙁

  4. Elizabeth Robinson

    Thanks for the chance to win.

  5. Janet M

    I really like the Grow with me hoodie in “Blue Owls” print. It is so unique.

  6. Janet M

    I like that you can button it back up as my granddaughter needs to play with toys and hold her little monkey.

  7. Sally Gearhart

    All of my kids had blankies and would love these ponchos, super cute! I always worry about loosening the straps because of thicker clothing so this is a brilliant idea.

  8. Amber Ludwig

    I love the “Grow with me Hoodie” in Bat Masks!!! Super cute

  9. Amber Ludwig

    So genius and safe from these cold winters we have!! Its such a pain to transfer from outdoors to the car seat!! Taking bulky jackets off and so on. What a lifesaver!!

  10. Tamy

    This might be a big help for my daughter this winter in the car.

  11. Janet M

    I love the idea of a ponch that buttons up the back and allows little fingers to play with toys. This is so important.

  12. Camille W

    I love that this one opens in the front. That’s the biggest gripe I have with my current carseat poncho.

  13. Linda Madden

    I like the Grow with me hoodie in Bat Masks print.

  14. Savannah K

    Love these ponchos! They look lovely. Yanks for the lost of what she wears under it. I always wonder what to dress my little ones in when we travel in the car during the winter months.

  15. Marianne Ariganello

    I tried making one of these without the snaps but my little one also wanted hands free for toys so one with snaps is a necessity!

  16. Elaine R

    My young grandsons also love these ponchos- keeps the safe and warm on car trips.

  17. Carole

    That would be perfect for my youngest granddaughter, keep her safe and warm in her car seat.

  18. Jamie Nichol

    Beautiful and so handy

  19. Tanya Reid

    I love that these snap all the way down the front, most I’ve seen are 1 piece. These would also make life easier when my boys want to play super hero’s lol

  20. Amy

    Such a great idea. I’ve been struggling to find something thin enough but also warm for my little one in the car seat. What a great alternative

  21. Eva C.

    The ponchos are a fabulous idea!

  22. Christine R

    Looks like a great poncho! We are in the market for one! I am going to look further at purchasing!

  23. Jocelyn Paprocki

    I need this poncho! I’ve only been putting my daughter in a hoodie and hat to get from the house to the carseat. It would be nice to have her in a poncho to keep her warm!

  24. leana

    What an amazing way to keep my little warm from home to car
    and still safe!

  25. leana

    I would also love to try the grow with me hoodie!

  26. Elizabeth Matthiesen

    Yippee, today I got the contest to open up for me in Firefox, still not opening in Chromium though.

  27. Linda

    I love that the poncho undoes at the front so that you can get to the buckles easily.

  28. Betty S

    I think these are a great idea, I struggle as a Grandma that they cannot wear their winter coats in the carseats

  29. Kathy Harrigan

    We don’t have an automatic car starter so I feel like this would be very useful.

  30. Elaine Buonsante

    I love the ease of use and the effectiveness of this design.

  31. Danielle Petryshyn

    I love the idea of a car seat poncho!! I think I need to get a couple for my sons 🙂

  32. Chelsey Bennett

    This is so cute! And I love that it has a hood. I made a few of my own a couple winters ago, and they work just fine, but the hood is a feature that I wish I had considered!

  33. Rosanne Robinson

    Love this super cut & soft poncho with the grow with me hood.

  34. Wanda B

    I’ve always loved capes and I think this “pint size” is super cute!

  35. Tera Penton

    I have been using a colombia fleece for my youngest and just take the coat of my older child. But I have been wanting to try a car seat poncho. As a newbie CPST Safety is a huge priority. Even when people say I’m nuts

  36. Laurie P

    Definitely feeling the need for a poncho for my kiddo these days!

  37. Sally Gearhart

    These ponchos are great, so cute too! I definitely need to get one for my little man, thanks for sharing!

  38. Ashley

    Love this for the car seats!! And so cute too

  39. Elaine Buonsante

    I hove this little hoodie: GROW WITH ME HOODIE IN “MAGIC FOLK NAVY” PRINT.

  40. Amanda Duke

    I love these. I would love to have one for my daughter. Here in Washington the hood is needed due to lots of rain.

  41. […] Affiliate link: Carry Me Mommy Car Seat Poncho Review […]

  42. […] appropriately blanketed as they trudge out to the vehicle. This is why I particularly like car seat ponchos for this stage since they can be worn out to the […]

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Welcome to my Wolf Pack!

My name is Lindsay and I am a 40-year-old mama of four trying to live an eco-friendly, budget-friendly life! I am a substitute teacher and Child Passenger Safety technician in Calgary, Alberta. Join me on my adventures!

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