SKU: GIETHOORN-REGULAR

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Giethoorn Hippo Mat™ (PRE-ORDER)

£49.99

incl. VAT

In stock

What happens when learning meets fun? Magic!

Introducing the Giethoorn Hippo Mat™ — a Giethoorn play mat and road play mat for toy cars, designed to spark imagination, storytelling, and thoughtful screen-free play.

Designed to celebrate real places through imaginative, screen-free play, with recognisable local details and a strong sense of Giethoorn’s waterside character.

With wide, drivable routes and 15+ landmarks, places, and local quirks from Giethoorn, every play session opens up new journeys, new stories, and new little discoveries. Children can invent adventures, create missions, and explore a place shaped by canals, bridges, boats, and nature.

A play mat inspired by Giethoorn, full of local character, gentle discovery, and imaginative everyday play.

 

What’s on the mat

The Giethoorn Hippo Mat™ play mat features a playful, map-style layout inspired by the village and its surroundings, including highlights such as:

  • The Binnenpad, capturing Giethoorn’s famous canal-side main route
  • Main village canals forming the heart of the layout
  • High wooden arched bridges, one of Giethoorn’s most recognisable features
  • Thatched-roof farmhouses and traditional cottages along the water
  • Small waterside house plots with gardens, hedges, and little docks
  • Traditional punter boats as a recurring local detail
  • Whisper boats, reflecting a familiar modern sight in Giethoorn
  • Mooring scenes with jetties, tied boats, and canal-side benches
  • A subtle “Venice of the North” identity marker
  • Museum Giethoorn ’t Olde Maat Uus, bringing local history into the design
  • Museum De Oude Aarde as a distinctive and memorable family-friendly stop
  • A crystal-inspired discovery detail as a playful nod to the museum
  • Reed beds and wetland planting along the water’s edge
  • Water lilies and marshland textures that help the setting feel unmistakably local
  • A Weerribben-Wieden National Park edge zone, linking the village to its wider landscape
  • A peat-cutting heritage detail woven into the artwork
  • Narrow tree-lined canal stretches for a more atmospheric route
  • A variety of bridge shapes and heights across the mat
  • A canoe or paddle route marker as a nod to how the area is explored
  • A hidden otter Easter egg inspired by the surrounding wetland wildlife

 

Play that builds skills

As children explore routes and make up stories, they naturally practise:

  • hand-eye coordination and fine motor control through steering, stopping, and navigating
  • communication and social skills through shared role-play
  • early geography language through places, directions, landmarks, water, and routes
  • observation and memory as they begin to recognise real features of Giethoorn

 

Soft, grippy, and made for everyday play

This Giethoorn play mat is made with a soft microfiber velvet surface that feels smooth under hands and knees, making it ideal for floor play. A non-slip latex backing helps keep the mat in place when play gets energetic, while also helping to protect floors and reduce noise.

 

What’s included

 

Specifications

  • Size: 100cm × 100cm
  • Weight: 990g
  • Surface: Microfiber velvet
  • Backing: Non-slip latex
  • Care: Hoover regularly, and wipe clean with a damp cloth
  • Packed dimensions: 114cm × 10.2cm (mat is rolled into a cylinder tube)
  • Packed weight: 1.6kg

 

Peace of mind

  • CE and UKCA certified
  • Recommended age: 12 months+

 

Discover more about Giethoorn

 

Read more

Read our guide to the landmarks included on the Giethoorn play mat.

 

Designed for everyday play

Designed for imaginative everyday play, and made to feel thoughtful, distinctive, and gift-worthy from the moment it arrives.

£49.99

incl. VAT

In stock

Educational Fun

Turns playtime into learning time. Children can build stories, explore places, practise direction and develop real-world awareness through imaginative, screen-free play.

Premium Quality

Crafted to feel as special as it looks. Each Hippo Mat is made with durable backing, a soft microfibre surface, high-quality print and embroidered blue stitched edging for a beautifully finished feel.

Perfect Gift

A thoughtful gift for little explorers. Beautifully designed and full of play value, it is a memorable present for birthdays, Christmas and special occasions.

Pre-Order Perks

The more eligible mats you add, the more your pre-order includes. Only valid until April 30th 2027:

▢ 1 mat

Become eligible for:

▢ ▢ 2 mats

Everything above, plus:

▢ ▢ ▢ 3 mats

Everything above, plus:

Reviews

FAQ

The more eligible mats you add, the more your pre-order includes. Only valid until April 30th 2027:

 

▢ 1 mat

Become eligible for:

 

▢ ▢ 2 mats

Everything above, plus:

  • Free shipping
  • A free limited edition toy car
  • A free sheet of Hippo Mat™ stickers

 

▢ ▢ ▢ 3 mats

Everything above, plus:

  • 50% off your third eligible Hippo Mat™

Hippo Mat™ is designed for children aged 2–6. The roads are wide for toy cars, the landmarks are simple and recognisable for imaginative play and early learning, and the high quality materials are safe for young skin.

Yes. Every Hippo Mat™ is inspired by a real town/city and includes locally recognisable features (roads, parks/water, landmarks and local details) laid out in a top-down map style.

Yes. We design wide, drivable roads first, then build the rest of the map around them so cars can travel smoothly without clutter.

Hippo Mat™ is a premium printed play mat made for everyday play, featuring a microfiber velvet surface with a non-slip latex backing. It’s designed to be giftable, durable, and easy to use on the floor at home.

Hippo Mat™ is made for children’s play and designed with simple, clear artwork. The non-slip latex backing helps to prevent sliding for those intense play sessions. and the microfiber velvet surface won’t leave any nasty friction. Always supervise young children during play, and keep packaging away from children.

This mat is 100cm × 100cm. The embroidered stitching edges are approximately 1cm thick, and the main surface is around 0.6cm thick.

When shipped to you, it is rolled up into 114cm × 10.2cm cylinder tube.

Yes — for everyday mess, you can wipe the surface clean using warm soapy water.

It is not advised to use harsh chemicals or machine wash.

Generic play mats are usually made to be one-size-fits-all. Hippo Mat™ is different. Our mats are inspired by real locations and created to combine premium design, imaginative play, and local meaning in one product. That means clearer layouts for toy cars, more recognisable features, and a play experience that feels richer, more personal, and more memorable.

On most surfaces it stays put during normal play. If you have very smooth floors, a simple non-slip underlay (or rug gripper) helps keep it perfectly stable.

Yes. Hippo Mat™ is designed to feel premium and gift-worthy, and the “local place” theme makes it personal for birthdays, Christmas and new-home gifts.

Yes — Hippo Mat™ is built around real locations. If your area isn’t listed yet, you can request it and we’ll prioritise new designs based on demand.

Click here to see the full list of Hippo Mat™ Locations.

Until November 2027, every Hippo Mat™ order is a pre-order that will arrive anytime between October 1st and December 20th 2027. Once this pre-order period has ended, orders will usually be dispatched within 2 working days.

After dispatch, estimated delivery times are:

  • Austria: 5-8 working days
  • Belgium: 6-9 working days
  • Czech Republic: 7-10 working days
  • Denmark: 7-10 working days
  • France: 6-9 working days
  • Germany: 5-8 working days
  • Greece: 10-13 working days
  • Italy: 4-6 working days
  • Netherlands: 3–6 working days
  • Poland: 8–11 working days
  • Spain: 5-8 working days
  • Sweden: 6-9 working days
  • Switzerland: 7-10 working days
  • United Kingdom: 2–3 working days

Delivery times are estimates and may vary during busy periods or due to customs and local carrier delays.

If it’s not right for you, you can initiate the return of your Hippo Mat™ order within 14 days of delivery.

Contact us and we’ll help you quickly.

Yes — Reg’s Pledge: every mat helps fund play and learning for children.

Click here to learn more about Reg’s Pledge.

Yes — we offer bulk pricing for nurseries, schools, and early learning centres.

Click here to learn more about ordering for Schools.

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Share Hippo Mat™. Help More Children Play.

Every Hippo Mat™ helps fund play and learning for children through Reg’s Pledge.

Would you share Hippo Mat™ with someone who’d love it too? A friend, family member, school, nursery, or local group is a great place to start.

The more people who discover Hippo Mat™, the more good Reg’s Pledge can do.

No sign-up needed. Just a quick share.