In Europe (where Elmo does not reign) Pampers have images of animals drawn on front... no particular "character" of any kind. However, it is so hard not to have nurseries or kids become billboards - I had to work so hard, even here in Italy, to find ways to decorate the nursey that were not pooh-centric!

However the prices of pampers in Europe, especially Italy, is 5 times what people pay in the USA. I would be willing to put up with Elmo if I could get the price cut! They cost so much that Pampers has 3 "versions" of diapers: super economic, economic, expensive, and very expensive.

And yes, Huggies are horrible! Can someone explain why they cant seem to make a diaper that doesnt leak??

Yes, everything's more expensive in Italy. Part of it is the Euro, which in terms of purchasing power is about equal to the dollar (Happy Meal in Texas = $5, Happy Meal in Vienna = 5 Euros).

Here in Austria, though, the Pampers don't seem as expensive as you say. And the infant formula is cheaper and MUCH better than the overpirced crap they sell in the states. If I may ask, how much are you paying for your Pampers down there?

I have twins so am ALWAYS looking for a discount... but did read that diapers in Italy were the most expensive in Europe. Normal rpice (no discount) of pampers baby-dry (what I consider middle range pampers) is 16 euros for 24 diapers. You have to also remmeber that salaries here are pretty low - around 1200 EUROs. Finding discounts is hard, so when we do, we REALLY stock up - not always feasible with no storage space. Formula is also quite expensive, about 10 EUROS for 800 grams.

You're right, that's wild. We pay 12 Euros for a pack of 48!

10 Euros for 800 grams of formula is actually still much cheaper than in the USA. And that's rougly what we pay here.