Remember the magic of your local toy store growing up – where kids were encouraged to play and picking out the perfect toy was as special as the toy itself? The folks at American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) do and they are inviting you to relive the magic on November 12, 2011 as toy stores nation-wide celebrate Neighborhood Toy Store Day. With free crafts, giveaways, face painting and more planned, it’s a great way to kick off the holiday season with your neighbors and help support the local businesses that make our communities great.
And, what isn’t great about a place where you are surrounded by virtually every toy imaginable and you can watch what your child gravitates to? By doing this I have absolutely solidified that the “pink aisle” of Corolle dolls and accessories is where we must budget at least 60% of our time, but after that a dolly will inevitably be wheeled in a stroller over to the train table and miniature village, over to the stuffed animals, and finally end up in the play kitchen where they will fix the baby a snack together.
I find it funny that even though we have most of the stuff they gravitate to at home to play with, the magic of the toy store never loses its luster for our kids. For this reason, I know that even if we had an entire playroom stuffed with toys we would still be back to our local stores regularly. There’s just so much changing that kids do in such a short amount of time, I can’t imagine not introducing them to everything I could and really encouraging them to try it all in a community setting.
Neighborhood Toy Store Day is designed to celebrate all the benefits of shopping local {expert advice, specialty toys not found at larger chain stores, special events, local toys and gifts, all the wonderful memories you create, and being able to play with different ages of toys to see what is best for your child… need I go on?} as well as spotlighting the fact that these toy stores are a dying breed. Since I love all my local stores and want my kids to grow up with their own amazing memories of toy store Family Day, the idea of losing our local stores makes me incredibly sad, which is why we support them whenever possible.
So of course we are very excited that this will be our second year celebrating Neighborhood Toy Store Day in the Seattle, hopping from store to store and making a day of it. Just like last year, we’ll be gathering the kids and bundling them up for a fall day full of fun, each of them bringing along a beloved friend for the fun {Corolle Bebe Amour for her, Steiff Dragon for him}. Only this year we have friends from out of town joining us as well, which just might take the excitement levels and spin them out of control. Doesn’t that sound like a ton of fun?
If you want to get involved in Neighborhood Toy Store Day this weekend, you can find out participating stores near you and see what they have in store or you can call your local store directly. You can find more information about ASTRA and Neighborhood Toy Store Day at neighborhoodtoystoreday.com. Just remember, bringing kids is optional.
If you're in the Seattle area, check out my article at Red Tricycle Seattle that details all the days events!
No compensation was received in exchange for this post, this is just something we believe in and want to share with you!
I love kid’s event like these. It has a lot of fun and games the kids would surely love.
What fun! I wish they had this in Canada!