Why shop for toys locally instead of at a big chain?  The reasons are as many and varied as the toys that you can find inside your toystore, but my personal favorite is that there is just better customer service most of the time.  The shops really get to know the area that they reside in, and their customers and what they like.  And if you can’t find what you are looking for, they will get it for you.  Many shops even offer awesome extras like gift wrapping and party invitations (which you can do online or have your child make “wish lists” for relatives who would like a few ideas to choose from).  I love all the options- and they toys are of good, quality material I know I won’t have to take back and exchange because they broke in a week.

Neighborhood Toy Store Day

Did you know this Saturday, November 9th, is Neighborhood Toy Store Day?  Perfect reason to get out and support those who support your town.  If you would like to find an event near you, go to yourneighborhoodtoystore.org

You will find unique and different products then you would at a box chain, as well as the benefits to the community such as jobs, community support, a thriving neighborhood, the availability of specialty brands that can be harder to find, a wide variety of educational (yet still fun) toys your kids will love to get their hands on, and even environmental benefits like less traffic and carbon use.  Need some more reasons to shop locally?  Take your kids inside- you won’t be overwhelmed immediately and stressed out, ready to leave as soon as you get what you came for.  You won’t even mind browsing for a while (you might actually enjoy it- promise).

You can find many of the ASTRA’s Best Toys for Kids in local stores, since the quality is better, and ASTRA only chooses the best and most intriguing toys for kids.  Non-Profit organization ASTRA helps parents and people with kids in their lives easier by compiling a list of the year’s best toys that they can refer to, based on a panel of 650 expert judges.

Some of the included toys this year are (click here for the full list of toys)-

Squigz

Squigz are fun little suckers- as you apply pressure to two or more, the air goes out and they connect to each other.  They also connect any solid surface, flexible and sticky- but not “sticky” with the gross factor.  When they pull apart, they POP with quite a sound.  Creative and fun, you and your child can build creations, cars, houses, horses, spaceships- you name it.  Or just make a lot of popping noise (which may not at first sound enticing, but how much fun do you have with those plastic popper sheets you get in the mail?  Don’t deny it!)
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