When Big Pea was just a Lil’ Pea, we had the most whimsical toy store here where we live. Many of the specialty toy items were wooden and nearly all of them could not be found at mass retailers. The family owned and run store was one of those places that you walk into and instantly you feel comfortable. A member of the family would greet you at the door and encourage you to play! I cannot tell you how often we visited this toy store until it closed. Yes, sadly, the toy store closed it’s doors a few years back and it was the last specialty toy store we had here ;(
The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), the largest association for companies in the toy and children’s products arenas, wants you to know the benefits of shopping at local retailers this Holiday Season. I love good deals, but we make an effort to do our part in supporting our local retailers and our local economy. One way you can do this, is by shopping at local toy stores this holiday season!
Shopping at local specialty toy stores for high quality toys has many benefits, including:
-Expert support on the best toys for kids at every age
-High-quality merchandise you won’t find anywhere else
-Free gift-wrapping in most cases (score!)
-Relief in knowing they’ll have exactly what you need and are willing to go above and beyond if they don’t
-A quick turn around: get in and get out!
-Go green with your Holiday Shopping: Heading to a local toy store means less travel time, no shipping and handling, and better efficiency!
Many of these high quality toys that local toy stores carry, are made from small manufacturers, who do not have the opportunity to be mass marketed by larger retail chains. Many of these small manufactures would rather focus on making a good, quality, lasting toy that has lasting benefits to children, rather than marketing to mass retailers.
By visiting astratoy.org, you can find a toy store near you, find information about toy safety and find the Best Toys for Kids 2009!
The Best Toys for Kids 2009 is an amazing list of award-winning toys picked by Astra! Whether you have an infant or toddler, small child or tween, you’ll find the best of the best all on one list! This will certainly help make your holiday toy shopping a bit easier this year!
Astra sent us a few items from the Best Toys for Kids 2009 list! We were sent the Doinkit Darts by Marky Sparky, Mini Collectible Erasers by BC Office and a Create Your own Pop-up Book by Creativity for Kids!
– Doinkit Darts… the Doinkit Darts were a huge hit with the whole family! This magnetic dart board is safe enough for even the small members of the family. The special magnets combined with space age Doinkit material, is light, durable and keeps the dart always flying perfectly true. This is one item in our house that gets played with everyday. From the girls and my husband to myself and house guests, the Doinkit Magnetic Dart Board is a huge hit and so much fun!
– Mini Collectible Erasers …these are just about the cutest little things I have ever seen. These Eco-friendly, recyclable puzzle erasers made in Japan are made of non-toxic, lead-free, safe materials. They come in a variety of colors and include panda bears and hamsters just to name a few!
– Create Your Own Pop-up Books… Kids can now use their imagination to write their own stories that relate to the pop-up designs. They can draw their own pictures with the included 8 markers and even add stickers and your own pictures! This is a fun project for kids ages 5 and up!
Visit astrabesttoysforkids.com to check out the entire Best Toys for Kids 2009 list and visit astratoy.org to find out more about shopping at your local retailers this holiday season!
Win it!
We loved the Doinkit Darts so much that we want to share one with one lucky reader! Thanks to the kind folks at ASTRA, one lucky “Deal”ectible Mommies reader will win a Doinkit Dart Board! Just visit astrabesttoysforkids.com and tell me one other item that you found on the Best Toys for Kids 2009 list! There’s some really fun ones! Then simply fill out the form below and your entered to win!
Extra Entries: The initial entry MUST be completed before any extra entries will count!! All Extra Entries will be left in the “comment” section of this post! Each comment counts as 1 entry..so if you qualify for two entries, then leave two comments!!!
1. *3 Entries* Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway
You can copy and paste this into twitter:
Win a Doinkits Magnetic Dart Board from @dealectiblemom!
http://tinyurl.com/ybvn7ap
Already following me on twitter? Send out the above tweet and you just earned yourself an entry.. drop me a comment and let me know!
2. *2 Entries* Subscribe to “Deal”ectible Mommies by Email or Subscribe to my feed.
3. *2 Entries* Follow “Deal”ectible Mommies…You can Follow My Blog on my sidebar..hint: It’s at the very top!
4. *5 Entries* Blog about this giveaway (please leave a link to the post)
5. *5 Entries* Grab our Holiday Gift Guide button!
The boring stuff: Open to U.S residents only. Giveaway will end on November 30th at Midnight! Winner will be chosen using random.org!
Review Disclaimer: We received the above mentioned products from ASTRA for our review. My thoughts and opionions remain my own.
Giveaway Disclaimer: Our giveaway sponsors are responsible for shipping and fulfillment of any winnings here at “Deal”ectible Mommies. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of any prizes won!