Kid's Club: Part 2 - The Preparation

One of the on-going sections of the Kids' Club is the Kid of the Month. All of the members are entered in a drawing and each month, one is selected to be The Fairhaven Toy Garden Kid of the Month. The winning child's picture gets hung up on a bulletin board in our store for all to see. Now, we didn't want just a plain old, everyday board for all the special kids who are afforded this honor, so we decided to come up with something unique. Local artist and long-time Toy Gardener, Carol Hewitt helped me create the masterpiece that is now in our store. I found an old cork board that my parents had in storage and brought it in. Carol painted the wooden frame in our store colors. Together, we arranged and hot-glued on a collection of miniature toys and gadgets that Carol had been saving. The result was fantastic. Come visit our store to see the final product in person!

Kid's Club: Part 1 - The Festivities

Have you signed your kids up for the Fairhaven Toy Garden's Kids' Club?? It's pretty awesome. Once a month, we have an activity in the store where members can come in hang out with us and participate in a variety of activities. It's different each time and a whole lot of fun. The first one was held on Wednesday, June 23rd. The kids got to see first hand what it's like to be a Toy Gardener. They got a tour of the warehouse and the store, experiencing what goes on behind the scenes; ringing up sales, decorating the outside of the store with sidewalk chalk and checking out the beautiful view from our roof, just to name a few. Sign up in the store and come play with us!

Product Review: Baby Beads

As summer approaches (yes, even in Bellingham) a lot of people are taking vacations or going to visit family. The plane rides involved in these adventures can be long and very boring, especially for your little one. It has become increasingly difficult to find something simple, safe, and relatively quite to keep babies preoccupied on the trip. My new favorite thing to suggest for these inquiring parents is a set of Natural Classic Baby Beads by Manhattan Toy. The beads are made from rubberwood and furnished with a non-toxic, water based finish. They are soft to the touch and safe to go in their mouths.The elastic cord allows for the child to transform the beads into any desired shape or alignment. I personally am even more than mildly amused by them. And your fellow passengers won't be bothered by any noise. I was really impressed by the entertainment provides by something so simple.

Children's Parties at the Toy Garden

Over the past year, the Toy Garden has unoffically put on several birthday parties for children by the request of their parents. I had the opportunity to participate in one of these this last Saturday, June 5th. Avery and her entourage celebrated her 5th (golden) birthday in the store. As the guests arrived, they were sent on the hunt for the gnomes in teams. Once aquiring their captives, they were given a pocket kite as a price and got in line for face painting. Everyone wanted a princess necklace, except one girl who asked for a shark. We then traveled down to The Green and flew the kites. Next was story time at Village Books where the children relaxed on comfy pillows while I read Princess Hyacinth. The party concluded with cupcakes and presents at Katie's Cupcakes. We had a great time planning and putting on the party! If you are interested in having your child's party with us contact us at (360) 714-8552.

Last Workshop of the Season

On Saturday, May 22nd, the last felting workshop of the season was held in the store. It was for the felted toad stools. Unfortunately, only one participate showed up, but it was very fun! Tabytha and I had a great time creating our own new species of mushrooms. She deemed her's a new discovery from the world of Pandora (from this spring's film, Avatar). Mine very much resembled a creature from Mario Brothers. Pop culture references aside, we had a blast inventing our fungi! Join us this coming fall for more workshops. Details coming soon!

Things I Have Learned

Over the past four month of my employment with the Fairhaven Toy Garden, I have learned some random things not necessarily related to toys. When a man came in with a broken accordion, I used an eye glasses screw driver to take it apart. Certain parts had been shifted by the owner filling it with raisins, causing the buttons to stick. I discovered how the buttons and pads work together in just the right way to create the music. And that it is definitely not a good place to store spare raisins. I have learned to recognize different makes and models of cars from our toy car collection and even some airplanes as well. My knowledge of geography and vocabulary range have both expanded from learning to play games. I have a free continuing education :)

The Gnomes are Everywhere!

May was a busy month filled with weekend events. Our garden gnomes, Toggin, Trixie and Tuck, were out adventuring during each one! The anniversary was a big hit. The weather cooperated, giving us a fresh day of sun and blue skies. Lot of families were in the store, spinning the wheel out front to win prizes and playing other games with the gnomes and gardeners. This was also the kick-off of the Kid's Club (inquire at the store for details). A section of Girls' Night Out was also hosted at the Toy Garden where lots of trivia games were explored by the ladies of Fairhaven and our handsome employees. For Junior Ski to Sea, our store was the last float in the parade, lead by Toggin, Tuck and Trixie handing out toys and cheer, followed by a horse drawn carriage carrying waving children and mothers. Check out our Facebook for more pictures. We are very excited for June and more events to come!