Decking the Halls for December!

Stop by and check our our Elves' Workshop!

December is almost here, so get your advent calendars and Menorahs ready! If you haven't been in yet to check our our felt stockings, handmade German wooden ornaments, candle fans and nutcrackers, be sure to stop by soon as things are going fast! 

The first and closest-to-our-heart event this month is the Community Toy Store. The Community Toy Store serves families that are having a difficult time financially during the holiday season. They accept brand new toys, clothes and gift cards and sell them at for at least 75% of the original price to families in need.The money raised is then donated to local charities such as Rebound of Whatcom County and The Whatcom Dream, organizations that support families and work to break the cycle of poverty. This year come in to the Toy Garden and recieve 10% OFF any toys purchased for donation. For more information, visit their website at http://communitytoystore.org/whatcom/. 

One other way to help the community this season is by getting your gifts wrapped at the Toy Garden. All throughout the holidays, the Whatcom Humane Society will be wrapping presents by donation in our store. We're so glad we get to provide an opportunity for this wonderful charity to raise some money and also help you cross one task off your holiday to-do list! 

Also, don't forget that there is still a Kids Club event despite the holidays! We know that sometimes sending thank-yous can be hard to remember, so get a head start by joining us to make festive cards of your own! We'll provide the art supplies, you bring your imagination! Join us Wednesday, December 28th from 1 to 3 pm; space is limited so call to sign up at (360)-714-8552 

Happy Holidays from the Fairhaven Toy Garden!

Felted Santa!

As the end of the month and Thanksgiving approach , it's time for all of us to start thinking about snow, twinkling lights and especially delicious food! At the Toy Garden, it means practicing our wrapping skills, restocking the shelves and gearing up for a wonderful (and crazy-hectic) holiday season. 

Last weekend we kicked off the holiday shopping craze with Neighborhood Toy Store Day, which was a ton of fun and full of crafts and games for all. Robin and the felters crafted lovely little Tomtens on the 12th and yesterday Maria led a full class in making wonderful felt Santa Clauses (check out our facebook page or picasa web album to see the pictures!). Tuesday the 22nd is this month's Kid's Club event (leaf rubbings into place markers), which we hope will be a ton of fun. Space is limited so call and sign up today!

Post Thanksgiving, Fairhaven begins their celebrations with the Holiday Artwalk (November 25th & 26th, 5-9 pm) where merchants will display locally made arts and crafts materials, ornaments, jewelry, holiday cards and much more! Here at the Toy Garden we'll have hand-crafted German ornaments, candle holders and candle fans, nutcrackers and wool/felt decorations on display. Stop by the store to pick up a map of participating locations in Fairhaven today!

It's November already?!

I can't believe it's already November! This fall is flying by. We wrapped up October with a wonderful kids club event (painted pumpkins galore!) and a Halloween filled with awesome costumes and passing out tons of tiny toys. Almost 1,500 trick-or-treaters came down to celebrate the spooky occasion with us, and we saw everything from a mini Michael Jackson to a Port-o-potty.

Last Saturday workshoppers made miniature snowmen, and today Maria led the class in crafting felt ornaments. She used cool holiday colored felt and beads to make some of the most festive decorations I've seen so far this year! We also received the news that our Faber-Castell castle won the window-display portion of their contest, which is awesome! We were so happy to be able to participate in such a cool contest and we wish all the other winners and competitors a big congratulations! We were competing with some incredible displays and we feel very fortunate to have been chosen as the winner!

November is bringing many new events to the store as well, with Hape's "Play it Forward" contest wrapping up next weekend and Neighborhood Toy Store Day on the 12th. Stop by the store between 2:00-6:00 pm on Neighborhood Toy Store Day to participate in all kinds of crafts, game demonstrations, and juggling. We'll also be building a remote control machine, giving out prizes and cookies, and announcing the winner of Hape's play-kitchen contest. NTSD is sponsored by Astra, and all of their picks for best-toys-of-the-year will be on display!

The other great part of this day is that there will be an opportunity to help support a local charity, Blue Skies for Children. A silent auction of some of our most popular toys will be held during the week prior to NTSD and will conclude on Saturday the 12th. We especially encourage all of our customers to come in and check out this part of the event as Blue Skies for Children is a wonderful organization that does a lot of good things for our community that are especially important at this time of the year.

Last but not least, our free kids club will be happening on the 22nd of this month! Just in time for Thanksgiving, come in and make leaf-rubbing place cards for the holiday table with us! Using crayons and beautiful fall leaves, we'll make rubbings and then cut and decorate them as place cards. Space is limited so be sure to call and sign up! (Ages 5+ please)