Friday, March 30, 2012

We have Hasbro back in stock!

What does this mean, exactly?  It means we have a ton of classic boardgames back (Risk, Battleship, Monopoly, Scrabble, Twister, Bop It, etc) as well as a large supply of cards games based on boardgames (like Monopoly Deal) that are great for travel.  By the way, if you haven't played Monopoly Deal, it's a pretty fantastic game, just like everyone says.  And it's a lot quicker than regular Monopoly so that's always a plus when you don't have all day and night to play a game.  We also have some Playskool items back, including some fun new Sesame Street-themed toys that they just introduced this year.  We have a mountain of Play-Doh, and your favorite dolls from Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, and Littlest Pet Shop.  AND Star Wars Fighter Pods, possibly, my favorite new item.  They're similar to Squinkies in that they are small figurines (less squishy than Squinkies, but about the same size) in 'pods' that you can keep your figurines in or use a top to play a game that involves knocking over as many figurines as you can with one spin.  And as you can tell, they're all characters from Star Wars so they're already a big hit already with our customers.  You can get them in a mystery pack, or buy a set of them.  We also have a ton of action figures from Transformers and The Avengers if Star Wars isn't your thing.  I could go on, but that would take longer than a game of Monopoly so I'll just say as I always do... stop on by the shop and see what's new!  It's spring break so we've been seeing a lot of faces we don't normally see on the weekdays, which is always nice :) 

Mark your calendars, we're helping to launch a new toy April 28th!


Clump-o-Lumps!  Or, if you want to refer to them as individuals, Squid-O, Shark-O, Bee-O, Frog-O, Bird-O, Tig-O.  No, they are NOT animal versions of the Marx Brothers (bonus points to anyone who gets that reference), but rather, a group of delightful friends who can be unzipped into 2-3 pieces and re-zipped back together into an entirely new species.  I personally like the idea of a Frobirark, as it combines the flying power of a bird with the fly-catching power of a frog and the smooth moves of a shark, but any combination is welcome.  They're constructed of wide zippers and soft fabric, and are around 2 feet tall.  We're excited to be the ONLY store currently in the Los Angeles-area to carry these guys (we have them at both our Larchmont and Manhattan Beach locations), and we're hosting a grand launching event on Saturday, April 28th.  There will be a raffle, coloring books, and more happening, along with a few surprises that we know will get people into the spirit of things.  We already have the Clump-o-Lumps available for sale at Landis' Labyrinth, so stop on in and discover why we love them so much!  

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

So, why should you make the leap over to Hopscotch Kids Nail Polish?


Well, it’s like comparing an oil painting with a watercolor painting…. They both look great, but which would you want your kids to do?  Eeeeeexactly.  Hopscotch Kids Nail Polish (I’m sorry, WaterColors) is a line designed with children in mind.  That means this water-based formula is safe and also a lot more fun to use than the stuff you find in the pharmacy (no offense, pharmacies)!  You’re probably saying, “Well, that’s great and all, but just because it’s water-based doesn’t make it safe.  What about all of the other stuff in nail polish?”.  It’s a great question, so here are the specifics:
-          It’s non-toxic.
-          It’s hypoallergenic.
-          It’s gluten and paraben free.
-          It’s eco-friendly (vegan, cruelty-free, biodegradable)
-          It’s made of water, acrylic polymer, butoxy diglycol, and non-toxic colorants.
-          It dries quickly and because it doesn’t have toxins in it, it doesn’t smell toxic, something we can ALL appreciate!  

      What they DON'T have is ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, nitrocellulose, acetone, or heavy metals.

      They also make a soy-based nail polish remover that we carry, and the polish itself is available in a wide array of colors (the dark blue 'Ink a Bink a Bottle of Ink' is so far the best-seller here), all with fun playground rhymes for names.  The WaterColors nail polish retail for $13.95, which for a safe, awesome, and fun product is a steal.  And they're selling fast so get yours soon and get home and have a manicure party!

  

You know we're busy when we can't even tell you how busy we are!

Seriously!  We've been so busy ordering and checking new toys in that we haven't had the chance to update this blog!  Oh where to begin....

Legos: We've gotten in about half of our March shipment in, including a VERY limited supply of Lego Minifigures Series 6, so get them while you can.  Lego is phasing out of lot of their lines to make way for new lines, including a Dino line, and some really awesome Duplo for girls (including ones with Disney princesses).  We also have Ninjago back, and CITY of course, and we're eagerly awaiting the DC/Marvel lines they're introducing this year.  It is the year of the superhero, it seems...

Manhattan Toy: Lots of new baby gifts/toys, including more toys that are from Parents Magazine and more Whoozit-themed goodies.  Also, Groovy Girls are back, and selling like, well, Groovy Girls.

Hello Kitty: What can we say about Hello Kitty that we haven't already said?  It's cute, affordable, and we've got a great selection of it right now (my favorite is probably the Sakura Dangle Rings with little cherry blossoms hanging off of the center).

Games:  We've gotten in reorders from our favorites, including Blue Orange and ThinkFun, and a new game from Everest called Anomia.  Anomia is a Mensa Select Winner and deservedly so.  It's a card game that involves recognition of shapes as well as coming up with an example of a type of _____ on the spot before your opponent does.  An example would be to name a type of fish.  Sounds easy, but when you're put on the spot, it gets tricky.  It's meant for at least 3 players, 10 years of age and older, and similar in feel to Blue Orange's Spot It.

Ty Plush: Fresh out of the box today, we now have the Monstaz line in 3 sizes (including the ever-popular clip), and more Beanie Boos.  Probably the most affordable-but-good-quality plush on the market, Ty is a favorite amongst our customers!

I could go on for the rest of the evening, but I'll cut it short since it's much more fun to come into the shop in person and see everything!  But we do have a ton of classic toys from Schylling and Toysmith in right now, as well as science goodies from GeoCentral (more excavation kits!), and awesomely-weird gadgets from Accoutrements, Kikkerland, and more!  We are also carrying Buckyballs now, in both classic nickle and multicolored chromatics.  HOWEVER, and this is a big however in case the all-caps didn't give it away, we can only sell these to people aged 14 and up.  This is part of our agreement with the company to ensure that only people who are completely aware of the dangers that magnets present if ingested are allowed to purchase them.  So please, don't be insulted if we ask your 10 year old to come back with you!  We just want to make sure that everyone, including pets, stay safe, and that we are abiding by the policy that the company behind Buckyball has set in place.

Stay tuned for more new arrivals... we still have a few big ones and lots of cool small ones on their way to us!