CHALK ON THE WALK MAY 9TH

This Saturday, during the annual Art & Jazz Festival downtown, we will again host our Chalk on the Walk art contest. Come down and create on our sidewalk from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The entry fee is $1 and includes the chalk and a space to work. At 3 p.m. we will announce the winners in three age categories. Ages 4-7, 8-12, and kids at heart. No need to pre-register; just sign up and create.
This amazing work of chalk art was created by Julian Beever. He is a British artist whose work has been spotted on sidewalks all over the world. The 3-D effect is created without special glasses!

Earth Day 2009

Thanks again to Plan Toys, we have a special Earth Day activity to give to our customers. Stop by the store and take home a recycled cardboard eco house to build. We will give them out starting Wednesday (earth day) until they are all gone. Plan Toys makes beautiful wooden toys out of recyled rubber wood. The colors are from safe vegetable dyes. We have a good selection of their doll houses and accessories, musical instruments, blocks and pull & push toys.

Other green products include the local (Ft. Collins) company Sprig toy. New for this summer is a set of sand box trucks priced under $20 and made of recycled plastic. New from the Green Toy Company is a set of sand tools in a bucket made from recycled plastic milk jugs. They also do a tea set and dishes. In our science section, you will find a series of green science kits from 4M.

I will have you know that we try to minimize our landfill imprint at the store by recycling paper, cardboard and aluminum locally. AND, most of the toys we sell are well made to last through several children and then be passed down to the next generation (or garage sale)!

Go Outside and PLAY!

Finally, we have a really nice spring day. Our newest outdoor toy is the plasma car. Actually, we had these when they first came out and nobody had heard of them. We didn't re-order them right away because they didn't "fly" off the shelf. This time around we hope more people know just how cool they are before they walk through our door. example: "Oh look Mom, Toys for the Fun of it has those AWESOME plasma cars that we rode on at uncle Pete's house in L.A.... can we have one...PLEASE?"
If you aren't familiar with the plasma car, it is heafty enough to hold up to 220 lbs and is rated for ages 3 to 103. Just by turning the steering wheel back and forth continuously, you can get going up to an exhilarating 6 mph!!! It's fun, and it's a great way to use up all that excess kid energy that is lurking around your house.
We also just got in a few new projectiles and some brand new remote controlled planes and boats. Add a few pogo sticks and we're set to SPRING into ACTION!

Easter

A quick trip downtown is all you need to fill those easter baskets. Enstrom's, home of the world famous almond toffee and personalized easter eggs is just around the corner from us at 7th and Ute.
We don't do a lot of holiday specific items here at Toys for the Fun of It, but I'm sure you'll find plenty of fun and unique items to fill an Easter basket or two. We do have the easter egg puzzleball from Ravensburger and plenty of cute stuffed bunnies, lambs and chicks. Our selection of wind-up toys has expanded with several new styles that just came out this spring. I've also made an effort to have more "tiny" things for people looking for toys small enough to fit in those little plastic eggs. It's just not Easter without a trip downtown to Toys for the Fun of It!

April Fool's Day

We are always joking around at Toys for the Fun of It; testing the old rattlesnake egg trick, quacking up, playing games, juggling and so on. April fool's Day is just another fun day in toy land. We carry magic tricks and gags & pranks all year round, but this is the time to highlight them.Scientific Explorer knows how to make science fun. They make hands-on science projects to make slime, bubble gum, sour candy, magic tricks and the favorite "gags & pranks". Honest, it's educational! Then there are Klutz books. The Encyclopedia of Immaturity is our best seller. Check out their video. Their newest book that fits this category is Tricky Video; full of great trick photography ideas. Happy April Fool's Day and remember, you can be "foolish" all year long - it's more fun that way!

Spring Babies

It's spring in the valley. Bulbs are popping up and some are already blooming in our planters downtown. Baby chicks are in at the farm stores. So let's talk about baby toys. Most infant development toys grow with the child. Start with a colorful item that just dangles to get the baby's attention. Then, in a couple of months, the child will grab it and put it in his mouth. Later, he will throw it, crawl after it, and put it in his mouth. Many of our toys are designed to be used on several levels as the child matures. Safety is also a concern, so it is important to choose toys that are age appropriate. We are always on hand to make recommendations and our customers are really great about giving us testimonials about their child's favorite toy.

Spring Break Season

Spring break is upon us. We've been seeing the lucky customers that need travel toys all week long. I can't guarantee that you won't hear "Are we there yet?" from the back seat, but I'm sure the travel hours will go more smoothly with a few treasures to hand out when the natives are restless. For those of you planning a "staycation", we are always good for a little live entertainment in the store. It's time to check out what's new and take home a kite, game, and maybe try out the new YO BABY kickflipper for hours of entertainment. Whatever your plans are for spring break, come down to see us and HAVE FUN!