Choosing Toys that Keep Kids Interested and Engaged

If your family includes gift giving in your celebration of the holidays, you are probably familiar with the wildly enthusiastic reaction kids have when they see piles of brightly wrapped packages waiting to be opened. Those moments of hyper-charged anticipation when excited children can barely contain themselves add to the holiday magic for many families.

Yet many of those same families experience a let-down after all the gifts are unwrapped and all the must-have toys are assembled and filled with the required number of size AA batteries. The same child who asked over and over for that heavily advertised ultra-popular toy plays with it for a while, and then quickly loses interest. (more…)

A Fun Filled Family Event to Help Cure Juvenile Diabetes

Saturday, September 8th - 10AM until 4PM
Join Tookie’s Toys and the other merchants of Falls Village Shopping Center as we host a benefit for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation this Saturday.
There will be entertainment throughout the village including:

• Kids Entertainment -Lower Level by Tookie’s Toys- See below for details!
• Star Wars Characters at Raleighwood
• Atlantic Tire Race Car at Chick-fil-A
• Diabetes information and screening at Chick-fil-A
• Hair Painting at Hair Cuttery
• Root Beer Floats at Fresh Market
• Chick-fil-A Cows
• Fire Truck

How does this benefit JDRF?

• Participating stores donate a percentage of sales to JDRF
• Buy JDRF Sneakers for $1 at select stores
• Register for Prizes by visiting participating stores - you could win while helping a great cause!

Go to the JDRF Information Booth near Fresh Market on Saturday for a detailed schedule of events and for prize registration form.
Kid’s Entertainment Schedule at JDRF Benefit
10 AM - Trish Miller, Children’s Music - www.trishmillermusic.com
11 AM - Stacy Clearman’s LittleLand, Children’s Music - www.stacyclearman.org
12 Noon - Storybook Safari, Creative Storytelling - www.storybooksafari.com
12:30 PM - Dinosaurs Rock, Dinosaur Presentation - www.dinosaursrocknc.com
10AM - 2PM - Oogles n’ Googles, Crafts & Activities - www.ooglesngoogles.com
10AM - 3PM - Dinosaurs Rock, Dinosaur Exhibit
10AM - 3PM - Storybook Safari, Children’s Activities
11:30AM - 3PM - Captain Pete the Party Pirate - www.captainpetethepartypirate.com

As the summer days grow shorter and begin to fill up with school shopping, school physicals, and getting the family organized for the fall, your preschooler or kindergarten child may be showing signs of anxiety about making that BIG transition to being a BIG kid who goes to school. What can parents and grandparents do to help?

“One of the best ways to get young kids prepared for a school environment is to promote healthy, constructive play,” says Susan J. Oliver, Executive Director of the national not-for-profit organization Playing for Keeps. “To be ready for school means a child has developed in a more or less balanced way—she is physically competent for her age; able to form relationships and play cooperatively with others; is curious and open to learning; and can listen and speak in a manner appropriate for her age. If a child has spent his early years engaged in good, old fashioned play—which is the way kids learn those skills—chances are he will be more than ready for school.” (more…)

Join Tookie’s Toys, PolkaDots/Be-Tween and Baskin Robbins for a fun filled family concert featuring Sandbox Kids and Family Fun Band on Sunday, May 5th from 4:00PM - 6:00PM at Cameron Village. Bring your chairs or blankets. Concert will be held in front of the sponsoring stores. Enjoy $1 Kids Scoops at Baskin Robbins. For more info call 828-5574 or visit tookiestoys.com.

About Sandbox Kids and Family Fun Band: Sandbox is a four-piece Raleigh/ Durham/ Chapel Hill band specializing in twangy, upbeat traditional children’s music. We are well known for our exceptionally fun, interactive performances and a strong vocal presence. We target 1-8 year olds, but our music appeals to folks of all ages. Learn more about Sandbox Kids and Family Fun Band at www.sandbox-band.com

Kids want the “hot” new toys for holiday, but parents worry: What happens when those holiday fads fade? Now there’s a list of exceptional toys that children will love to play with long after the holidays. Tookie’s Toys shares its “Top 20 Toys” list for Holiday 2006, compiled by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA). This one-of-a-kind list is based on input from stores such as Tookie’s Toys around the country, the “toy professionals” who spend every day of the year working with consumers and kids. This daily interaction gives these
retailers unmatched, firsthand knowledge of toys that are truly compelling to both kids and parents.

“Every year, parents tell us how some of the latest, trendy toys and gadgets end up at the bottom of the toy box soon after the holidays,” said Katherine Hodges, owner of Tookie’s Toys. “But a toy from Tookie’s Toys will ignite the imagination and provide a different play experience every time the child picks it up. These unique, fun toys inspire creativity, making them favorites the children turn to again and again all year round.”

These toys also earn high approval ratings from parents and educators by helping children build developmental skills, (more…)