Come and Play on Neighborhood Toy Store Day!

Neighborhood Toy Store Day is Nov. 12, 2011--  so mark your calendars and come play with us!  All of our stores will be playing games.  We've been visiting lots of schools to lead their game nights.  It's been great to play games with the students and their families.  So we're bringing the fun home to our stores!  On Saturday, bring your gang and come play some really great games with us.  You may even discover a new family favorite!

The Happy Up Store locations are:

• LagoonaMagoo Toys at the St. Louis Mills, Hazelwood MO -
  We're right by the playground!
  (314) 227-5335
• LagoonaMagoo Toys in Fairview Heights, IL -
  6308 N. Illinois (aka hwy 159)
  (618) 628-9270
• Once Upon a Toy in Edwardsville, IL -
  2460 Troy Rd (look for the TOY sign!)
  (618) 656-9596

This is the 2nd Neighborhood Toy Store Day, created and celebrated by ASTRA (American Specialty Toy Retailing Association).  The idea is to give the member stores a day to celebrate their unique contributions and role in their communities.  It's also a chance to raise public awareness of the power of play.  As families are pressed for time, it's easy to forget how important a little bit of game play can be to a child.  And to their grown-ups.  So find some time on Saturday and come play a game with us!

If you won't be near any of the Happy Up stores on Saturday, check ASTRA's website to see if there will be festivities near you!

Play on!

Once Upon a Toy & LagoonaMagoo Toys Neighborhood Toy Store Day Plans!

Plotting...  Planning...  All we need is you to make it a party!  Here are the events we've cooked up for Neighborhood Toy Store Day on Nov. 13, 2010

LagoonaMagoo Toys at the St. Louis Mills:
10% of sales on Saturday, November 13, will be donated in toys to Toys for Tots.  Start your Holiday shopping early and pay some joy forward.  And Cody Cassiday, a seriously talented Yo-Yo Dude, will be by to amaze and thrill us with his yo-yo tricks from 2pm - 6pm.  We’ll also have free face painting throughout the day (call the St. Louis Mills LagoonaMagoo Toys at (314) 227-5335 for exact times)

Once Upon a Toy in Edwardsville, IL:
It’s a Giant Rubber Chicken!  In our Parking Lot!  Come get a picture taken with our infamous Giant Chicky from 10am - noon.  Rope n’ Ride, from Granite City, IL, will bring Ponies to the party from 1pm - 3pm.  Cody Cassiday, our favorite Yo-Yo Dude, will also be appearing at Once Upon a Toy from 10am - 1pm.  And can’t forget the face painting--  that will be happening from 11am - 4pm.

LagoonaMagoo Toys in Fairview Heights, IL:
Ponies!  We’re going to have ponies (thanks to Rope n’ Ride!) for your kiddos to meet from 11am - 3pm.  The Giant Rubber Chicken will migrate from Edwardsville to Fairview Heights for photos with your favorite goofballs starting around 1pm - 4pm.  Face painting will also be happening from 11am - 4pm.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday for Neighborhood Toy Store Day!

Join us in celebrating Neighborhood Toy Store Day!

What, you may be wondering, is Neighborhood Toy Store Day? Good question. I knew our readers were smart people!

Neighborhood Toy Store Day is a nation-wide event dreamed up by the member stores of ASTRA, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. The idea is to celebrate independently owned and locally operated toy stores as well as bring attention to the contributions these businesses make to our local communities.

When you choose to shop at locally owned businesses, a higher percentage of your money stays in the community. According to the 3/50 project (read about that in an earlier blog post here: The 3/50 Project) for every $100 spent in a locally owned business, $68 of it remains in the community. This money stays in the form of paid taxes, wages for workers, purchases of supplies and services, as well as charitable donations. This is one of the reasons Mom & Pop businesses are considered the key and lifeblood of our economy. When small businesses thrive, our communities do, too.

So that’s an awful lot of grown-up seriousness happening in that paragraph. What about the infamous Happy Up silliness? Where does that factor in? Glad you asked that! Like all other ASTRA member stores, LagoonaMagoo Toys and Once Upon a Toy are completely committed to seeing children thrive. By offering unique, amazing, imaginative, and creative toys to our customers, we help children grow into unique, amazing, imaginative, and creative grown-ups. By encouraging and supporting the idea of play for people of all ages, we create laughter and lighter spirits. And who doesn’t want more of that in the world?

So Celebrate individuality, silliness, playfulness, and what makes your world unique with your favorite toy store on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010 and be a part of the first ever Neighborhood Toy Store Day!

You can read more about the event here:  http://neighborhoodtoystoreday.com/

PS--  watch this space for the schedule of events for Toy Store Day at both LagoonaMagoo Toys and Once Upon a Toy!