Did ya see? No? Here's the Video from Great Day St. Louis!

Tee-hee!  Shawnta' had a ton of fun appearing on Great Day St. Louis yesterday.  If you haven't seen it already, here's the video:




Later today I'll post additional information about the items featured in the video.  Including more about the Lightning Reaction game!  Insert evil giggling here.

Candy Buy Back starts tomorrow (10/31/11)

So it happens almost every year...  the kiddos are looking at their monstrous haul of candy, you add it to the left-overs that didn't get passed out to trick or treaters, and you realize:  Egads.  That is an alarming amount of candy. 

So here's our plan to help you out of this sugary mess:  A candy buy back at Once Upon a Toy and both LagoonaMagoo Toys locations.  Starting on 10/31, bring us at least One lb of candy, and we'll give you a $10 gift certificate (this offer is limited to one per family).

What are we going to do with all that sweet stuff?
We're going to pack it off to the wonderful people at Operation Gratitude, who will in turn send it (along with other items like toothbrushes!) to troops serving in dangerous places around the world. 

Our Candy Buy Back will run Monday, Oct. 31st through Sunday, Nov. 6th, 2011.

So pass the word and then pass us your candy!

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!

Cody & his YoYo are coming back!

Loookeeeee! Cody Cassiday is visiting all three of our stores again! He'll be demonstrating tricks and chatting about yo-yoing with us every weekend through the end of July.

Hope you'll be able to stop by and visit:

July 16 - LagoonaMagoo Toys - Fairview Heights: 4pm - 7pm
July 17 - Once Upon a Toy - Edwardsville: 10am - 2pm
July 23 - LagoonaMagoo Toys - St. Louis Mills Mall: 5pm - 9pm
July 24 - LagoonaMagoo Toys - St. Louis Mills Mall: 10am - 2pm
July 30 - Once Upon a Toy - Edwardsville: 4pm - 7:30 pm
July 31 - LagoonaMagoo Toys - Fairview Heights: 11am - 2pm

Come to the Party!

If you haven't heard yet, the dates for our trading parties are set!  All parties start at 6:30pm and last until 8pm. For more information or to RSVP (appreciated, but not required), just call your favorite Happy Up store!

June 17:
Once Upon a Toy in Edwardsville, IL
(618) 656-9596

June 24:
LagoonaMagoo Toys in Fairview Heights, IL
(618) 628-9270

July 1:
LagoonaMagoo Toys at the St. Louis Mills Mall, MO
(314) 227-5335

Email invites went out on Friday. Did you get yours? What? You aren't on our email list? It's easy to subscribe using the box in the sidebar. hint hint. If you're interested to see the email, you can find it here: It's a Party at Once Upon a Toy and LagoonaMagoo Toys!

Jaelyn Jamik, the St. Louis Children's Recreation Examiner gave Silly Bandz & Japanese Erasers (and our parties!) a nice little write up. You can read her article here: Silly Bandz and Iwako Japanese Erasers are all the rage: Kids, wanna trade?

So we'll see you at one of the parties, right?

Playday at LagoonaMagoo Fairview Heights!

Ever want to have an entire toy store to play in?  LagoonaMagoo Toys in Fairview Heights will be hosting a playday on Monday, May 17 from 10:30 to noon.  Space is limited, so you'll need to call to reserve space for your youngsters! 

We'll have lots of toys and games open and ready for little ones to explore.  We'll also have plenty of folks on hand to demonstrate & explain how the toys work.  And like always, our helpful playfolks will be ready to help the grownups find toys and games that will further a child's development. 

A fun time will be had by all!

To reserve space or to get more information, call the playful folks at the Fairview Heights LagoonaMagoo:  (618) 628-9270..

Update 10/21/2010--  Playdates are taking a break for November & December.  Please check back to see our schedule of open playdates in January, 2011!