Reminder! Two more parties to go!

We had a great time with the kids (and their grown-ups) who came to our first Japanese Eraser & Shaped Band trading party at Once Upon a Toy in Edwardsville. Thanks to everyone who came and made it a fun evening!

Pirate Chicken Says:  Silly Bands Rock!

Japanese Erasers as far as the eye can see!

Trade?

Tough to choose!

Come be a star with your Shaped/Silly Bands collection!

Our next party is at 6:30 on Thursday, June 24 at LagoonaMagoo Toys in Fairview Heights-- RSVP by calling the store: (618)628-9270

The last trading party will be at LagoonaMagoo Toys at the St. Louis Mills Mall on Thursday, July 1st. It's never to early to RSVP! (314) 227-5335

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?

Gettin' Silly with the Silly Bandz!

Also called Shaped Bands, Shaped Bracelet Bands, and Silly Bands (note:  no "Z"), these colorful bits of silicone are soft, durable, and retain their shapes.  This is a collecting trend just starting to sweep the country.  Popular on the east coast and in the southern states for more than a year, Silly Bandz are just now catching the interest of midwest trendsetters.  And once they get started, kids are taking their collections very seriously.  So what are they exactly?  Think rubber bands--  only not as stretchy.  Think plastic jelly bracelets, only not boringly round!  Add bright colors and shapes that appeal to youngsters, and suddenly you have instant coolness on kid-wrists all across the country.  Because they're inexpensive and sold in packs of 12 or more, they're an easy collection to start.  And to store.  The bands encompass a wide variety of shapes from wild animals to vehicles to sheriff badges to sports figures.  Some kids are collecting based on their interests.  Others are staying focused on "rare" or unusual shapes.  And some are just going for quantity--  the more the merrier!

Some school districts are being forced to take them seriously, too--  turns out the shaped bands are so distracting they've been banned in some school districts.  Thankfully, we're all on summer break so no worries about getting teachers and principals all in a twist about these.  However, there are concerns about kids wearing bands that are too tight for their wrists and cutting off circulation.  While this isn't a serious concern if the kiddo is only wearing them for a short period of time,  we do hear of kids who refuse to take them off--  which could create a problem.  So grown-ups?  Check to make sure the bands aren't restricting blood flow.

And just for giggles?  Check out this ultra-silly gangsta rap about Silly Bandz!



Collecting the bands already? Have gobs to show off? Duplicates to trade? Watch this space for our announcement of our Silly Bandz & Japanese Eraser Trading Parties! We'll also be sending out an email invite, so make sure you're on our email list!