Neighborhood Toy Store Day is November 9th

We're getting ready for our big toy event - Neighborhood Toy Store Day!  It's a national event, and toy stores all over North America, and the world are celebrating.  The Golden Apple is hosting two of our favorite local companies:  Just Jump It and Blue Orange Games and we'll be having contests and games of skill, along with a visit by Froggy.  The event starts at 11am and activities go on until 3pm.

Bring in the Fun, Bring in the Toyz

Seasons change fast, and the gap between Back-To-School and Toy Season is now non-existent. As we have increased our toy selection, we've found that our old way of waiting till the 1st of October doesn't fly. Many of the toy orders get booked in February, so stores are sure to have inventory in November. If we waited, customers wouldn't see the best and the newest on our shelves. We did place our orders, but we put a delivery date of September on them, so we wouldn't be up to our ears in both teachers and toys. Guess what? It's September - and the huge boxes (toys come in HUGE boxes) are arriving every day, and we are scrambling to find homes for things. Magformers came last week. The new Construction and Emergency sets are very exciting. Move over Plan Books!

The Toy that Time Forgot

Let's talk about toys for a change! We have a "brand new" item at the Golden Apple that has been sitting on our counter for about a month. It's truly magical - no batteries, barely any moving parts, but the kids find it hypnotic. I don't even really know what the name of the toy is - we tell kids it was the Gameboy of past generations. It's a water-filled tube (you add the water - it is NOT filled with imported Chinese water) that has mysterious floating balls inside. When you push the button, the balls drift through the liquid and you try to capture them in (in this case) the pelican's bills. You know what I'm talking about. The amazing thing about this toy is - it's new to kids! They can't stop playing with it. In a 3d Avatar, Ipad world, this thing just seems full of wonder. Imagine that.

Is It Buy a Quality Toy Tuesday?

This last weekend bugged me. The days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday seemed like an endless Soviet Era propaganda film about the decadence of the west. Sure I'm a retailer, but is it really all a big game, to trick people into spending money at your store no matter how, or why? Obviously I'm on a rant about what makes a specialty store different (see previous post), but I think things have gotten way out of hand.
ASTRA (the American Specialty Toy Retailers) worked hard this year to produce a list of toys - The Best Toys for Kids. We didn't come up with "Door Busters" or "3 at this Price" toys. This selection of toys, along with the rest of our products, our outstanding staff and pleasant shopping environment is what we have to offer. This weekend made it seem like that's not enough, but we're happy to offer these things on Friday, Monday and every day of the year.
Certainly media hype has a lot to do with "Black Friday". Send a reporter out, show some video of shoppers in the cold at 4 am. Big news story. Today The Golden Apple is holding our own "Dog Bites Man" news event. Customers thoughtfully choosing toys with our help. Free Gift Wrapping - film at 11. Hope you can find parking, what with all the TV news vans out front!