Looking for a last-minute Hanukkah present or last-minute Christmas present? Visit your local toy store! There are so many benefits to shopping locally. One of the big benefits: education.
Local stores provide personalized service. I have a great relationship with my local store owner, and I have appreciated some of their tips and product recommendations. My neighborhood toy store carries unique educational toys.
But I bet you didn’t know that you are actually supporting your local schools when you shop locally. I serve on my local school board, so I spend a considerable amount of time analyzing school budgets. Did you know that commercial properties pay real estate taxes which support local schools in most states? When these stores do poorly and close, the properties are often reassessed and that erodes the real estate tax base. The result? Revenue for schools goes down, and school districts must either tax or cut programs to balance the budget.
To raise awareness about the importance of shopping locally, we’re giving away 3 more Award-Winning toys from the ASTRA Best Toys for Kids List. These toys are educational AND a hit with kids. They were selected by toy retailers across America based on their expertise and the feedback they hear regularly from their customers!
Chicky Boom (ARV $25) – A game of balance that will challenge your fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Collect as many chickens, hay bales and wagon wheels as you can before the perch topples.
Bananagrams (ARV $25) – A fast, fun word game for kids and adults. Bananagrams is my favorite travel game, and it was one of Mamanista’s top picks in 2008. If you don’t own this soon-to-be-a-classic game, you are missing out on some fast-paced educational fun that develops spelling and vocabulary skills. Bananagrams has the educational aspects of Scrabble but takes just 5 minutes to play– great for busy kids and adults.
Create Your Own Pop-Up Books by Creativity for Kids/Faber-Castell (ARV $20) – It’s hard to imagine a better present for an aspiring young writer or artist. This kit comes with two hardcover books. Kids add pictures and photos as well as a story. This is also a great present for Grandmom or Grandpop. Have your child write a story for the proud grandparents, and they’ll treasure the homemade gift that shows what a brilliant, perfect grandchild they have.
WANT IT: Visit the ASTRA Best Toys for Kids Site to locate a specialty toy store near you!
WIN IT: To win one of the three prizes described above:
- Required Entry: Please visit the ASTRA Best Toys for Kids Site and leave us a comment on this post telling us why you think it’s important to support local toy stores OR telling us the name/location of your local specialty toy store.
- Additional Entries (up to three): You can receive up to three additional entries by linking to and/or sharing our Hottest Holiday Toys Guide (see rules at the bottom of the guide) and leaving separate comments on this post for each mode of entry.
Contest on Mamanista.com ends December 21, 11:59 PM EST. Open to U.S. Shipping Only. Winner chosen using Random.org.
