Nom nom nom! Thanks Fireman Frank!
Here’s some more snack ideas! And, for more snack ideas, check out our Yum! board on Pinterest!
Sandwich Kebobs
Carrots Planted in Hummus!
Homemade Goldfish Crackers
And, you can find these fun snack containers from Boon right here at the store!
Caterpillar Stacking Containers by Boon $13.99
Fluid Sippy Cup by Boon $6.99
Have a tasty and healthful day!
-Child’s Play
Tween Bedroom - paper cranes and fun wallpaper add childish charm to a room on it's way to adulthood
Wouldn’t you love to fall asleep under a sea of paper cranes? Or hang up pictures of your favorite heartthrob on those cool half shutters? Tween rooms reflect a fine balance between your child’s new found maturity and the little kid they’re not ready to let go of yet. The photo above shows a grown up bed with a quilt perfectly suitable for an adult, but the quirky wallpaper, floating cranes and hammock (just out of view) “young up” the room. Scroll down for more tween eye candy, and check out the fun tween accessories you can find in our store!
Perfect hang out space!
The perfect way to display some well loved toys!
Night Owl: Press on and off light for the late night walker! $9.99
Color A Peace & Love Memo Board $16.99
Hold It All Shopping Carts: Perfect for pens on the desk or lip gloss on the dresser! $11.99
Have an awesome day!
-Child’s Play
New books just in! Within the last week we’ve gotten a bunch of new books – Babylit Board Books from Gibbs-Smith, local imprint Sasquatch Books, new Duck & Goose books and more and more and more! One of everyone’s favorites is The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My Enfant by: Tove Jansson. And, here’s Chrissy with a review!
A classic! Fans of Dr. Suess would love this first book about Moomintroll and his adventures. Moomintroll on his way home in the deep, dark woods runs into his friend Mimble, whose sad that she lost her little sister Little My, so Moomin and Mimble set out to find her. What follows is a visual feast: bright colors, boldly drawn figures, handwritten, rhyming text and peek through cut outs through the pages to help the reader guess what comes next!
Beautiful, fun illustrations!
Have a whimsical day! If you have trouble finding whimsy read some Moomin or Anne of Green Gables or twirl down the sidewalk a bit! Good luck!
-Child’s Play
Happy Memorial Day everyone!
We hope you enjoy your barbecues, family reunions, moments of reflection and whatever else you have planned for the holiday!
Hamburgers and Hot Dogs by Hape, Ages 3+ $24.99
Classic BBQ food – wooden Hamburgers and Hot Dogs! Keep ‘em plain or add on all the included fixings – like cheese, lettuce and tomato!
No Spill Bubble Machine, Ages 3+ $15.99
What family reunion would be complete without a bubble machine?! Endless hours of entertainment for everyone in the family!
Marble Racers, Ages 3+ $7.99 and up
And, to cap off this post we’ve got a toy made right here in the USA. Marble Racers are small cars similar to Hot Wheels, but when these get rolling they light up! Super fun and made in California!
Cheers!
-Child’s Play
Lego Mini Figures Series 7, $2.99
They’re back! Lego Mini Figures Series 7 are here and going fast! Blind box packaging adds a layer of surprise – will you end up with the bagpiper? Maybe the bunny? Or maybe the robot warrior?! We do have a small selection of figures we have deciphered by feeling the packages. So, if your heart is really set on a particular figure, let us know and we can help you out!
Also, we will be open our regular hours on Memorial Day! Stop by to pick up any last minute activities – outdoor games, art kits, board games and more!!
And now for some things from around town:
Eco-Roof Tour at the Central Library Unfortunately, the eco-roof isn’t accessible to the public. But, this backstage tours lets you see the roof from overlooking windows. And, it’s only 20 minutes long. Saturday at 11am. Registration required. Free! Details here.
Portland Youth Philharmonic Free Concert Celebrating it’s 88th Season, The Portland Youth Philharmonic is offering a free concert! Founded in 1924, the Portland Youth Philharmonic is America’s first youth orchestra. Sunday at 4pm, Jackson Middle School 10625 SW 35th Avenue. Details here.
And, there’s also Portland City Fair at the Waterfront, The Multnomah County Fair and Open Cockpit Day at Pearson Air Museum. Click on an event to learn more about it.
Have a festive and happy holiday weekend!!
-Child’s Play
Rain, rain go away! Since the weather has decided to convert back to fall temperaments, here are art activities ideal for today’s weather.
Textured Stencils by Melissa & Doug, Ages 5+ $9.99
Available in Dinosaur, Insect and Sealife these textured stencils are an all-in-one craft kit. Trace the image, then lay your paper on top and use crayons to rub texture and shading into your drawing. Awesome! The texture really makes T. Rex pop!
Scrapbook Shadowbox, Ages 7+ $24.99
For those a little bit older, pick up this Scrapbook Shadowbox kit! Add your own photos, then use the frames, papers, stickers and embellishments to make a personalized work of art! The kit even has glue and scissors included. When it’s all finished, hanging hooks are included on all four corners, so no matter how you position your collage it’ll be easy to hang! This is totally perfect for a tween girl!
Faber Castell Duo Tip Markers, Ages 4+ 12 Markers $4.99/ 24 Markers $9.99
And sometimes you just need pen and paper. We love these Faber Castell Duo Tip Markers. Fine and broad widths, and double the colors as a standard pack! Plus, the quality is so great! Although, since they’ve been in business since 1761 you can kind of expect great things!
Hope you have a day full of flashes of brilliance and creative genius!
-Child’s Play
Chatter Phone, Ages 12mos+ $19.99
Recognize this guy? Fisher Prices’s chatter telephone has been around since 1962, and was one of their top selling toys for nearly 20 years! Go Chatter Box! For a brief period the rotary dial was replaced with push buttons, but due to outrage from the toy loving public the retro look is back!
And, speaking of classic toys, here’s a few more we got in:
Change a Tune, Ages 12mos.+ $29.99
Turn the dial on the side and play along with “Pop! Goes the Weasel,” “This Old Man,” or “The Muffin Man”. And, the aqua trim is so right now!
Xylophone Pull-A-Tune, Ages 18 mos.+ $29.99
You never know when you might need to join a band or serenade a new friend, so you should always keep your xylophone handy! Pull your xylophone along at all times, then plop down and use the mallet to strike up a tune!
Something about these toys brings up happy images of Beverly Cleary characters having parades and play dates in the park. There’s something warm and happy about these toys, nostalgic but not in a sticky saccharine way.
Hope you have a groovy day!
-Child’s Play
Ahoy matey! Today we have something different from our usual picture books and novels. That’s right, we’ve got a work of Non-Fiction! Just as spectacular and interesting as the most far-fetched sci-fi and fantasy novels out there, this book is chock-full of centuries old stories of Pirates. Have you ever heard about the pirate that…oh, oops, we’ll let Sarah tell you about it in the review!
Lives of the Pirates: Swashbucklers, Scoundrels (Neighbors Beware!) Written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
So you think you know your pirates, do you?…
Have you ever heard of Madame Cheng, the notorious female pirate in command of the largest pirate gang in history? Did you know that the famous pirate, Captain Henry Morgan, went from being the “terror of the Spanish Main” to the governor of Jamaica, or that vicious pirate, Mary Read, had a sea captain father who insisted on raising her as a boy and even calling her Mark?! What?! These are things that a true pirate enthusiast must know!
Inside the pages of this book, you will find entertaining biographies of the world’s pirate captains, some legendary and some largely unknown. You’ll find accounts of the captains’ terrifying brutality, peculiar quirks, marvelous treasure and sometimes comical blunders. Sure to entertain from beginning to end, with hilarious, caricature-like illustrations, this is an essential part of any pirate-lover’s library.
Recommended for all daring swashbucklers, ages 10 and up.
Thanks for sharing Sarah! Also, the new movie The Pirates: Band of Misfits, created by Aardman Studios (the people who brought us Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run) is fantastic! Highly recommended by the Child’s Play Staff! Great for young and old pirates!
Have a swashbuckling day! Hope you find some gold doubloons!
-Child’s Play
Need a new inside activity? We just got a HUGE shipment from Orb Factory. Orb Factory is a wonderful company that makes “stick ‘n’ create” art kits. Kits come in a variety of interests: simple “My First Mosaic” pictures, DIY Sparkling Mirrors, Individual Mosaics (perfect for travel), Stick N Style Blinglets (aka bracelets with lots of stick on jewels!) and more! The age range starts at 3 +, so there’s something for everyone’s abilities. Little clean up and a low mess potential make these perfect for rainy days (or grandma’s house)!
Here’s a few of our NEW favorites!
Knight Light, Ages 6-12 $14.99
Create your own Night Light! Build the castle, then add stickers and jewels! And, the stickers are reusable! And, the light changes colors! Score!
Stick N Style Sparkle Bands, Ages 5+ $16.99
It’s got headbands! It’s got bracelets! It’s got a fancy ponytail holder! And, there are over 500 sparkles and gems to decorate with! Most Awesome 5 Year Old Girl Birthday Present EVER!
SparkleUps Dinos, Ages 5+ $9.99
Dinosaur stickers that you can decorate with stick on jewels. Sparkly Dinos! AWESOME!
Hope your day has some sparkle!
-Child’s Play
Congratulations! You made it to the weekend! We’ve got a fully stocked store, ready for all your weekend entertainment needs! Stop in to pick up outdoor toys, board games, craft kits, books, buddies to cuddle with and things for babies to chew on! Also, check out these new items!
Spark Shark Toss & Catch! Play catch in the pool or on land! By Melissa & Doug! Ages 4+ $14.99
Pirate Beach Kit (flag not included), Available in Flower Power too! $6.99
And here are a few weekend happenings:
Family Music Circle! Sing along to some of your favorite songs with Ted Kaye, Friendly House music circle leader extraordinaire. Pizza while it lasts, following circle time. All Ages. Friday 5:30 – 6:30pm. Friendly House, NW 26th & Thurman.
Dozer Day! According to their website, it’s just like a fair but the rides are big yellow heavy construction vehicles! Awesome! Kids get to hop in and actually drive dozers and diggers (with a trained operator at their side, of course). Plus, there are tire crawls, a Dig for Diamonds activity, and stickers to collect for your hard hat! Sat & Sun 11-4, Tickets from $5 – $10. Happening at the Cemex/Fisher Quarry in Vancouver. Details here.
MaiFest! Come and celebrate spring the German way! German food, Beer Garden, May Pole Dance, Live Music, and more!! Enter the raffle and you could win a $25 Child’s Play gift certificate, among other prizes! Saturday 10am-7pm, Free! at Oaks Amusement Park, details here.
Partial Solar Eclipse Viewing Join OMSI and the Rose City Astronomers Club for a free viewing of this special sight! Filtered solar telescopes and special viewing glasses will be available for safe use. And, don’t miss the live performance by Portland Taiko! Sunday 5pm-7pm, Free! at the east parking lot at OMSI, details here.
Hope you have the greatest weekend ever!!!
-Child’s Play