Presidentialelectionitis? We've Got The Cure!

Enter the My Favorite Toys Obama and McCain Paper Dolls. Yes, we think it's time to turn off the TV talking heads and have a little fun with Election '08! That would be Barrack on the left (naturally) and John appropriately on the right. The books feature cut-out dolls of the Senators and their families, with both formal and casual dress, including the outfits worn by the Obamas on the day Barrack announced his candidacy. There's even a cut-out of Cindy's wedding dress.

Included in each book is an Election Night Scorecard, with a listing of each state's electoral votes so you can watch the returns as you play with your paper dolls. These items from Dover Publications are available at http://www.myfavtoys.com or at the My Favorite Toys flagship bricks and mortar store at University Mall in Carbondale, IL

Stocking Up For The Holidays

We know, most likely you don't want to hear that there are 97 shopping days left until you-know-what. But as toy retailers, now begins our crazy busy time! Yesterday morning, we were excited to get our first Holiday season shipment, this one from the Toysmith Company, which supplies many of our stocking stuffers, pretend cooking sets, trucks, and bouncy balls.

Trouble was, the ambitious packing crew at Toysmith out on the West Coast wrapped a seven-foot high pallet of goodies for us, and our back door is six feet high! As shown, Suzanne had a tiny bit of trouble reaching the top carton.

All was well by day's end. The boxes made it inside and most of the product is even on our shelves. Yup, "that time of the year" is here for our ordering and receiving crews!

Play --- An Important Part Of Learning

As the kids settle in to a new school year, it's good to remember that play is an important part of the educational process!

There are fun, even exciting, ways to help our children exercise their brains and support classroom objectives. Fortunately, specialty toy manufacturers are introducing delightful toys, games and activity sets that help students have fun, acquire skills, experience success and build self-esteem. And we have many of them!

For instance, the Think Fun Company produces a series of games that help sharpen strategy and logic skills. Three that we especially like are the Rush Hour games, Pete's Pike and Ducks in a Row.

Also on the market are educational games for math review by companies like Educational Insights and Learning Resources --- games such as Addition and Subtraction Math Keyboard, the Multiplication Math Keyboard and Pizza Fraction Fun. We also have a supply of good, old-fashioned flashcards!

Beginning reading skills can be honed with Educational Insight's Phonics Activity Sets and Inside Answers, an interactive card game that helps children build three-letter words with the answer inside.

Grammar can be fun! The Go To Press! board game helps players edit headlines and improve their skills in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, verb tense and spelling.

We have a broad selection of experiments from Thames and Kosmos, one of the nation's premier science lines for elementary and high school students, as well as science projects from Scientific Explorer and Educational Insights!

Well, you get the idea. These are just a few of the "educational and fun" toys and games we feature. So support our teachers and play school with your kids by browsing http://www.myfavtoys.com/ or, if you are within driving distance of our bricks-and-mortar store at University Mall in Carbondale (IL), come on in and see us!

The Cheerleader Benders Are Finally Here!

For our Hogwild Benders fans across the country, and just in time for football season, the Bender Cheerleaders have hit the field!

That's Ashley on the right, and she's joined by Debbi (left), Hailey and, in a nod to the guys, Will! These high-spirited Benders carry a megaphone or pom-poms, and come in a megaphone tin (where they rest at night after a day of jumps and yells).

They sell on http://www.myfavtoys.com/ for a discounted price of $7.95 for their first season!

More Important Than Toys?

As much as we live and breathe our toys, games and puzzles, yes, there are some things in life a bit more urgent....and this week one if those things has been the weather.

Today, our friends in New Orleans are heading back home, even as the southeastern part of the U. S. prepares for the next storm, As always in a time of need, we are impressed with the outpouring of volunteerism and monetary aid during a time of need.

Sometimes this spirit of solidarity comes in small gestures......such as on Monday, when we were all awaiting word of Gustav's path. A young woman shopping in our Carbondale store wore a "I love N. O." tee-shirt she purchased during a mission trip her church group made to New Orleans this past year.

Or the good cheer with which one family from New Orleans seemed to be handling their evacuation. The mother in the family was a southern Illinois native, so they trekked here to stay with family. Yesterday afternoon, they shopped our store, and had a grand time with the puzzleballs, flingshot monkeys and Hello Kitty backpacks ---their visit made much lighter by the report that their house had escaped serious damage.

Of course, for many the damage report was not so good. Our best thoughts and prayers are with them and with the hundreds of volunteers who again are taking up the challenges of cleanup and rebuilding.