My Favorite Toys Welcomes Green Toys!

This convoy of cute little dump trucks, by Green Toys, USA, has arrived on the shelves of My Favorite Toys and on the pages of www.MyFavToys.com. They join a sanitation truck, a stacker toy, and a tea set now on sale at our brick-and-mortar and online stores.

Aside from the great play value in Green Toys products, they meet two of the objectives we're pursuing at My Favorite Toys --- finding "green" playthings and stocking more items made in the USA.

All Green Toys products are 100% made in the USA. To be more specific, they are produced in California, a state known for strict toy safety and environmental laws. It's cool to buy USA, but also think about this: transportation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gasses. We all know driving less is good for mother nature, but did you ever think about how many miles a toy logs before it ends up in your local store?

Their toys are truly local creations. Every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in California. Their raw materials and toys aren't shipped from overseas, which saves a lot of energy and reduces greenhouse gasses. It also guarantees your toys won't get seasick before they get to your home!

Green Toys products are tested by nationally recognized, independent, third-party labs (located, yes, in the USA.) They contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA. They are also designed without any external coatings, eliminating the fear of lead paint.

They use recycled milk containers as the main ingredient in creating our toys. Yes, the exact plastic milk jugs that you and your family drink from every day. When you finish your milk and toss the container in the recycling bin, these milk containers are collected at your curb by a local recycling company, who then sorts them from all the other types of plastic. Next, the milk containers are reprocessed into super clean fresh plastic. For you plastic geeks, the plastic material they use is called high-density polyethylene (or HDPE). This material is considered one of the safest, cleanest plastics around.

Green Toys environmental mission even extends to their packaging. They strive to minimize packaging, and all of their boxes use as little material as possible. All Green Toys products are packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties, and are 100% recyclable. So, not only are they earth-friendly and ready for your recycling bin, they are really easy to open for those little fingers just itching to get at the toys!

So come check out the Green Toy products at My Favorite Toys, University Mall, Carbondale, or at www.MyFavToys.com!

Flatwoodsey And Mij At My Favorite Toys!

Yes! The two newest darlings from Uglydoll arrived at our backdoor yesterday and are on our shelves ready for you today! Mij and Flatwoodsey wish to make your acquaintance!

But wait, there's more! Ket and Wippy are also here, and we are completely re-stocked with your favorite Uglydolls! And now we can display more Uglies with our highly attractive new Ugly displayer with a spiffy red and white striped awning!

It's Uglydoll season! Come check 'em out today at My Favorite Toys at University Mall in Carbondale or online at www.MyFavToys.com

My Favorite Toys Silly Bandz For Back To School!

By now you're probably familiar with Silly Bandz, those hard-to-explain but great fun to collect, wear, and trade rubber band bracelets.

They're are still very popular! With kids headed back to
school, they're about to get hotter!

So when grabbing those back-to-school specials, don't forget the large selection of Silly Bandz at My Favorite Toys, University Mall, Carbondale, and www.MyFavToys.com!

Suggestions For My Favorite Toys Holiday Items?

"Back in the day," Christmas in July sales were a quirky gimmick for a few retailers brazen enough to mention Christmas during the summer months.

Well, no more.

Our friends at the big box toy store (you know, the one with the big giraffe) now run a no-kidding holiday promotion during July complete with decor! And we bet that, by Labor Day, it won't be just the hobby and craft stores that will sport a full range of holiday accessories.

No, it's not Christmas yet at My Favorite Toys at University Mall in Carbondale, IL or www.MyFav Toys.com. We ARE preparing orders and planning for our best Christmas season ever! Several of our primary vendors have warned us to expect shortages this year, so we're hard at work.

Which brings us to a question for our customers: what creative, quality items would you like to see in our store this holiday season? Several of you have already given us ideas that we're pursuing. For instance we'll have the broadest selection of family board and card games anywhere in southern Illinois. Our Cardinals and Cubs section will be larger. We'll have more selections of play kitchens, and more fun stuff for older kids and adults.

Now's the time to bring us your ideas, and we'll do our best to stock those items.

So....we'll not spring Christmas on you before Labor Day, but we are doing behind the scenes work to give you a wonderful holiday season when the time comes!

"Tickle Me Freud" Comes To My Favorite Toys

We've been looking at products from that zany group, The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, for some time, and now they have joined our My Favorite Toys family at University Mall in Carbondale, IL and at www.MyFavToys.com. We have some great Freud items for Sig fans: the Tickle Me Freud plush, pictured above, Freudian Slipper houseshoes, and Sigmund and his couch as a finger puppet set!

But wait, there's more! There are coffee mugs in themes of Global Warming, Presidential Slogans, and Great Supreme Court Cases; Alice In Wonderland Alarm Clocks; Revolutionaries Puppet Sets; Van Gogh Post-It Notes; and............well, you get the idea. Fits right into the My Favorite Toys environment, don't you think?

Well, come see us soon....or hit the Unemployed Philosophers Guild tab on the homepage of www.MyFavToys.com.!!

My Favorite Toys Has Book and Plush Combos!

Today we have a baby gift idea! My Favorite Toys at University Mall in Carbondale stocks several book/plush sets parents and child will cherish as the years go by.

An example is the delightful Nutbrown Hare book, "Guess How Much I Love You" from Candlewick Press, accompanied by the bunny plush from Kids Preferred.

Or who can resist the classic "Tale of Peter Rabbit" combined with the original style Peter Rabbit plush in his blue jacket?

Other book/plush sets feature The Cat In The Hat, Babar, and Curious George.

Come in and check out these items, as well as our extensive section for newborns and toddlers

www.MyFavToys.com and My Favorite Toys Have Legos For All Ages!

At www.MyFavToys.com and My Favorite Toys, Lego sales have been on an uptick during the past year, and not just with the kids!

Did you know there is a growing community known as Adult Fans Of Lego (AFOL), estimated by Lego to be 40,000 strong worldwide and growing, as children who grew up using the construction toy have become parents themselves.

AFOL members hold conventions, organize group meetings, and buy and trade bricks. They represent the first and second generations of Lego users. Although the Danish company dates back to 1932, the plastic Lego brick did not debut in the United States until the 1960s.

So Moms and Dads, grandparents, uncles and aunts, etc --- no need to build those Lego designs behind locked doors! Check out one of our many Lego themed sets at www.MyFavToys.com. Or if you're within driving distance of our brick-and-mortar store at University Mall in Carbondale, IL, come see us there!