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Review content:
This is a review we received from Make it Better's Kelly Konrad and were so tickled, we had to share!
Here?s the backstory: Every year, I put together a little goodie bag of stuff for each my kids to celebrate the end of the school year and start of summer. Nothing too much ? a pack of baseball cards, a summer workbook to keep the noggin from turning to mush, a new paperback, and usually some interesting new toy.
In the past, I?ve always checked out Becky and Me first ? they?re close by, and have a nice selection of cute things, but to be honest, my kids are starting to outgrow their target demographic, which seems to be up to about age 8 or so - so except for the board games and Bionicles, there isn?t much in there that my two oldest go crazy over. (And to be REALLY honest? Every time I go in with my kids, I feel like they are under surveillance - I find myself telling them not to touch stuff. It?s a toy store - that?s just wrong.) So this time, I took the extra 10 minutes to drive to Northfield (watch out for Willow Rd. - UGH!!!). Children?s Gift Shop is a tightly-packed world of oohs and ahhs, full to the brim of way cool stuff for kids of all ages. The area right up by the entrance is where I focused my attention, because it?s loaded with all sorts of fun, outdoor action toys I knew my boys would gravitate toward. I decided to try a baseball that has a digital read out of how fast you threw it - it was $24.99 and more than I would usually spend on a small gift item, but I thought the boys would have a blast with it.
Sure enough, they thought it was way cool. Unfortunately, we?re either wussies or functionally illiterate because the boys and my husband had a hell of a time to get the ball to work. I stupidly had thrown away the receipt. But what the heck - I thought I could at least try the store again to see if they could show me how to use it. When I went back, Markie the owner bent over backwards to help me - I had signed up for the mailing list, so even though I didn?t have a receipt, she was able to tell I had in fact purchased the ball, and together with one of her employees, the three of us tested a number of the baseballs at the store. (Note to self: Make sure your child is paying attention when you throw a ball at him!) She even let me take two different balls home to test with the kids, with the promise I would return one, or both if I wanted a refund. I cannot say enough about the customer service - Markie is awesome!
Children?s Gift Shop is my new favorite place to go - free gift wrapping, awesome selection, and all that goofy fun stuff kids love?(and parents do too! Check out the fun July 4th jewelry!)
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