Holiday Gift Guide Part One: Toddler Toys

This year, we've created handy gift guides with our best toy suggestions for different age groups at various price points. Ask for one in the store or browse our website for more gift ideas.

Part One in this series: Toddler Toys

From the age of 12 months up until 2 or 2 1/2 years old, toddlers are learning how to move their bodies through the world. Crawling, walking, pushing, pulling, jumping, balancing and running are all skills that toddler are learning. Toddlers also need to exercise their boundless energy, and a good toy can help a lot.

Some of our favorite gross motor toddler toys include the Rody Riding Horse (we recommend this with supervised play at this age), Papa Don's Rainbow Push Toy, The Hape Scoot Around, Wheely Bugs, and the Plan Toys Pull Along Snail, all of which will delight an active toddler.

Toddlers are also learning to hone their fine motor skills while developing their imaginations. Ball run toys like the Switchback Racetrack, pounding toys like Plan Toy's Punch and Drop, and building toys like Haba Fantasy Blocks are all great for developing hand eye coordination while also encouraging imaginative play.

Also, be on the lookout for toys that will grow with your toddler. Folkmanis Puppets, for example, are a lot of fun for younger kids when grownups use the puppets, but will also be used by older kids to create their own stories. Likewise, Green Toys vehicles are great for a toddler to push around, but will also make a perfect sand box toy for a 5 year old. And BEKA Maple Unit Blocks are perfect for making towers with toddlers and awesome for making bridges and castles with 4 year olds.

Check our our complete list of Toddler gift ideas on our website. Or, better yet, stop in to the store!

Wrap Anything @ Our Extreme Gift Wrap Event December 7, Benefiting the Childbirth Collective

On Saturday, December 7, our neighborhood of St. Anthony Park will bring out its Holiday finest! Shops and restaurants up and down Como and Raymond Avenues will be offering a wide variety of holiday cheer!

For our part, our professional gift wrappers (Millie and Dan, mostly) will wrap any present purchased anywhere for a $2 donation to the Childbirth Collective, a fabulous local support group for new and expecting women and families. Bring what you've got and see how quick we can wrap it! (After 14 years of offering free in-store gift wrapping, we're pretty darn quick!)

12/4 UPDATE: We'll be matching all gift wrapping donations up to $300! Now that's twice as sweet!

 So, whether you're gifting tools, chocolates, or books, get them wrapped all at once and help out a great cause! (Note: Really big stuff may cost more.) And, of course, there will be free hot cider!

But wait, there's more! 

December 7 in Saint Anthony Park

Visit our neighbors for reindeer-pulled sleigh rides and Santa photo-ops at Sunrise Banks, cookie decorating at Tim and Tom’s Speedy Market, a wine tasting at the Little Wine Shoppe, and an artisan market at Milton Square. Bungalow Pottery will host candle-dipping for children with Gibbs Museum and Micawber’s Books will donate a portion of the day’s sales to St. Anthony Park Elementary School. Muffuletta will be serving mulled wine on the deck, Complexions on Carter will have skincare specials and sell jewelry and stationery from local artists, and Lady Elegant’s Tea Room will offer discounts in the shop. If you spend $5 or more at Finnish Bistro you get a free chocolate chip cookie.

And if you need a festive cap to the day’s festivities, Santa will be on hand at 5:15 p.m. Saturday to light the tree in Milton Square. Visit the Park Bugle for the full schedule of the day's events.

Here's a few great Holiday gift ideas:

Rock N Ride Wooden Rocking Horse by Hape	YOXO To Go 3D Construction Toy Kit Made in MN	Lela Lassig Natural Rubber Squeaky Teething Toy
Rainbow Rolling Wheel Rattle by Grimm's	My First Ball Track Set by Haba - Wooden Ball Run	Hape Pound and Tap Bench

Small Business Saturday @ Peapods and our Saint Anthony Park Neighbors

For Small Business Saturday, most of our Black Friday specials are still available, including:

• BUY 1 GET 1 FREE Nuchi Wooden Train Sets & Accessories (compatible with Brio, Thomas, Plan, etc.) 
• 40% off select bumGenius Flip Hook & Loop One-Size Diaper Covers
• 35% off select Planetwise Diaper Wetbags
• 40% off select Kathe Kruse soft baby toys
• 50% off  JuJuBe Mighty Be Totes
• $40 off our remaining stock of ERGO Baby Carriers
• 50% Off Urban Baby Bonnets
• BUY ONE GET 2 FREE World Music for Little Ears Lullaby CDs by Ellipsis Arts
• 50% off BabyBlamtasic "BootyBlam" All-Natural Diaper Cream Sticks
• 50% off select Swaddle Designs Swaddling Blankets & Burpies 

Plus, it's a great day to visit all the other wonderful indie shops and restaraunts in our little neighborhood, including The Bibelot Shops, Micawber's Books, Colossal Cafe, Muffaletta's, Tim and Tom's Speedy Market The Little Wine Shoppe, and The Finnish Bistro. Lots of reasons to shop small today!

Peapods Toys Highlighted in the 2013 Mothering Magazine Natural Toy Guide

Minnesota Toymakers Featured as Top Picks!

Thanks so much to Mothering Magazine for featuring Peapods Toys in their 2013 Natural Toy Guide and for naming our YOXO Original YOXOBot and our Wooden Fox Teether as "Top Picks"! We're particularly pleased because both toys are made in Minnesota.

YOXOBot Construction Toy

Here's what Mothering had to say about the YOXOBot: 

“This is by far one of the coolest toys to hit the market in a long while...Designed to get kids building in seconds, just pair the smartly designed YOXO links and cores with everyday household items and your kids will be recycling old cereal boxes and toilet paper tubes into spaceships and fairy houses in no time. Recycled and recyclable content, soy-based inks and water-based coating make this toy a truly eco-friendly option at an outstanding price."

Our Wooden Fox Teether

 Mothering also praised our hardwood Fox Teether, which is made in Minneapolis by Oak Tree Arts. We loved this toy the moment we first touched it, so we agree wholeheartedly:

"You won't find another baby teether quite like this one! With a one of a kind cherry wood fox for chewing on and a soft, crinkly tail to pull, your little one will be delighted."

 We first started reading Mothering almost 18 years ago when Abby was a baby, so we really appreciate all that they have done to promote attachment parenting through the years.

Also in this year's guide are our Camden Rose Wooden Octagon Sorter and our Edible Finger Paints.

In addition to the toys we asked them to review, Mothering also highlighted several toys from The Original Tree Swing, another wonderful Minnesota toymaker which we are proud to feature. Their craft kits and their Wooden Waldorf Tree House also won "Top Picks" awards.

"What a fantastic idea--a tree house for dolls! A rope ladder, wooden basket, tree swing and lots of stairs make this doll house totally unique and perfect for play with standard dollhouse dolls, fairies, gnomes and so much more."

Announcing Our 2013 Black Friday Sale: Let's Make Black Friday Less Blechy!

Big Box retails would like you to spend Thanksgiving and Black Friday fighting crowds and shuffling through freezing cold parking lots. Once again, we say phooey to that! Celebrate Thanksgiving with your family, sleep in on Friday, and then shop your locally-owned indie stores in style. At Peapods, we say let's make Black Friday fun! We're local, fierce and independent. Hear us roar!  Our Black Friday celebration is bigger and better than ever! No need to get up early—just stop by our store during normal hours for a cup of hot cider. And, with a purchase over $30, you can draw an instant-win prize from our Black Friday fishbowl. You’ll draw one of the following fabulous prizes: $5 Peapods Gift Card $20 Peapods Gift Card (at least 4 available in the fish bowl!) $50 Peapods Gift Card (one of these in the bowl) $200 Session Certificate to Apricot Soiree Photography A Wooden Radio Flyer Town & Country Wagon ($150 value) A Tokidoki JuJuBe HoboBe Bag ($110 value) A Haba Wooden Ball Run ($140 value) A Green Toys Rocket Ship A Hape Pound & Tap Bench Sets of Organic Baby Legwarmers Sets of Wee Urban Onesie & Bib Gift Sets Grimm's Spiel und Holz Magnetic Mosaic Toy Plus, we'll have a bunch of great stuff on sale! BUY 1 GET 1 FREE Nuchi Wooden Train Sets & Accessories (compatible with Brio, Thomas, Plan, etc.)  40% off select bumGenius Flip Hook & Loop One-Size Diaper Covers 50% off Planetwise Swim Diapers 35% off select Planetwise Diaper Wetbags 40% off select Kathe Kruse soft baby toys 40% off select Haba baby & toddler toys 40% off our remaining stock of Mother-Ease fitted diapers 50% off  JuJuBe Mighty Be Totes $40 off our remaining stock of ERGO Baby Carriers 50% Off Urban Baby Bonnets BUY ONE GET 2 FREE World Music for Little Ears Lullaby CDs by Ellipsis Arts 50% off BabyBlamtasic "BootyBlam" All-Natural Diaper Cream Sticks 50% off select Swaddle Designs Swaddling Blankets & Burpies  BUY 1 GET 1 FREE Crocodile Creek Stainless Steel Water Bottles Rockin' Green Detergent's brand new SECRET HOLIDAY SCENT in Classic Rock will be $12.99 (Normally $17.95) But wait, there's more! Our Holiday Rewards Program is back. In fact, now it ever goes away!  All year long, our rewards program is now for everything in the store, not just cloth diapers. Earn a $20 store credit when you spend $300 on anything in the store (except for sale items and gently used cloth diapers). Existing Rewards points from cloth diaper purchases or last year's Holiday Rewards count, too! PLUS: Help families in need this Holiday season! Once again, we are collecting donations of gently used cloth diapers for BabyLove MN's diaper drive. Drop off diapers anytime through 12/22. Clean out your closet and make a difference! Finally--We wish you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving! Here's a few of our favorite new items for this Holiday Season: Green Toys Rocket Ship Made from Recycled BottlesMade in USA Wooden Waldorf Tree House by Original Tree Swing Made in MN Wood From the Hood Growth Charts Made in Minneapolis Now shipping Nationwide Xylo Roller from Janod Rail & Road Loading Wooden Train Set by Brio Wooden Toy Swords by HolzspielereiMade in Europe

Share What You Love About Saint Paul at the Peapods Minnesota Toy Fair

Why do you love St. Paul? Visit the Minnesota Toy Fair @ Peapods on 11/16 and let the world know!

In addition to the fabulous local toymakers we'll have on hand this Saturday at our Minnesota Toy Fair, we'll also be hosting the St. Paul Almanac and their wonderful chalkboard..

The Saint Paul Almanac will be here with chalkboard and camera, ready to hear stories from all ages.The photos will become part of a growing community portrait of Saint Paul storytellers. The album "365 Ways to Say I Love Saint Paul" can be found on the Saint Paul Almanac's Facebook page.

So stop by and tell the world why you love St. Paul!  The Minnesota Toy Fair is 12pm-4pm on November 16th.

Peapods Holiday Rewards Now Applies to Everything All Year Long!

Our Holiday Rewards program now goes all year long! Whether you're buying for the Hoildays or for a birthday next summer, you'll earn $20 store credit for every $300 you spend on anything in the store! There's no need to carry a card--we'll keep track of everything for you. Visit our website for all the details.

Also, you do know that we have free gift wrapping, right? We'll wrap any in-store purchase. It's quick and lovely, too!

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Also, Here's some of our toys made by Minnesota toymakers, which we're be featuring at our Minnesota Toy Fair on November 16:

YOXO Construction Toy Kit Made in St. Paul	Wooden Fox Teeting Toy Made in Minneapolis	Doodletown Wood Cars Made in Big Lake
BEKA Solid Maple Blocks Made in St. Paul	Wood From the Hood Growth Chart Made in Minneapolis	The Original Tree Swing Made in Minneapolis
Maple KEVA Planks by Mindware in Roseville	Wooden Mustache On A Stick Made in Minneapolis	BEKA Ultimate Art Easel Made in St. Paul