TEA time

This year we began carrying Tea brand clothing and have fallen in love with its exotic fabrics and reasonable price point. After doing a little digging and learning more about the company, the love has grown even deeper.  The company was founded in 2002 by two moms, Emily Meyer and Leigh Rawden who connected over their love of travel. They developed the Tea brand as a method of inspiration for adventure.

“Tea brings worldwide cultures and modern design to children's fashion.Twice each year we pack our bags, travel the globe, explore and discover, and then bring it all home in original designs that express the spirit of our adventures abroad.”

The reason behind the name Tea is to celebrate a drink that is shared
in almost every place around the world. Practices surrounding the consumption of the drink may vary,
but in most cultures, sharing a cup of soothing tea is a celebrated experience, creating a warm connection between people.

Through their clothing, these moms want to share their travels
and inspire creativity through their use of bold exotic textiles, and cheerful designs.

 We love this line and we love the message behind it.
You can’t beat its price points or the feeling it brings when you see your child in bright happy clothing.

Valentine's Day

Love is in the air at University Village as Valentine’s Day approaches. The holiday celebrates a saint who risked his life to demonstrate that love was a greater force than fear.

Saint Valentine's story began in roughly 270 CE when the Roman Empire  celebrated its

far reaching power. The army of Rome was composed of the toughest,

strongest, deadliest men that could be found.

These soldiers weren’t allowed to marry because the Empire believed marriage made men soft.

Valentine couldn’t believe that in a world filled with so much anger and violence, these men were not permitted to have just one aspect of beauty in their lives.

So, with the threat of imprisonment and possibly even death, he performed forbidden marriage ceremonies for the brave soldiers.

He even cut hearts out of parchment paper for the soldiers to take to battle to remind them of the love they had and to fight not just to stay alive but to remain victorious for the sake of love.

Whether it’s your spouse or your child, take a moment this Valentines Day to show them how much their love means to you.

The Art of Diapering

To reuse or not to reuse? That is the question that every parent struggles with when the time comes to diaper.

Reusable diapers are always associated with image of drippy, smelly, stained, pinned together nappies that our grandparents used for the free love generation of babies.

But reusable diapers have come so far!

I will even admit that when I first started at Kids Club and was being trained on the diapers we carried I didn’t realize until I opened one that it was a reusable diaper.

We carry the BumGenius line;

no pins, cute colored diaper covers, and they are just so soft and plush.

When expecting parents come in they usually stick to questions about strollers and car seats, but just recently a couple came in full of questions, some of which being about the differences between disposable and reusable diapers.

So I did some research and I discovered some mind boggling statistics between these two products:

Disposable diapers may be convenient, but produce roughly 1 ton of landfill per day (theclothdiaperwhisperer.com).

A 1999 study reported on by National Geographic tested the chemicals used in disposable diapers on lab rats, and concluded that these chemicals cause asthma like symptoms; and could trigger or worsen existing asthma symptoms in infants.

In addition to health risks, families have reported an average savings of $2,500 per child when using cloth diapers versus disposable.

Reusable diapers also aid in quicker potty training because children can recognize when they are wet quicker than children who use disposable diapers.

Moreover cloth diapers do not cause diaper rash!

They are more comfortable and gentler on babies skin than their plastic counterpart.

Although there is a little more “gross” factor when using cloth diapers, there are so many benefits, the choice is simple.

They are less expensive in the long run, more comfortable for your child, environmentally friendly, and help with potty training; plus they now make flusahble liners to minimize mess!

Come check out the award winning BumGenius brand at Kid’s Club!

Enter...If You Dare

Halloween has always been my absolute favorite holiday. I love fall, the changing colors of the leaves, the crispness of the air, the cozy sweaters and scarves, everything! To top it off, fall includes a day in which you get to dress up as anything you want and collect bucketfuls of candy. How could it get any better?

Well guess what ladies and gentleman, Halloween is here (and it’s early!) We have just received our Halloween goodies at Kids Club; everything from decorations to costumes. I personally have already purchased a pen that looks like the finger of a zombie, little spider earrings, and a zombie who’s brains pop out when squeezed!

Our costumes are pretty awesome too! We have a huge selection this year; everything from Spiderman to Cinderella, Dorothy to Woody, and everything in between.

This year at the store, we have decided to be the Avengers! So far we have Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Nick Fury. Last year we did Alice and Wonderland so it’ll be fun to mix it up and be superheroes!

A Night At The Toy Store

Once a month the staff gets together and has a night of fun in the empty store. Sometimes we do crafts sometimes we play outside, but usually we have game night. Last Sunday we played three games; Munchkin, Speedeebee, and Skateboard Madness.

Munchkin is a game near and dear to my heart. It is a game of conquest and destruction for ages 10 and up (my friends and I play it regularly so it’s great for twenty-somethings too!).

Basically, you are in a dungeon, and you need to open doors and fight whatever is lurking behind them. Every time you defeat a monster, you go up a level (everyone begins at level one) and the first person to reach level ten wins!

The game is full of humor, which makes it all the more fun. Instead of battling your average dragons you fight wannabe vampires and potted plants, its fantastic!

Munchkin, ages 10+, 2-6 players with the basic set, but boosters and expansions are available and it’s great with big groups!

The second game we played is called Speedeebee which is a great word game from the makers of Spot it. The game is composed of cards with directions and 4 different colored dice with letters. The youngest person starts the game by drawing a card and choosing a prompt.

The prompts say something like name a word that contains the red letter but none of the others or name a word that uses the green letter twice, etc. The youngest person then rolls the dice as the card instructs. Then it’s a race between all the players to name a word that fits the prompt.

The first person to shout out a perfect word gets the card and is the next person to read. At the end of the game the person with the most cards wins.

Ages 8+ , 2-6 players, great for working on spelling and vocabulary.

Finally we played Skateboard Madness which is a totally radical game that plays like a skateboard themed monopoly.

Instead of buying property you lay down tricks and answer trivia in hopes to get sponsors and pros to support you, the person who can roll the most points with the help of the sponsors’ dice wins.

Ages is 6+, however we would recommend this game for older kids, maybe 8+; the set up is a little time consuming. Its great for kids and parents who love skateboarding.

A Weekend Outside

Yard sales have always been a favorite summer pastime of mine;

something about the tables filled

with trinkets and treasure always seems to bring the sun out.

When I first started working at Kids Club, I was pleased to learn that

University Village not only has a market style summertime

shopping experience, the items are also ON SALE!

What a better way to spend the day than in the

sun finding those items you’ve yearned for all year at half the price.

Don’t miss our side walk sale,

it only runs for four days with a discount increase each day at Kids Club.

Side walk sale starts

Thursday June 14 and runs until Sunday June 17.

Do-it-yourself: Jumbo Angry Birds Game!

Can't get enough Angry Birds?

Try this fun and easy do-it-yourself Jumbo Angry Birds game at home!

Here is what you need:

1 Set of Melissa & Doug Cardboard Bricks

3  Plush Pigs

5 Plush Angry Birds

Stack up your jumbo bricks however you would like. Make em' tall, make em' small! You don't have to just use bricks, you could also use some plastic cups from home, or Duplo Legos, or... anything un-breakable really! Once you have a nice stack, add your pigs. Grab a few birds, stand back, take aim, AND THROW!

[Direct Hit!]

[Pigs Down!]

[Win! Whoo Hoo!]

We have all your favorite Angry Birds plush in-stock now at Kids Club, but it won't last long! Declare your LOVE of Angry Birds to the world with a backpack clip!