Kelsey's Top Ten Green Products for Baby

It seems like almost every baby product on the market today is somehow 'green' or 'eco-friendly' and twice the price of the regular version. Great for mother nature and your baby's health, but not so great for your pocketbook! 

In a sea of 'green', it's hard to know what is truly worth your extra green. 

Here is a list of my top ten favorite eco-friendly baby products, that are well worth the added expense.

10. Kicky Pants Bamboo Newborn Gift Set  [$39.90*]

Super soft, and made from one of the most sustainable fabrics available, Bamboo! This outfit will make a great gift at your next baby shower.

9. Dandelion Busy Block  [$27.90*]

Made from organic cotton, this toy will keep any baby busy!

And a portion of the proceeds from this product will help support breast cancer research.

8. Natursutten Chill-It Teether  [$12.90*]

This teether will soothe your baby's gums while keeping mother nature happy. It is made from EVAtane (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) a material used for medical products. It is free of BPA, PVC, and Phthalates and filled with purified sterilized water.

7. Manny & Simon Wooden Step Stools  [$94.90*]

Made from sustainably harvested wood, these super cute stools will help your potty trainer reach new heights. We have one to try out in our family-friendly restroom at Kids Club!

6. Kumquat Elephant Onesie  [$28.90*]

This brand uses recycled fabric to fashionably fashion your baby. With such bold designs who can resisit?

5. aden + anais Bamboo Muslin Wraps  [$42.90*]

These swaddle blankets are super soft and made from bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource, making them a 'eco-friendly' choice over traditional cotton.

4. Robeez Organic Booties  [$25.90*]

Robeez recently added an organic line to their already impressive collection of booties for your baby.

3. Green Toys Blocks  [$24.95*]

All Green Toys products are made from 100% recycled plastic. Lightweight, durable, and green!

What could be better?

2. Manhattan Toy Natural Skwish  [$16.90*]

Curiously clutchable! Made from replenishable rubberwood and a water based non-toxic finish,

 this toy will be a favorite for years to come.

1. Feather Baby Organic Kangaroo Romper  [$45.90*]

A new line at Kids Club, these adorable organic outfits will make all the other parents on your block jealous of your beautiful bambino!


-Kelsey


* Prices subject to change

Baking Memories with the Easy Bake Oven

Memories from my childhood came flooding back, the day we got the Easy Bake Oven in the store. When I was eight, I asked Santa for an Easy Bake Oven. Sadly, on Christmas morning, I did not get my oven. Instead, I got the mixes with a note saying that I could use the 'regular oven' with my parents' help. It wasn't the same! After a few more years, asking every Christmas, I realized that I was never going to get my Easy Bake Oven.

Many years later I was blessed with a daughter. When she was eight, I asked her grandmother to buy her an Easy Bake Oven, to make up for the one that I never got. Christmas day, Jessica got her very own oven and was very excited to make treats. We assembled it, put in the light bulb, and made cookies for everyone. We had fun watching them bake by the heat of a light bulb. As time went by she continued to make treats for our family, until she eventually outgrew it. I have many fond memories creating baked goodies with her.

The Easy Bake Oven that I asked for when I was little.

The Easy Bake Oven that my daughter got when she was little.

The Easy Bake Oven that we have in the store now.

[click on images to view larger]

The Easy Bake Oven has gone through many style changes over the years. It looks a lot different than the one that I wanted when I was little, and the one that my daughter had, but still comes with the cookie mix. Create memories with your child, bake a batch of Easy Bake Oven cookies!

-Debbie

Dance, Baby, Dance!

And I thought the last caspar babypants in-store performance was crazy!

Thanks caspar babypants for a terrific show!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, to everyone that came down today to dance and sing out loud. We hope you had a lot of fun! I know we sure did. I'm so glad he sang my new favorite song 'Googly Eyes.'

We tried our hardest to keep everything on the up-and-up, clear walk ways, and make paths in and out of the store, but eventually had to give in to the chaos of it all. Good thing the fire department didn't come and shut us down!

I was able to get some insider info...

There's a new CD coming out in September!

Whoo Hoo!

We will let you know on facebook when we have the new CDs available in the store!

Be sure to 'like' Kids Club and caspar babypants on facebook for all the latest info on our events, sales, promotions, shows, funny tid-bits...!

Like Us!

Kids Club:   http://on.fb.me/k6u7Xu

caspar babypants:   http://on.fb.me/lJw6NL

Also, check out caspar babypants on the web for videos, music, and more:

http://bit.ly/lzycbJ

Confessions of a Fashionista Nana

Who said shopping for clothes with your grandkids isn't fun?

Hi! I'm Pam, or as my grandkids call me 'Nana.'

Three of my grandchildren head straight to the clothing section when we come to Kids Club! 

On my days off I love treating my grandkids to a day of shopping at Kids Club to pick out some new clothes. We carry many unique kids' clothing brands -and- thoughtfully selected groups from the major kids' clothing brands, that you won't find at other stores.

Finley (5) looks adorable in Joule with it's pretty colors and fun patterns.

Jake (10) and Tommy (8), however, want to look "cool" so they prefer Quicksilver or Billabong.

There are always great t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats that they love to try on.

(I even buy them some, most of the time!)

Finley in her new Joule outfit; sweatshirt, leggings, and sneakers.

Finley shopping for an accessory to go with her cute new top, pants, and shoes.

Tommy chooses Billabong in the 'Surfing USA' group; t-shirt, jeans, and hat.

Jake, as usual, goes for Quicksilver; new super soft slim-fit t-shirt, hat and a sweatshirt (that he is not wearing in this photo).

Looking good as they check out the toys.

Happily heading to Nana's house in their new threads.

If you need suggestions, I am full of them. I have seven grandkids that range in ages from 3 to 10.
Over the years I have bought many toys and lots of clothes from Kids Club.
So I can tell you which ones have been a big hit.

-Pam

Kids Club "Trash" is Seattle Children's Hospitals' Treasure!

At Kids Club we never let anything go to waste!

We donate anything of use that we don't need. Last month, I cleaned out my craft bins filled with goodies that I use for store events like Village Playdays and Summer Concert Series. I donated anything I didn't need anymore to the Friends of Youth craft room and Whitney Easton who will be teaching in a low income school in the Bay Area this coming fall.

So, last week, I was doing some spring cleaning in our back room and came up with a great big pile of sample and demo games and craft kits that we have no use for anymore. One of my first thoughts was Seattle Children's Hospital. I checked their website and saw that they are always in need of toys for their patients, including crafts kits and games.

How perfect! 

Two great big boxes of games and crafts for a large range of ages.

They are going to have lots of fun playing Classic Battleship 

or mixing up a batch of bath salts with Spa Science.

To donate new toys for patients or make a financial donation to 

Children's Hospital please go to their website: 

http://www.seattlechildrens.org/ways-to-help/donate/

Please note: For safety and infection control reasons, please donate only new items that are washable, nontoxic and not easily broken. We are unable to accept used toys or toys that represent violence. Please do 

not send large metal trucks or toys. Please do not wrap donations.

Greatest needs:  Fuzzy coloring posters, Small Lego sets, Brio trains (no track), Nail polish, Coloring books, Arts and crafts kits, Playing cards, Tactile toys for all ages, Disney/Pixar DVDs, PG-13 DVDs, Gift cards, Spanish, Vietnamese and Russian videos, books and music.

Can't make a donation of new toys or money? 

Donate your time, you will be glad you did! 

http://www.seattlechildrens.org/ways-to-help/volunteer/

April Village Playday

In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, we made RECYCLED PAPER with the Thames & Cosmos Recycled Paper Press Experiment Kit for our Village Playday activity.

This science kit is intended for ages 8+,
but with help from an adult it was a fun activity for children as young as 3.

I saved all of the gift wrap and tissue paper scraps left over from the presents that had been wrapped the day before, along with the sports section of the news paper that someone left behind on The Salon at Kids Club waiting bench, and cleared out the hole punches of their tiny paper dots.

I tore and cut the paper into small pieces and mixed them up in a bucket with lots of water and let the whole slurry soak over night. This gave the paper a chance to break down and the fibers to separate. The next morning it was all mushy and ready to be made into a new sheet of recycled paper.The kids had a lot of fun touching the mushy paper pulp in the water.

I helped dip the provided trays into the paper pulp and water mixture and shake the tray so that the pulp was in a relatively even layer. I placed the layer of mesh over top and let the kids use the yellow tool to press out as much water as they could. This step was very easy for the toddlers to do without help from an adult. Since it was the second to last step, it gave the children a sense of accomplishment, being able to see that they pressed the paper into it's final product.

Here it is!

A beautiful piece of recycled paper!

If I do say so myself, we made the most beautiful recycled paper I have ever seen because we started with such fun and colorful gift wrap paper. Which we just happen to have lots of left over scraps in our recycling bin everyday.

What activity do we have planned for our May Village Playday?

Something SUPER special!!!

A LIVE IN-STORE PERFORMANCE WITH CASPAR BABYPANTS!!!

Tuesday May 17th

performance will start at 10:00 a.m. sharp

Listen to music, watch videos, and read more about caspar babypants on the web here:

http://www.babypantsmusic.com/fr_home.cfm

Staff Game Night!

 Have you ever stopped by the store on a Sunday evening and seen us around a table playing games?

What were we doing? Staff Game Night!

We all get together once a month on Sunday after the store has closed and play games. We do this so that we can explain them to you in much better detail than just reading the blurb off the back of the box.

Here is what we played this week:

Dixit

2010 Spiel des Jahres Winner

(prestigious German board game award)

We all had a lot of fun with this game!

Dixit is a party game best played with 5 or 6 players, but can be played with as few as 3. The manufacturers suggested age is 8 and up, but we felt like this game might be difficult for some, not all, eight year olds. The playing time is approximately 30 minutes. Dixit is in the same vain of party games as Apples to Apples. Each player has a hand of 6 cards with different images on them. One player is the storyteller each round, and the storyteller moves clockwise around the table with each subsequent round. The storyteller chooses an image from their had and expresses the idea of the picture to the other players. The instructions for the game state that the player is to give a sentence, but we prefer the alternate rules MUCH better. We played the game such that the storyteller could express the idea of the image in any way they wanted; sentence, one word, song lyrics, movie quote, interpretive dance, and in once case a really loud scream.

 After the player has expressed the idea of their card, each of the other players much choose a card from their hand that they think could also, in some way, be described by what the storyteller just did. These cards are shuffled and displayed face up in a line for everyone to see. Each player uses their voting tokens to secretly vote for the card they think is the correct card that the storyteller was describing.

If the vote is unanimous, either all players vote for the correct card or the incorrect card, the storyteller receives no points and all other players score 2 points. The clue that was given was either too easy or too hard! The goal of the storyteller is to give just enough of a clue that some players get it, but keep it a little obscure so that it stumps some of the players. In the case that some players vote for the correct card and some vote for the incorrect card the following points are scored:

3 points for each correct vote to the storyteller

3 points for each player that votes for the correct card

1 point for the player that put down a card that receives an incorrect vote

 The game ends when the entire deck of cards has been used. The player with the most points wins!

Quelf

The card game version

This is the card game version of one of our favorite adult board games, Quelf! It is played much like the board game but simplified. This would be a better version to play if you have less time or are camping and don't want the hassle of the board and game pieces. This game is for ages 10 and up and best played as a party games with all your best buddies. The sole purpose of this game is to look like an idiot and make your friends laugh so hard they cry. A game of Quelf can take anywhere from 30 minutes to all night. 

There are 5 types of cards; Stuntz, Scatter Brainz, Roolz, Showbiz, and Quizzle. 

• Stuntz cards make you perform ridiculous acts and daredevil moves.
• Scatter Brainz cards make you choose one of two topics and everyone gives answers until no one can think of a valid one like; "Ways to get your leg out of a spring-loaded, steel bear trap" or "Brands of Lipstick"
• Roolz cards give you a crazy rule to play by for the rest of the game. Kelly had to say 'Funny, I thought farming was outlawed in that part of the country!' every time someone drew a card.
• Showbiz cards make you mime, sing, tapdance, draw, do impressions, write poetry...
• Quizzle cards are trivia questions and brain teasers. These cards must be read by another player.

Each card has 3 options and players have to announce a number, one, two, or three, before drawing a card and cannot change their mind once they have seen all three options.

Some of our favorites from Sunday night were when; Pam, our resident grandma, had to give herself a wedgie and walk around the store, Debbie had to hum a Hawaiian song and do a hula dance, and Tricia had to poke herself in the forehead with her thumb every time someone drew a card.