Selecting an entertaining gift for a child can be enjoyable for the adult shopper-provided that adult knows he or she is buying a gift that is both worthwhile and fun.
Child`s Play and Child`s Play Too, two specialty toy stores in St. Charles and Geneva, respectively, make such shopping easier with an interesting and diverse selection of gifts for infants through pre-teens.
From books, audio cassettes and video tapes, to arts and crafts projects, science toys and stuffed animals, these stores are stocked with quality merchandise. Two moms-who also happen to be the stores` owners-select the stock.
”We love going through the new book catalogs and hearing the new tapes. Sometimes it`s hard to limit our selections,” said Leigh Crowley, co-owner of the stores with partner Carol Mills. ”We even use my partner`s 10-year-old son as a guideline: If he likes something, we`ll give it a try.”
While referring to their shops as ”specialty toy stores,” the owners note that the majority of their business is books and tapes.
”We`re very strong on books and will even special-order titles for our customers,” Crowley said.
Choosing the right cassette tape as a gift can make long trips easier on both parents and kids, Crowley said.
”By giving the kids `Wee Sing` or Raffi or Disney tapes, for example, the parents know they will enjoy listening to the music, too. The tapes are lifesavers on car trips,” Crowley said.
While parents are shopping, youngsters can turn their attention to the store`s play area, which is complete with a little picnic table, crayons, puzzles and a train set.
After having the St. Charles store for nearly 2 1/2 years, the owners recently opened their second store right in the heart of Geneva`s shopping district.
”We don`t have as much space in the Geneva store, so we stocked it with what we thought was the best things we had in our first store,” Crowley said. Most of the merchandise in the stores is intended to fit within the $10-and-under-birthday-party range.
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Child`s Play is in Fox Island Square at 1 W. Illinois St., St. Charles;
Child`s Play Too is at 9 N. 3rd St., Geneva. Both stores are open 10 a.m-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and the St. Charles store also is open noon 4 p.m. Sunday. Call 708-584-8882 in St. Charles, 708-232-8882 in Geneva.
