My family is just coming off of a major decluttering, from globes to old shoes, we got rid of a ton of possessions during our recent move. But we’re faced with another opportunity to declutter and that is the traditional pre-Holiday Ford Family Toy Drive where we touch every toy in the house, make a pile of toys we haven’t played with in months and donate them to a shelter in time for the Holidays. It falls in the vein of the Halloween Candy Fairy which I was just introduced to and it helps your children see outside of themselves, it also helps me do better targeted shopping.
This Holiday season I am going to follow my pattern of hyperlocal shopping where I only buy gifts from small business owners in my city, otherwise known as “keeping my Benjamins local”. I need your direction in terms of stores, museum gift shops and Holiday fairs so that I can get organized and start shopping. And yes, I do start shopping early so that I don’t do what’s referred to as “panic shop” and buy totally inappropriate gifts for people, like the cucumber I bought my mother-in-law last year – TOTALLY inappropriate!
My first stop this year was Becky & Me Toys on Grove Street in Evanston, beckyandmetoys.com. The photo above is of the stash I scored which is predominantly going to be stocking stuffers. The major score is the 4-D Chicago skyline puzzle! We got the New York City 4-D puzzle last year, which was a major hit, but this year’s Chicago version is really going to be special because my boys can actually go visit the buildings they “build”.
The service at Becky & Me was great and they have a special club where if you spend $75 or more, you get discounts and sale notifications via email. And I walked to the store, which is always a major bonus.
What else do I need to check out? When are the Holiday fairs in Evanston? Let me know at thelisadshow@gmail.com and I’ll be sure to help get the word out.
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Thank you for reading my blog "Evanston Newbie", a project that I am using to chronicle my new life in Evanston. Do you have favorite Evanston bakeries, bike shops, events that you can recommend? Send me an email at thelisadshow@gmail.com and I will post my review on this blog. -Lisa Degliantoni
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