Where to Buy Toys
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Cynthia's Toys
Dianne (11/99)
Cynthia's Toys (Oakland City Square)- It is not hugh like Toys R US-- it's a boutique toy store, but very unique items, including ethnically diverse items (Jewish, Af. Am, Asian, multicultural -oriented toys) as well as general toys, tapes, books. The owner is very knowledgeble and helpful ( I think she has an advanced degree (maybe a PhD) in child development or education) about the right kinds of toys for different age groups. She has helped me on many occassions to pick out the right toys, gifts etc for kids at their different ages. Very personalized service.
Only problem may be a bit of inconvenience- her hours, I believe, are M-F 10-6. Also, she is only at the store maybe one or two days a week, leaving a younger person to staff the store. But I have found her so helpful and the store so nice that I make an effort to call ahead to see when Cynthia is there and go then.
HearthSong
Bonnie (10/99)
My favorite toy store for years has been the Hearthsong Store. It started in Petaluma and now has stores in Berkeley, Sacramento, and other cities (along with a catalog). The one in Berkeley is in the 4th street shopping area, around the corner from Sur la Table. It is a *** lot *** more crowded with things than it used to be, and my kids are teenagers now, but I still go there occasionally. Recently I purchased plain wax globe candles, candle decorating wax, and a little book of instructions and examples, to give to a sunday school class. The tiny cloth witch on top of the pumpkin in my office is from Hearthsong. They have some interesting wooden toys for babys. The after-holiday sales are always great. With a Preferred Membership, you can get discounts even on the already-discounted items. Upstairs in the Berkeley store is a small but well-chosen book section that includes books for very young children. My youngest daughter and I liked to shop there for birthday party gifts and then get lunch at Betty's across the street. Invariably we would see someone we knew, which was always part of the fun.
From: Ellen (3/98)
HearthSong on 4th Street is a great toy store where playing with stuff is part of the fun of shopping there. I highly recommend not going on the weekend, too busy and parking can be a nightmare. The prices are more high end there but they usually have some great bargains in their sale section. They have a good selection of toys (crafts, handmade/wooden toys and European imports) for the preschool set and the staff is usually friendly and helpful.
La Pena
Dianne (11/99)
Another very nice, but very small, store is La Pena's store in Berkeley. Not a toy store, per se, but it has great (many inexpensive) musical instruments, books, tapes, CDs for kids and adults.
Rockridge Kids
Myriam (10/99)
Rockridge Kids has a nice selection and really excellent service. Nishan does a wonderful job advising on car seats and baby carriers. They don't carry some of the standard brand toys but often have a smaller brand that is equivalent or better. It can be disheartening for a three year old who wants a playdough barber shop or whatever, but workable.
From: Linda (4/98)
My favorite toy store wasn't even mentioned - Rockridge Kids on College Ave. They have a large selection and the staff are especially knowledgeable AND very nice!
From: Margaret (4/98)
More on toys stores--I'd like to second the recommendation of Rockridge Kids. I have found them to be very helpful and knowledgeable, and they have a good selection of both toys and child-care items. They gave me great advice when I was buying car-seats.
Mr. Mopps
Fran 10/99
are there any good big toy stores in the Oakland/Berkeley area BESIDES Toys 'r' Us? I loathe TRU because of a hideous experience I had there three Christmases ago... I made a vow never to darken their cash register with my money again, but every time I ask my friends where they got a particular toy for their baby, the answer is Toys R Us. I have a seven month old baby. Also, I prefer not to buy from catalogs or on-line because of all the packing material that ends up having to be dealt with, discarded etc. any help wld be gratefully appreciated.
Lisa
I LOVE Mr Mopps in Berkeley on Martin Luther King near Fat Apples. It may look small, but there are tons of creative toys in all price ranges. It's packed to the gills, and has a good book sections too.
Check out Mr. Mopps on Martin Luther King near Fat Apples restaurant. Also, Sweet Dreams on College near Ashby, and Rockridge Kids on College near Lawton.
Try Mr. Mopps' in Berkeley on Martin Luther King. They have a wide selection. The prices are higher than Toys R Us but they have cool stuff.
Jennifer
A great toy store/bookstore in Berekley is Mr. Mopps on Martin Luther King Way near Rose. Big selection of quality toys at reasonable prices. Not cheap but not overpriced, either. They have Fischer Price as well as higher end toys. For babies, they have the great line of toys from Lamaze (and another one, too, that I can't remember the name of -- I think it's First Years). Plus (and it's a big plus in my book), they have books.
Sweet Dreams
Randal (10/99)
Our personal favorite toy store is Sweet Dreams on College Ave. Wonderful selection of interesting toys.
From: Margaret (4/98)
Sweet Dreams on College Avenue in the Elmwood is also good and I've found their service to be friendly. Their selection of children's books and young children's toys is especially good.
Myriam (10/99)
I do like Sweet Dreams as well, and often shop there for birthday party presents.
Zany Brainy
Myriam (10/99)
For a big toy store with some standard and some not-so-standard stuff, with hours that work for a working parent, I'm afraid I make the trek out to Zany Brainy in Concord. It's a chain with relatively good prices and excellent selection of nice toys both from big manufacturers (Lego, Fisher Price, etc). They are open until 9:00.
Toy Catalogs
From: Joyce Sturm
Junkie stuff for class gift bags: Oriental Trading Company, Inc.: 1-800-228-2269
Toys: (everything from Brio's to Teletubbies)
- Back to Basics Toys: 1-800-356-5360 or http://www.backtobasicstoys.com
- Constructive Playthings: 1-800-832-0572
- Gifts for Grandkids: 1-888-472-6354
- Hand in Hand - At Play: 1-800-872-9745 or email: hinh [at] genesisdirect.com
- Hearth Song: 1-800-325-2502
- Play Fair Toys: 1-800-824-7255
- Troll Learn & Play: 1-800-247-6106
- Toys to Grow On: 1-800-542-8338
- Lakeshore Learning Materials: 1-800-421-5354 (teaching supplies, equipment, toys, etc. Also has stores in Walnut Creek and San Leandro)
We've subscribed since our child was 6 months and she's now 17 months. She's enjoyed the toys, and it's been nice not needing to decide to what purchase and even what books to buy, since we opted for the additional book package. I especially like that they all y use photographs instead of cartoons since sometimes the art for other children's books are barely intelligible. The toys are sturdy and high quality.
I wouldn't say that my kid loved every toy equally, or even that they are better at keeping her playing independently compared to other toys. However, the convenience + quality is the main draw for me personally since some of the things I've gotten from Amazon have been a little disappointing, quality wise. I'm currently on the fence with continuing my subscription since she's been in daycare for nearly half a year now, and we've gotten all our prepaid boxes.
Our child has been subscribed since she was a year old, albeit gifted from a grandparent.
It’s great…for the most part. Our child plays with about half the supplied toys while the rest eventually get played with or outright ignored.
The issue we have is space and what to do once they are well passed interest and use. We’ve thrown some out, donated. But it can become a headache. We are now at 3 years of age and I’m relaying to my parent to stop subscribing now that we are in preschool. There’s just not enough time during the week to justify the cost and constantly reorganizing to find space.
But overall they’ve been wonderful and thoughtful wooden Montessori style toys…and they look great displayed in her room!
I was initially skeptical but after seeing some of the toys at a friend’s, decided to try it. Short answer is we LOVE it! The toys are high quality, beautiful, and endlessly fun for our little one. We’ve only become more impressed as time goes on as we see how cleverly everything is designed to work together so you can keep repurposing components of old toys to use in the newer toys, and how they are designed to have more complicated uses down the line. I thought the subscription was a bit of a splurge, but overall I’ve been really happy with the value of the sets.
Two side notes: 1) at the advice of a friend, we set our kid’s age 2 months ahead (so we get the boxes a bit early). Developmentally some of the toys are way too advanced, but some he’s ready for, and it’s nice to have the option to start using them as soon as he shows interest. And 2) re your idea of passing the toys along after 3 months, keep in mind that the sets do build on each other, so you might instead want to buy a full set from a kid several years older or try to sell all yours in a few years.
Hi there! Our baby is 11 months and we’d love to buy your passdowns!
We subscribed to Lovevery for a while (from The Senser kit through The Observer kit) and liked it. I probably wouldn’t have signed up if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, but we were impressed enough to keep going even after toy stores reopened. It’s not cheap, and it’s a little Instagram-cutesy for my taste, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and the thoughtful curation of the toys.
There were always at least a couple that were of big hits with my daughter, and often it wasn’t what I would have guessed or chosen myself. Several of the toys come with suggestions for new ways to play with them as your kid grows up, and they do last, which I appreciate. I also *very much* appreciated having developmentally appropriate boxes just appear at my door when I was deep in the weeds of sleep deprivation and toddler care.
Eventually we found that too many kit items were duplicating things we already had, and it stopped being worth it for us. But if we’d been less lucky with gifts from family & friends, I could easily see still subscribing.
My in-laws subscribed to Lovevery for my first kid. It was a great way for them to gift toys without them being meaningless and cheap toys. They have held up very well and we are starting to pull them back out for my second kid. I do like that we don't have to think about buying toys! But I would say it's less worth it after about age 3ish. Their interests become more influenced by friends, school, tv, etc. So you end up buying extra toys at around 3 anyways. And then you have double toys, which I don't need for my small house.
Tiny earth toys is a great option for toy rental. They are also recommended by age/stage. Many of the toys are more authentically Montessori than lovevery, and you get to pick which toys you get. Also there is the always the option to buy anything you want to keep.