I have been having pleasant dreams of selling out of stuff and restocking the store and everyone getting along splendidly.  It’s an amazing change from the usual holiday panic dreams!  I did have one anxiety dream that I had ordered far too much high-end Christmas candy, and had to face the bittersweet reality eating some leftover $600 worth of candy, both literally and monetarily.  In real life, the candy is pretty swell.

The crowning glory is a repeat winner from last year: V Chocolates, caramels and toffee. One bite will put your brain on standby and roll your eyes back into your head. Voted best candy in the store and most "Totally Worth It".  Even those who "don’t like caramel" usually love this stuff.  8 pieces to a box for $11, but we’re letting everyone try a sample for just $1.  We usually don’t carry a lot of high-end candy, but for these we will always make an exception.

Prices and availability may vary – call store for current info.

This year’s Route 29 selections are packaged with bright fun designs, sure to please the eye under the tree or at your holiday party.  Various flavored caramels will entice, blueberry licorice snowmen will intrigue, and coconut fudge-like snowballs will delight!

If your children love robots, you’re in luck.  With Christmas coming, we’ve been getting shipments left and right, and now we have even more robots for kids under 5.  Here are two:

Stack, balance, build.  These sturdy robots seem to defy gravity!  Wood Stacking Robots, $15, ages 3+

And for the tiniest kids, this friendly robot has sounds and activities: sound buttons on his belly; movable legs, arms, and neck; and lace-up doors on the back.  It’s almost like a beginning dressy bessy bot for babies.  About 8" tall.  Learn and Grow-bot, $20, ages 9months+

more robots

 Prices and availability may vary – call store for current info.

As Christmas approaches, we’re mega-stocking the shelves in our art section.  We have well-crafted art easels, made in the USA by Beka.  We have several kinds of tie-dye, paint/color by numbers, and jewelry-making kits.  We’ve expanded the coloring book section to six racks.

And we have gobs and gobs of great stuff from the Alex line.  They make just about anything you can think of and more: all the standard crayons, paints, brushes and other supplies; easels for the floor, the wall, the lap, or the car; and creative kits from sticker-making to knitting to collage.  Here are three of my favorites for tiny hands:

Finger Crayons – Ten knobby little cones with holes in the bottom, so you can grasp the knob to draw, or you can wear them like witch fingers and make lots of different color lines at the same time.  They make craft time both creative and silly.  $6, Ages 2+.

My Finger Paint – Three primary colors in three convenient dispensers, so there’s no pouring and no mess.  Washable.  $17, Ages 2+

Giant Watercolors – Eight bright color biscuits and a paintbrush in a sturdy-ish storage case.  Since the age of five, I have been royally frustrated by cheap big-brand watercolors – they’re super-drippy, they’re too washed out, and they run out in about 2 uses.  So I present to you these awesome watercolors.  They’re very rich and bold, so you can paint thick and juicy like a big fat marker.  They’re also long lasting.  One summer I went painted my way through three of these sets, but I made literally hundreds of cute works (see bag art).  Give ‘em a try.  $5, Ages 3+

Prices and availability may vary – call store for current info.