For those looking for a unique and educational gift idea for a little one, Apple Blossom Baby in Chico has rolled out its new Toy Tester program just in time for the holiday season.
Apple Blossom Baby, owned by Darci and James Crossin, is a family-run business that offers quality resale items, locally made goods, and practical parenting classes.
The Toy Tester program, launched in October, has the option of two subscription levels. The “Peck of Play” is designed for the smaller family or those with younger children while the “Bushel of Fun” is ideal for larger families or those who have children with a broader age range. The Toy Tester program is credit-based, and the number of credits is dependent upon the subscription chosen. “Peck of Play” costs $20 per month and comes with four credits. “Bushel of Fun” is $40 and comes with nine credits.
Each toy in the monthly subscription comes with a Fun Facts sheet, explains Darci, including “a card that talks about easy extension activities you can do to extend learning without having to get a lot of additional supplies.” Darci, who has an educational background in child development, says that she is very excited about the new program which has taken about three years from concept to fruition. While the monthly tester packs currently offer toys that are appropriate for an age range of six months to five years, Darci says that they are hoping to eventually expand the tester subscriptions to accommodate older children and those families who homeschool.
How It Works:
When a family signs up for the program, they receive their monthly tester package and have 30 days to play with the toys.
After the 30 days are up, if they don’t want to part with a toy or toys in the package, they can choose to keep them by buying them at a discounted rate. Whatever toys they decide to return are then brought back to the store.
When returning the toys, the family can look through an ever-expanding catalog and choose new toys to check out.
Toys that are available for the subscriptions are generally worth one to four credits each, so the number of toys that families can check out depends on the number of credits that come with their subscription.
Families can return and check out new toys before the 30 days are up. For example, if a child loses interest quickly in a toy, they may swap it out sooner, or some families may opt for weekly exchanges.
Families can also save money on the subscriptions by opting to pay for 3, 6, or 12 months at a time.
The Toy Tester subscription has many benefits. “The bulk of toys we launched with are good, solid, educational toys,” says Darci. Also, since every parent knows the struggle of picking up toy clutter on a regular basis, she points out that this “a really good program for people who are trying to minimize their collection of toys.”
Gift subscriptions are also available. Darci believes that the subscriptions would be ideal for grandparents to gift to their grandchildren or to use as a means of having a “consistent selection of toys that are age-appropriate” for when the grandkids come to visit.
The Toy Tester program is only available through the store location. Apple Blossom Baby is not shipping test toys currently.
Apple Blossom Baby has its storefront in Chico at 977 East Avenue, #90. (530) 345-1617. http://www.appleblossombaby.com
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