Happy New Year! We hope you all enjoyed the holidays with your families. We sure did!
We are very excited to announce our first MoCommunity Toy Swap. Have you been to a toy swap before ? How’d it go ? DId you leave with something your child loved? We would love to hear your thoughts!
Here are the details of our swap:
MoCommunity Toy Swap
Saturday, January 15, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
The cost to participate in this event is $5 per person.
Light refreshments will be served.
Non-mobiles babies welcome.
Register now by clicking here!
- Please bring toys appropriate for kids aged birth to 5 years old.
- Each person may swap 5 toys.
- When you arrive and drop off your toys your name and the number of toys you have brought will be recorded on a ticket. All tickets will be put into a barrel and drawn out one at a time (as quickly as possible) and this will determine the order in which participants get to select toys. Only 8 participants will be in our Green Room for swapping at a time. We’ll have light refreshments in the Shop for those who are waiting (so come together and enjoy chatting with each other!).
- All toys must be new or gently used in good working condition, with all pieces. Small pieces must be enclosed in a cloth or plastic bag (and be well-labeled).
- Toys must be clean and not included in any recall (to check if they have been recalled, please see www.cpsc.gov). This is an honor-based event. We expect that everyone will have checked on safety recalls before submitting items.
- Peaceful toys only (i.e. no war-related toys, guns etc.).
- No books this time around.
- Keep in mind this is a sharing event. Your swap may not be the exact same monetary value as the toy you brought but you may leave with something your child will love even more!
- If more than one adult wants the same toy: See if you have a toy you could trade for it. Try being kind and letting the other person have it. If all else fails, see a MoCo Momma for a coin-toss tiebreaker.
- This is a one-to-one swap. In other words, if you bring in 3 items you can exchange them for three other items. If you bring in items but don’t see anything you would like to take, you will still be expected to leave your items for donation. Participants may not return for items after the swap. That said, we ask that you keep this in mind when selecting items to bring.
- All leftover toys will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation.
*** This is our first time hosting this type of event we ask for your patience and understanding****
Giveaway!
In an effort to get some ideas of what people plan to bring and what people are looking for we have a lovely giveaway for the top 3 comments.
Please let us know, what will you bring to the swap? What would you like to see a the swap?
Winners will be announced this Friday! Goodluck!
I’m so bummed that we will be away that weekend. I think the toy swap is an awesome idea and we would have loved to participate.
I can’t go to the swap, so I will be bringing nothing. However, I wanted to share an idea for future swaps. I told my husband all about it and this was actually his idea.
Each person should bring one extra toy to the swap. This way, the people who go last will still have a lot of toys to choose from. Plus, at the end of the swapy, there will be lots of toys leftover for donating.
I live Lauralynn’s (well, Drew’s) idea!
I like Drew’s idea too… I wish we could come but we won’t be around for the swap either!!!
Thanks for the comments ladies!
What a fabulous idea! I will be there with toys to swap. My son has so many that he doesn’t play with anymore! Anything Caillou, Little Einsteins, and Cars. Caillou is so hard to find! Let’s have some fun.
What a great idea! I was not able to attend this one but maybe next time. I have plenty of toys my son has grown tired of and I would love to share these with others!
Not sure if I can come yet, so I haven’t picked out things to bring. I would probably bring some dolls, puzzles and toddler trucks. I would like to find some “new-to-us” puzzles and maybe something for our new baby coming later this winter.
Shannon, Maisy and Angelina Ballerina are the only licensed characters we have in our house, but I’ll send a note to a friend who might have some of what you’re looking for.
This si a great idea! I hope there is another as I will be moving back to Masschusetts on that day.
One thing I do find odd is this is a toy swap, toys that children use, yet I can’t bring my child with me?? I’d like him there so he can pick out what he’d like.
Thanks for your thoughts Aislinn.
We have found that many people that have had these swaps before advocate not bringing children as it can be difficult for a variety of reasons. Many children have a hard time letting go of toys that are being given to swap. Also, the events can turn into a play event, which given the time frame, can hinder the process for other waiting swappers. We ask that people only bring non-mobile babies to keep the flow going and so that people have time to try toys that might be great for their children at home 🙂