Support local businesses while ticking off your shopping list at these independent toy stores in Washington DC

No need to worry about shipping delays or supply chain strains when you can shop local and support businesses that give back to the communities they serve. Who doesn’t love a special gift from an extra-special store? These independent toy shops throughout Washington, DC and the surrounding suburbs have something for every kid (little to big) on your list, so you’ll be able to fill up the space under the tree with a well-curated selection of gifts.

The Best Independent Toy Stores in Washington, DC

1. Three Littles

Beautifully curated, sustainable, thoughtfully-designed children’s goods are always in stock at Three Littles. The shop, located in the Union Market district, is a place where families can find necessities and gifts. With an emphasis on items for babies through early elementary, the shop also features carefully chosen items for parents.

1260 4th St. NE
NoMa
Online: threelittles.co

2. Fairy Godmother

Serving DC since 1984, Fairy Godmother has an array of choices for kids from infant to teen and everything in between. Check out their collection of Steiff plush toys and collectables, as well as book-themed onesies for the literary lovers on your list. The store also offers craft and science kits as well as books, including some in Spanish. You'll feel as if your fairy godmother sent you here!

319 7th St. SE
Capitol Hill
Online: facebook.com

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The Best Independent Toy Stores in Virginia

3. Kinder Haus Toys

For a store with an emphasis on wooden toys and dolls you and your mom would recognize, Kinder Haus is a terrific place to shop. They sell Plan, Haba, Nilo, and RC2 wooden toys, Gund plush toys, and doll lines such as Corolle and Madame Alexander.

1220 N Fillmore St.
Arlington, VA
Online: kinderhaus.com

4. Doodlehopper

Let the delightful staff at Doodlehopper help you find the perfect gift for kiddos on your list, from infant to tween. At this Falls Church staple, you'll find a well-organized and carefully chosen selection of great toys, games, puzzles, and crafts.

234 W Broad St.
Falls Church, VA
Online: doodlehopper.com

5. Barston's Child's Play

This fun shop offers an extensive collection of toys for kids of all ages and a great arts and crafts section. Don't forget to check out their inventory of beloved miniature rubber figures—bring one home for each of your littles!

Insider Tip: Pop into Pastries by Randolph around the corner for a post-shopping coffee and Napoleon and bring home a box of tea cookies for the kids.

4510 Cherry Hill Rd.
Arlington, VA
Online: childsplaytoysandbooks.com

6. Go Bananas

Enjoy classic toys alongside the newest releases available in a curated shop! They stock everything from Brio trains for your toddler to Exploding Kittens for your Tween and a huge variety in between.

Insider Tip: Try out the "Birthday Vault" with your little one. Simply visit the store two weeks before their birthday and help them fill the birthday basket with all of the items they're wishing for. When the basket is full, Go Bananas will write your child's name on it and secure it in their Birthday Vault. The "wishes" will be held on reserve for your child—or for friends and family in search of an approved gift—up until a day after their birthday party or birthday.

42395 Ryan Rd., Unit 122
Ashburn, VA
Online: gobananastoys.com

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The Best Independent Toy Stores in Maryland

7. Fair Day's Play

In Takoma Park, this shop specializes in toys with exceptional educational value for all ages. Owner Lisa Ripkin works with customers to find toys that best match their interests and can order specific products just for you if you can’t find what you’re looking for in store.

Insider Tip: Fair Day's Play partners with Art for the People, a non-profit that brings art to communities. Check out their website to find out about upcoming crafting events!

7050 Carroll Ave.  #102
Takoma Park, MD
Online: fairdaysplay.com

8. Anglo Dutch Pools and Toys

Anglo Dutch Pools and Toys was founded in 1985 as a mom-and-pop pool maintenance store, which quickly expanded into carrying pool toys. Before long, customers wanted "land" toys, too. Today, the business carries a huge variety of toys, games, books, and puzzles. True to their roots, they also have a wonderful selection of aquatic toys and swimming necessities like goggles and suits.

5460 Westbard Ave.
Bethesda, MD
Online: anglodutchpoolsandtoys.com

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The Best Independent Toy Stores that Are Worth the Drive

9. PLAYroom

Aptly named, owner Michelle McNaughton has plenty of toys out for your kiddos to test-drive, which makes for a shopping experience that is so much more than basic browsing—you can really uncover the items your little ones will actually love. In fact, it's so interactive, you may have a hard time getting the kids to leave! With loads of unique, hard-to-find, and classic toys, the PLAYroom earns its moniker.

Insider Tip: Really having a hard time making an exit? Don't worry, you can tempt them with a horse cookie from The Upper Crust, an old fashioned bakery just around the corner. 

108 W. Washington St.
Middleburg, VA
Online: intheplayroom.com

10. The Fun Shop

This toy store opened its doors in 1956 when there was nowhere in Middleburg to buy children’s clothes or toys, The Fun Shop is chock-a-block with excellent toy and gift options. Their 6,000-square-feet of merchandise also has great gifts for the grown-ups on your list.

115 W. Washington St.
Middleburg, VA
Online: thefunshop.com

11. Dancing Bear Toys and Games

Founded with the goal of creating a happy place to spark inventive play and imagination, The Dancing Bear in Frederick is worth the drive, especially when you also visit its sister bookstore, The Curious Iguana. If you have the kids in tow, there is a little play area that keeps small hands busy.

Insider Tip: Walk up a block to N. Market St. and you'll find sweet teacher gifts at Perfect Truffle

15 E. Patrick St.
Frederick, MD
Online: dbeartoys.com

12. Curious Iguana

For an independent bookstore with an incredible children's section, head around the corner to Dancing Bear's sister store, Curious Iguana.

12 N. Market St.
Frederick, MD
Online: curiousiguana.com

It’s better late than never when it comes to getting vaccinated for the flu

If you’ve been wondering whether to get your flu shot, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends it with a resounding yes. Even though the weather is still warm and you’re probably not thinking about the flu yet, experts at both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that adults and children over six months old should get the new 2022-2023 vaccine to prevent the spread of influenza.

The CDC has released all the info you need to know about this year’s specific influenza virus strands and when you should make your appointment to get vaccinated.

CDC/Unsplash

Why should people get vaccinated against flu?

With Covid-19 dominating our lives for the past few years, its easy to see how Influenza took a backseat––but it can still be deadly. The flu leads to hospitalizations and death for thousands of people every year from complications like bacterial pneumonia and chronic health issues like diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Because every flu season is different, getting the vaccine gives everyone the best possible chance to fight the flu. Even though you may still contract the virus, vaccines have been shown to lessen the severity of symptoms and side effects which means less time missing work and school.

How do flu vaccines work?

Your body needs antibodies to help provide protection against influenza, and vaccines help them to develop as soon as two weeks after getting the jab. Seasonal flu vaccines are specifically designed to fight certain flu strands projected to be the most common in the U.S and fight against four viruses: an influenza A(H1N1) virus, an influenza A(H3N2) virus, and two influenza B viruses.

When should I get vaccinated?

Don’t wait until your friends and family start dropping like flies from the flu. September and October are great times to get vaccinated for anyone six months and older. Most flu vaccines will become available starting in September, and while you shouldn’t wait until the season is in full force, even getting vaccinated in November and later is a good choice. With flu season peaking in February, the earlier you can protect yourself, the better.

Adults 65 years and older should not get vaccinated too early, to ensure proper protection during the entire flu season. On the flip side, children can get vaccinated as early as July or August. If you’re pregnant, be sure to check with your physical on getting immunized during your third trimester.

Why do I need a flu vaccine every year?

As mentioned above, each flu season is unique and annual vaccines are developed to combat the specific strands prevalent that year. Getting a flu shot every year also offers protection for waning immunization from the year prior.

Does flu vaccine work right away?

Immunization reaches optimal protection levels two weeks after vaccination. This is why it’s of utmost importance to get your flu shot before everyone in your community starts spreading the virus.

 

You can read more about this year’s influenza season and vaccines on the CDC website.

When it comes to St. Patrick’s Day foods, ravioli probably isn’t the first one that comes to mind. But at Costco, you can get this Italian fave-turned Irish treat in fabulously festive shamrock shapes!

This isn’t the first time the warehouse club has brought their loyal members holiday happiness in the form of pasta perfection. Costco celebrated Valentine’s Day with red heart-shaped ravioli and Halloween with bat-shaped pasta, too. Now Nuovo Pasta, the makers of creative carbs, is bringing us a five-cheese green shamrock St. Patrick’s Day treat.

So what can you expect from Nuovo’s shamrock-shaped ravioli? The pasta product includes imported Irish aged cheddar, shredded mozzarella, creamy white cheddar, velvet ricotta and parmesan cheese. Turn the pasta’s package over and you’ll find a special surprise—a recipe for an Irish vodka sauce.

In addition to the savory sauce recipe, we happen to love the fun green and white ravioli that we hope to all leprechauns will finally get our kids to eat an entire meal.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Camw5zuKxvE/

The St. Patrick’s day-themed pasta is available at Costco warehouses across the country in a two-pack of 16 oz. each for $9.99.

—Erica Loop & Karly Wood

All photos: Courtesy of Nuovo Pasta

 

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Where’s Waldo? Anywhere you go, thanks to a new book featuring the classic character!

Where’s Waldo? Awesome Adventures is a new travel-size compendium full of searches, puzzles, games and more. It’s available now to spice up your summer entertainment.

 

The 64-page book is targeted at elementary-aged children and is divided into five sections, each for a different character: Waldo, Wenda, Woof, Odlaw and Wizard Whiteboard. It’s compact and flexible, so it’s easy to slip into a pool bag or car seat to stave off boredom. Better yet, it comes with complimentary game cards and a poster, plus an elasticized closure to keep everything together.

Searching for Waldo has been a beloved family tradition for the last three decades. Martin Handford created the bespectacled, red-and-white sweater-wearing character and there are more than 75 million copies of books about Waldo printed worldwide. You can buy Where’s Waldo? Awesome Adventures for $12.99 online or at your local bookstore.

For even more Waldo fun, you can preorder Where’s Waldo? The Ultimate Watcher Collection now. The seven book set features puzzling classics with new games and searches, plus a cohesive redesign. It officially launches for hours of activity in September 2021.

—Sarah Shebek

Image courtesy of Candlewick Press

 

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Are your kiddos helping out around the house more than ever? It’s no secret that the pandemic put most families into hyper-drive when it comes to overall cleanliness. Now there’s data to back up what you’ve suspected over the past year-plus.

According to a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of SC Johnson, more than half of Americans believe the pandemic has had a positive effect on their cleaning habits. Beyond that, the data shows families are cleaning together more than they were in the pre-pandemic days.

photo: Burst via Pexels

The survey, conducted between Feb. 10, 2021 and Feb. 16, 2021, included 2,000 adult participants aged 18 and up. The findings show Americans are now spending more time than ever cleaning their homes, which equates to an average of six hours weekly!

Alan VanderMolen, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer at SC Johnson, said in a press release, “At SC Johnson, our goal is to create a healthier world by educating and enabling people on cleaning and hygiene so that they can respond to this pandemic and future public health threats.” VanderMolen added, “We are encouraged to see families are working together to improve and maintain their cleaning habits because healthier homes create healthier communities and a better world.”

Not only are they spending more time cleaning, American adults are also more satisfied with the cleanliness of their home. The poll shows a whopping nine out of 10 of people surveyed feel their efforts have paid off in cleanliness.

When it comes to kids and cleaning, 44 percent of parents say their kiddos help more to clean now than they did before the pandemic. Seventy-one percent of these parents also expect their children to keep up the cleaning efforts from now on!

—Erica Loop

 

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Spring is on the horizon—and so are Aldi’s awesome line of Easter cheese options. While you might think of neon sugar-coated chicks, marshmallow-filled chocolate bunnies, or peanut butter eggs as Easter staples, these new seasonal varieties are sure to become fast faves.

Emporium Selection has three different cheese tastes available for Aldi shoppers. Each English cheese in the Emporium Selection Easter Truckle Assortment has delish, distinctive flavor and comes in a spring-like Easter package.

What can you expect from the Emporium Selection Easter cheese line at Aldi? If you like your cheese with a hint of fruit and a subtle splash of chocolate, the Wensleydale Cheese with Raspberry and White Chocolate is a must-have. This candy-like cheese comes in a pastel egg-shaped container that’s almost as sweet as what’s inside.

As if a raspberry and white chocolate cheese wasn’t enough, the Emporium Selection line also includes a Wensleydale Imported English Cheese with Lemon and Honey. Not only is the package filled with cheesy goodness, it’s also shaped like a sunny yellow Easter chick!

If you’re a fan of cheddar, Aldi has something just for you. The Emporium Selection Aged English Cheddar is, “Smooth creamy cheese with a distinctive bite” and comes in an adorable Easter egg shape.

Find these completely cute cheese varieties (for $3.99 each) in Aldi stores nationwide starting Mar. 17.

—Erica Loop

Photos courtesy of Aldi

 

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I had wanted a daughter since literally, like, I was the age of 10. There were things inside of me that were inherently broken. Even then.

As I aged there was an ever-present fantasy script in my head that (one day) watching my husband with his daughter would somehow magically heal the broken parts inside of me. And, in all fairness it may have. But, that’s not how my story went.

When I was pregnant and learned I was having a girl—the irony was not lost on the fact that as a fatherless daughter I was (finally) having a daughter— a daughter who would also, in essence, be fatherless.

I was pretty mad at God and the Universe for a really long time. It was a dirty dirty trick I thought.

I spent most of my life feeling as if there was a missing piece. As if something was inherently wrong with me because my father didn’t want me. Side note: my mom was amazing. This has nothing to do with her.

This internal dialogue was the basis for most of my life choices. How I viewed myself. How I viewed my worth. This brokenness, unknowingly to me, dictated most of my life and my self-value. It showed up most clearly in who I dated. Who I ultimately married.

It wasn’t until my dad passed away, two months after my daughter was born and 7-months after my husband had left, that I started to realize the truth. I sat in a hospital room every day for a week watching my dad die. In those days I realized for the first time, ever, that my worth was not based on my father’s inability to be a parent. My worth was not based on his inability to be in my life. None of his demons and actions and choices had anything to do with me. Not a single one. They all had to do with him. I was just a casualty of his personal war.

It was somewhere during that time that it all made sense. I was sent a fatherless daughter to in fact heal me. At the most perfect time.

My daughter is amazing. She’s as beautiful as she is bright. Zero of her worth is defined by the fact that her father is not in her life. None. My daughter did nothing to cause someone who should love her not to.

A father. A father is someone who shows up because that is the nature of their job description. My daughter had nothing to do with her father abandoning that role. And, through watching her and walking through this with her, I realized neither did I.

The script in my mind, for most of my life, was that by watching my daughter with my husband, I was going to heal vicariously through them and their love. By watching her and her father have tea parties and play house and falling asleep together, and see them love each other so much, that it was going to fix the broken pieces inside of me. That’s not reality. And, none of that happened.

But, my daughter did in fact heal me. She stopped the cycle just by being alive.

She is the cycle breaker.

She’s beautiful. She’s smart. She’s perfectly imperfect.

And, she has taught me more in her short life than I ever could have imagined.

JACQUELINE WAXMAN, M.Ed living in New Jersey with her kids. I’m a social worker by profession and Mom by choice. I chauffeur children to their preferred destinations, feed-bathe-and-clothe my little people when we are not playing outside. Passions include writing, photography and advocacy. 

ALDI fans already know about the holiday-themed cheese shoppers can find in the dairy section. Christmas and Valentine’s Day did not disappoint. Now, with St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon, there is a new seasonal collection.

The next batch of ALDI Finds have landed and it’s all about St. Patrick’s Day. Shop from the likes of corned beef Reuben Bites, sauerkraut and shepherds pie or you can do what we do––and just head for the cheese.

Six cheeses will land on Mar. 3 at ALDI stories and at just $3.99 each, you can afford to sample each one. Check out the Emporium Selection Irish Cheese Truckle Assortment as well as the Pesto Gouda, Sage Derby and Irish Porter options below.

Aged Irish Cheddar

Irish Cheddar with Beer

 

Irish Cheddar with Whiskey

 

Pesto Gouda

Sage Derby

Irish Porter

 

Each one of these savory cheeses is a part of the ALDI Finds program so it won’t be around for long. 

—Karly Wood

All photos courtesy of ALDI

 

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To kick off 2021, Dunkin’ is adding a new on-the-go plant-based option to its menu. The brand is teaming up with America’s #1 veggie brand, MorningStar Farms, to launch the Southwest Veggie Power Breakfast Sandwich, a flavorful, meatless sandwich choice available at participating Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide for a limited time. The new sandwich follows the introduction of the Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich in 2019 and Planet Oat Oatmilk in 2020.

Southwest Veggie Power Breakfast

Dunkin’ continues to give on-the-go consumers more ways to easily make plant-based food and beverages part of their day. Following the success of last year’s Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich launch, the brand is beginning 2021 by adding another plant-based protein patty to its menu, teaming up with America’s #1 veggie brand, MorningStar Farms, to launch the new Southwest Veggie Power Breakfast Sandwich, a flavorful, meatless sandwich that doesn’t sacrifice on taste, now available for a limited time at participating Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide.

The Southwest Veggie Power Breakfast Sandwich features a MorningStar Farms Black Bean Patty packed with southwest flavors, layered with an egg white omelet filled with spinach, bell peppers, and onions, topped with aged white cheddar cheese, served on a multigrain thin. With 410 calories, 26 grams of protein, and 23 grams of whole grains, the new sandwich is the perfect on-the-go option for a new year and a new start.

For Dunkin’s most loyal guests, the brand has made it simple to start 2021 with a plant-based change of pace. Now through Jan. 26, Dunkin’ is giving its DD Perks members 2X points with purchases of the Southwest Veggie Power Breakfast Sandwich, Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, or a creamy and delicious Oatmilk Latte*.

According to Jill Nelson, Vice President, Marketing & Culinary at Dunkin’, “Dunkin’ is proud to expand our plant-based offerings with the introduction of the new Southwest Veggie Power Breakfast Sandwich to meet the needs of our guests and provide the flexitarian and vegetarian options they crave to keep running any time of day.”

“This sandwich is really exciting for MorningStar Farms because it delivers a veggie-centric option for Dunkin’ guests, giving them a great plant-based protein patty,” said Dara Schuster, Senior Director of Marketing, Plant Based Protein at Kellogg Company. “The sandwich has a kick of heat from the MorningStar Farms Black Bean Patty, offering a flavorful breakfast sandwich that packs 26 grams of protein and celebrates real recognizable ingredients. Flexitarian eating is on the rise and we’re thrilled to deliver new menu items that can satisfy everyone.” 

—Jennifer Swartvagher

All photos courtesy of Dunkin’

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