Support Your Local Store

These days, you can go online and buy anything. And if you're willing to pay a little extra, you can have it in no time...After all, you probably found a better price online anyway, right?

Over the weekend, I bought Andy a Rody Inflatable Horse. He's really too little for it, but he can just barely get his toes on the floor, which is just enough for him to bounce around like a little maniac. He's completely out of control and would just tumble off of it if I didn't keep my hands on his waist. But he loves it, so I've spent quite a bit of time this weekend doing just that.

I bought our Rody from a great toy store in Smithfield, RI called Sparks Toy & Hobby Shoppe. This is place is so much fun. They have an amazing selection (for all ages) and the owner is super friendly and helpful. In the end, I paid a little more for Rody at Sparks than if I had bought him online, but I didn't have to wait for Rody to arrive with the UPS Man. And when was the last time that Amazon.com told you why they love a product so much? When was the last time they took one out of the package so you and your child could play with it and try it out right there in the store?

I guess the point is that I'm happy to pay a little more. If we always shop on Amazon, there won't be a Sparks left. And that sounds horrible. I enjoyed bringing Andy into the store and giving him several toys to try out. Not all the toys were keepers, but my heart melted seeing the pure joy in his eyes when we found a toy he loved. We went home with what I knew he liked and would play with, which may just be the biggest money saver of all.