Sparkles and Sweets in Downtown Staunton – Friday, November 6

We’re getting ready for one of our favorite annual events — Sparkles & Sweets. It’s coming up this Friday, November 6, from 6 to 9PM. Nearly all of downtown Staunton’s shops, galleries and restaurants are participating. It’s an opportunity for you to enjoy free sparkling beverages and delicious treats at all the stores, take advantage of food and drink specials at the restaurants, and meet up with your friends and family to see everything that downtown has to offer. A lot of folks use this as a kick-off to their holiday shopping — we’ve got our Christmas and Hanukkah wrapping paper ready to go, so bring it on! This year there will be street entertainment, too, including live music and … FIRE JUGGLING. Yes! Any questions? Give us a call at 540-886-3516.

Trick or Treat in downtown Staunton tomorrow – Happy Halloween!

Don’t forget! We’re celebrating Halloween with a trick-or-treat in downtown Staunton tomorrow morning. It all starts at the Wharf parking lot at 9AM, where you can decorate a treat bag. Then go from store to store between 10AM and noon to collect your Halloween treats. See you tomorrow morning!

Cupcaaaaakes! At Pufferbellies.

This was the scene yesterday morning when we unpacked our first shipment of Melissa & Doug cupcakes. (Or as we call them, CUPCAAAAAKES!!)

Halloween Parade tomorrow! BUT WHAT IF IT RAINS?!

OK, so it’s calling for rain tomorrow evening. We really are hoping that it will hold off so that our Halloween Parade can go on … but what if it doesn’t? Here’s the plan:

If it’s just sprinkling, drizzling, or showering, the Parade WILL GO ON. Bring your umbrellas! If it’s pouring down rain, we will postpone the Parade until next Friday, October 30th. We’ll update this blog and our Facebook page to let you know what’s happening. Stay tuned! And hope for clear skies.

–Erin B.

Doinkit Darts – ASTRA Best Toys for Kids at Pufferbellies

Here’s another of our favorite toys  — Doinkit Darts from Marky Sparky make a great holiday gift, and they’re on the 2009 ASTRA Best Toys for Kids list, too!

Costume Parade at Pufferbellies – Friday, October 23

Big news! Pufferbellies is hosting our first annual Costume Parade on Friday, October 23 at 6:30PM. We’ll meet at Pufferbellies, parade around the block, then come back to Pufferbellies for a snack and a spooky story. Wear your costume, and feel free to bring a noise maker to use during the parade. All kids must be accompanied by a grown-up. What a fun way to celebrate Halloween in downtown Staunton, Virginia!

Super-bouncy helium balls at Pufferbellies

This weekend, we brought in a special assistant (OK, my Dad) to help us test out two new bouncy balls. We pitted a $4.99 Galaxy Ball against a $7.99 Diamond Air Ball. Check the video to see the winner!

-Erin B.

Halloween in Downtown Staunton

It’s almost time for one of our favorite annual events — Trick or Treat in Downtown Staunton. This year it will be better than ever, because Halloween falls on a Saturday! So come on Downtown on Saturday, October 31 for tricks, treats, and lots of fun. Don’t forget to wear your costume!

Here’s the schedule:

9AM – 11AM: Create a trick-or-treat bag and meet the SDDA witch outside Children’s Art Network on the Wharf. Register for prizes and get your photo taken, too.

10AM – 12noon: Visit participating stores all around Downtown for free candy. Does it get any better than that?

(PS — Pufferbellies will be hosting our own spooky Halloween party on Friday, October 23. Stay tuned for all the details.)

Crayon Rocks at Pufferbellies

Today we got a shipment of something very cool — Crayon Rocks. Our friend and customer Deanna told us about these — they’re chunky crayons made of soy wax that are perfect for developing the kind of fine motor control that kids need to write with pencils. They’re made in the USA, and are free of petroleum products. We like ‘em! Take a look:

Game Night schedule

So, hey! We had great fun at Game Night last Friday. Erin S. and Emily taught us all how to play Backseat Drawing Jr., a fantastic family game that’s featured in our holiday catalog (watch your mailbox this week — the catalog is on the way).

We’ll be hosting our next Game Night on Friday, November 6th, from 6PM to 8PM. It’ll be pretty rollicking, since Erin S. is planning to feature Capture the Gag, one of her very favorite active games. The November Game Night will be the last one for 2009, though — in December, Pufferbellies will be playing host to a very special guest on Friday evenings. A little hint: our special guest will be flying in from way up north via an unconventional mode of transportation. Stay tuned for more details.

-Erin B.