Not the Big-box Toy Stores

S.,

Kiddywampus in St. Louis Park has fun, educational, unique stuff. It is pricy, but the store is actually a non-profit organization, so all the proceeds go to charity.

http://www.kiddywampus.com/ They also leave lots of toys out for the kids to play with and have an open art studio. By watching the kids, you get a good idea of which toys are popular.

S.

Wonderment
http://www.wondermentshop.com/istar.asp?tfile=homepage.te...

Essence of Nonsense
http://www.itsimplyworks.com/essenceofnonsense/

Peapods
http://www.peapods.com/about.htm

I love all 3 of these. They are all unique, independent small businesses.
Happy shopping!

Our family absolutely loves Toy World. It's a small chain in the West metro, with three locations; Edina (near Southdale), Wayzata and Chanhassen.

They have a great selection of educational toys, Euro toys, wooden toys, great baby selection, really cool costumes, collectible/hobby stuff like Folkmanis puppets, Corolle Dolls, Rokenbok, Calico Critters, Thomas the Tank, and Playmobile to name some of their bigger lines.

You can check out their website, but keep in mind it doesn't do justice to the selection found in the actual stores.

www.toyworldtoo.com

It depends what you are looking for, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this store called "I like you". It's on 43rd and Nicollet in Mpls.
They have all artist made stuff, really cute baby t-shirts, hand knit stuffed animals...Not many toys, but some great things that would possibly be more of a keepsake.

I also like Peapods in St. Paul. They have beautiful wooden toys and cute clothes.

Good luck and yippee on the first birthday!

LakeShore toys has some great toys and educational too. They also have a very helpful staff and comparable pricing. They are located in the shopping plaza across the street from the maplewood mall. Hope this helps....I always like to spend money on toys that are also developmental/educational too (getting more bang for the buck).