Play

We closed early for the holiday! Enjoy the day with family and friends. We are thankful for the sacrifice so many men, women & their families made for us. And we vote to protect & take care of the ones who come home and need mental health services, health care, good insurance, job skills training & more to honor them. 🇺🇸♥️

What a fun week(end) at *play! Felt like summer. We had SO much fun at the West Loop wine walk. Fresh windows & sidewalk chalk fun. Wrapped all of the things. And showcased some retro toys I’ve had on a new West Loop display! Thanks, Chicago!

I’m announcing my retirement! 🥳 ok…not quite, but we’ve got a new contender to take my place!! I mean…this is white hot advice! I love kids so much 😂 thanks for sharing your kids with us. I love that they get to grow up with a neighborhood toy shop and we get to watch them grow up! ♥️

Happy Mother’s Day! My mom’s been a mom for 56 years. She excels at it. And that doesn’t mean she did everything right. It just means I have never had a day in my life when I questioned whether or not I was deeply, unconditionally loved by her. No matter how naughty I was. Or how annoying. Or even how sassy. I’ve made dumb mistakes. Life-changing decisions. And added chaos to our family (hi 5 stores!). Through all of this I still never doubted it. She said it every day and showed it just as often. So..to all of our *play moms… remember that. All of the “advice” I see thrown at you on social media (don’t say that, say this. Don’t do that. Make sure you’re turning every interaction into some sort of learning experience. And on and on) know that. Kids don’t need perfect moms. They just need to know they’re loved deeply and unconditionally.
Have a wonderful day! We know your kids and they’re really cool, great people. And we see all you do for them & you deserve way more than just a day! Enjoy! ♥️ xoxo -*play

Teacher Appreciation Week?? It’s really too bad we don’t appreciate them every day through good pay and respect for how hard their job is and how much we ask of them.
My teachers used to use the same 2 comments on every report card. “ Conscientious and diligent.” & “Talks too much in class”. 🤷🏻‍♀️ y’all… not much has changed 😂 they put up with a lot. I mean…all I can say is:
Mr Lemanski…I’m sorry for what we put you through in Advanced Speech in the fall of 1994. 😬 Mr Marrone.. thank you for laughing when I snorted when you said you ate too much pie at Thanksgiving. 🥧 Mr Huhn …sorry to disappoint you when I told you I enrolled in Advanced Physics when you thought I was graduating. 🧪 And Frau Becker… we’re sorry for laughing when you hopped like a frog to get us to learn German. 🐸
There’s more…but I need to pace myself. ♥️😘 thanks teachers!! You really are doing amazing things! We love you!

I had the honor of attending the fundraiser tonight and talk about our partnership. I talked about my vision of making sure children throughout Chicago have access to good toys & books. About the power of play in a child’s development. And I got a little choked up crediting my sister for finding this amazing organization, thanking you—our community—for your wild generosity over the years, my parents for adding a holiday breakfast to the Dear Santa program, our team who volunteers time to wrap, and Kirsten who meticulously coordinates our programs with Hello Baby. It takes a village, friends. Thank you for being amazing villagers ♥️ 🤗
Hello Baby is an wonderful organization that provides resources, free playtime & events, and support to families in underserved areas on Chicagos Southside. It’s the first of its kind in the nation with plans to grow! We encourage you to check them out and support if you’re able.

Wrapping up the week with my work from yesterday in West Loop! I wrapped all day and got a little help from a few of the kids (see if you can find the picture with their creations & color combos 😂). Can’t I just wrap for a living?!?!?!