Creativity is more than just paint and paper

It's also about puppets, experiments, and just plain imagination!  Folkmanis Puppets are fully-stocked again at both our Manhattan Beach and 144 N. Larchmont locations.  Folkmanis has come out with tons of new designs this year, as well as reissuing some of your favorites, such as the Turtleneck Turtle, Sloth, and of course, the Patchwork Rabbit who we've put to work as you can see.  Puppets are great for all ages, and I can personally testify to how well they work at calming a child down and entertaining them on a plane (I didn't have my eardrums ruptured or chair kicked once while sitting in front of a 2 year old on a 6 hour flight last year).  Folkmanis makes some of the best puppets out there, and they last for years.  Their Monarch Butterfly finger puppet is one of our best-sellers, and if you can't imagine why, you need to come in a see it in person.  It really does move like an actual butterfly with very little effort on the puppeteer's part.

And here's something that all of you parents who have to rush in everyday Saturday morning for a birthday party gift will be delighted to hear:  We just got a HUGE shipment of Klutz in!  This is one of our go-to ideas for gifts for children that you don't really know all that well but want to get them something they'll love.  I actually can't think of a time where someone has come in to return one because their child didn't love it.  They have activity/art kits for nearly every subject; Painting, paper crafts, fabric crafts, jewelry, classic games, rainy day activity books... the list goes on!  Their Chicken Socks line is perfect for 4 year olds, and the rest of the kits can easily go up to the teens (The Encyclopedia of Immaturity is a favorite for that... we had several adults sitting around reading it this weekend laughing about all of the crazy gags and illusions that the book teaches).  The kits come with a booklet that gives its reader clear and easy instructions on how to create things using items given in the kit, as well as ideas for what you can do when the supplies provided run out.  These aren't kits you toss after one use... you can use the booklets for future projects and the items you do make are worth keeping.