Kiddlestix
File this one under “coolest toy store ever.” Kiddlestix, located at 3815 S. Harvard Ave. (on the east side of the street, between I-44 and the Broken Arrow Expressway), offers a colorful profusion of toys designed to stimulate kids’ imaginations and help them learn a little something in the process.
You won’t find a selection of XBox games here. Instead, you’ll find umpteen different kinds of Sea-Monkeys, scores of hand and finger puppets that look more like art than toys, craft kits, erector sets, ant farms, toy trains, bead tables, lifelike stuffed animals, dolls (and all the pretty pink furniture a baby doll and her owner could ever want), dress-up clothes, jewelry boxes with dancing ballerinas inside, wind-up toys, dinosaurs, magic tricks, board games, soap crayons, tub toys, Noah’s arks, inflatable bugs, knights in shining armor, pirate ships, toy pianos, child-sized acoustic guitars, tooth-shaped treasure boxes for exchanges with the tooth fairy, pretend power tools (including drills and chainsaws), hats that double as puppets, a wide assortment of baby toys, and a gift-wrap table where the employees will render your purchases birthday-party-ready.
I practically had to drag my husband out of the store after he found himself preoccupied with an elaborate display of remote-control construction vehicles that load plastic beads onto a Rube Goldberg-type contraption.
Prices are a little steep on some items (I spent the better end of $50 on a hand puppet for my nephew a few weeks ago, but it was just too beautiful to pass up), but the quality is good, the service is great, and many of the toys are so hard to find, so educationally valuable, or just so flat-out cool that they’re well worth the expense.
I could go on, but I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
(This little ostrich was so cute, I couldn’t resist buying him for my nephew.)
Kiddlestix is open 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Grades:
Value: A-
Service: A
Convenience: B
Products: A+
Overall: A
Kiddlestix has been our favorite toy store for years. Skip the malls and discount stores. We can almost ALWAYS find a great selection for our kids and their friends - age baby - 10-ish. The only “bargains” are found on an interesting clearance rack. Other toys are normally priced - with some pricier items mixed in. Great games, building toys, puzzles, toddler toys, Taggies, Crafts, little plastic animals and gorgeous plush toys. They don’t have space or time for junk. It is a good place to find the Oppenheimer and Dr. Mom award winning toys. Just allow some time - especially if your own children are with you. The Harvard store is just North of the Sonic and Gardening Store. This is the place to find children’s presents quickly and painlessly. It doesn’t even scare the Dad’s away. Only minuses- be sure of the shopping hours. The windows are so dark, they are often open- but look closed.
garden magazines
I just came upon this website via the blogging baby website. Interesting post. This could have easily been written by me (with just a change or two). Funny to read another\’s story that is so similar to my own.
[...] and I went to Kiddlestix — an awesome indie toy store here in Tulsa — to buy a few toys for the rugrats on my [...]