April 2025

The inspiration for the April window display came from my community preschool teaching days . The children, classroom volunteer and I would walk down to the small town park and put on a spring time celebration! We would all grab a colorful ribbon from a makeshift maypole, and sing our songs that we practiced in our circle times. Together, we all walked around the pole to moved our ribbons “over & under” to create a pattern of colors. The maypole, is a part of history as well as the present times for many cultures. The activity itself can represents unity, as well as the growth and gifts that springtime brings.

We also would go out on another spring day when our butterflies were all hatched and the sun was shining. I’d try to be as delicate as possible, taking the newly hatched butterflies out of their netted, classroom home, and onto the small hands of the children. The children would go around to find the “perfect spot”, and release them onto the flowering bushes that surrounded our classroom outside. Both were awesome spring time outdoor experiences, for the young and the older (I’m including myself, & my volunteer :) ), so imperfectly perfect and fun! I wanted to honor the connections to each other, the creatures, the colors and fun times with friends. I hope the display makes you smile and brings you some joy this spring.

Thank you for making my welcome into the downtown, retail community a lovely, bright, and joyful one! Your visits to the shop are a delight and I’m honored to be a toy merchant in this wonderful community that we share, with each other and the many visitors that come to enjoy our colorful, joyful small town.

With love,

Ali