What's New in May 2023
As always, we have a bunch of new stuff in the store.
We now carry Hot Wings! Each die-cast aircraft also comes with a foam piece of runway. The runways connect together like a puzzle, so each time you buy one you get a bigger and bigger runway. We also sell runway expansion sets, and a big control tower.
Choose between Blue Angel, Helicopter, Airforce One, or Biplane
Tons of board games are still on sale. We have about 20 titles at 25% off and 10 titles at 15% off. Most of them have only one copy left. A lot of the titles are strategy based, but there are a few family and kids games mixed in too. Some of them are 50% off of what you'll find on Amazon.
Titles as of May 1st include Upon a Fable, Lost Explorers, Planes, Castles of Burgundy, My Village, Skull King, Cover Your Assets, Cover Your Kingdom, K3, Mad Scientist Foundation, Subtext, Rollers Deluxe, Castellan, YumYum Island, Carcassone, Quoridor Kid, Cube Duel, Slapzi, Katamino, Nuts About Mutts, Colt Super Express, Bears & The Bees, Flipover Frog, Kitten Klash, Stick Up, and last but certainly not least Wasteland Express. More will be added as they sell. If the price is still higher than Amazon/Target/Walmat (new and in-stock) we will price match.
Groovy.
We've got a bunch of new arts & crafts. Some of the new arrivals include Diamond Dots, a variety of Macrame Kits, extremely cute DIY Miniature Houses, and Wooden Model Kits.
Click an image for a closeup.
We've got some cool space-themed playsets. You can choose between a Rocket Ship, a Rover, or a Space Capsule.
They all open up so the astronaut can ride inside.
Volleyball is back in the arcade cabinet. It's one of my favorite 2-Player games.
Next Level Graphics!
We also have a bunch of new keychains, stickers, squishy things, and old-school novelties I didn't take pictures of. We'll be getting a small Pokemon Card shipment soon too. We just placed a book order with Usborne and Kane Miller, so those should be arriving soon. Once we sell through some more old stock I'd like to once again expand the book section. You really can't have too many.
That's all for now!
~David
What's New in April 2023?
I skipped March so a lot is new.
Yesterday's post was an April Fool's joke. We still have the Playcade, and some new toys are being featured. We just got a PicassoTiles shipment so our mini tiles are on display...
Magnetic buildings tiles of all varieties
We've got a Floating Bath Block Engineering Set...
STEM Engineering and Adventure House
We've still got the Rubber Band Guns on display...
Choose between a pistol and a mini Winchester rifle
And we've got a Dinosaur Gear Playset...
Collapses into a compact suitcase
We have some new Glow in the Dark Track Sets. Each set comes with a battery operated vehicle that zooms around the flexible track. You can now choose between Dinosaur, Construction, or Racing sets. When people come in looking for a gift for a 3-5 year old we almost always suggest these. They never disappoint.
Deluxe
We have a Rocket Ship Tent on display...
A giant leap for babykind
We have a bunch of new wooden puzzles and playsets for preschoolers...
Wooden Puzzles, Build-a-Bots, and Tin Tops
And we have a ton of new jigsaw puzzles for older kids and adults...
Piece counts range from 3 to 2000
New Pokemon Scarlet & Violet boosters are in. We also have a bunch of deluxe sets.
We also still have some Silver Tempest and Lost Origin left
We also have a lot of new Board Games and Books too. Tons of the old Board Games and Books are 25% off.
I really can't cover it all. There's a ton of other stuff like new plushies, NeeDoh, cap guns, playsets, diecast planes, baby and pre-school toys, and a bunch of other random stuff I'm forgetting. Come on in and check it out!
~David
Big Announcement for April 1st!
The Playcade has been a great success. Both customers and toy companies love that people can get hands-on experience with the toys we carry. But, we had throw them all in the dumpster to make room for our Adult Gaming section!
Play Slots; Win Big!
~David
We're open again!
We're back from vacation and open for business! It was so great to see family and explore a bunch of new states, but we're excited to be back at the store. We've got a TON of orders to make, but in the meantime, here's what's new...
Wooden weapons are back! We've got swords, shields, battle axes, and a couple of tridents. We're also showcasing our rubber band guns in the Playcade. Customers can test their shooting accuracy on our spinner target.
A very ferocious picture of me and a pic of the rubber band gun station
Our yarn section has been replenished! We also started carrying a few books on knitting. Sage just finished up beginner's knitting classes, and we'll find out soon if/when she's doing an intermediate class.
We have both acrylic and a wool/acrylic hybrid
We now carry a few anime figures. Right now we have Dragon Ball Super and Naruto action figures, and My Hero Academia figurine blind bags. We'll also be re-upping on Pokemon cards in March once the new sets drop.
We got some more Fanny Packs and we got some new Cat Purses.
Cute.
We now carry some very very very cute collectable figurine blind boxes. I love these things. It's been hard not buying them all for myself, but lucky for me my Mom bought a Sueno, Haki & Bobi, Heathrow, and Bebe Bird; so I got to enjoy them vicariously through her.
Sueno, Haki & Bobi, Bebe Bird, and Heathrow Hedgehog
We had Freeway on the arcade machine since November. I was going for the world record and I'm super stoked to say that I got it! I still gotta film it to make it official. Since I finally crossed off that personal goal we finally switched over the game to Fishing Derby. Players compete to catch as many fish as possible, but watch out for the hungry shark!
You can play against the computer or a friend
I rearranged the store once again. STEM, 3D puzzles, collectables figures, and visual psychedelic stuff are on the upper level. Baby and Preschool toys are on the lower level. We're going to add a couple of shelves and expand the Preschool and building toy sections soon.
I finished redoing our website. What an ordeal! There's now a whole mess of information on what we sell, store events, and a bunch of other stuff; so please check it out if you haven't.
Now that our vacation is behind us, we've been ordering a TON of new stuff. I just got an email saying our Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty order just shipped. Stay tuned!
~David
Closed Feb 6th to Feb 16th
February is the slowest month of the year, and we need a vacation!
Funky Planet will be closed from February 6th to February 16th. We'll reopen Friday February 17th.
Happy New Year!
It's 2023! Big thanks to all of our customers this holiday season! There were a lot of great record-breaking days these past two months. I'm very thrilled to say that we met our (modest) financial goals for the year, so, we'll be able to stick around for a while. 😀
We have a lot of things backordered, and a few new companies on the horizon, but I'll wait to post about them next month. In the meantime, we're having some extensive sales.
The main thing I'm working on this month is getting this website updated. It is woefully outdated! Its basic structure reflects when we first opened, and so much has changed since then. I can read HTML, but I can't really write it, so progress is slower than it could be. I did manage to add a snazzy drop down menu at the top of our website*. Within it you can find detailed info on the store and different events we're doing.
*Only computer users can see the menu bar. But mobile users have their own menus.
Speaking of events, we're planning on taking Funky Planet mobile in the form of showing up at random festivals throughout the East Metro. It's something we'd wanted to do last year, but Sage was pregnant and newborn babies are kind of demanding. Later in the year I want to get an Events Calendar up and running on this website to show where we'll be. In the meantime though, it's a blank page. 😶
Sage is starting Beginner Knitting Classes soon (the 11th and 14th). They'll be on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Call or text the store, or stop in and talk to Sage if you're interested. Also, Crafters Community Nights is still being held at the store on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month at 6pm. You don't need an appointment, you can just show up!
Lastly, we will be closed February 6th through February 16th. February was crazy slow last year, and we need a vacation.
That's all I can think to post right now. I'm gonna keep working on this website.
~David
What's New in December 2022?
Small Business Saturday was our biggest day yet! Big thanks to everyone for shopping with us.
We now carry Swivel Snaps creativity kits. As the name suggests, you swivel and snap the pieces together to make big clunky creations. The pieces are super solid. We'll be featuring them in one of the Playcades for the rest of December (or until they sell out).
Swivel Snaps are in the yellow Playcade
We also now carry Airforts. They're made out of a super light-weight material that easily velcros to a box fan. When you turn on the fan the fort inflates, and then you can climb inside! We don't have the space to have one always inflated, but we have a deflated one on display that can be blown up on demand.
We have two styles: Cabin Playhouse and Cottage Playhouse
On the lower level we have Bounce-A-Marble on display. Unlike most marble runs, this set doesn't pose a choking hazard to kids under 3. It's also super solid, so parents (and toy store owners) don't have to put it back together whenever it gets knocked over.
A very colorful photo.
Sage and I have owned a copy of Bounce Party for a year now, and now we have them for sale in the store. It's a super fun dexterity game where you race to bounce balls into a grid in the shape denoted by the card. It's on display in the tabletop/board game section this month.
A copy will cost you a whopping $9.95.
Premise: You're a chicken who has to cross a 10-lane highway
Today is the third and final 'First Fridays' of 2022. We'll be raffling off a couple of toys, and select items will be on sale. We'll also be open until 9pm. As always, participants receive a passport and collect stamps from the businesses they visit. If you get 10 stamps, you receive a $10 gift certificate from the business of your choosing!
It's a lot of fun.
Here's two photos I meant to post last month. Our newly expanded Toy Tower and our Kiddie Ride.
'57 Chevrolet Bel Air Kiddie Ride and 47 compartments filled with Stocking Stuffers
Lastly, here are our Holiday Hours...
- Christmas Eve: 10am to 4pm
- Christmas Day: Closed
- New Years Eve: 10am to 4pm
- New Years Day: Closed
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank your for your support!
~David
What's New in November 2022?
Oh man, way too much is new. We've been getting tons of shipments this past month, and we're just gonna keep on getting more. We had to rearrange the store to make room for another book display and another toy tower.
I took a bunch of updated pictures of the store, so for this month, I'm just posting those. Please stay tuned on our Facebook/Instagram for more day-to-day updates, and I hope to see you all during Black Friday and Alton's Small Business Saturday!
Goofy Novelties, Plastica Animals, Toddler Playsets, and Wooden Food
Wooden Puzzles, Wooden Train Sets, and Toddler Building Sets (Our Pranks are in the background)
Vehicle Rollmatz, Baby Toys, and one of the Book Racks.
A huge mess of plastic figurines (with special guest Gumby). Hot Wheels sized cars in the background.
Squishee Animals and Beany Animals including Cats vs. Pickles, Dogs vs. Squirls, and Sock Monkey
One of our book racks and our 1000 piece Puzzle Displays
Wooden Rubberband Guns, and a whole mess of Fidgets & Sensory Toys
Stickers, Kawaii Figurines, Stickers, Smencils, Stickers, and Stickers
The Keychain Rack, Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty, Kinetic Dough, and some Diecast Vehicles
All kinds of vehicles! You can kind of see our Placemats rack in the background left
Outdoor games, Board Games, and Tabletop Games
More Tabletop Games and Outdoor Toys.
Kids puzzles and 2000 piece puzzles. Wooden Puzzles and Speed Cubes are in the background
Some arts & crafts, Tutti Frutti modeling dough, and our yarn selection
A mix of arts & crafts and henna, and charm bracelets. Blue Q bags are in the foreground
A bunch of plush toys
More plush toys. Sticker activity books are in the background right.
The aforementioned Sticker Activity Books. Also pictured are Blo-Pens and Colorforms.
Some random crafty activities and the ever-popular Plush Crush displays
Lava Lamps, Kaleidoscope Glasses, Color Timers, Ooze Tubes, and Terrariums
Old School Stuff! Spud Guns, Stretch Armstrong, Wooly Willy, Yo-Yos, Paddleballs, etc.
I still gotta add pictures of the Toy Towers, the front display case, the Bel Air Kiddie Ride, the Playcade, our new Air Forts, and the lower display. But for now, I'm posting this.
~David