As part of a new blogger program, Borders gave me 100.00 to spend in their store. I was overwhelmed by the kindness the manager showed me. I showed up expecting them to already know I was coming and my lifeline known as my phone was accidentally left at home. So when I showed up and they looked at me like I was crazy, the manager let me use one of their computers to get on the internet. I was able to find the contact information of the PR rep that set everything up for me. We called her and everything was taken care of in seconds.
Huge thanks to the manager of the Redmond Borders; because if she had told me no, I would have either had to go all the way home or to the library to print off the information I needed. I didn’t tell my husband this story because he would have laughed at me for not taking all the information with me in a hard printed out copy.
You know, it’s hard enough to get out of the house with the kids, diapers, snacks, wallet, without forgetting my brain.
My husband’s gift was the easiest. I knew exactly what I wanted to get him and I”m not going to post it on the off chance that he takes a look at this post. He said he wants to be good since it’s his only present.
I spent the rest on the kids even though, I could have picked up a few things for other family members. I’m trying to go though my family members and make sure I have what each one needs.
Sister 1 Movies
Sister 2 Movie Theater Gift Card
Sister 3 Husband took care of it (she does read my blog so I can’t say)
Mom and Dad 1 – gave them a laptop (so they don’t get anything else, maybe a photo book)
Mom and Dad 2 – photo book,
The kids were hard because there was so much to choose from at Borders. The above photos are what you might expect before they added an entirely new toy department.
With about four aisles of toys to choose from Borders has become a toy boutique. The employees upstairs were not quite as helpful as the manager and the cashiers. I really could have used some help carrying my load downstairs to the only register. I feel like if I had been at a boutique that they would have carried all of my stuff to the register for me. It was hard to corral my kids, with my arms full, but other than that the experience was great. I mean the price difference makes carrying my own toys to the register worth the struggle.
In addition to so many name brand toys and books to choose from (all of them being learning and education aids for all ages) They have a table set up where kids can read and on the other side of the tower there was a play table for children. That is a lifeline to a mom that has to do her shopping with her children with her.
Many of the items I purchased were on sale. They had buy one get one half off of all Melissa and Doug items and their clearance was buy two get one free. So I was even more attracted to their clearance than all of the new toys they had. I came home with quite a hall of goodies. Knowing me, we’ll donate half of it. We’re going to have to empty out my closet before my surgery and figure out what is getting donated and what is going under the Christmas tree. Christmas might be upstairs in my bed this year. 
Borders was kind enough to not only pay for my shopping experience but they want to provide one for two of my readers.
To Enter:
## Required### Visit Borders Kids Toys and Games and comment back with the toy or game you remember playing with as a child and why it’s still a good choice today
optional
Follow Borders on twitter and tweet out your toy choice @borders.
Extra Entries after required:
Advertise this giveaway on any giveaway site and tell me where you advertised it. 10 Extra Entries
Subscribe to my blog
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Tweet the giveaway (every time you tweet you get an entry) Link to the giveaway please!!!
Use any of the Share options at the bottom of this post: Dig, Stumble, or fav me on Technorati (two entries for each one)
Leave a comment for every entry
The contest will run until November 30th 11:59 pm Pacific. The winner will be selected by www.random.org. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.
Would love to win this!!
When I was a kid my fav. game was the infamous Candyland. It is still just as relevant to day as it was then for kids
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I don’t remember having any of the toys from their site when I was a kid (oh, so many many years ago), but I see in your picture of the store that they have lego sets. I remember every year getting a new lego set from my aunt for Christmas. Now, she gets them for my little boys, and I think they are the most fabulous presents. They really awake the engineer in my boys, and I’m always so impressed that they are able to construct all the vehicles and buildings. I remember only being able to make towers and pyramids with my legos!! Would be great to win the gift card. Thanks for the giveaway.
Light Bright!!!
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I played Monopoly often as a child and I believe kids would enjoy it today as well. And if they resist, the parents should not give them an option, the parents stop trying to be their ‘friend’ and say “Shut up, sit down! You will play this game with us whether you like it or not!” Ahh, yes, it brings back fond memories ;P
i remember hours of fun with a natural perfumery kit–me and my sister made and used different scents. it was a great intro to measuring and blending and came with a booklet about the history and science of perfume. and i noticed a similar kit at the borders site! i think my youngest sis would enjoy this!
oh, and i still play with legos!
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The chemistry set. I remember getting one for Christmas. It was awesome! It’s great because it teaches science. Thanks for the giveaway!
legos. my parents still have them and now my nephews play with the same toys their dad and i played with when we were young.
I remember playing memory game
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I loved playing Candy Land. It was a lot of fun and still is!!
I subscribe via email.
The American Girl doll Molly. They are really good role models and nice looking dolls.
I subbed to your blog via email.
I loved my diary as a kid so the Pink Diary with Lock would be perfect
All the games have changed. We use to play checkers or just have a ball.
I played with the puppets, and my son also plays with them. You can have fun with your imagination. Thanks
We loved making paper bag puppets, and they have a wonderful kit for it!
I subscribe
I remember playing with legos and it’s still a good choice today because it inspires creativity
I played with Lincoln Logs as a child and they are still a great pick for today becasue they help with spatial awareness and creativity.
I loved playing Clue. I think it’s still a good choice because it helps to teach reasoning and logic.
I’m following you on Twitter (I’m @ThriftyJinxy).
My siblings and I played many hours of Scrabble together while growing up. It promoted family togetherness, and we are all great spellers and high achievers in the business world.
tweet http://twitter.com/ThriftyJinxy/status/6226743236
I remember making Sock Puppet as a kid, I think this is great for kids because it has them use their imagination
My favorite game as a child was Candy Land AND Chutes and Ladders; they taught the basic things like following directions, but colors, organizing, shapes and numbers. Those are fundamental lessons and building blocks for kids today! Those kinds of lessons and important information will never not be good for children.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I follow you on Twitter, @JennSweepsAlot.
Thanks again!
Tweet! http://twitter.com/JennSweepsAlot/status/6226963257
Thanks again!
I played Tinkertoys and my kids love them too. Thanks for the chance.
I follow Borders on twitter (WendiP)
Tinkertoys and Lincoln Logs Rock- and they promote creativity.
Tweet http://twitter.com/dddiva/status/6227241509
Wow. I’m so old that none of my childhood toys were on the page at Borders. I had several See-N-Say toys, which I think are fun learning toys. I enjoyed them when I was small. I also had a large collection of what I called “little animals and peoples” which were horses, farm animals, farmers, cowboys and indians, and some green Army men. I used to put the mine sweeper guy to work in the stables cleaning up after the horses.
Paperdolls were my passion andv I would even design clothes for them-using the fashions that came with them as templates. I really really loved doing that. Great giveaway.Thanks and happy holidays to you and yours.
I subscribed. I forgot to say in my previous comment that designing clothes for those paper dolls was a wonderful creative experience and just playing with them made my imagination soar. Thanks again for helping me recall a lovely but forgotten memory.
Legos because you can build anything with them
Oh, I played with Operation, The ungame, sock puppets, blankets over living room furniture. You name it! lol
I follow borders and tweeted – http://twitter.com/choochoo428/status/6228057564