Thinker Toys

One of the many great things about Carmel-By-The-Sea is all the corner shops. With small blocks and lots of streets, many stores are able to have coveted corner locations with windows on two different streets. Until I started my walkabout, I was primarily a window-shopper and I have always been intrigued by Thinker Toys on the corner of San Carlos and 7^th. The San Carlos window has a huge toy Ferris wheel that is in motion when the store is open and even after hours when the Ferris wheel is stationery, it’s still a sight to behold. There are a couple of windows on the 7^th Street side of the store – one has a fun selection of colorful kites and the other window is filled from top to bottom with games like Scrabble, Sequence, Yahtzee, and Cranium.

Today I decided to take the time to go inside and spend some time wandering around and taking in the toy store atmosphere. What I noticed right away was the variety of age-appropriate toys as well as a great selection of toys to teach and stimulate the brain. The inventory is this store is engaging, thoughtful, and fun all at the same time.

While Thinker Toys is full of new and modern toys, they also have good old fashion toys that are both magical and nostalgic…marbles, jack-in-the-boxes, building blocks, toy horses, stuffed animals, barrel of monkeys, board games, puzzles, and so much more. There is also a toy train chugging around a train track suspended from the ceiling  - I was watching the train for awhile and noticed the sign on the track, “I THINK I CAN. I THINK I CAN”.

With so many galleries, boutiques, and restaurants, it’s nice to have a store that’s all about playing, learning, and having fun. And with the ocean at the bottom of the hill, I think it’s great that they have beach toys too!