Toy store allows kids to register for birthdays

It seems registering is not just for weddings and baby showers any more.

Kids get to do it now, too, at least at the new Learning Express toy store.

The store, which opened this summer along Randall Road in Algonquin, has something called the Birthday Bucket.

About three weeks before their birthday party, kids can go into the store and go wild. They get to place anything their heart desires into the bucket.

The families then get business-sized cards to insert into their invitations to tell their family and friends where they're registered.

Guest can then stop into the store and buy the items for 10 percent off. They also can have them personalized and gift-wrapped for free.

While some guests might be surprised to find a registered notice for a child's birthday party, the idea is popular at Learning Express, said John Flanagan, who owns the store with his wife, Sarah.

"It's been taking off really well," Flanagan said. "We have 12 buckets going on right now, and at least four more that are coming in to register.

"We thought it was a great idea with all of the kids in the area and knowing all of the frustrations that go along with shopping for birthday presents," he said. "It's just one of our levels of service that kind of separates us and makes us different."

Flanagan said he and his wife have decided that once an item goes into the bucket, it stays in the bucket until the birthday.

"Even if it's the last one of our most popular item, it stays in. We hold the items. The child picked it out and wants it and it stays in the bucket," he said.

Coming soon: Many of you have been wondering what's going up along Randall Road in Carpentersville, near the new Walgreens. The building currently under construction on the east side of the Randall near Binnie Road will be a Chase Bank.

• Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from South Elgin to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or at (847) 894-5036.