Twin Cities Moms Create Library For Toys

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Some Twin Cities kids do not have to wait for Christmas -- they are getting new toys every few weeks.

A group of moms created a new concept a couple years ago: a toy library.

Just like checking out books, parents and kids can check out toys and then return them after three weeks.

When Phillip Stern and his 2-and-a-half-year-old son Theo are looking for new toys, they do not go to a store. Instead, they head to the basement of the Richfield Lutheran Church.

"I told Theo, 'We are going to the toy library.' He said, 'We are going the toy library and picking out new toys?'" Stern said.

The library has over 800 toys to choose from.

"I love that children can check out toys. If they don't like them, they can bring them back," said Rebecca Nutter.

She helped launch the Minneapolis Toy Library with other moms. They took donations last summer and set up the library inside Nutter's garage.

"I just took a part of my garage and that was the toy library, right next to my husband's motorcycles," Nutter said.

But as more toys rolled in and more families got involved, they moved to a more permanent spot. In some ways it is like the land of misfit toys, where they find new homes every few weeks.

"They get to check out up to five toys at each event and then they just bring them back three weeks later," Nutter said.

That is perfect for parents like Ashley Hooker.

"It helps keep my house clean of a million toys," Hooker said.

With a 3-year-old and a 10-month-old, she is clutter-conscious but also eco-conscious, mindful that recycled toys do not end up in landfills.

"We are a one-car family and we are conscious of not buying a lot of new things and we can share them with the community," Hooker said.

It is a $20-per-year membership to join the Minneapolis Toy Library. Each family that checks out something is also given an eco-friendly cleaning solution, and they are expected to clean the toys when they get back.

They do not accept stuffed animals and broken toys, but otherwise they are always accepting donations.