Bird In Hand — Local services in Chico

I took my 3 year old grandson here yesterday to shop for a new toy. I told him what a great place it was and how he was going to love it. We show up at the door only to be met with a sign saying you must wear a mask even if you are vaxed. Then a lady quickly ran at us with her arms up telling us the same. I explained I have a medical condition and do not wear masks. She asked me for my exemption info and I informed her it was not legal for her to ask under HIPPA. She went and talked to manager and it was decided we could proceed. We were in the car/truck toy section for a while and the lady stalked us no less than ten times. Not sure if she was just wanting us to leave or thought I was going to shoplift.

My grandson picked a couple of toys and I paid $58. We walked out and my grandson, who is 3 years old said “Grammy, I don’t like that store”. Talk about tension in the air. The only reason I proceeded to shop was because I had promised him, otherwise I would have never entered. I will never enter this store again!

Side note: the world will soon find out about the Truth about COVID, masks...

This is the best little store in Chico! This is a toy store meets gift shop with good quality wooden toys, a nice selection of board games, and a huge Ravensburger corner with puzzles stacked to the ceiling. Hand puppets and plush toys are there for little ones, plus baby blankets and baby clothing for the VERY little. They sell some neat eco-friendly dishes/drinking containers for kids' lunchtime. For adults they have metal brain teasers--really nice ones, and their board game section is robust: children's games, party games, and hobby games like Photosynthesis. The people are impressive: the staff are friendly and willing to demonstrate the products, and the day I was there they had a live demonstration of a new board game. Basically you can walk into this store and find a neat gift for...

Huge toy store, old-timey & whimsical, with every little doodad & gadget that make little my GenX heart flutter in nostalgia, & also offering local touristy souvenirs &, perplexingly, a large selection of high-quality Hawaiian shirts‽ Very friendly staff. A joy to visit, for kids ages 1-99!

Bonus: the National Yo-Yo Museum sits unassumingly in the very back! Tiny altar to the humble yoyo, embedded & almost seemingly forgotten in the back of a huge old-timey toy store, Bird in Hand, with an impressive collection showing off the evolution of the toy—including the gigantic 256-lbs wooden monster that was twirled off a construction crane!

I especially appreciate the focus on the Filipino roots of the phenomenon & the name. Pinoy...