Costume Character Event Today(Sat 3/7)

TODAY (Sat 3/7) Clifford the Big Red Dog – B&N


Maddie loves going to bookstores. Well, what’s there not to like? There are tons of books, some toys, story times, and coffee for mommies to enjoy.

Barnes & Noble – We usually go to the one in Tustin Market place since the children section is on the first floor. I don’t like going to the one in Irvine Spectrum because children’s section is on the second floor.

Most of them have story times on second Saturdays (call your local store to make sure) for kids and some B&Ns have characters come in for the story time. As far as I know, the only B&N that has these “character visits” near Irvine area is the one in South Coast Plaza (Metro Point). I’ve been to the “Winnie the Pooh” visit. They had the original Pooh character come in and had a story time. Maddie shouted “ Mommy, where is Pooh’s shirt?” Well, Pooh was naked because it was the original Pooh before Disney put on a red shirt on him. Nothing spectacular about the story time. They also had nice crafts, mini marshmallows and coffee.

I’ve noticed library and bookstore story times are not really “entertaining” because these are either librarians or store employees who are reading to the kids. If you want real story teller, you would have better luck with children’s store story teller events. Unfortunately for me, these are usually on a weekday morning. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you are going to the store just for the story time, it is NOT worth it, unless you CAN NOT STAND reading to your child and desperately want somebody else to do it. If you happen to be in the area, then drop by.

Any ways, today CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG is coming to B&N (Metro Point) at 2PM!! This event is not listed on the internet, but I called and confirmed. They will have story time for kids, you can take pictures with Clifford and they will have little crafts for kids.

If you are looking for events at B&N near you home, check
http://storelocator.barnesandnoble.com/find_an_event.do


UPDATE - Saturday 3/7 10:35 PM





So we did go to the Clifford the Big Red Dog event today. It was fun. Maddie wanted to know where Emily Elizabeth was. The usual crafts (bookmarks), and cookies were there. We also got a Dr. Seuss hat/crown since it is his 100th anniversary(March 2nd). We also got Dr.Seuss coloring book. These character events are good for following people.




My Tips

- If you have younger children who will not sit through the story telling, arrive 15 - 20 minutes later than the event start time. You can just say hi to the chracter and do some crafts.


- If you want to make most of it, make sure your child is familiar with the "character." Otherwise, it is just some weirdo in a scary looking costume.


- Bring camera to take pictures.


- Save any coloring books or pages they give you. These might not look like much at the time but these could entertain your kids for a while when you are waiting for your food somewhere. Of course this means you always carry crayons around.