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closeWebkinz toys combine Internet with real play
Sumner store offers activities in celebration of the third year of Webkinz, a popular stuffed animal and Internet pet for youngsters
Roxanne Cooke
Colleen Carroll
Cathy McLaughlin and her granddaughter Skylar Erickson, 7, choose a Webkinz pink poodle pajama set. SugarBabies gave away free Webkinz toys with a $10 purchase on Friday.
To celebrate the third year of Webkinz, SugarBabies owner Ashley Salas hosted a weekend of games and activities for children at her Sumner store.
Webkinz are plush toys that come with a secret code used to register the virtual pet online. On the Webkinz Web site, children can name their pet, buy items with “KinzCash” earned by playing games, feed and play with their pet and chat with friends through a constructed messaging system.
“(It’s) kind of like MySpace for little kids,” Salas said.
The toys are aimed at children ages 5 to 12, she said. The appeal to both parents and children is that it’s not just another toy children will set aside — the pet is always available online and needs maintaining for it to remain in a “happy” status.
“It’s interactive,” Salas said.
Salas has a 3-year-old and 7-year-old son who both love Webkinz. Her 7-year-old and their neighbors play together online, which is nice during the winter when the weather isn’t warm enough for outside play, she said.
“It’s exciting for the kids,” Salas added.
Webkinz provides a safe Web site for children, she said. They can send messages to their friends, but those messages are generic and must be selected from a list.
Children do play with the physical stuffed toys, Salas said, but that sort of play is more common with girls and with the younger end of the age range.
SugarBabies offered a number of events, including face painting, trivia and a Webkinz fashion show to celebrate the weekend before Webkinz Day on April 29.
Ashley Estep, from Maple Valley, visited SugarBabies on Friday to buy her 8-year-old brother a snake Webkinz toy and a Webkinz cat for her 3-year-old stepdaughter, who dressed the cat in a sweat suit for the fashion show.
Cathy McLaughlin and her granddaughter, Skylar Erickson, 7, also showed up for the fashion show. Skylar has more than seven Webkinz stuffed toys and was happy to list a few: tiger, unicorn, monkey and kitty. She likes collecting them, dressing them up and playing online and offline.
“I like Webkinz more than Barbies,” Skylar said.