The Acorn Store

I have been back to this store AGAIN AND AGAIN to buy gifts for my kid’s school mates… there is like a birthday party almost every weekend. Parenting… OMG! seriously, this place has special magical enchanted gifts that I don’t see other places… lots of natural things, great little dresses, polished stones, special books, etc. I could hang out in there all day if i had time.

great shop for fun, educational, wooden, well made toys and books — and they gift wrap!

It is always delightful to stroll in Santa Monica, however to find such a delightful tiny store filled with amazing gifts for children. All these toys are naturally made and encourage the imagination. Now I can’t imagine shopping anywhere else for my grandchildren. Unique items and friendly staff put this place on the top of my list.

Very cool indie toystore with great service. Unfortunately, I did not find the specific item I was looking for, yet there are a ton of thought-​provoking toys mostly for little ones.
Very nice place and very crowded during Christmas!

Awesome little place. All sort of original toys, arts and crafts, even puppets and yo-​yos.
The owner is a great help and will help you find anything.
The word needs to get around before we lose it, since it is sort of tucked away on 5^th street near Arizona ave.
We’ll be back

A really great store !! My mom used to shop for me in here when I was little and I must say I absolutely loved whatever she got me. The toys are all so magical and really beautiful. Even though I am older now I am keeping them packed away for my kids, because I know that they can surpass time. I would recommend this store to anyone who wants to give a child a meaningful gift that they will treasure forever

This place is WAY cool! Space is tiny, but they pack a ton of really great toys in here. You won’t find a single toy you’d see in a traditional toy store here — most of the stuff is from Europe and high-​end. Yes, this stuff is expensive, but very high quality — these toys will last a long time. If you have a girl, be sure to check out the back section — lots of really cool stuff for your little princess. This is a place to go for a special birthday or x-​mas gift.

Best toy store in Los Angeles
Toys are durable, open ended, and safe. They aren’t expensive but we prefer to to buy fewer toys of better quality and design. Lots of Haba, Selecta, Plan Toys as well as traditional Waldorf toys and art supplies.
The only thing I would change is that I wish the store carried more Made in America items like Camden Rose, etc. but really I bet they struggle enough as it.

Discovered this cute little store recently, even though they’ve been around for nearly a decade!
Great selection of unique items, including Haba toys and Plan toys. Pricing is on the expensive side, but not too surprising for a mom & pop store. Many of the items are less expensive on cough*amazon*cough but if I need a gift for someone in town, I prefer to buy locally and am not as concerned about being cheap!
Random notes:
— Quality of toys is much better than the standard Toys R Us fare. Far less plastic.
— Good selection of eco-​friendly toys
— Few, if any, flashing/​electronic toys.
— No bikes, giant motorized cars, Bratz dolls, etc
— Exchange only. No refunds.
— Free gift wrap (bags only w/​tissue paper — simple but looks great)
All in all, I’d say this is a great niche toy store. It won’t replace the big conglomerates, but is an ideal place for hipster parents, kids aged 2 – 4 (give or take a year), «Westside moms» who eschew BPA, PVC, phthalates, etc.
If ever I need a gift for a younger kid, I’ll start with Acorn Store. Nice break from the usual selections from Fisher Price, Playschool, Mattel and the like. (Nothing against those companies, btw).

wonderful little local toy store stuffed with an extensive selection of thoughtful wood, waldorf-​style toys. the small back room has a couple racks of princess/​fairytale costumes, but not the disney princess kind, if you’re looking for alternatives. you also won’t find any barbie, fisher price or heavily licensed product here.
the young woman who works here was very helpful when i had questions and left me alone when i just wanted to browse. she opened up packaged toys to show me how things worked which really helped me figure out what to buy. she seemed very knowledgeable about age-​appropriate toys but wasn’t pushy like some people can be about the issue.
the shop is small, but it has incredible selection of plan toys brand toys as well as plenty of other wood and fabric toys.

Why would anyone buy anything in this store? Their prices are outrageous. We went in to buy an item we knew we wanted to buy. The item on Amazon was $ 79.00 [before tax]; they wanted $ 139.00.
When we told them our budget limit; we would have paid up to $ 100.00 because of the convenience and the fact that they are a local business, they tried to sell us a VERY flimsy cart that would flip over… and that cost was $ 110.00.
CROWDED with items. Almost impossible to move around, although that limitation is not a major factor.
Just a feeling, an opinion, that they are in Santa Monica, without much competition for better toys and therefore higher prices prevail.

Best kids store in LA… or at least on the Westside.
It’s this tiny store packed with beautiful, well-​made European toys that are built to last. We’ve bought tons of stuff here — a mini upright piano for $ 75, a butterfly hatching kit, ukelele, harmonica, wooden blocks, xylophone.
They also gift wrap everything, so it’s my go-​to place for kid birthdays.
The owner is a lovely woman from Europe who’s usually there. You can tell her the age you’re shopping for, and the amount you want to spend, and she makes spot-​on recommendations.
They’ll also special-​order stuff for you and call when it arrives.

A magical little shop hidden on an off street near the garish promenade. If there are little ones in your life, get a gift here – not one that will break in a month, one that they’ll pass on to their children’s kids.
These are the toys I grew up with, the classic stories I read as a kid (I’m not 72, I was raised by a hollandish hippie!), These are the toys I will buy as soon as there’s a child in my life (not that I’m hinting, sisters o mine). Everything in this shop is wooden, hand painted, made with love. Except the dress-​up clothes, which is good. I hate wooden dress up clothes.

This store was like a dream come true. It’s filled with beautiful natural toys designed to encourage imaginative play. Many Waldorf toys and supplies. Wooden toys made in Germany and lots of play sets made by Plan Toys — a really great company based in Thailand.
We bought our son a large wooden airplane with wooden peg people. The airplane was made in Germany and the quality is fantastic. It’s so solidly built and just beautiful. I know that it’s something he will keep his entire life.
We also got our son a little drum with mallet made by Plan Toys. It is also beautifully made. Everything in the store is so high quality.
The woman who owns the store is very friendly and helpful and very knowledgable abou the products she carries. She does her research and only carries toys that she knows to be safe and manufactured by companies with very high quality controls that use natural products.
If you are anywhere in the tri-​county area of LA, OC and Ventura county, you MUST check out this store.

If you’ve got alot of money this is the store for you, and your kids. I wish I had alot of money, for I would spend it here. I love many of the toys. The wooden handcrafted playsets are simply amazing. They have the best dress-​up stuff. And I think the European games and toys are perfectly simply. But they are REALLY expensive.
With all the recalls on toys lately, though, the higher price of these «natural» toys are tempting. Not to mention the lack of annoying beeps and lights.

«Natural» toys only — nothing plastic or electronic! Lots of wood toys from Germany. Sometimes simple is good.