Our Story

Every good story starts somewhere weird, and ours starts with helium.

Back in 2009, Tom and I bought a party and wedding supply shop in Albert Lea called Celebrations. It was going great — until a helium shortage hit, and we found ourselves staring down the very real possibility of running a party store that couldn't blow up balloons. Not exactly a growth strategy. 😂

So we pivoted. In 2015, toys started creeping onto our shelves next to the streamers and cake toppers. By 2017, the streamers had lost — toys had taken over completely, and Celebrations became something else entirely: Whimzy.

Turns out, that was the right call. We kept growing, and in 2022 we opened a second Whimzy in Lakeville. Then something funny happened: our own Albert Lea customers started telling us they'd been shopping at the Lakeville store instead, since that's where they already were most weekends. So in 2024, we made Lakeville our one and only home — and we've been all-in on this community ever since.

Who's Behind the Counter

Whimzy is run by us — Tom and Tami Staker — with our very hardworking part-time crew backing us up in the store every day. This isn't a chain, a franchise, or a corporate toy warehouse with a mascot. It's a family business, which means when you call, you get a real person who actually knows the difference between a Jellycat and a squishy (and has strong opinions about both).

What We're Actually Doing Here

We didn't get into toys because it seemed profitable. (Reader, it is rarely the "easy" business.) We got into it because we believe kids deserve things that get played with — not things that look nice in a photo and get abandoned in a closet by Thursday.

Everything we carry gets picked with one question in mind: will a kid actually love this? Not "will this look good on a shelf," not "is this trending right now" — will this get dragged around the house, requested at bedtime, and fought over by siblings? That's the bar.

That mindset comes down to three lines we hold ourselves to every single day:

Play with purpose
Serve with heart. 
Spark a little magic every day.

We're not just saying that because it sounds nice on a wall decal (though it would look pretty sweet as a wall decal ). It's genuinely how we decide what makes it onto our shelves, how we treat every person who walks through our door, and why we still get a little thrill every time a kid's face lights up over something we picked out ourselves.

What's Next

We're not done growing. We've got real plans — more space, classes, camps, sensory-friendly shopping experiences, and partnerships with local schools and daycares — because we think a toy store can be more than a place you buy things. It can be a place your kid actually wants to be.

Come Say Hi

Whether you're a parent hunting for something your five-year-old won't destroy by lunchtime, a grandparent looking for the perfect "favorite person" gift, or just someone who never quite grew out of toy aisles (no judgment — we haven't either), we'd love to have you stop by.

Come find the fun. Become a Whimzonian.