by Debbi | Jun 18, 2009 | Off the Wall, Trinkets and Toys
Our ceiling has been a point of interest lately, with a new Jayhawk windchime gift a few weeks ago, and now a new creation by Dave.
We sell a lot of Shark Attack drinks, and every drink comes with it's own little toy shark. Lots of people take these home for their collection (or their kids), but lots of others leave them at the bar. While most of them probably end up in the trashcans, a fair amount of the little guys are rescued and thrown into a bin behind the bar- mostly because Dave can't bear to throw things away that might still have some kind of use.
Let me assure you that we do not reuse the sharks in new drinks. But Dave has brainstormed for awhile about what exactly he could do with recycled sharks, and he finally hit on an idea.
He washed them up, bought a needle and some fishing line, and started stringing them up like popcorn for the Christmas tree. They looked pretty cool all bunched up on the string. He hooked the string up to the ceiling at The Sandbar, and now we have sharks hanging over everybody.
We also noticed that people have started autographing the sharks and tossing them in the nets overhead. The dollar bills on the walls seem to have lost people's interest- not to mention, we're sort of running out of wall space- so this might be a new, unique-to-the-Sandbar way of leaving your mark.
Next time you're in, ask for a marker and sign your shark. Toss it up in the net, or ask the bartender to throw it in the bin behind the bar, and we'll string it up on the next strand.
by Debbi | Jun 13, 2009 | Trinkets and Toys
We have some fun new toys to decorate your drinks!
They weren't your favorite in our recent poll, but flip flop key chains are always a popular summer item. They come in several colors like blue, purple, pink, and green, and they look cute hanging from the bendy straw in your drink.
We also have brand new character finger puppets. They could also be pencil eraser toppers for your kids. There are several different characters available, like flamingos and ducks. These toys might become the official toy of the Green Parrot drink, since we aren't having any luck finding an actual green parrot toy.
These new toys have also been added to our virtual Sandbar gift application on Facebook. If you're on Facebook, you can send toys or other fun things from The Sandbar to your friends.
Come by for a drink and add to your toy collection today!
by Debbi | May 31, 2009 | Random Questions, Trinkets and Toys
Rubber Duckies!
With 28.6% of the vote in our online poll, these were clearly your favorite. No real surprise to anyone I'm sure- from the first day we floated these cute little characters in your Bahama Mama, you loved them.
Originally, our supplier carried only the basic yellow tub toy, with or without a keychain attached. Slowly, they started adding more characters, like luau and cowboy and doctor themed duckies. Apparently the toys were popular with more people than just our customers, because the selection of characters is incredible these days.
Now when we order duckies, we just order the jumbo-mega-sized assortment so we can get the most variety possible. I suspect there are more than a few collectors out there.
As for the rest of the toys…the bendy characters were a close second with 25% of the vote. Flip flop key chains took 17.9% and the putty-eye characters and beads tied with 14.3% each.
Goofy glasses? Not a single vote. That's kind of sad. But given the number of pictures I've seen of people wearing them, I know some of you still like them.
We just got in a new supply of rubber duckies, bendy flamingos, and flip flop key chains. Stop in for a drink and add to your toy collection!
by Debbi | May 19, 2009 | Random Questions, Trinkets and Toys
The Sandbar has been serving our famous Bahama Mamas adorned with toys for as long as I can remember. 
Over the years, we've seen plenty of trinkets and toys come and go- some have become perennial favorites and others have quietly been retired and never seen again.
We probably order new toys at least once a month, and we try to mix it up a little so the regular Bahama Mama drinkers don't end up taking the same thing home every week. It's that time again, and as we were perusing our catalog to find a hot new toy, it seemed like a good time to ask our fans for some help.
What's your favorite Bahama Mama toy?
Nearly three years ago, I posed this very same question. Back then, not very many people read this blog and I didn't get very many responses. Fourteen, to be exact. And 42% of those people like the rubber duckies the best, closely followed by the squeezable putty-eyed characters.
Now that I have a few more readers, it will be interesting to see if the results are the same.
The new poll is over to the right of the page, you can't miss it- it's bright. Cast your vote!
by Debbi | Apr 3, 2009 | Trinkets and Toys
We have some new toys available- in real life at The Sandbar and also in the virtual world on our Facebook application.
Just in time for Easter….an Easter Egg ducky, an Easter Bunny ducky, and a Lamb ducky. The rubber duckies continue to be one of the most popular toys we put in the tropical drinks, and we love all the varieties that our supplier (Fun Express) has available.
And, remember back when we were struggling to find a good flamingo toy? Once upon a time we had fun bendy pink flamingos, but they've been out of stock forever. Well, they're back! As soon as we saw they were available again, we ordered right away.
So stop by and order one of our tropical drinks and add to your collection of toys!
by Debbi | Dec 7, 2008 | Trinkets and Toys
A couple months ago we were desperately searching for a flamingo toy to decorate our popular Pink Flamingo drink. Well, we found one, and I had promised to share a photo of them once they arrived. It didn't really take three months for the toys to show up, but I forgot about taking a picture of them.
Our friend/customer Becki found these cool flamingo beads on the internet. They're bright pink plastic beads with flamingo shapes. And we all know how much Sandbar customers love beads. These toys have been popular- at least with the customers. Not so much with the staff, as they arrive in a tangled mess that takes awhile to sort out and hang.
Not a great picture; low light in the bar means a flash is a necessity, and the shiny-ness of the beads means the flash causes all sorts of glare and reflection. But you get the idea.
