Have you ever wanted to wear a milkshake on your wrist? How about sporting a Chinese takeout treat? An open Bible, or maybe an enchanted castle? What about a hippopotamus, or a cowboy on a bucking bronco?

They’re all yours. If you can find them.

Stretch your imagination, and welcome to the latest kid craze taking Loudoun – and the nation – by storm. Sold as Silly Bandz or a variety of other names, they’re tightening their grip on thousands of little wrists everywhere.

For the uninitiated (as in adults older than 21 who don’t have children), silly bands amount to this mind-numbingly, “duh!-why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” simple concept: a colored rubber band (some are silicone) that takes the shape of an object, person or place. Almost anything.

Sea creatures. Mickey. Zoo animals. Cars. Pets. Dinosaurs. Princesses. Sports. Alphabet. Western shapes. Hollywood. Religious shapes. Dragons. Nature trail themes. Fairies. Fast food—and fresh food (for the organically conscious toddler). Even a pack labeled “Hippie.”

For boys, silly bands aficionados say the most popular are sports, reptiles, military and pirates. For girls, bands that relate to princesses, fashion and glitter-dogs are hot.

The top style at this very moment? Tie-dye and glow-in-the-dark bands.

Businesses swamped – but giddy

Someone is making a lot of Benjamins somewhere, and retailers across Loudoun are scooping up a piece of the lucrative profits with every sale of a 24-pack priced anywhere from $2.99 to $6.99, depending on the brand.

“This is great for our business,” said Linda McDonough, owner of The Treasure House – a Hallmark store – in Leesburg Plaza, who has sold the items since April. “It has been a blessing. It was tough for everyone in the last year. You’re always looking for something to boost sales. This kind of fell in our lap.
“Not only has it helped our daily sales, but it’s enabling us to attract a different customer base.”

The challenge is as much a blessing as a curse: keeping silly bands in stock – especially the right ones.

For McDonough, it all started in early April – when a child came in asking for silly bands. The store didn’t have any, but McDonough recalls saying, “We’ll find ‘em.”

And find them she did. “I’ve been in business for 30 years, and I can predict a trend,” she said.

McDonough went into action. By mid-April, she was stocked – just in time for the late April rush, when “all of a sudden they started to move, and we sold out.”
She started putting in orders for silly bands “every single day,” amassed a base of 16 distributors and began heavy advertising.

It’s paid off. Asked how many packs of silly bands she sells on a busy day, she laughed and said, “Zillions!” She sells hundreds of packs on good days. One time, a single sale of silly bands totaled more than $300.

Parents try to keep up

Loudoun parents have weathered kid crazes before, from Beanie Babies and WebKinz to Bakugans and Zhu-Zhu pets.

But why silly bands? They’re cheap. They’re colorful and eye-catching. They’re stretchy and funky – and fun. There are hundreds of shapes to choose from.

They appeal to both boys and girls. The fan spans a large age range: age 3 or so up to teens – with even some trendy parents sporting a few at the behest of their bands-crazed children.

Silly bands are also easy to collect, trade, share and use as an accessory. They occupy a large chunk of talk wherever children gather, and impromptu trading sessions start up on front steps and living room floors. The bracelets have developed into a mini-economy for children.

For Ashburn mom Lesley Walsh, silly bands arrived on the scene around February. Daughter Kerrigan, 8, is a big fan – and professes to own somewhere between 150 and 200 silly bands.

“I think with anything, it gains momentum when more and more kids have them,” she said. “They were cool to look at. But when friends got them too, and were trading them, that’s when it got more fun.”

She said silly bands are “nice because they are portable, can be taken to a kid’s house, and they are not expensive.”

Walsh said she has made at least five trips to stores to get them. She may make another soon: Kerrigan, who turns 9 in July, said she wants five more packs. Her favorites are letters that spell “Michigan,” lizards and frogs.

“I love to trade,” Kerrigan said.

Some not-so-silly concerns

Schools in Loudoun have not been immune to the kids craze over silly bands. At Newton-Lee Elementary School in Ashburn, when a table full of 20 kids is asked who wears silly bands, every hand shoots up.

Teachers and schools have so far been making silly bands policies on an individual basis – some teachers allow them, some don’t. During recent Standards of Learning testing, though, the bands were banned as a distraction.

Spokesman Wayde Byard said Loudoun County Public Schools has no system-wide school policy on silly bands.

Silly bands also have some adults concerned that in health terms, the bands are not so “silly.” Small bands around larger wrists can leave deep grooves in the skin, possibly restricting blood flow to and from little hands.

Ashburn mom Debbie Meyerson says her son Connor, 6, is a heavy wearer of silly bands. “Sometimes I can’t find his arm,” she said. She does have rules: “He is not allowed to wear them to bed, and he’s only allowed to wear them on his wrist.” She added: “I just worry about him wearing too many and cutting off his circulation.”

Over at The Treasure House, McDonough isn’t deterred. “Of course I wear silly bands,” she said. “I love silly bands!”

Some places to look for silly bands in Loudoun

Hallmark stores in Leesburg and Ashburn
Go Bananas in Lansdowne
Walgreens
Five Below in Sterling

Links to silly bands brand sites

http://www.sillybandz.com
http://www.funkybandz.com
http://www.wackyshapes.com
http://www.buysillybands.com
And, of course, there’s eBay and Amazon.com.

See below for a video of the silly bands scene at The Treasure House in Leesburg.