Avi's First Squishy Hunt: What Happens When You Show Up Late 🕒🧸
What should you do if you get to the squishy store after it closes?
If you get to the squishy store after it closes, don't panic — check the store hours online before your next trip, plan the hunt for early in the day, and turn the wait into a fun countdown. Mira and her little cousin Avi learned this the hard way when they arrived at the mall five minutes after the squishy shop pulled its gate down. Tomorrow is near, and the hunt is on.
6 lessons from Avi's (almost) first squishy hunt
Always check store hours the night before.
Malls close earlier than you think, especially on Sundays and holidays. A quick Google search for the store name plus the mall name shows today's exact hours. Mira learned that Squishmallow HQ closes at 6 p.m. on Sundays — not 9 p.m. like the rest of the mall.Set a phone alarm for 'leave by' time.
Don't set an alarm for when the store closes — set one for when you need to leave the house. Traffic, parking, and finding the right entrance all eat time. Give yourself a full hour cushion when you're traveling to a new mall.Turn the disappointment into a countdown.
When Avi's face fell at the closed gate, Mira told her, 'Tomorrow is near!' They pulled up the store's opening time on the phone and counted down together. By the time they got home, Avi was more excited than sad.Have a backup snack stop planned.
A closed squishy store hurts less with a soft pretzel or an ice cream cone. Mira and Avi hit the food court, split a lemonade, and made a list of every squishy Avi wanted to hunt for the next day.Bring a 'starter squishy' from your own stash.
Mira keeps a small squishy in her bag for exactly this reason. She gave Avi a mini strawberry squishy right there in the parking lot so the trip wasn't a total loss. Avi named her Berry on the ride home.Make the return trip the real hunt.
The next morning, Mira and Avi were the first customers through the gate. Empty store, full shelves, no crowds — the best squishy hunt Avi could have asked for. Being late once made day two feel like a win.
Frequently asked questions
- What time do most squishy stores close?
- Most mall-based squishy stores close between 6 and 9 p.m., but Sunday hours are often shorter — some close as early as 6 p.m. Always check the specific store's page on Google Maps for today's hours before you drive over, because mall hours and store hours are not always the same.
- How do you cheer up a little kid when a store is closed?
- Acknowledge the disappointment, give them a clear next step, and turn the wait into a countdown. A snack stop and a small surprise from your own bag helps, but the biggest fix is a promise you can keep, like 'we'll be the very first ones here tomorrow morning.'
- Who is Avi?
- Avi is Mira's little cousin and her newest squishy hunting partner. This trip was going to be Avi's very first official squishy hunt — she has been asking Mira for months to take her.
- What's the best time of day for a squishy hunt?
- First thing in the morning, right when the store opens. Shelves are freshly stocked, popular squishies aren't picked over yet, and the store is quiet enough that little kids can actually squish everything without a crowd behind them.
- How can I plan a squishy trip when I'm traveling?
- Search the store name plus the city you're visiting, check today's hours on Google, drop a pin in your maps app, and note the mall's closing time separately. Build in an hour of buffer for parking and walking, and always have a backup activity in case the store is closed or sold out.