Chicken Little has been a happy downtown shopping destination for Santa Barbara families since 1979.

The original owner, Paula Bouma, opened her shop in a small space on West Anapamu Street — starting out of necessity because she simply could not find locally everything she needed for her then-newborn daughter.

The UC Santa Barbara graduate called her place Chicken Lips, figuring that anyone passing by a store with such a name would have to come in and check it out.

Renamed Chicken Little, the store moved to East Victoria Street in the early 1980s, and then to its current location at 1236 State St. in 1992.

After Bouma died in 2002, her daughter, Jenny, took over that fall. Jenny and her brother, Greg, co-own both the store and the building, on the primo corner of State and East Victoria streets.

While other merchants have come and gone, Chicken Little has been a steady resource for newborns to size 8 and everything in between.

Chicken Little carries every imaginable item a kid dreams about, and it’s where moms, dads, grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, and baby shower or toddler birthday party guests can count on finding something fabulous.

Take it from me; I’ve been a regular for many years.

Jen Bouma is the soul of Chicken Little. She’s always smiling, even-tempered, kind and helpful, and can wrap a gift with the best of them. She has an incredible memory for her customers, and has seen their children grow into adults with kids of their own.

Again, take it from me. She remembers my three children when they were tots and now knows my grandchildren. She knows their names, where they go to school and what’s going on in their lives.

Bouma is a knowledgeable resource for all things kids — and not just the merchandise in her store. A mother of three herself, she volunteers at her kids’ schools and her eldest daughter even works at the store on weekends.

Chicken Little’s superior sales team is something Bouma is extremely proud of. The staff will help guide you and make suggestions for items that are age appropriate or grab that just-out-of-reach pair of holiday PJs.

The store even offers courtesy gift wrapping and curbside service.

“My amazing staff and I love sharing all the baby showers, holidays and birthdays,” Bouma told Noozhawk. “We feel blessed to help the families of Santa Barbara and our online customers.”

Longtime readers of these columns know how much I love small-store shopping and chatting with the owners and managers who bring them to life. I’m not above ordering online when necessary, but nothing replaces touching and seeing in person what you’re buying.

Plus, if you’re like me, you’re just as curious about the story behind the front door or the plate-glass windows.

Speaking of windows, Chicken Little’s are beautifully and whimsically decorated for the holidays. The store’s windows change by the season but always offer fantasy themes, originality and great gift ideas. They lured me in on a recent afternoon.

It’s truly impossible to leave Chicken Little without buying something. The range of featured merchandise is something you can only find in an urban department store.

Filling the deceptively large store are baby equipment, furniture, toys, stuffies (as my granddaughter, Vivienne, calls stuffed animals), books, games, gifts, holiday clothing and just plain cute, practical kids clothing in a wide range of sizes.

You’ll probably run into someone you know searching for that perfect item to bring joy to a loved one and you can catch up with them just like Bouma.

It’s small-town gold and, as Taylor Swift sings, stores like Chicken Little “never go out of style.”

Chicken Little is open daily at 1236 State St. Click here for more information.