As they do every year, the personnel at NORAD — now aided by the elves at Google –  help children round the world see where Santa is, as Christmas Day dawns round the world.  This website has a world map with locations visited and videos of Santa!

You can also track Santa on Google Earth, if that works better for you.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

We’ve just received most of the new 2012 figures from toymaker Schleich.  In keeping with Schleich’s tradition of quality toy-making, these new toys — from African Elephants to Storks — are beautiful and playable.

The equine group receives 12 new models, as follows:

1. #13699 Halflinger foal
2. #13701 Akhal-Teke mare
3. #13702 Akhal-Teke foal
4. #13706 Trained Horse
5. #13707 Icelandic Pony stallion
6. #13708 Icelandic Pony mare
7. #13709 Icelandic Pony foal
8. #13710 Camargue stallion
9. #13711 Camargue mare
10. #13712 Camargue foal
11. #13713 Tennessee Walker mare
12. #13714 Tennessee Walker yearling

The horses range in price from $5.99 for the foals to $9.29 for the adults.

#13682, Shropshire lamb

On the farm animal front, Schleich has introduced the Shropshire sheep (#13681, $7.49) and Shropshire lamb (#13682, $3.99).  Also new, and perhaps reflecting the increasing popularity of dairy goat-keeping in North America and Europe, are the Dwarf Goat family (#13715, Dwarf Goat, $5.99; #13716, Dwarf Goat kid, $3.99; and #13717, Dwarf Goat bleating, $3.99).  The farm animal section also welcomes a series of Alpacas (#13703, Alpaca stallion, $7.49; #13704, Alpaca mare, $7.49; and #13705, Alpaca foal, $5.99).

As they have done in past years, Schleich divides its animal models into five distinct price groupings, identifying each group by a coloured dot on the UPC tag.  This makes it easy to figure out the price on any given model, simply by looking for the coloured dot and comparing it to the price sheet on the store display.

#14660, Polar bear cub

There are several new animals that fall into the “wild” or “exotic” categories.  Some are new sculptures of old favourites, such as the polar bears (#14659, Polar bear, $9.29; #14660, Polar bear cub, $3.99) and the gorillas (#14661, Gorilla male, $9.29; #14662, Gorilla female with baby, $9.29; #14663, Gorilla baby, $3.99).

Some, like the Four-Toed Hedgehog (#14676, $3.99) and the skunk (#14672, $3.99) are, I’m pretty sure, entirely new creatures to the Schleich universe of animals.  It will be great to have these little critters to add to the collection!

There are also new human figures available, including a new Farmer (#13467, $7.49) and Farmer’s wife (#13468, $7.49).  The new figures also include some children, modelled so that they can “play” with the dogs and other animals.

Schleich’s growing collection of plastic animals, medieval figures, and fairy characters offers a world of imaginative possibility to the children in your life, a world that they can shape and enjoy on their own terms.

“The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable.”
– Carl Jung

Have a happy and peaceful holiday.

Karin & Richard Belanger

Chocolate has been enjoyed for at least 3,000 years, first by the native peoples of Mesoamerica, who concocted a thin and bitter drink from the processed cacao beans.  Later, of course, the Spanish conquistadors would introduce chocolate to Europe, where it quickly gained a reputation as a status drink thanks to its scarcity and high cost.

The use of chocolate in candy-making did not become widespread until the 18th century, when cocoa butter could be produced using machinery and crafted into chocolate bars and other forms of confectionery.  It is now, along with sugar, the world’s most popular candy component.

My Chocolate Boutique from toymaker Fashion Angels allows young chocolatiers to craft their own fanciful confections from pure chocolate, carob, and candy-melt products, all easily available at groceries and bulk food stores (and so, parents, you control the ingredients).  The kit contains a battery-powered chocolate melting machine with easy-to-clean metal melting bowl, 55 candy molds, foil candy wrappers, candy cups, clear candy wrappers, gift boxes, labels, and more!

And — if you can bear to give them away — these candies make great gifts for uncles and aunts, grandmas and grandpas, teachers and babysitters.  (I’m just saying.  Remember to brush.)

My Chocolate Boutique.  CAD$32.99.  In stock now.

The Chatter Telephone was introduced in 1961, billed as “the ultimate pretend play toy” with its friendly interactive design.  Technology may have changed — how many children have ever seen a dial telephone? — but this iconic pull toy remains as engaging as ever.  The eyes still roll up and down when the telephone is pulled along by a toddler, and the dial makes a chiming sound.  Bri-i-ing! Bri-i-ing!

The Two Tune Music Box TV has been charming children since 1966.  Wind up the yellow plastic knob (remember when televisions had knobs?) and watch the pictures scroll across the screen.  The TV plays “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” and “London Bridge is Falling Down”.  It does not come in an 80-inch version, or in 3D, and you can’t use your Xbox with it — but it doesn’t need any batteries, either.  Ever.

BF1694  Chatter Telephone  $19.99
BF1696 Two Tune Music Box TV $39.99

In stock now.

“If a telemarketer calls,
hand the phone to your 3-year-old
and tell her it’s Santa.”

Fiendish?  Sure.  Satisfying?  Oh, yeah

Da Vinci redesigned the medieval catapult around 1485, producing a war machine that used the spring-like energy stored in the bent wood in order to give power to the swing arm.  Now, thanks to Pathfinders Design and Technology, your little warrior can have his or her very own catapult!

The da Vinci Catapult kit allows kids (and adults) to construct a working model of the 15th century catapult, using natural untreated wood (from sustainable forests, naturally).  All pieces are pre-cut, and ready to go.  Parts that are stressed are pegged together for extra strength.  The catapult takes about an hour to construct, and will fire the included “cannonball” about 4 metres (we haven’t tested it with spitballs, which seemed to me to be the more natural ammunition — I’m betting they’d go further.)

The da Vinci Catapult  $18.99.  In stock now.

Simply slide your fingers into his front “paws” (hint:  there are pockets built in), pull back on his hind legs, and let him fly!  The sheer delight of flying will cause the monkey to scream, which adds immeasurably to the fun.  Best purchased in multiples and given to young nieces and nephews who live quite far away from you (you will be voted the most awesome uncle or aunt ever, guaranteed.)

• Sunday 11 December, and Sunday 18 December:  12 noon to 5 p.m.
• Monday through Friday 12 December to 16 December:  9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday 17 December:  9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Monday through Friday 19 December to 23 December:  9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday 24 December (Christmas Eve!):  9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

We will be closed on Sunday 25 December and Monday 26 December (Christmas Day and Boxing Day.)

The store will reopen on Tuesday 27 December at 9:30 a.m.

I know that this may be a little confusing (we’re certainly confused most of the time) so here’s a trick we sometimes use to help us remember:  during the month of December, if we’re not in bed asleep, then we’re probably at work and the store is open!  If you really want to be sure that we’re open, go ahead and call us first (you can reach us at 613-968-6500).  We don’t mind.

Ho ho ho!

P.S.  The Christmas tree shown in the photograph above belonged to Orville and Wilbur Wright (the Wright Brothers!) in 1900, three Christmases before their record-breaking flight at Kitty Hawk, NC.

I was amused to receive an email link this morning to the Groupon Daily Deal for my local city, which breathlessly touted a 51% discount on a science toy that we carry (the 6-in-1 Solar Kit, left).  The Groupon allows consumers to buy the item at a mere $19, plus $4 shipping, from a company that apparently sells only this one thing (there are no other items listed on their website).  The “regular” price is listed as a staggering $39.

The interesting thing here is that the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the science kit in question is, in fact, $19.99.  Twenty bucks.  We sell it for that price all year round, every day.

So how much of deal is that for the consumer, when he or she can buy a Groupon that essentially enables him to buy an item at the regular price?  (Plus shipping, of course.)  More than 40 people bought in to this “deal” — I wonder if they’ll be sore when they find out that their coupon was no deal at all?

Q-Bitz is a game for 2 to 4 players.  It’s not so much a strategy game as it is a race to see, solve, and replicate patterns on the 120 different Q-Bitz cards.  The twist comes in that the game is played in sets of three rounds, and each round calls upon different, if allied, skill sets.  In the first round, players race to recreate the pattern on the randomly-chosen card, rotating their sets of cubes as necessary.  The first player to complete the task wins the card.  So far, so good.

The second round, however, introduces an element of luck.  Each player rolls his cubes like dice and uses as many as possible to recreate elements of the pattern card.  Those cubes whose faces cannot be used are re-rolled, and so on.  Again, it’s a race — the first person who manages to roll all the necessary faces, wins the card.

The third round calls upon players’ memory skills.  They study the pattern card (again, randomly chosen) for 10 seconds, after which it is turned over and players compete to see who can complete the pattern from memory.  The player who first completes the pattern — or who at least has most segments — wins the card.

The game rewards visual discrimination, memory, and pattern-matching skills.  There is no strategy involved, since in any round it’s always ultimately a race to win the card. It’s a fun, quick game to play with children aged 7 or 8 and up.  Contains 12 cards, 4 wooden trys, 4 sets of 16 cubes, and rules in English, French, and Spanish.

CAD$29.99  In stock now.

Fischer Tip is manufactured in Germany from potato starch and non-toxic food dye.  The coloured starch is extruded into a puffy cylinder (kind of like a snack food) and chopped into easy-to-handle pieces.  This environmentally-friendly material sticks together without glue — the pieces need only be moistened using a damp sponge and pressed together so that they adhere.  The pieces may be safely cut and shaped using the included plastic cutting tool.  Larger sets may include more tools, including stencil inserts that pieces may be squished inside to form “brick” shapes, rasps for shaving pieces into different shapes, templates, and so on.

We have a number of different sets in stock, from small “try-me” sets at $10 (about 80 pieces plus sponge, cutting tool, and instructions) to much larger sets with hundreds of pieces and more accessories.

This is great stuff for quick, clean crafts with minimal clean-up.  It’s light as air, so it travels well, and the only thing you need is a damp sponge, so there’s really no mess (your in-laws will thank you!)  Fischer Tip is a super choice for something to keep kids amused and creative, and the art that kids have created with it can be pretty breathtaking!

Our initial shipment of Lego Advent calendars had sold out within three days, way back in September.  I had immediately placed a re-order — but with little hope that we’d actually get any more.  But here they are!

Supplies are limited, as I really don’t imagine that we’ll be able to get another shipment before Christmas.

Oooooh, I’m so excited!

CAD$39.99

New plastic models include the Necron Lychguard (49-07, $39.50), the Necron Immortals (49-10, $39.50), the Doomsday Ark (49-11, $59.50), and the Catacomb Command Barge (49-12, $39.50).

New finecast models include the Flayed One pack (49-42, $55.00), the Necron Overlord (49-60, $20.75), the Necron Cryptek (49-62, $19.00), Imotekh the Stormlord (49-63, $20.75), and Trazyn the Infinite (49-65, $20.75).

Several special characters formerly available in metal are now in finecast, including the C’tan Nightbringer and Deceiver models, and the Necron Lord and Resurrection Orb.

Photos have been leaked all over the internet, so I won’t reproduce them here.  They do look amazing!  Richard will be placing orders this week, so if you’ve always wanted a Necron army, give him a call and get him to reserve you some units.

The Neighbourhood Toy Stores catalogue (or NETS, as we like to call it) has a section at the front called “Latest & Greatest”, and this is where we put the toys that were too new to be put into the main body of the catalogue but way too neat to leave out.  One of the star items this year is the Spooner Board, a 24-inch balance board that allows you to replicate all your fave board sports in any location, on any surface.  Here’s a video from the company that shows it in action:

The NETS catalogue boasts lots of active play items this year.  Some are old friends, like the Hop Balls from Ledraplastic (available in 45, 55, and 66 cm diameters).  These are tough — we have had a Hop 45 inflated and ready to play for more than 20 years.  Ledraplastic specializes in phthalate-free vinyl toys, which are made in Italy.  Great value, and lots of energy-burning fun!

New for us this year is the Fropper, a bundle of bouncing fun from a German company called Okiedog.  This cute little ride-on is designed for toddlers aged 18 months to 3 years, and its castor wheels, springy saddle, and easy folding for storage (that feature is for you, moms and dads) make it a big hit.

Left, the Fropper in its bouncable riding form, while at right you see it folded and ready for storage or transport.

New from Melissa & Doug this fall are the Wooden Block Play Sets, available in Farm, Town, and Castle versions.  The blocks fit neatly together like a puzzle, in order to build the large components such as the barn, while the animals and other pieces are large and sturdy to foster creative and imaginative play.

Another creative staple is the height-adjustable wooden easel from Melissa & Doug.  This sturdy standing easel will be the beginning of many an art masterpiece from your children; it is double-sided, with a dry-erase whiteboard on one side and a green chalkboard on the other, so two kids can paint or draw at one time.  The easel also includes a locking paper-roll holder, a child-safe paper-cutter, and four easy-grip paper clips (an accessory kit is sold separately, which includes everything the budding artist needs to get going right out of the box — paints, paper roll, dry-erase marker, eraser, paint cups and lids, paintbrushes, and jumbo chalk).

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at some retro items and some futuristic novelties featured in the new NETS catalogue.

Box Girls "Take Out" Family Dinner Box of Questions

We’ve just been unpacking a monster order from the inventive folks at Melissa & Doug.  Although they got their start in the wooden-puzzle-and-building-blocks end of the toy business, M&D  has been expanding its catalogue to include such things as dress-up clothes, puppets, pretend play furniture and accessories, and ride-on toys (see the post on Trunki here).  Among the new items featured in this year’s Melissa & Doug catalogue are a great series of games called the Box Girls Box of Questions and Mini Box of Questions.

Each size is available in a number of themes, ranging from holiday-related games (Chanukah and Christmas) to B(est) F(riends) F(orever), Family Dinner, Slumber Party, and Birthday Girl.  The games are packaged in neat cylindrical boxes, with the large games including 82 question cards and the small games containing 42.  The games are designed to be conversation starters, helping kids, friends, and families to know one another better.

The company was started in 2002 by two harassed moms, Cece Feiler and Heidi Haddad, who were trying to keep impatient children — and husbands! — from melting down during a restaurant outing.  Since that time, over half-a-million games have been sold, and reviewers have been unanimous in their praise for the game’s ability to bring together families and friends.

Box Girls Box of Questions (assorted) CAD$11.99

Box Girls Mini Box of Questions (assorted) CAD$5.99

In stock now.

Dreadfleet from Games Workshop

Brand-new in the store is Dreadfleet, the tabletop miniatures board game from Games Workshop.  Designed by Phil Kelly, and with art supplied by John Blanche and Alex Boyd, this handsome game pits the Pirate Lords of Sartosa against a coalition of Undead Pirate Captains.

Captain Roth’s hunt for the legendary Dreadfleet has led him deep into the fabled Galleon’s Graveyard.  With the aid of the world’s most dangerous pirate lords, the Captain intends to send the Vampire Count Noctilus to a watery grave.  Yet the count has allies too, each at the helm of a gigantic and unnatural warship.  Can the pirate lords battle through legions of skeletal sailors, zombie sea monsters, and hurricanes of raw magic to slay the master of the Galleon’s Graveyard once and for all?

First impressions:  the miniatures are absolutely beautiful.  The imaginative detail sculpted into the pieces is mind-boggling, and should make each ship and fragment of terrain a pleasure to paint.  The seascape game mat measures 5 feet by 3.5 feet, and is thin and flexible, with gorgeous graphics.  The game is designed for two players, but is playable by up to ten.   The miniatures vary in size (some ships and features are larger than others) but seem to average around 3 or 4 inches.  The miniatures are supplied unpainted and do require assembly (this is a Games Workshop product, after all!) At present, Games Workshop considers Dreadfleet to be a stand-alone product, and has no plans to release auxiliary ships or units.

Recommended for ages 12 and up.

#5203

Brand-new individual Playmobil figures, blind-bagged and retailing at the same price point as the Lego minifigs (CAD$3.49), have just arrived in the store.  (Confusingly, they are marked on the package as “Playmobil Fi?ures”, which plays havoc with the spell-checker.)  There is a boys’ assortment (#5203) and a girls’ assortment (#5204), with 12 figures in each.  The boys’ assortment is heavy on action figures such as knights, wrestlers, and the like, while the girls’ selection has an emphasis on princesses and fairies.

There are enough surprises to keep away accusations of outright sexism — 5304 contains a female Robin Hood-esque character as well as a tattooed singer rockin’ out with a microphone — and the characters in both assortments are not available in any other set currently on offer, as far as I am aware.

#5204

Unlike the Lego mini-figures’ foil packages, which have a coded identification system that has been cracked by collectors intent on getting their hands on particular models without having to purchase more than they need to, the Playmobil foil bags seem truly uniform, and would-be collectors of one model or another may have to resort to the time-tested method of manipulating the contents inside the bag.  (“Is that a shield?  It feels like a shield … It must be the Knight!  Or maybe it’s the Executioner’s ax … Oh, just buy it and tear it open!)

The assortments, by the way, are marked as “Series 1″, which is a pretty good indication that Playmobil plans to follow this up with subsequent offerings.  I wonder whether this spells the end for the venerable Specials, which are more expensive and contain basically the same thing — a figure and accessory?

In stock now.

Pick Me! Pick Me!

I apologize for the short notice, but we just found out about this today (although the letter was dated 5 August 2011).

Schleich North America is running a loyalty promotion during the month of September.  We have decided to extend it an extra two weeks, so it runs from today (8 September) until 15 October 2011.  For every $5 spent on Schleich products during that time, the customer will receive a special Schleich loyalty sticker to affix to his loyalty card.  When the card is filled with six stickers (or a $30 total purchase), he or she will be able to choose a free green dot figure from our selection.

That’s it.  It’s pretty straightforward, really.

We’ll also honour any Schleich purchases made at our store from 01 September to today, as long as you can show us the sales slip with the date and item number.  (No reason you should be punished just because Schleich is slow to get these notifications out.)

Spaceboy and Princess, 1957

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”   Albert Einstein, physicist, 1879-1955

Children live, at least in part, within the world of imagination, and one of the ways in which they express this imagination is through drama and play-acting, or — to put it into a more everyday context — through pretending.

Gulmby Monster Costume from Manhattan Toy

While it is not necessary to have a costume or props in order to inhabit a character, sometimes it does help (ask any theatre-goer who has just attended a Shakespeare play staged with performers in modern street-clothes, and with empty sets).  Children intuitively understand this — sure, a blanket can be a superhero cape, but oh boy!  A real superhero cape in shiny satin with a big letter on it?  Much better.

There are certain characters or types that seem to remain evergreen in children’s imaginations:  the Knight, the Princess (and Prince), the Pirate, the Ballerina, and the Monster.  On the other hand, the Cowboy and the Spaceman, those staples of my childhood, seem to now inhabit only the attic of memories (perhaps this nostalgic aura is why they were chosen as the lead characters in the Toy Story movies?)

Manhattan Toy, with its unerring eye for design and its over-developed sense of fun, has hit the bulls-eye with its Gulmby Monster costume (photo at left) and its bevy of beautiful princess dresses.  A Velcro-like closure in the back, generous sizing, and open feet (hidden by those fearsome claws) give Gulmby lots of room to accommodate growing kids, while its soft and fuzzy fabric gives this monster a cuddly side.

Princess Seraphina Dress-up from Manhattan Toy

The princess dresses (Princess Seraphina is shown at left) are satisfyingly full of satin, ribbon, and sparkly things.   The dresses are designed to fit children aged approximately 4 through 6 years, although obviously your mileage may vary.

These are in stock now.  Still to come back in are the King Glitter Cape and the Medieval Queen from Creative Education, a Canadian manufacturer of children’s dress-up clothing and accessories.  I would have run barefoot over hot coals as a child to get my hands on something as beautiful as these, I think.

Medieval Queen from Creative Education

The Medieval Queen dress is sewn of satin, panné velvet, and gold mesh.  The long sleeves are puffed at the shoulder (yeah, baby!) and the skirt is supported by a mesh crinoline so that it poofs out in a satisfyingly princess-y way.  The skirt is also lined so that it isn’t scratchy and uncomfortable.

I don’t believe that the tiara shown in the photograph is included with the Medieval Queen dress but we do normally stock tiaras anyway.

Dress-up clothing and costumes are investment pieces that will more than repay the investment.  And who knows?  Inside your child there may be a Star, waiting to be born!  Look out, Lady Gaga!  Move over, Brad Pitt!

Old Corner Bookstore, Boston

The rise of the supra-national mega-corporation over the past few decades has coincided, not surprisingly, with the political push to allow easy movement of corporate assets and jobs from one country to another.  Governments eagerly bought into the idea — encouraged, of course, by their allies and campaign-funds-suppliers in the corporate world — that this off-shoring of manufacturing jobs to the developing world would bring prosperity to formerly impoverished regions, while simultaneously allowing the Western, developed countries to concentrate on nurturing the so-called “knowledge-based economy”, those sectors that required a highly-educated workforce. (I believe that this would be what is known by politicians as a “win-win”.)

The theory was that both these workers in the new Western economy and the corporate entities that off-shored their production would be able to benefit from the lower cost base offered by manufacturing in a poorer, developing country — the companies because they would enjoy larger profit margins, and the workers because, in their twin role as consumers of these manufactured goods, they would enjoy lower prices.

Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, I suppose.  Too bad it really didn’t work.

Oh, it worked pretty well for the companies, of course.  By moving manufacturing to any area of the world where the local economic conditions are crummy enough to make even what would be a pitiable wage by Western standards look enticing, corporations have been able to reap fat profit margins (and this despite costs particular to off-shore manufacturing, such as after-hours counterfeiting of one’s product, shoddy manufacturing leading to increased recalls, and costs of transporting finished goods across oceans.)

Who it hasn’t worked for, unfortunately, are the citizens of the Western, developed economies who used to constitute the middle class.  Remember the middle class?  They were the workers who used to actually make things, for domestic consumption and for export, and who earned a reasonable wage for doing it.  They were the ones whose jobs were centered in their communities, owned by local businesses, rather than by trans-national corporations who might decide tomorrow that an extra 0.05% could be added to the bottom line by moving production to somewhere — anywhere — else where there is no minimum wage, or sketchy environmental standards, or a slightly more corrupt government.

And those high-salaried, knowledge-based jobs that were supposed to replace the lost manufacturing jobs?  Didn’t happen, alas. As can be seen from the graph below, which is derived from data released by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the average annual incomes for the vast majority of Americans (one assumes that the Canadian

Courtesy Mother Jones Magazine.

data would not be very different) have stagnated at best, or declined at worst, over the past 30 years.

So I was happy to see the article in USA Today’s Money section entitled “Buy American Gets New Emphasis” (link here).  As consumers, we need to realize that our buying choices have real consequences for our communities and our neighbors.  When we make a conscious and thoughtful decision to buy something that is produced locally, or sold in a locally-owned business — or both — we are helping to create an economic future that is more vibrant, more stable, and more satisfying.  When we mindlessly choose the cheapest product, sold by a company with no real stake in the economic health of the community (hey, it can always move somewhere else, right?), we sabotage our future and that of our children.

We as consumers and as workers need to sit up and take notice of the fact that buying locally is good for us and for our communities.  It keeps jobs here, it keeps tax revenues here, and those jobs and tax revenues will keep our towns and cities vibrant and healthy places to live for generations to come.

Let’s not be those who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.  Happy Labor Day.