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Showing posts from April, 2012

How to Play Happy Families Card Game

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Happy Families is probably our most popular traditional family card game and like Farmyard Donkey and Pairs on Wheels it is great fun to play at a young age and with other family members.  The pack contains 44 cards, which are grouped in 11 sets of 4.  The game can be played with 3-6 players and the aim is to collect as many complete families as you can. Firstly, the cards are dealt out between players.  The game starts with the player to the dealer's left asking another player for a specific card- this must go with a family member of a card they already hold. If the asked player does not have the card then it is their turn to ask for a family member.  If the asked played has the card, it is given to the requester and the requester can then ask another player for a card.  The game carries on this way until until there are no families separated among the players. The winner is the player with the most families. Suitable for ages 4 years and up

So many Pictures and Paintings the Fridge is Full

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It's surprising how many pictures we have accumulated from the time Blake has spent at Nursery and they are all works of art that we can't bear to throw away. When a new painting arrives home it takes pride of place on the fridge until the next one arrives and then they all just end up in the loft. It seemed such a shame to have them tucked away were no one will ever see them so we have made this collage from all the best bits and then framed it to go on the wall. There were foot prints, hand prints, sponge paintings, marble paintings and glittery ones. It's a great way to condense down the huge pile of paintings and now we have a beautiful picture to hang on the wall that we can treasure forever.

Retro tin toys but without the sharp edges

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Tin toys were originally made as a cheaper alternative to wooden toys and were popular until we started mass producing plastic toys in the 70's. Tin toys were often quirky with bright colours and patterns that appealed to children. These are the toys which are remembered by the grandads and great grandads of today with nostalgic memories of wind up mechanisms. Reproductions of these old tin toys are still being made today and we stock a range of collectible tin robots, planes and other tin toys. Unfortunately these tin toys are only suitable for collectors and are not intend for children as they do not meet the current toy legislation. This is why we were so excited when we discovered a range of tin toys from Schylling that carry the CE mark and are suitable for children from the age of 3 years. Now grandparents can give their grandchildren a tin toy they remember. Friction Powered Cars and Planes - £5.99 Streamline Train - £12.99

Easter Madness

Well the sales that were held in our shops over the Easter holidays were an over whelming success and I am sure many people have bought some absolute bargains for themselves. As I thought the wooden tree house was very popular and I do believe they were all sold. Several customers were buying one of each of the wooden police car, ambulance and fire engine and putting them away for Christmas and who can blame them. We still have some of the items that were in the sale in stock and even at the normal price they are excellent value for money. Over the Easter weekend Looe were hoping to have markets stalls in the Rose Garden and by the Guildhall but I had only seen a couple stalls there each day when I walked by. This was going to be a tester to see if the idea would work through the summer season so I am not sure how successful this might be. At the moment the town is a lot quieter as the schools are all back to normal and maybe just as well as the weather is more like November than April

Are the Totnes Christmas late night shopping nights under threat?

The Totnes late night shopping which occurs on Tuesday Evenings in December cannot carry on at the same pace. The event has proven to be too popular for its own good with so many people attending that it's starting to cause issues with overcrowding and traffic congestion. Last year saw traffic lining almost every street. The emergency services have said that "responding to an incident would be seriously impeded". While Bob the Bus who provides a park and ride for the event have said they were "overwhelmed with the number of people on the last late night shopping night in 2011". Whilst working in the shop on the last late night shopping evening people were finding it difficult to actually shop and in some cases said they'd have to come back another day. There was a crush of people in the high street which I believe was mainly caused by popular bands playing in an area that is just not big enough to accommodate there audience as well as shoppers. Sever

Toyday's Jack in a Box to feature on new CBBC show

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It was late afternoon on Wednesday when Adam answered a call from someone at BBC Wales. They were after two Jack in the Boxes for a new Children's Sci fi Dram they were to start filming the following day so needed these urgently. I packed up the two Jack in a Boxes just in time for the delivery driver and had them sent on a before 9am Next Day delivery service so they would arrive in time for filming. Wizards Vs Aliens is written by former Doctor Who writer, Russell T Davies. The main character is Tom Clarke, who lives a seemingly ordinary life with his dad and grandmother. However, he hides a deep secret - Tom’s family are wizards and when the Nekross aliens arrive, they find themselves faced with a challenge. Tom and his friend, Benny form an extraordinary duo, using Tom’s magic and Benny’s science to battle the Nekross and save the Earth. They needed two Jack in a Boxes as one is to be smashed up so I look forward to seeing how exactly these are used in this exciting new show. W

Easter Bargains

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If you are planning a trip to Looe or to Totnes over the Easter weekend, or during this school holiday then pop into our shops and have a look at our ' Easter Madness ' sale. We have some superbly made wooden toys on offer that are already selling fast. This wooden Seal Balancing toy is great value at only £6.00 and great for working out values and is also very accurate. If your child ren are into roll play then there is this excellent wooden Police Van with 2 flexible dolls. The rear and side doors open so the dolls can be moved in and out. There is also a wooden Ambulance with 3 flexible dolls, opening doors and a wooden trolley in the rear. Both reduced from £12.99 to £9.99. For the musically talented we have a very pretty Ladybird Drum with two drumsticks. Its well made and and sure to keep your children entertained and is now just £4.99. I think one of the best bargains is the Wooden Tree Dolls House. Its built up on four levels with ladders, swings, hoists, seats and a v

Perrine's Trip to England

My name is Perrine, i'm 15 and I come from to Britany in France. I'm in England for a week. I'm in a family who is very friendly and sympathetic. For part of day i'm going to Language in Totnes School and the second i'm going for work experience in the shop "Toyday". It's a little shop very pretty. It's first day in Totnes and I'm a little lost in the town but the English are nice and I succed to understand and speak a little but it's difficult