What's New | G.Willikers Toy Shop

Jul 10, 2010

Memory Walk Portsmouth 2010As part of our "Think Outside the Bag" initiative, G.Willikers! Toy Shop in Portsmouth,NH is donating a dime to the Alzheimer's Foundation every time a customer opts not to take a bag with their purchase. This program has been in effect for over two years now and has been a great success; saving literally thousands of bags from potentially going into landfills AND generating hundreds of dollars in donations to local non-profits and other organizations. We'll be supporting the Alzheimer's Memory Walk with this money and donating it at the local event on Saturday, September 11th at the South Mill Playground.

In addition to the donations made at the counter for saving a bag, G.Willikers! will also donate $2.00 of every "GO3801" t-shirt sale for Alzheimer's as well! SO SUPPORT OUR FAVORITE ZIP CODE (03801!!) AND PURCHASE A VERY LIMITED EDITION T-SHIRT AND HELP Limited Edition G03801 T-ShirtTHE CAUSE. Wear your passion for PORTSMOUTH!

Sizes currently available are

XS (2-4)/ Small (6-8)/ Med (10-12)/ Adult Small (34-36)/ Adult Med (38-40)

Jul 08, 2010

Who Really Invented Monopoly?

Strong Museum acquires rare early Monopoly Game

Strong Museum Rochester, NY
Playthings Staff -- Playthings, 7/1/2010 2:54:58 PM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - A rare and unique early version of Monopoly, used as evidence in a controversial, 10-year legal copyright battle over the iconic American game's true inventor, has been acquired by Strong National Museum of Play - home of the National Toy Hall of Fame.

The museum has announced that second oldest known version of the world's most popular board game ever has been added to its world-renowned collections of play-related objects: a folk-art Monopoly game created by a member of the Heap family between 1910 and 1917 when the family lived in Altoona, Penn.

The Heap board game also has the distinction of being the oldest Monopoly game with all its playing pieces intact including hand-made money, property cards in color groupings, and houses and other "improvement" buildings. The Heap game was an important piece of evidence in a Monopoly copyright dispute that began in 1974 and spanned a decade.

To briefly summarize the copyright disagreement: Pennsylvanian Charles Darrow claimed to have invented the game of Monopoly and in 1935 sold the rights to Parker Brothers. In 1973, Ralph Anspach, a professor of economics, invented a game called Anti-Monopoly; and, in 1974, became embroiled in a lawsuit for trademark infringement brought against him by the General Mills Fun Group.

Apr 26, 2009

Clay Rice visits G.Willikers!

Clay Rice at work

CLICK to see pictures from this event.

Nationally known silhouette artist Clay Rice brought his rare skill of cutting silhouette portraits to Portsmouth, NH Wednesday, April 22 when he created over 70 of these heirloom memories for local residents. His scheduled day was packed full with fans of this simple art form.

The term derives from Etienne de Silhouette (1706-67), French Minister of Finance under Louis XV, who cut shadow portraits as a hobby. Until the end of the 18th century silhouette portraits were more commonly known in Britain as ‘profiles’ or ‘shades’. This form of portraiture, being relatively quick and inexpensive to produce, was very popular from the 1750s to the 1850s, when it was overtaken by photography.

Mr. Rice proved to be as interesting as his art. “I started cutting silhouettes at about age 6 when my grandfather showed me how to cut out simple shapes such as barnyard animals and trees.” In fact Carew Rice, Clay’s grandfather was hailed by Poet Carl Sandburg as “America’s Greatest Silhouettist”. His hauntingly beautiful landscapes of Southern life and lands are sought after by collectors worldwide. Rice’s first paying job as a silhouettist didn’t come until he was 20. “I was living in Nashville, TN, learning to write songs and commuting home to the South Carolina lowcountry in the summertime to make extra money cutting silhouettes at the Pawleys Island Hammock shops for vacationers from the upstate."Clay Rice finishes a portrait

Feb 24, 2009

The Touch

Hands On!

One of the best things about going to Toy Fair is being able to see the toys up close and in action. Most companies are demonstating their products, and encouraging you to jump right in and play! The Touch "The Touch" is a geat new game for kids ages 5 and up. It's "hands on" in the true sense of the word! Players use their sensory,memory and matching skills to locate objects. It can be played competitively or cooperatively! This multi-award winning game will sure to be one of our new favorites!

Feb 23, 2009

"Gather 'Round Dinner Game" by Family Time Fun

Let the conversations begin!

Some of our favorite products come from the conversations we have with our customers. This is definitely a great recommendation! "Gather 'Round Dinner Game" is a new game is from a company called Family Time Fun. We had the wonderful opportunity to meet the owners of this MassachDinner Gameusetts based business! They have added a new game with each new year of their growing business, and we thought we'd give this one a try! "Spice" up the dinner family meals with this inventive conversation starter! This great new game should be on our shelves in no time!

Feb 23, 2009

Green Toys

Green Toys Recycling TruckGreenToys!

One of our priorities at Toy Fair was to look for Eco-Friendly Toys. "Going Green" has been a positive trend in the toy indusrty, and many companies are finding creative and resourceful ways to make new product lines that are good for kids and good for the Earth.

Green Toys is one of our most exciting discoveries at Toy Fair this year. Their Plan, Product and Packaging are all "Green", and they are also made int the USA!

Green Toys uses recycled milk bottles to create an ever-growing line of products. You will be seeing almost all of their products on our shelves, adding to our ever-growing collection of innovative toys that are "Eco-Friendly"

Green Toys Tea Set

Feb 23, 2009

Toy Fair '09!

Toy Fair '09! Running a toy store takes a lot of hard work and a lot of hard play! Sometimes our work and our play look a lot alike!

One of the fun things we get to do for our work as toy store owners is to visit NYC each year to take part in the New York Toy Fair! The New York Toy Fair is held at the Javitt's Center, and over 100,000 products from over 1200 exhibitors are on display! Talk about sensory overload! It took us 2-1/2 days to walk the aisles, and we could have used even more time!

One of the most exciting parts of the Toy Fair is meeting the people who develop the toys we carry on our shelves. We get to hear how they came up with such great ideas, and how they took their ideas and made them into reality! Their stories are fascinating and inspiring!

Our next couple of blogs will give you a glimpse at some of the cool new toys that we found on our visit to the New York Toy Fair!

If you want to see some live coverage of the Toy Fair from the Toy Fair TV, Click Here!

Feb 04, 2009

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

CoralineCheck out Coraline by Neil Gaiman! (We always recommend reading the book first of course) Coraline is now a major motion picture being released this February 6, 2009

"When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.

But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wits and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life."

Check out this interview with Neil Gaiman on one of my favorite podcasts: Just One More Book! Neil Gaiman

Jan 01, 2009

A New Year

First, I'd like to say Happy New Year! It's January 1st, a cold wind is blowing outside my window and as I write this I feel very grateful to have heat & power. ( a few still don't after the ice storm several weeks ago.) The turn of the calendar typically allows us to think about the year ahead; the opportunities we'll enjoy and the challenges we may face. Without trying to gloss over the difficulties that many people face right now, we always look to the new year as a time of revitalization. At G.Willikers! this is a time where new ideas can emerge. Ideas that we hope will keep our store exciting, competitive and relevant in our community. There are always new innovations this time of year in the toy industry and 2009 will be no exception. We look forward to showcasing many of these new products & playthings while we continue to carry the best toys the planet has to offer. Our 30th Anniversary year is behind us now but we're wasting no time as we prepare for a new year, a new president and many new initiatives.

Jun 01, 2008

Go Bag Free to Protect the Earth!

For almost 2 months now, we have donated a dime to a local "green intiiative" when our customers go bag free, use our 100% recycled G.Wllikers! bags, or use their own bag.

Over 600 bags saved!

This has been a small step that has seemed to have a big impact. Our customers are supportive and enthusiastic about this, and already we have saved over 600 bags, and will be donating over $60 to Little Harbors Eco-Camp Program.

June Donation: Seacoast Science Center

For the month of June our dime a bag donation will go to the Seacoast Science Center to celebrate their educational approaches to keeping our planet healthy.

The Seacoast Science Center informed us that sea turtles and other marine life think plastic bags are jellyfish and they try to eat them. Together we can take small steps that make a big difference!

G.Willikers! blog is the place for parents and kids to go for all the latest news and events happening at our toy store in Portsmouth, NH and around the Seacoast area.