Hare'd He Get Here? The Easter Bunny and Jesus

Bunnies, Eggs, and Jesus

Ever wonder what a bunny has to do with Jesus or chicken eggs on Easter?  Nothing, really!   Way back in history, the hare was a symbol of fertility in pre-Christian cultures.  As Christianity spread through Europe, pagan symbols were often incorporated into feasts and holidays.  So that is likely how the hare and Jesus became intertwined.


Eggs were also considered symbols of fertility. And at some point in history, they were also forbidden during the 40 days of Lent. So they became somewhat of a treat. People began boiling and coloring them as well.  Then much later in history, in 1680, a story was written about a bunny laying eggs in gardens. Why they were chicken eggs is not known, but it’s better than leaving a bunch of baby bunnies. And why the Easter Bunny is generally depicted as a male is also not known.


Germans settling into Pennsylvania Dutch areas of the United States during the eighteenth century brought these ancient legends and practices with them.  “Good” boys and girls would make hidden nests with their caps, bonnets, or twigs in a garden or barn in hopes that the Easter Bunny would deliver colored eggs during the night. Nests eventually became baskets. People started making pastry and sugar confections. And as we know, brightly colored Easter baskets loaded with candy became a large part of Easter celebration – as well as wearing your Easter finery and going to church!


At Fundamentally Toys, a big hare visits our store every year on the Saturday before Easter. He doesn’t bring colored chicken eggs, which is just as well.  The kids prefer candy these days. And besides, you can only eat so many hard-boiled eggs. The Easter Bunny's visit never fails to delight both kids and adults and we love hosting "Breakfast with the Bunny" every year!

Peeps Just Turned 60!

I can't believe Peeps, the sugar-coated marshmallow Easter treats of my youth, just turned 60 years old. You'd think that a sugar blast like this would have gone by the wayside, but it's more popular than ever. In fact, David Shaffer, co-CEO of Just Born, Inc., said that last year's business was "off the charts" with 2012 being the company's best financial year yet.

This Easter season alone, the company will hatch more than 1 billion Peeps - 1 BILLION!!! And now they've added chocolate to the candy line. Look for chocolate-covered Peeps and a yellow Peep nested in a half shell of chocolate on store shelves now. Mmm..!

It's not just about eating Peeps. Much of the iconic treat's popularity  has been due to art contests, parades, recipes, and more.  One year I made an Easter bonnet with grass around the rim and nested the brim with purple Peeps. If it had been a contest, I think I might have won.

Long gone are the days when Peeps were hand made by strong women who squeezed the marshmallow mix out of pastry bags. That must have been some job! The treats were so fresh back then that Sam Born, founder of the company, posted a sign outside his candy shop that said "Just Born." And that's how the company got it's name!

Check out  Peeps on Facebook!

Toy Fair 2013 kicks off February 10!

Despite the big Northeast snowstorm, I made it to New York City for Toy Fair 2013.  It was a day later than planned, but in time for the kick-off on Sunday, February 10.

The American International Toy Fair, now in its 110th year, is sponsored annually by the Toy Industry Association, a non-profit organization.  Buyers, manufacturers, and the press will be on hand for four days at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, trying to determine products and trends that will drive the toy business in 2013. In addition to being able to browse and talk with over 1,000 exhibitors, attendees have opportunities for education, industry updates, and networking.

There's always a lot of hype about hot toys, and big companies with mass offerings tend to take the news spotlight.  While many of these items are fun and flashy, they often do not fit the mission statement of Fundamentally Toys. I'll be making the rounds and looking for toys that help children develop a wide range of abilities from reasoning to math to social skills - in addition to having FUN!

I'm encouraged to be hearing some pre-fair discussion that a major theme of this year's Toy Fair is a re-focus by toy makers toward classic, traditional toys and games.  I'm excited to see what's in store!

Kitty in the City: Monopoly Fans Choose a New Game Token

Kitty in the City: Monopoly Fans Choose  New Game Token

  

Over 250,000 fans took to Facebook to vote on a new game token for Hasbro's popular board game, Monopoly.  The results are in and a cat has clawed its way to the top with 31% of the vote, climbing past four other contestants: a guitar, diamond ring, helicopter, and toy robot. No surprise, given the fact that over 33% of U.S. households have cats according to latest statistics available from The Humane Society of the United States.

New kitty will give old Scottie dog someone to chase around the board! This new feline is bound to be a favorite to be fought over from among the race car, battleship, top hat, thimble, shoe, wheelbarrow, and Scottie dog.

Voters also voted on which existing game pieces to keep. Sadly, the iron got the fewest votes and is being cast aside. People probably can’t really relate to an iron anymore these days.  But everyone has their favorite Monopoly playing piece and I’m happy the thimble got to stay for now. 

Since the launch of Monopoly in 1934, playing pieces have been replaced throughout the years. But this is the first time that the company has included input from the public. The online vote was a fantastic way to engage fans over social media and update the game.

Creator of Etch A Sketch Dies

News has just been released that André Cassagnes, inventor of the Etch A Sketch, died near Paris on January 16, 2013, at the age of 86.

Launched in 1960 by Ohio Art, the Etch A Sketch was the first high tech-looking toy of its time. The magic and mechanics behind the small, TV-like box were really quite simple:  Users manipulated two knobs which internally moved a stylus that created sketches on a grey, powder-coated underside of a screen. Sketches could be magically erased by turning the screen upside down and shaking it. But what was most interesting about the toy was how Cassagnes came up with the idea in the first place.

In the late 1950s, Cassagnes was working as an electrical technician in a French factory which manufactured embossed wall coverings.  The factory used metallic powders in its process and the inventor noticed how the powder clung to the back of a plastic decal he had peeled off a light switch. He ran his pencil through the clinging powder and saw that it made a design which appeared on the opposite side of the decal. That chance discovery gave Cassanges the idea to develop a toy which he called “L’Ecran Magique” (The Magic Screen).

He took his idea to the Nuremburg Toy Fair in 1959, where Ohio Art saw it, bought the rights for $25,000, and worked with the creator to refine it.  In 1960, Ohio Art launched the final product as the Etch A Sketch.  It quickly became the hottest selling toy that year, and has since continued to enjoy a steady popularity even in the face of electronic video games and gadgets.  Over 100 million have sold worldwide.

In 1998, Etch A Sketch was inducted into the National ToyHall of Fame in Rochester, New York.  It has also been named by the Toy Industry Association as one of the hundred best toys of the 20th century.  

Board Game Popularity Resurgence

What's Old is New: Board Games are Back!

Having just come back from a holiday get-together with family, I reflected upon the fun we had playing Scrabble, Rummikub, and The Settlers of Catan.  It was friendly competition around the table that included all ages.  For the less competitively inclined, a puzzle was in progress on the table in the family room.

The digital age has spawned a plethora of video games with players singularly glued to their computers or phones often not competing with friends, but against virtual strangers. Worried about this isolation and lack of social interaction, I have been heartened to learn that digital game players have started to miss the camaraderie of real people and hanging out with friends – and that there has been a resurgence in the popularity of table-top board games. 

 

Continuing to rank high in popularity are the classic board games many of us have grown up with such as Monopoly, Clue, Balderdash, Scrabble, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, and Taboo.  Newer games such as Pandemic, Ticket to Ride, Carcassone, and The Settlers of Catan moved from cult status in recent years to mainstream popularity and helped fuel the board game renaissance. Word of mouth primarily seems to be the way that board games grow in popularity. It’s difficult to keep up with all the newness and niches, but you might check out the website BoardGameGeek.com for up-to-date information.  They have all kinds of rankings and statistics and you can view games by categories such as children,family, party, strategy, themes, war, and more.

  

I, for one, am happy that designers and publishers agree the board game business is on a growth path.  It’s probably not huge, but it is taking us in a direction of more satisfying social and personal interactions.  So don’t wait for the holidays to break out a board game.  A friends or family game night is loads of fun, lots of laughs, and everyone walks away feeling like a winner.