Extension Agent II
Cathy Guffey v.
Tis The Season
For Buying Toys
It’s toy-buying time again!
Millions of parents, relatives,
and friends will purchase mil
lions of dollars worth of toys. In
a few weeks these toys will be in
the hands of the nation’s young.
Some of the toys won’t stay in
their hands for long. Others will
become favorites and be used for
years.
At this time of year it is inter
esting to ask why some toys are
big hits and others seem to be big
losers. There are two reasons.
Part of the answer lies within the
child since each child is a unique
person, with his own likes, dis
likes, interests and abilities.
It is very important to consider
where the child is in his develop
ment and where he is likely to be
in the very near future. For ex
ample one father gave his two
year-old daughter a very compli
cated doll. The little girl com
pletely disregarded the doll once
it was opened and held “once”
on Christmas morning. A more
appropriate gift might have been
a stuffed doll that did not eat
A PENNSYLVANIA CHRISTMAS
and GIFT SHOW
1 7th Annual
Nov. 29-Dec. 3, 2000 • PA FARM SHOW COMPLEX
E
o
.. o
CO 5
Bi
«j W
■9 ro
i E
k.
3
O
k.
o
(0
Q.
5 Indoor Acres of Shopping & Entertainment
Plus a Special Christmas Display from
The National Christmas Center
CHRISTMAS SHOP at the largest holiday hall in the coun- ODORS Wed.. NOV. 29. 2000 at:
try—over 500 specialty shoppes selling a wide array of exclu- A ,
sive, unique gifts for family and friends. You’ll be pleased with P** SHOW Com|NOX
the quality, vanety and range of reasonable paces ($2 to 2301 North Comoron Stroot
$700). Grits for sale include: arts & crafts, jewelry, clothing, Harrisburg, Ponnsyhrania
Christmas ornaments, toys, household accents, ceramics, H M
furniture, dolls, flowers, paintings and much, much more. 1 _ '
Telephone: 717-233-5100
YQiILL BF DATES: ,■
during your shopping expon
ents. Take a 30-minute break to enjoy a professional ice
show. On Saturday and Sunday, you’ll see our performing
dance troupe Or, enjoy listening to our choral and musical
groups. See a 110-foot tram display, 40 decorated trees, and
holiday displays. Plus cooking clinics and Olde Christmas
Village with its 19 life-size buildings and quaint tents.
GETTING HUNGRY from all this activity’ There is a 600-
seat cafeteria serving hot meals all day, and you'll find 8 con
cession areas to serve you.
ONE ADMISSION PRICE COVERS ALL EVENTS. The
entire show is inside and under one roof, and there is FREE
PARKING in our 5,000-car parking lot.
and wet.
Another family decided to buy
a small indoor slide for their
four-year-old son. Again, the boy
was not at all interested in this
rather expensive gift. The reason
was simple the past summer
the boy had mastered the large
slide at the park. The small slide
would have been just right for an
18-month-old or even a
2‘/2-year-old, but not a
4-year-old. The idea of matching
the toy or gift with the child’s
level of development is often
overlooked because a parent may
in fact buy the toy on impulse or
buy it because he or she thinks
the toy is cute. Any toy should
offer some challenge to the child
but not be so advanced that it
will take many months for the
child to grow into it.
Before deciding on a toy it is
helpful to sit back and watch
what the child does in his play.
Does he like to play make-believe
using people and cars? Does she
enjoy doing more quiet activities?
Is she ready for a simple board
game? Does a wheel toy fascinate
him? Is she able to throw a ball?
Can she read? Does he have
books of his own? What you see
your child doing should give you
some hints about what kind of
toys to buy.
Many catalogs and toy pack
ages have suggested ages stated.
Keep in mind that these are in
tended only as a guide. Each par
ent must choose the toy that is
suited to his/her child.
Catalogs can be helpful be
cause they are filled with ideas.
Look through them and when a
toy looks like a good one for your
child, think about the above
questions. Catalogs also give the
parent a chance to make a list
before hitting the store.
The other part of the original
question about why some toys
are big hits and others are real
losers lies in the toys themselves.
Any toy should be safe for the
child who receives it. It is unfair
and unwise to give a toy to a
child that requires an adult to be
present for it to be used safely. It
is also unfair to give a young
child a toy that requires an adult
to make it work. For example,
there are board games on the
market that require an adult to
constantly be involved in playing
them so that they do not fall
apart.
Look for board games in
tended for young children that
are simple in their design. There
should be few, if any, complicat
ed parts. The child should not
only be able to play the game,
but also even set it up and put it
away.
Any good toy is well con
structed and is constructed in
such a way that it will withstand
Wednesday, November 29 to
Sundey, December 3, 2000
SHOW HOURS:
10 am to 9 pm - Wednesday,
Thursday A Friday
9 am to 9 pm - Saturday
10 am to 6 pm - Sunday
ADMISSION:
$6.00 General Admission I
$4.00 Senior Citizens (over 62) '
$3.00 After 5 pm for Everyone (ni
(children under 12 FREE with pai
many months of hard child play.
Look for flaws in the toy. Will
certain parts easily come off or
break? If it is made of plastic,
does it appear to be strong
enough to last? Are their lots of
small parts that are likely to be
lost?
Be careful buying fad toys or
toys that are pushed hard on
television. A few of these nation
ally advertised toys are worth
while, but many are not. Televi
sion can make a toy appear to do
much more than it can really do.
One example is the annual pitch
for cars or dolls that seem to be
able to do amazing stunts. TV
close-ups can be deceiving.
When your child gets the
“super TV” car or doll, he may
be very disappointed because it
won’t do what he thought it
would do. Another thing to con
sider in buying toys that are part
of a TV ad is that the toy is likely
to pass rather quickly. We have
seen this happen in recent years
with toys that capitalized on the
stars of movies and television
programs. These toys cost much
more, too.
The business of buying toys for
children is one that takes a good
deal of thought and planning.
Begin early and make wise selec
tions. And by all means don’t
overload the child with toys. A
few well-planned and thought
fully chosen toys are far better
than a grocery store basket full,
many of which could end up
gathering dust in the basement
on January 1!
Toy Suggestions
For children under 2 years;
• sturdy rattles
/sljH
It
f t \
\ **
V t
\v-*
V s ,
V*
I^4
trA*
i o discounts sfter S pm)
i rsnt)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 25, 2000-B7
brightly
colored
objects
• rubber or
wash
able
squeak
toys
• stuffed
dolls
and an
imals
• large,
soft,
colored
balls
• blocks
with
round-
Hershey MmeumOpens
Annual Christkindlmarkt
Dec . 1-3
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.) Join the Hershey
Museum in kicking off the season in true German
style with Christkindlmarkt weekend, as the mu
seum is transformed into a traditional German
Christmas market.
Hours are Friday, Dec. 1, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. and
Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 2 and 3, 10 a.m.-5
p.m. Museum regular admission is charged for ac
cess to all of the events and crafts.
More than 40 handcraft vendors are participat
ing this year. All vendors at the Hershey Museum
Christkindlmarkt are carefully chosen from a
wide range of applicants. Saturday, Dec. 2, is Bel
snickle Day. Watch this traditional Pennsylvania
German un-Santa-like Christmas character make
up his list of naughty children to visit on Christ
mas Eve, with special performances at 11 a.m.
and 2 p.m.
The museum is closed Christmas, and New
Year’s Day. Museum admission is $6 adults,
$5.50 seniors 62+, $3 children 3-15, children
under 3 are free. For more information, call (717)
534-3439, or visit our web site at www.hershey-
ed comers
• push and pull toys
Children 2 to 3 years:
• sand box with bucket, shovel
and spoon
• large peg boards
• wooden animals
• cars and wagons to push
• tip-proof kiddie cars and tri
cycles
• large crayons
• low rocking horses
• small chairs and tables
Children 3 to 4 years;
• small brooms and carpet
sweepers
• toy telephones
• dolls with simple wrap
around clothing
• doll buggies and furniture
• dishes
• miniature garden tools
• trucks and tractors
• non-electric trains
• drums
• costume clothes
• building blocks
Creativity in a child be
gins at about age 4. To en
courage creativity select
toys such as the following:
blackboards and dustless
chalk
• simple construction sets
• paints and paint books
• doll houses and furniture
• small sports equipment
• skipping rope
• wash tubs and boards
• paper doll sets with blunt
end scissors
• costumes
• modeling clay
Children 6 to 8 years:
• sleds
• roller skates
• approved electrical toys
• playground equipment
• items for playing store, bank
or gas station
• puzzles and games
Children 8 years and older;
• hobby materials
• arts and crafts
• photography
• coin and stamp collections
• puppets
• musical instruments
• gym and sports equipment
• bicycles
• science sets
museum.org.
Visit our
(ntiifue.s Genten
advertising
on line!
’.lancastei
ww