The Toymaker of Williamsburg and W. Britain Open House

The Toymaker of Williamsburg and W. Britain Annual Open House takes place on the 2nd floor of our Merchants Square store. This is a great chance for toy soldier enthusiasts to meet and talk with Richard Walker, general manager of W. Britain.

Visitors can get the inside scoop about W. Britain happenings and a preview of new Britains toy soldiers. Take a look at the Toymaker’s complete toy soldier selection including our very own Toymaker of Williamsburg exclusive W. Britain toy soldiers. Visitors can also preview our brand new figure! The Virginia State Garrison Bass Drummer 1770’s will be joining The Toymaker Fife and Drum Corps and our open house guests will get a sneak peek at this exciting new addition.

Any W. Britain sets purchased during the open house will receive a special certificate of authenticity signed by Richard Walker. There will be door prizes given out every hour. In the past these have been W. Britain figures and military history books and we’re looking forward to seeing what these exciting giveaways will be this year! The first 100 kids to attend the event will receive a free plastic W. Britain toy soldier. The fun concludes at 6:00 p.m., just in time to dine and enjoy the ambiance of Merchants Square!

Military and toy soldier enthusiasts will want to be sure to attend Military History Weekend, October 13 & 14, at the Holiday Inn Patriot, Williamsburg, as well. You can find all of the details about this event in our MHW blog post.

When:

Friday October 12, 2012 3:00-6:00p.m.

Where:

Highlights:

Meet W. Britain General Manager Richard Walker
Door prizes every hour
FREE plastic W. Britain toy soldier for the first 100 children at the event
Preview the newest Toymaker of Williamsburg exclusive W. Britain figure

W. Britain August Arrivals

Brand new toy soldiers have just arrived at The Toymaker of Williamsburg! Military miniatures from William Britain’s Museum Collection, American Civil War Collection, Archive Collection and American Revolution Collection have just appeared on our shelves. See all of our August arrivals below.

W. Britain is a world leader in the realm of collectible toy soldiers. Their modern toy soldiers have such lifelike features that they are considered to have photographic detail. Each of their metal figures is historically accurate from clothing to weaponry. Their military miniatures come in a huge assortment of ranges from historic battles to literary characters to 20th century soldiers. It is the high quality, variety, and historical accuracy of their toy soldiers that make the W. Britain brand a favorite among collectors.

Start building your toy soldier collection today. See these and all of our William Britain toy soldiers on or official site now.

W. Britain Museum Collection

Black Watch Private Marching #1

Black Watch Highlander WWI 1916

American Civil War Toy Soldiers

Union Iron Brigade Advancing 3	Union Iron Brigade Kneeling Firing 1
Union Artillery Crewman Advancing with Sponge and Bucket 1	Union Artillery Set #4 – Running Up

W. Britain Archive Collection

British 7th Hussars

American Revolution Toy Soldiers

British Royal Irish Grenadier Standing Firing 1	British Royal Irish Grenadier Charge Bayonet 1
Colonial Militia Standing Firing 1	Colonial Militia Standing Loading 1
Colonial Militia At Port Arms 1	Colonial Militia Kneeling Firing 1

Military History Weekend 2012!

THE SHOW IS ON!

The fourth annual Military History Weekend will take place this October 13-14. MHW began in 2009 and has become a favorite event for local residents as well as a destination for military enthusiasts. Military History Weekend is designed as a way for civilians to salute our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen. Last year, an impressive 1,500 people attended the event. Military History Weekend sponsors include The Toymaker of Williamsburg, The Virginia War Museum as well as leaders in the military history industry like W. Britain Toy Soldiers, Osprey Publishing, and Casemate Publishing.

Attendees can look forward to a variety of events and exhibits including:

Boot camp for kids (ages 4-12)

Presentations from notable veterans

Display of vintage military vehicles

A large vendor area

Vendor area includes:

Collectible toy soldiers

Military history books

Military models

Original military artwork from a variety of regional artists.

When: Saturday October 13, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

and Sunday October 14, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Where: Holiday Inn Patriot

Parking: FREE daily on-site parking at the hotel, and overnight parking for guests of the hotel.

Admission: $5 for adults, Free for children under 16 and active military with ID. Admission is good for entry on both days.

We can’t wait to see everyone there! Also, don’t forget to stop by our open house the Friday before (October 12th), featuring the folks from W. Britain.

Military History Weekend 2012

*Click on the flyer to enlarge.

Douglas the Cuddle Toy

Curly Cocker Spaniel

Douglas Co. has been a family-owned and operated business for almost 60 years. It has become one of the oldest and most respected plush companies in the United States. One look at a Douglas Cuddle Toy and it is no wonder why!

Douglas the Cuddle Toy
Douglas Co. puts a strong emphasis on promoting imaginative play and emotional connection through their products. The company attributes the success of their business to distinctive designs, high quality materials, and craftsmanship. Douglas plush toys have unique gestures and endearing expressions that clearly distinguish them as Douglas. The toy line is also known for the variety of their product offering. They create cuddly toys out of unusual breeds and hard to find species. Douglas has enjoyed continuing success and the company has grown internationally. Today, Douglas is sold in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Production and Safety
All Douglas products are designed in Keene, New Hampshire by experienced designers who understand safety regulations. This group not only creates Douglas’ designs but also manages them from conception to final production.

Douglas products are manufactured in Asia. To ensure that the core values of the company are maintained throughout all stages of production, Douglas chose manufacturing partners who adhere to a strict code of ethics and provide a safe and healthy working environment. Douglas has a strong relationship with a limited number of high quality factories. None of their products are made by subcontractors. Members of the Douglas management team also make regular trips to their overseas factories to ensure Douglas quality and safety standards are in place. Douglas even employs their own quality and safety inspectors to work on site during production.

Douglas toys are in full compliance with Toy Safety Standards. Their products are tested regularly by independent testing labs. This ensures that all Douglas products meet or exceed US Government as well as voluntary Toy Safety Standards. In addition, Douglas inspects every incoming shipment received at their warehouse as a final quality check. The safety of Douglas’ customers has always been a top priority, and will continue to be so in the future.

Douglas Selection
Douglas offers product lines ranging from Baby Plush Toys to Fun Fashion Plush to Plush Stuffed Animals. These include everything from puppy purses to plush sea life to unusual plush beasts.

The Toymaker of Williamsburg carries a variety of these plush playthings. Can’t wait to play with Douglas the Cuddle Toy? Start shopping our official site now!

COBI Military Sets

COBI is a Polish manufacturer of high quality block sets for kids. COBI toys aren’t just fun, they are educational. COBI block sets develop creative thinking, engage imagination, enhance logical thinking and improve motor skills. COBI toys are phthalate free and conform to EN71. Every set of COBI building blocks also comes with detailed, illustrated instructions on model construction.

COBI was founded in 1987 and originally produced board games and puzzles. In 1992, COBI created a line of plastic construction blocks in Warsaw. Today, COBI is the largest manufacturer of construction blocks in Central and Eastern Europe. Their sets are sold in countries around the world.

COBI building blocks are produced entirely within the COBI organization. Production of COBI building blocks is strictly regulated to ensure they are of the highest quality. COBI’s top priority is to make the highest quality toys that are fun for the whole family.

See these and all of our COBI Military Sets on our official site now.

COBI Military Sets

Military ATV with Cannon

Military Bravo 60pc

Military Buggy 60pc

Military Cobra Helicopter 100pc

Military Howitzer 100pc

Military Marshal

Puppet Company

New Puppets! New Puppets!

The Toymaker of Williamsburg just added a new line of puppets to our shelves! Puppets from The Puppet Company are colorful, creative, and oh-so-fun.

The Puppet Company creates high quality puppets of all different shapes and sizes. Their finger puppets, glove puppets, and full body puppets allow puppet enthusiasts to choose between small puppets and giant playthings.

The Puppet Company built their reputation on their ability to translate almost any animal or character into a well-made puppet at a competitive price. Their puppets allow the user to be creative, to entertain, and to have fun.

All of their products are developed in the UK. Production of their puppets is closely regulated to ensure they are of the highest quality.

Check out all of our puppets on our official site and see our brand new dragon puppets, sock puppets, and giant bird puppets from The Puppet Company now!

Scarlet Macaw Puppet

Scarlet Macaw Puppet

This brightly colored glove puppet is made from superb materials and has a fully working mouth with a realistic squawk.

Green Dragon Puppet

Green Dragon Puppet

This beautifully detailed, gold tipped green dragon from the Enchanted Puppet Collection is operated by hand and rod with a fully working mouth.

Black Dragon Puppet

Black Dragon Puppet

This fantastic, shiny scaled dragon covers the whole length of your arm. It’s great for story time, puppet shows, or as a special gift. You decide if it is friend, foe or pet!

Bird of Paradise Puppet

Bird of Paradise Puppet

This hot pink, turquoise, and lime green bird has a vibrant personality and a great stage presence.

Orange Monster Puppet

Orange Monster Puppet

The Monster Collection from The Puppet Company contains fuzzy monsters in vibrant colors with loud air filled squeakers.

Lipstick Sockettes Glove Puppet

Lipstick Sockettes Glove Puppet

Lipstick Sockettes is a crazy, friendly monster made of knit fabric.

Ringo Sockettes Glove Puppet

Ringo Sockettes Glove Puppet

Ringo Sockettes is a knitted, striped glove puppet with a large moving mouth and lots of personality.

T-Rex Puppet

T-Rex Puppet

This soft dinosaur can be used as a puppet or a cuddly toy.

Stegosaurus Puppet

Stegosaurus Puppet

This soft dinosaur can be used as a puppet or a cuddly toy.

Award-Winning Ambition’s Not An Awful Word

Award-winning Ambition’s Not An Awful Word is a can’t miss book. This illustrated children’s book was recently honored by the Mom’s Choice Awards and Independent Publisher.

Ambition’s Not An Awful Word by Zack Zage and Adam Watkins is an illustrated book about big dreams. In the story, Zack Zage is a fourth grader dreaming of what he wants to be. He might be an astronaut, a chef, a cowboy, or an artist. See what happens in each of Zack’s imaginative scenarios. This fun, illustrated book about dreaming big is a story your kids will want to read again and again.

The Mom’s Choice Awards®
The Mom’s Choice Awards (MCA) gave Ambition’s Not An Awful Word their gold medal. The MCA evaluates products and services for children. This globally recognized company establishes a benchmark for excellence in family friendly products and services. The MCA is a US based organization that has reviewed thousands of entries from countries around the world. The organization’s judges include experts in education and media as well as parents, librarians, performing artists, medical professionals, authors and more.

Ippy Awards
Independent Publisher selected Ambition’s Not An Awful Word as their Editor’s Choice. The Independent Publisher Book Awards (the “IPPYs”) are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles published each year.

See Ambition’s Not An Awful Word and all of our books for kids on our official site now.

Ambition's Not An Awful Word

Crayons for the Bathtub

Bathtub crayons are a fun way for kids to draw during bath time. Colorful crayons are safe for the bathtub, tile surfaces, or even on skin! These turn bath time from something kids have to do to something they want to do. These fun, clean art supplies are even easy to erase.

See our bathtub crayons and all of our fun toys for babies on our official site now.

Bathtub Crayons

Star Crayon in the Tub

Rub a Dub Draw in the Tub

Fun Bath Toys
Can’t get enough of play time in the tub? Check out these other fun bathtub toys!

Splat Floating Ring Toss

Odd Duck Jane

Jungle Squirters for the Tub

Baby Farm 11pcs

Bubble Suction Cup Bath Toy

Rubber Duck Large

Ravensburger Puzzles

Your favorite Ravensburger puzzles are back! See everything from simple puzzles for kids to challenging 1000 piece puzzles to 3D puzzles.

All Ravensburger products are fun, educational and made from the highest quality materials. Their products are known for their high user value, high quality, and excellent craftsmanship. All Ravensburger products meet or exceed national and international safety testing standards and 85% of their products are made in Europe. Ravensburger core values are fun, education, and interaction and they consider customer satisfaction the basis for their success.

Since 1891, Ravensburger has been making some of the finest puzzles in the world. Their attention to detail is what makes Ravensburger the world’s greatest puzzle brand. Ravensburger uses an exclusively developed, extra-thick cardboard and combines this with their fine, linen-structured paper to create a glare-free puzzle image. Every one of Ravensburger’s pieces is unique and fully interlocking. The quality is enhanced by the vast array of piece shapes formed by Ravensburger handcrafted cutting tools – one of the many ways that Ravensburger shows its passion for excellence.

Experience the Ravensburger quality today! See some of the new arrivals below or find the perfect puzzle for your family in our great selection of Ravensburger puzzles on our official site now.

Ravensburger Puzzles

Big Ben 3D Puzzle

Big Ben 3D Puzzle

Big Ben is a 216 piece puzzle from Ravensburger. Big Ben is one of the most famous landmarks of the world. The chimes of Big Ben have been ringing out of the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London since 1859. The finished 3D Big Ben Puzzle is a “picture-perfect” decoration.

Magical Unicorn Puzzle

Magical Unicorn Puzzle

Magical Unicorn is a 300 piece puzzle from Ravensburger. When you put together Magical Unicorn from Ravensburger you will find yourself in a mystical wonderland where fairies and unicorn play!

Quaint Shops

Quaint Shops

Quaint Shops is a 500 piece puzzle from Ravensburger. Visit the cafés and winding streets in Quaint Shops by Ravensburger.

Dories of Maine

Dories of Maine

Dories of Maine is a 1000 piece puzzle from Ravensburger. Find yourself floating in tranquil waters when you piece together Dories of Maine from Ravensburger.

Dinosaur Times

Dinosaur Times

Dinosaur Times is a 60 piece puzzle from Ravensburger. Piece together this puzzle with favorite dinosaurs: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops and more!

Colorful Underwater Kingdom iPuzzle

Colorful Underwater Kingdom

Colorful Underwater Kingdom is a 1000 piece puzzle from Ravensburger. Make your puzzle come to life and experience a totally new visual reality! Our brand new puzzle collection with its ground-breaking Augmented Reality technology makes your puzzle come alive! Download the free AR Puzzle app from the App Store that utilizes the camera function of the iPhone® or iPad® versions 2 and 3 to animate the scene. Experience a totally new visual reality and reveal audio details, sound effects and factual information. This fun look-&-find game lets you “fish” for a variety of deep-sea inhabitants as they swim by!

Road Trip USA

Road Trip USA

Road Trip USA is a 1000 piece puzzle from Ravensburger. Hit the open road and travel from Maine to Santa Fe to Chicago when you put together Road Trip USA from Ravensburger.

3D Puzzles

John Spilsbury, an Englishman, invented the jigsaw puzzle in 1767. Spilsbury was a mapmaker and the first jigsaw puzzle was made from a map of the world. He attached a world map to a piece of wood then cut out each country. To learn geography, children would piece together this world map.

Since then, puzzling has grown enormously. Puzzles come in different shapes, designs, and even dimensions!

3D puzzles offer puzzling fanatics a new challenge. Puzzling enthusiasts can piece together puzzles of anything from the White House to the three dimensional Eiffel Tower. These puzzles allow people to create stunning 3D replicas of well-known structures around the world. They have authentic detail and no glue is required. Three dimensional puzzles can even be displayed once assembled or kept as a souvenir.

Start piecing together some of the most magnificent structures in the world. See these and all of our 3D puzzles on our official site now.

3D Puzzles