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TDMONTHLY NEW TOYS
Notable and New Toys by Category
Last Easter, specialty toy retailers saw Ganz's Webkinz explode. What toys will overflow the Easter baskets this year?...READ MORE
While we were looking for special toys for kids of all ages, the following products came across our desks at TDmonthly Magazine...
TDMONTHLY TRADE SHOW WRAP-UP
Watch Games Expo VIDEOS!
More than 200 exhibitors showed off their new games at the debut of Games Expo last month in Las Vegas...READ MORE
The TDmonthly Magazine video crew moseyed out to Pomona to capture manufacturers demonstrating their new toys at the annual WTHRA show....
Want to know what your favorite specialty vendors are up to in 2007?...
A sparsely populated trade floor at the Games Expo’s debut, March 18 to 22 at Las Vegas' South Point Hotel, indicated it may take time for the show to gain momentum...
Despite its designation as the country's largest regional toy and hobby show, the WTHRA show in Pomona, Calif., in March didn't have many exhibitors talking "big" this year...
While at Toy Fair 2007, TDmonthly Magazine interviewed specialty toy retailers about new products they've spotted...
TDMONTHLY MUST READS
This Issue's Highlights
Want to know what other specialty retailers look like? And sound like? And what they want in their stores for 2007?...READ MORE
PUZZLES & GAMES
Sudoku Takes a Slide
As the industry welcomes the addition of several new puzzles, just as many pieces — including some that bear the name Sudoku — are becoming misfits in the specialty market...READ MORE
Puzzles are one of the few areas where licensing has not played a major part in product design and marketing....
OUTDOOR /SPORTS TOYS
How to Move Outdoor Toys Out
With just a few months to sell outdoor toys, they’ve got to move quickly, 18 specialty toy-store owners told TDmonthly Magazine....READ MORE
VEHICLES - RIDING
Kids Scoot on Bugs and Turtle Shells
Although classic ride-on toys and wagons from big companies such as Radio Flyer are selling well, 49 specialty retailers also told TDmonthly Magazine that newer ride-on toys are picking up speed....READ MORE
TDMONTHLY SHOP TALK
Retailer Spotlight: G. Willikers!
The brother-and-sister team of Bob and Jody Breneman grew up in the toy business; their parents opened G. Willikers in 1978 in Portsmouth, N.H....READ MORE
The Breneman family has been in the toy business since 1978. Almost 30 years of success have taught them a thing or two about toys, dolls and games.
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How do you know when it’s time to open another location? And what do you do when it is time?...
TDMONTHLY TOY REVIEWS
TDmonthly's Book Expert
This month, she listened to great art works, rhymed with Greg & Steve, polished her instant-messaging skills and more....READ MORE
Dr. Wright doesn't just look at toys; she analyzes them. In and out of the box, she scrutinizes them for playability, appropriateness and educational value...
"I'm up to my ears in babies!" I cry amidst the smell of fresh diapers and fresher faces. Every Hollywood mom wants her kid to be a "staahr," and they’re starting them younger and younger...
Christina Liu uses toys to help kids with or at risk for developmental delay reach their full potential. This month, her kids chomp on bubbles, learn what makes each other tick, find various ways of learning Spanish, and more....
TDMONTHLY TOY ROUNDTABLES
Preschoolers: Unpuzzling the Puzzles
Roundtable participants liked the analytical challenge and sense of accomplishment that comes with doing puzzles regardless of whether they are small and done individually or large and worked on cooperatively...READ MORE
This month, TDmonthly Magazine’s Homeschool Roundtable played new kinds of ball games with Top Toss Pro and BlongoBall, scored with K and T Toys’ Touchdown, and got an eyeful of prehistoric creatures with Safari’s Dinosaur Panorama Puzzle....
This month, TDmonthly Magazine’s Dolls Roundtable participants reviewed the P31 Elizabeth “Pure Heart” doll by One2Believe....
This month the Infant/Toddler Roundtable participants evaluated the Douglas Cuddle Toys Golden Retriever Puppy and the interactive Fisher-Price Little People Light & Sound Puzzle Collection – Old MacDonald from SABABA TOYS,...
TDMONTHLY COOL COMPANY
Playmaker: Not Your Typical Monkey Business
A screaming monkey flying across the room sort of speaks for itself. And it should, according to President Ernie Wong of Playmaker Toys...READ MORE
Many parents might recognize Sandy Sartor’s dilemma: In an attempt to find educational resources for her small children that were more interesting than flash cards, she purchased a music CD designed to help them learn addition...
TDMONTHLY BRASS RING
Bling Bling Scores!
Real estate investor and photo/video producer Joseph Cassarino was introduced to Jeff McGill, the inventor of Bling Bling, in 2002. Cassarino was so impressed with McGill's preliminary outline that he decided to fund his company....READ MORE
TDMONTHLY TOY BUZZ
Baby Gets a Boom Box
Dan Lemay believes he has something that nobody else has in the toy, music or even educational industry...READ MORE
TDMONTHLY POPULAR STORIES
Hollywood ToyBoy: Bad Breath, Taxes and Toons
April 15! Even in La La Land, the cold, bad breath of the taxman sweeps the land...READ MORE
This month, Toy Sleuth ran his finds by a birthday boy turning 8...
Going virtual with a marketing campaign makes sense (and cents) for companies today, according to COO Jay Goss of tween/teen virtual world Whyville...
TDMONTHLY MANUFACTURER'S CORNER
How to Publish a Card Game
You may have had a great idea for a card game, secured investment and funding, and even completed the design. But until the cards have been printed and cut, your game isn't fit for the table....READ MORE
TDMONTHLY TOP-10 MOST-WANTED LISTS
TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Outdoor Toys
TDmonthly Magazine asked retailers what toys are hot when the weather is, too...READ MORE
According to 38 specialty toy retailers, Plasmart’s Plasma Cars are still one of the hottest new ride-ons out there, but there’s plenty of room for traditional wagons, sleds and trikes...
From an a-maze-ing marble-run construction kit to a whack-y ball that exercises the mind, the WTHRA show took buyers and reps into a creative realm of fun and interactivity...
Games Expo’s debut 2007 show in Las Vegas highlighted strategic board games, fantasy games and just-plain-fun games for the family....
TDMONTHLY UPCOMING ISSUES
How to Keep Your Toy Store Thriving
What are the secrets to keeping your customers from crossing over to the mass-market dark side? Everything from owning your toy store’s building to wrapping birthday gifts with lizards...READ MORE
While everyone else gets ready for summer, specialty toy-store owners are placing their big Christmas orders. But are you too late?...
Don't have time to test every toy yourself? Luckily, there are plenty of others who want to do it for you...
Now that Toy Fair is over, all those new toys seem just so … old. So what’s next?...
Ever wonder how changing media patterns and cultural experience could affect your business?...