Making Merry, A Blog

An Adventure with Lewis and Clark

If you are familiar with Kirk Ellis, you know he’s the Emmy Award-winning screenwriter and co-producer (along with Tom Hanks) of the incredible John Adams TV miniseries featured on HBO earlier this year.  The John Adams miniseries was so outstanding that it garnered even more Emmys than Roots. 

 

Much of the series was filmed in Richmond, Virginia, and Kirk was recently in town again.

 

Kirk’s next full length feature will be based on Lewis and Clark, and he was kind enough to pose with the MerryMakers Lewis and Clark Adventure Set.

 

So kind of him to do so!  We think that Kirk is amazingly talented and can’t wait for his next feature since it’s bound to be as compelling as the last.

The Lewis and Clark Adventure Set is a full 12” long and features Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, York, and Seaman the Dog in a canoe with paddles. 

 

A great gift for a history buff or anyone who likes using their imagination for a pretend play adventure.

 

The set can be ordered here: 

Lewis and Clark Adventure Set

 

 

We think it's an ideal holiday gift!

Ready to Wrap!

Yes, the Holidays are coming! 

And at MerryMakers we were excited to send out our first gift wrapped doll ordered from our newly updated website:  www.merrymakersinc.com

Check out Dayna proudly holding the evidence:

It's easy to order a doll (or a hundred!) with a few clicks.  And we've been getting a lot of feedback that folks are looking at gifts for kids exactly in our price range this year. 

A sweet doll paired with a book, some hot cocoa, a warm fire... sounds like an ideal holiday. 

Pass the marshmallows, please!

The Snowy Day

Of course we are HUGE fans of children's literature here at MerryMakers. 

Certain classic books always bring a smile to our faces, and a book that is very special to us is The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats.

In this Caldecott Award-winning book, a young boy named Peter experiences the excitement of a snowy winter day, crunching snow underfoot, making tracks, building a snowman, and trying to save a snowball for the following day.

The book is lovely and quiet; a perfect look at the simple adventures kids have when they go out to play in the fresh snow.

Keats's illustrations are simple and beautiful. 

First published in 1962, this timeless book broke the color barrier in mainstream children's publishing since it was "the very first full-color picture book to feature a small black hero." (Horn Book magazine)

We love it so much that we've developed a doll based on Peter in his snow attire. 

The doll is super soft (very cuddly!) and ideal for children of any age.   

A great gift!

Order it here: http://www.merrymakersinc.com/prod_the_snowy_day.html

Emily's Christmas Gifts

We're always impressed here at MerryMakers when kids are kind to others and have good manners. 

We especially appreciate helpful resources like the newly released book from The Emily Post Institute, Emily’s Christmas Gifts, by Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post, illustrated by Steve Björkman.

In the book, young Emily talks about how much she loves giving gifts, but tells readers that the most important gifts “are the gifts of kindness and consideration. Even though they don’t cost a cent, everyone appreciates them.”   In many ways, Emily’s Christmas Gifts helps serve as a reminder of how to keep the holiday spirit alive.

To add to the fun, The Emily Post Institute has set up a great site based on the book: http://www.emilypost.com/christmas_gifts/index.htm  Included is a "Fun for Kids" section that includes word searches, holiday Tic-Tac-Toe cards, and even recipes for treats for Santa and his reindeer.

Of course, here at MerryMakers we love to pair a fun plush doll with a good children's book so we've developed an Emily doll based on Emily’s Christmas Gifts. 

Emily (9" tall) wears her snowflake sweater from Emily’s Christmas Gifts, and holds her faithful dog, Nutmeg.

Check them out here:  http://www.merrymakersinc.com/ for holiday time or anytime.

We hope that your upcoming holiday season is filled with not too much stress and plenty of kindness!

Create. Play. Recycle.

We at MerryMakers love finding new things for our kids to play with. 

And isn't it true that sometimes the simplest things are the most fun?  Something like a cardboard box -- hours of entertainment!

In the spirit of simple toys that spur some great imaginative play, we were so happy to find this cardboard treehouse kit:

Your own fort, away from parents, up in a tree... what could be better?

Not only can you make this kit work with any dolls or characters, it comes in plain cardboard that you can decorate yourself. 

    

Fun! 

(Think this might end up on our holiday lists for a few little folks we know.)