FAMILY PASTIMES NEWS November 2009

QUESTIONS ASKED.

1. Is there still time to get stock for the gift giving season?

Yes, yes, yes.  We are still open for business.

We are a small and very flexible company.  Plenty of time.

We keep shipping even in December.

I have a New Yorker cartoon over my desk that shows Santa entering a room where the elves are working away making basketballs.  He has a purchase order in his hands and says to the assembled workers, “Stop making basketballs and start making soccer balls.”

In a nutshell that is what happens with my worker elves in the backrooms.  For example, we just got an order for 60 Sleeping Grumps and 60 Secret Doors.  We had enough Secret

Doors, but were short of Sleeping Grumps.

I entered the workroom with the purchase order in hand and announced, “Stop making Harvest Times and start making Sleeping Grumps.”

This is the advantage of being small and flexible.

 2. What are your games made of?

We have been using the same materials for almost 40 years now and, though sometimes this means paying more for them, we are very loyal to those suppliers who give us safe raw materials, non-toxic glues, inks and paints, and wherever possible 100% recycled materials.  We get our wooden pieces made in British Columbia, for example, when we could go to Asia and realize savings. We get our plastic pieces, pawns and dice, made in the USA, even though we could go to Asia and bring in cheaper product. It is important to me to make our contribution to local economies and maintain jobs for the local people who have helped make Family Pastimes the stable business it is.

When you see that CE logo on the games, this is your assurance that we have had to pass the very stringent lab tests for safety in Europe if we want to continue doing business in Europe. And that extends to anywhere in the world.

3. What have you got against competitive games?

I am not a fan of the many games that romanticize war and other forms of violence. I have heard all the arguments that come down to whether it is the chicken or the egg that came first.  In other words, are these games just reflecting the violence already in society or are they helping to promote it as an acceptable form of culture?

I only am certain of what I see around me…children are very imitative of what they see in the media and in the behavior of older humans around them. They imitate us.

I do feel, though, that we have more than a sufficient supply of competitive experiences..  What we need now is many more play experiences that involve sharing, making friends not enemies, solving problems with dialogue not aggression….remember someone saying something about making the world a kinder, gentler place?  I do.  He didn’t get very far and probably really didn’t try. Apparently, it is hard to lose the taste for blood.

If you don't have a current price list...just hit reply and type in Price List in the Subject.

If you want to know What’s New, click on my info site, www.familypastimes.com and view the Newsbits. ..

Keep those precious orders coming. We appreciate your continued support.

Cheers,

Jim Deacove

Family Pastimes

"We don’t stop playing because we grow old.  We grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw