Workshop helps kids build holiday toys

With Christmas shopping season kicking into high gear, a lot of parents likely have been buying toys for their younger children over the past few days.

But if parents want to see their children create a special Christmas toy of their own, make it a point to visit the Lake Metroparks Farmpark Toy Workshop.

The workshop, which opened for its 2018 season on Nov. 23, gives children ages 2 through 12 the opportunity to build a wooden toy. With assistance from Santa’s elves, the kids use drills, power screwdivers, hammers and nails to assemble their toy, before painting and decorating the item.

There are more than 50 different toys that children can choose to build. Possibilities include cartoon characters, birds, pirate ships and airplanes. Youngsters who love “Star Wars” also can construct wooden versions of TIE fighters and Darth Vader.

The toy workshop, located in the visitors center at Farmpark, 8800 Euclid Chardon Road in Kirtland, is open during the annual Country Lights Festival, as well as for scheduled daytime sessions. While Country Lights is a night-time event that requires a ticket for entry (see lakemetroparks.com for details), the daytime workshops are available to visitors with regular paid Farmpark admission or annual membership, at an additional cost of $2 per toy.

This year, the first two daytime toy workshops took place Nov. 23 and 24. The remaining sessions are slated from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 25 and Dec. 2630.

During the first hour of the Nov. 24 daytime toy workshop, Santa’s elves kept busy helping a steady flow of youngsters who streamed in to construct toys.

Two-year-old Jonny DeMonte of Kent built a tractor for his inaugural project at the workshop.

“He loves to build,” said Jamie DeMonte, Jonny’s father. “We like to build stuff together — wooden toys and repairs around the house.”

Jonny’s work drew praise from workshop elf Marrelle LeMaster.

“Perfect,” she said, while examining his finished project. “Have you done this before?”

LeMaster, who also works as a Lake Metroparks outdoor recreation specialist and interpreter, is marking her ninth year of assisting kids with their holiday toys. But her hands-on experience in the toy workshop extends back even further.

“My dad worked in the toy workshop before me, so I grew up doing it,” she said.

For LeMaster, volunteering in the Farmpark Toy Workshop is a rewarding experience.

“I love working with the kids and seeing the smiles on their faces,” she said. “You get families coming back year after year, and see kids who remember you, from the time you spent with them.”

When it comes to the history of the Lake Metroparks Farmpark Toy Workshop, 2015 stands as the year when the most toys were built — 13,839 — according to a sign on the workshop wall. The workshop, which has been operating for nearly 30 years, also is poised to reach another milestone in 2018. It’s expected that the 200,000th toy in workshop history will be built sometime this season, said Lake Metroparks Promotions and Advertising Manager John Venen.

BILL DEBUS — THE NEWS-HERALD Jonny DeMonte, 2, of Kent, builds a wooden tractor during the Nov. 24 session of Lake Metroparks Farmpark’s daytime toy workshop. Assisting Jonny, at left, is workshop elf Marrelle LeMaster.