Types of Toys    Age Appropriate    Made in the USA    Parent Resource

In 1948 Alexander Necker built Necker’s Lawn and Garden Center, along College Highway known today as Rt.10.  All five of the Necker children, including Debbie Necker, worked in the store, but it was Debbie who spent most of her time working with her father.  When her father passed away in 1996 at the age of 90 Debbie took ownership and gradually phased out the hardware items to create the Toy Store it is today.

Debbie has seen many trends and fads come and go in toys and finds that the “good stuff tends to come back.”  At Necker’s you won’t find endless shelves of mass-produced items, remote-controlled toys, mind-numbing electronic games and devices.  Debbie insists: “If I don’t have it, I don’t want it.”

At Necker’s Toyland in Simsbury you can’t help but think back to your own Childhood toys, Birthday or Christmas gifts.  As you search for that perfect toy you might find yourself petting a plush animal, admiring a science experiment, or imagining the possibilities for role play with a variety of costumes.  You can browse through traditional old Boards games or discover a new exciting idea for family night.

Debbie Necker, a mother of 3 boys herself, wants children and parents alike to play when they visit Necker’s. With developmentally appropriate play areas all around the store adults often end up playing with their children searching for new adventures with Thomas the Train or help to straighten out a Dollhouse for a visiting tea party. “If a parent gets their child a toy that they can enjoy too, they’re going to play with their child longer. I think it’s important to have a common activity you both like since kids grow up so fast and you don’t have a whole lot of time to share in play.”

Neckers Toyland is the kind of Toy store where you can always be assured to find new treasures. This toy emporium is known for drawing people from all over Connecticut. Families very often visit for the day from neighboring states like New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey in search of rare or hard to find toys.

Debbie has watched many neighborhood children grow up starting with Infant toys to Toddler and 3+, later moving to School age and Teenager toys. “With each bunch of new kids growing up, it almost feels like they reinvent a new toy. It’s fun to see them watching their parents or grandparents doing tricks with say yo-yos as their children gaze on with ‘Whoa…how did you do that?”