Many parents are familiar with the sight of a home overflowing with toys, yet their children claim to have ‘nothing to play with’. It might feel like the only solution is to throw everything in the garbage, but The Toy Nest in Falls Church has a better approach: it’s a toy library. Patrons can come by and play with the items, reserve and rent toys, Halloween costumes, games, and more. The Toy Nest, located at 125 N. Washington Street, was founded by Lisa Bourven, a Falls Church mom looking to solve the never-ending toy problem. Read on for more about The Toy Nest in Falls Church.
The Backstory
Falls Church resident Lisa Bourven had left her career in sales analytics and operations leadership for a local bakery cafe chain to stay at home with her kids. In chatting with other parents, she realized they all had a common problem. “We would pick out what toys to get for our kids, and be very thoughtful about it,” she said. “And our house was crowded. Every toy had the same pattern: the kids would have intense interest for a few days, followed by complete abandonment.”
A 2018 trip to visit her family in Houston, TX painted the toy supply problem in stark relief. “It was over 100 degrees and we were there for two weeks. We were playing with my old toys from the 80s and we eventually went to a Goodwill to get a few things for them,” Lisa said. “I wished we could borrow toys for the time we were there. I just knew there was something better. I ended up finding a toy library in Austin, Texas, and knew that was the answer.”
A toy library is similar to a regular library, but patrons can check out games, toys, costumes, and all kinds of kid-centric gear. Children get access to a wider variety of toys, and parents don’t have to purchase or store the toys. Some toy libraries are operated as community cooperatives, others are run in conjunction with local libraries, and others are businesses with membership models. Some cater to the special needs community, providing specialized toys and equipment. Some toy libraries even sell items that are getting a bit too loved to share anymore, but would still be worth enjoying at home.
In 2019, Lisa traveled to Austin to visit with the owner the Toybrary, and started researching how to start her own business. She found the US Toy Library Association and realized how popular the model was. “I always wanted to start a business, and my youngest was going to start kindergarten, so I made the plan,” she said…