Category: Family Fun

Treasure Hunt 24/02/15

Dear Donna,

No time better than now to ask about these. They are paper heart boxes marked ‘Japan’ on the bottom. I have had them for years now and always wondered their age and what was the purpose.

Can you give me any information?

Thanks, Donna.

Lee

Dear Lee,

Belated happy Valentine’s Day!

The purposes for your sweet paper heart boxes could be many. They are novelty boxes and could be for candy, jewelry, trinkets etc., for the holiday or for other love-related events.

The mark ‘Japan’ on the back bottom shows they are from between the late 1920s to 1940s. This is when that mark was used.

Lee, they are very sweet and made me smile. I would think the value on them would be in the $15 range in good condition. Thanks for sharing your tiny treasures with us.

Kiddie Pool 24/02/15

Family fun for whenever

See a show

• The Londonderry High School Drama Club will present Mamma Mia! Thursday, Feb. 15, through Saturday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. daily plus 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Derry Opera House (26 W. Broadway in Derry). Tickets to this show, which they rate as PG-13, cost $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and students. See lancerdramaclub.org.

• The young performers (students in grades 2 through 12) of the Palace Youth Theatre will present Tuck Everlasting, a musical based on the novel by Natalie Babbitt, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, and Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org). Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for ages 6 to 12.

Museum fun

• The American Independence Museum (independencemuseum.org) will hold open play at the Folsom Tavern (164 Water St. in Exeter) on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. through April, according to a press release. The Foy Family Library, where the open play takes place, features a coloring station, an 18th-century play kitchen, dress-up clothes and a reading nook, according to a press release. Admission to open play costs $5 per family.

Family fun at the theater

• For this month’s Little Lunch Date at area Chunky’s Cinema Pubs (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com) the film is Gnomeo & Juliet (G, 2011), which will screen at all three area Chunky’s on Friday, Feb. 16, at 3:45 p.m. Save a seat by purchasing $5 per person food vouchers online.

• At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16, the Manchester Chunky’s (chunkys.com) will host family-friendly Theater Candy Bingo. Reserve a seat for $10, which includes a $5 food voucher and a box of movie theater candy that goes in the pot, according to the website. Each guest gets one bingo card and the goal is to play about eight rounds, the website said.

• And save the date for all-ages trivia night at the Manchester Chunky’s on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 6:30 p.m., when the theme is Shrek. Save your seats for a team of up to eight people for a $5 food voucher.

Treasure Hunt 24/02/08

Hello, Donna.

This quilt was given to my husband and me when we were married. It was a family piece so we kept it safe till today. Now we would like to use it and it’s in need of some repair. Can you provide any information on a value and can it be reinforced for use on our bed?

Mary Anne

Dear Mary Anne,

Your crazy quilt is most likely from the early 1900s, so wear from use is expected. Sometimes you can come across one that was never used, but not often. Crazy quilts were made mostly from scraps of a mixture of different materials with different colors, stitching, etc. Lots of them were made by a group effort of family, friends etc.

Some can be very plain with just stitching and others can have detail added in each fragment of material. To find them signed by the maker or makers and dated is a plus.

Mary Anne, the value is in the detailing, age, fine detailing, signatures and, as always, condition. A value to start with would be, it’s safe to say, in the $100 range in plain but good condition. Then it goes up from there for extra detailing.

As far as use, it’s tough unless you remove it from the top of the bed daily. The treads are old and won’t withstand night use. There are quilt repairers out there. I’m just not sure it would be cost-effective for hand work. You might just want to use it the way it is. Just decoratively and carefully.

I hope this was helpful, Mary Anne. Glad to see a family piece shared. Enjoy!

Donna Welch has spent more than 35 years in the antiques and collectibles field, appraising and instructing. Her new location is an Antique Art Studio located in Dunbarton, NH where she is still buying and selling. If you have questions about an antique or collectible send a clear photo and information to Donna at [email protected], or call her at 391-6550.

Kiddie Pool 24/02/08

Family fun for whenever

Family shows

• Local family entertainer Mr. Aaron throws a Valentine’s Day Party Saturday, Feb. 10, at 11 a.m. at the Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com). Tickets cost $15.75. Give a listen to Mr. Aaron’s music at mraaronmusic.com.

• See Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo, an interactive show featuring live dinosaurs (operated by puppeteers) on stage, at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $35.25 to $48.25 (for an additional $28.75, take part in a VIP meet and greet).

Free art

• Saturday, Feb. 10 features free admission for New Hampshire residents to the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., stop in at the Creative Studio for family art fun. Short family tours will be available in the galleries as well, according to the website.

Basketball weekend

• Catch the Saint Anselm Hawks this weekend when both the men’s (3:30 p.m.) and women’s (1:30 p.m) basketball teams take on the teams from Southern Connecticut State University at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium (73 College Road on Saint Anselm College campus in Manchester). Tickets to either game cost $10 (kids 5 and under get in free to regular season games) and are available for purchase starting one hour ahead of game time at the Gymnasium ticket booth. See saintanselmhawks.com. Both teams will also play the teams from the College of Saint Rose on Tuesday, Feb. 13; women’s game starts at 5:30 p.m. and men’s game starts at 7:30 p.m.

• At Southern New Hampshire University, the Penmen take on the Adelphi University Panthers with women’s (1:30 p.m.) and men’s (3:30 p.m.) basketball on Saturday, Feb. 10. The games take place at Stan Spiro Field House (at the Southern New Hampshire University campus, 2500 River Road in Manchester); regular season games are free to attend.

• Catch some mid-week basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 13, when the men’s ( 5 p.m.) and women’s (7 p.m.) Rivier Raiders teams play Mitchell College at Muldoon Fitness Center (440 Main St. in Nashua). See rivierathletics.com.

Treasure Hunt 24/02/01

Hello, Donna.

Found this at a thrift store in Manchester. I actually thought how fun would it be to use this. Do you think it still could be used? Is there any value to it?

Thanks for any information,

Sam

Dear Sam,

I can answer your question. I have had two of these same cards. They were from different cities than yours. One was even from New Hampshire.

I couldn’t get mine from New Hampshire to work. But I had so much fun with the manager of the McDonald’s trying to figure it out.

Your card is from the 1960s. Even though the one on Main Street in Worcester wasn’t the first one to open in Massachusetts, it’s still there today. The first one to open in Massachusetts was in Pittsfield in 1960.

I sold one of mine for $45 several years ago. There is a collectible Mc Donald’s market out there. I think your gift card is a tiny treasure for one of them. If you keep it I think it can only go up in value as time passes.

Thanks so much, Sam, for sharing. Fun piece of Mc Donald’s memorabilia.

Donna Welch has spent more than 35 years in the antiques and collectibles field, appraising and instructing. Her new location is an Antique Art Studio located in Dunbarton, NH where she is still buying and selling. If you have questions about an antique or collectible send a clear photo and information to Donna at [email protected], or call her at 391-6550.

Kiddie Pool 24/02/01

Family fun for whenever

Fun for the whole family

• Recycled Percussion will bring their big loud high-energy show to the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St. in Nashua; nashuacenterforthearts.com) on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 3 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 4, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets cost $39.50 to $49.50. Find out more about the band in the Nov. 9 issue of the Hippo (find e-editions at hippopress.com), where Michael Witthaus interviewed band founder Justin Spencer.

On the ice

• Watch the Saint Anselm College Hawks Women’s Ice Hockey team face the Franklin Pierce University Ravens on Friday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m. at Sullivan Arena on the Saint Anselm college campus (100 Saint Anselm Drive in Manchester). Tickets cost $10 and are available at the ticket booth one hour ahead of game time. See saintanselmhawks.com.

For the teens

• The Palace Teen Apprentice Company, featuring performers ages 13 to 18, will present Cabareton Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. at The Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org). Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for ages 6 to 12.

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