Toy Library cures Cabin Fever

Micah takes race track home on his sled

When Nan Rice, determined to have Cabin Fever for Winter 2020-21, came up with the idea for a Toy Lending Library open, she said if only one family a week showed up, it would be worth it.

Using multiple safety precautions -- sanitizing toys, wearing masks, using gloves to look through the toys, families keeping 6-feet apart, limiting the number of families to four at a time– Epworth’s Toy Library clearly offers the respite families need from the isolation of COVID compounding the confinement that a Minnesota winter brings.

Families were asked to share photos from home on the Toy Library Facebook page so others could see what happened when the toys they had checked out got home.

“It's such a joy to see them explore and then hear about how they enjoyed the toy when home!” said Nan.

Like Cabin Fever for the past few years, the Epworth Toy Library is free and open on Wednesdays from 9:30-11:30 am. Cabin Fever traditionally ends in March around the time winter officially ends.

Cabin fever: “irritability, listlessness, and similar symptoms resulting from long confinement or isolation indoors during the winter” (Google’s English dictionary by Oxford Languages)

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