Westport Photographer Captures Magic Of Toys R' Us One Last Time

As Toys R' Us comes to a close, a local photographer captured the nostalgic happiness of her children, reminding us how we use to feel as kids.

With the recent sad news concerning the Toys R' Us Bankruptcy, Westport Native and CEO of Eleven Sixteen Studio & Co, Alyssa Venancio decided to take her children to the Dartmouth location one last time before their doors shut for good.

However, she also brought along her camera and decided to snap a few shots of what can only be described as "Pure Joy" in the faces of the children. I think we can all agree that as kids, being told we were going to Toys R' Us was a magical feeling. Where do you start? Which aisle do you go down?! The store felt limitless.

"Since my kids will never remember what an actual toy store looked like when they grow up, we decided we'd go in and have a little fun capturing memories." -Venancio

I remember the days when I was told I could spend "x" amount and when I finally found the perfect budgeted toy, the anticipation of getting it home was anxiously unbearable! The days of taking a ticket for a Nintendo game or getting a new ramp for my 'Tech Deck' skatepark collection. Collecting ALL the 'Pogs' was crucial and the latest star wars 'Lego' set was always better and more extreme than the set before.

Those are all the memories I can easily remember because when you're that happy over a toy, the emotion just sticks with you.

"I hope everyone has the same opportunity to capture their little ones in what could be the last toy store they ever see! Sad to know there are only a few weeks left." -Venancio

In the end, there's only one thing that changed... I may have "Grown-Up", but I will ALWAYS be a "Toys R' Us Kid" and we have Venancio to thank for capturing our youth through the eyes of her children.