When Steve and Ruth Bennett's first child Noah was a toddler, they hid the TV set in a closet and devised crazy activities to keep him occupied. As their first activity, they tried toilet paper tube bowling, which was an instant success.

From there, they began creating other activities and eventually incorporated them into a book, 365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child. The book is aimed at teaching children how to play, and guiding parents on how to spend quality time with their kids.

At no or very low cost, all of the activities are geared toward stimulating the imagination and unleashing the child's natural creativity.

The book zoomed in popularity to become one of the best-selling activity books in history. Joan Lunden called it "a little wonder," and McCall's labeled it the "best TV alternative of the year."

A few years later, Steve and long-time friend and business partner, Charlie Levin, decided to promote the book and offer parenting tips on the Web. Charlie teaches electronic commerce at Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, so the question was never "if" they went on the Web, but "when."

They devised a plan for their website last fall, and Maethee Ratnarathorn, a designer with atypica , translated their strategy into reality. Ruth Bennett, an architect and artist, drew pen and ink sketches, and atypica added color to the artwork to produce the wonderful graphics displayed at their site.

John Kelley, a database programmer with atypica, did a marvelous job of building the site so that new information can easily be added and visitors can use the pages at first glance.

They chose the firm because, Steve added, "Atypica came with extremely high recommendations."

The site took several months to develop at a cost of around $50,000. Atypica continues to monitor and update the site as needed.

When their TV-Free Zone first went online in November of 1996, they offered only one toy, the Mini Tube Head. From there, they developed another website, the Hugely Fun Toy Store, and have now branched off into selling name-brand toys manufactured by other companies.

The first thing the Bennetts and Levin did after opening the new online store was to host an official Open House of their website. On June 23, 1997, they rented Cybersmith Cafe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an Internet cafe filled with computers, VR (virtual reality) stations, and more.

They used a projector to show the site, and people could then explore it themselves on the computers. The media covered the event, toy vendors demonstrated their products, and parents played with the toys.

Since the store opened, toy orders have steadily climbed. Besides the publicity gained from the Open House and the promotions offered at the site, Steve is using simple "grassroots" techniques to advertise his website, such as word of mouth, media, and search engines.

In the fall, he'll launch another publicity campaign in preparation for the holiday season, possibly utilizing co-marketing techniques with name- brand toy companies.

What can you find at the Hugely Fun Toy Store? You'll find an Art of Play Newsletter, filled with expert advice and activity ideas for indoor and outdoor play.

You can register to receive their newsletter and announcements of special sales or new products by e-mail. Or, you can register for a chance to win a savings bond or shopping spree, which are all wonderful ways of promoting their website.

For today's busy parents, the Information Zones, such as TV-Free Zone or Outdoor Zone, offer activities and tips to help them make the most of quality time with their children. At the TV-Free Zone, parents can rate TV shows to give the broadcasters their opinion of what's being shown on TV.

Oh, by the way, stuck in amid all the wonderful game ideas and parental tips and advice are Hugely's fascinating toys, including ideas for using each toy in new and exciting ways.

Why have a virtual store instead of a physical one? With an online store, they can achieve a number of things, such as instant global reach. "We can sell products all over the world as opposed to just on Main Street," Charlie said.

Also, stores can do things on the Internet that they can't do anywhere else.

Charlie continued, "At the Hugely Fun Toy Store, we can show the latest products from manufacturers before they even ship. We can present in-depth descriptions of each toy and even let you meet the toy maker.

"We will remind you of your child's, niece's, or grandchild's birthday by e-mail, suggest a gift, gift wrap it, and send it with a handwritten note. Of course, audio and video are coming which will further enhance the buying experience," he added.

Another advantage of an online store is that the store never closes. "Stan Davis in his book, Future Perfect, talks about the future of business going to those who can provide anytime and any place service--I think Hugely Fun Toy Store fulfills that vision," Charlie added.

So what makes Hugely Fun's website stand out among the crowd?

For one thing, their website contains the personal touch. A visit to the site leaves you with the feeling that it was created just for you--to help you make better use of your time, and to teach you what we've all forgotten: how to play. The advertising of their toys is secondary to the tips and advice the site provides for parents.

The site was built on the foundation of the success of Steve's book, 365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child. They have name-brand recognition with the book, as well as Steve's reputation as a public speaker and author. Plus, they have Charlie Levin's vast experience in retailing to add to that already sturdy foundation.

Not only that, all the toys have name parents can trust. Hugely offer puzzles, science kits, games, and more--all educational, yet unquestionably fun.

The expert design of the website by atypica leads to the site's immense success as well. The graphics used are optimized and low resolution so that the pages will load faster. And, the website is simple enough for even a child to navigate.

Bennett's long-term goal for the website is to adapt the site to the changing world as needed, and to continue offering his unique tips and advice to parents. He plans on adding a Back to School Zone in the near future and totally revising the website three times over the next year to meet the needs of his customers.

Steve continues his public speaking engagements to promote his book and the website. Yet his focus remains straight and true. He wants to fill a void in our culture, one that we desperately need filling. We've forgotten how to play.