Why Bones Was Created by Kids, for Kids

Bones Is Back® didn’t start in a boardroom or with a toy company trying to invent the next Halloween character. It started at home, with two children playing. One October, my daughters Margaux and Mirielle were playing with a simple toy skeleton. To them, he wasn’t just a Halloween decoration or another toy. They gave him a personality, included him in their games, and eventually gave him a name: Bones. That simple moment became the beginning of Bones Is Back®.

It Started With Kids Imagination

What made Bones special wasn’t something an adult had planned for them. My daughters created the fun themselves by moving him around, posing him, bringing him into their play, and imagining what he might do next. Bones became whatever their imagination wanted him to be.

Watching them play made me realize something simple but important: children don’t always need adults to create the magic for them. Sometimes, they just need a character, a little freedom, and the chance to imagine. That idea became one of the most important parts of Bones.

The Kids Had to Stay in Charge

As Bones grew from a family idea into a book and toy set, I wanted to make sure we didn’t lose what made the original play so special. The children had to remain in charge. That is why Bones is designed to be touched, carried, posed, dressed up, taken on adventures, and even used to create silly pranks. There is no single way children are supposed to play with him.

One day Bones may be hiding somewhere funny. The next day he might be wearing a costume, joining another toy on an adventure, or sitting at the breakfast table. The kids decide what happens next. That’s why we call Bones Is Back® a kid-powered Halloween tradition.

Created by Children, Made for Children

Kids have an incredible ability to turn ordinary things into something much bigger. A couch can become a castle, a blanket can become a secret fort, and a simple skeleton can become a Halloween friend named Bones.

That same spirit of imagination is built into the way Bones was designed. His movable joints let children create different poses. His size makes it easy to use toys, outfits, furniture, and accessories they may already own. His glow-in-the-dark design adds another way to play when the lights go out. But Bones doesn’t tell children exactly what happens next. They create the story.

More Imagination for Kids. Less Work for Parents.

There was another important lesson in the way my daughters first played with Bones: they didn’t need me to move him every night or create an elaborate scene for them. They were already creating the fun themselves. That became an important part of the tradition.

Parents can absolutely join in, but Bones doesn’t have to become another nightly job. Children can pose him, move him, dress him, invent the prank, and decide where the story goes next. The magic comes from their imagination.

The First Bones Story Started With My Daughters

Bones began because my daughters looked at a simple skeleton and saw something more. They saw a friend, gave him a name and a personality, and through their play created the beginning of his story. Today, other children get to do the same. My daughters may have created the first Bones story, but your kids get to create the next one.

Bones was created by kids, made for kids, and is still powered by the same thing that started it all: their imagination.

Play. Pose. Prank. Create the Magic.

Marc Fetscherin

Father, Author, Inventor