What’s moving off the shelves of locally owned specialty toy stores probably didn’t appear in any Black Friday ads.
Most people know what’s inside a big-box toy store, but local toy stores can offer a different take on playtime. As high-tech toys become more prevalent and popular, specialty toy stores can prove nostalgic for parents and intriguing for children.
Many Capital District specialty toy stores stray from battery-operated toys. Also, toys tend to require interaction from children instead of the toy entertaining the child. From old-fashioned toys to brain-teasing games, odds are there is something unique at a local toy store.
Kevin Murphy, store manager for The Toy Maker in Stuyvesant Plaza, said there are two different branches to the toy industry — mass-market and specialty — and he said the two don’t compete with each other.
“We have a lot of old fashioned toys. … It is things you won’t see advertised on Saturday morning TV,” said Murphy. “We tend to please the parents because they see things they haven’t seen since they were little kids.”
Some of the older style toys offered at The Toy Maker include jack-in-the-boxes and wooden puzzles. One of the best selling items is the Fun Time Tractor, which is one of the few battery-operated toys. The tractor moves by pushing down on the smokestack and the various animals in the wagon make noise.
Outside of the battery-powered realm, Muprhy said a popular item is Perplexus, a three-dimensional maze game involving a small marble inside a sphere. Players select one of the tracks to take and use gravity to complete the maze through flipping, tilting and twisting.
“Kids love to play and they will realize the play value of these toys. … There is a lot of repeat play value with our toys,” Murphy said.
Linda Ambrosino, owner of G. Willikers Distinctive Toys on Broadway in Saratoga Springs, said her store’s toys also have replay value.
“We are a specialty store and we kind of do what we consider the old classics and the new classics, the stuff I think is going to be around for a long time,” said Ambrosino. “Stuff we feel is not only going to be played with on Christmas morning, but in April and May.”
This shopping season, G. Willikers is selling a lot of games, a popular one being “Spot It!” which is a matching game with a twist. The pictures on the two cards are different sizes.
“Sometimes the younger kids are a little bit better than the older ones,” Ambrosino said.
She said G. Willikers allows people to get back to “the basics” with toys and entertainment.
“I think that technology is important and valuable, but I think sometimes sitting across the table and being face to face with somebody brings a whole other level into the whole family,” she said.
Spot It! is also a hot selling item at Ta-Da in Stuyvesant Plaza, said Store Manager Michael Richman. Unlike some other specialty toy stores, Ta-Da focuses on kids 6 years old and up.
“We are really a novelty store because we carry things for all ages right on through the adult to the grown up,” said Richman. “The things we try to seek out are different and unusual items you are not going to see anywhere.”
Another popular game Ta-Da sells is called “Jishaku,” which is Japanese for magnet.The game is geared towards players 12 years old and up and it uses polished hematite magnets for playing pieces.
The common variation on the game has two players trying to get rid of all their magnets first, but when placing a magnet on the board you don’t want any others to attract and connect. The north and south poles aren’t marked on the pieces.
The Parent Teacher Store located on Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham focuses on educational toys, said Store Manager Andrea Neal. No electronics are carried in the store, but customers come in looking for niche products, she said.
“The buyer tries to get stuff you can’t get … at big box stores,” said Neal.
Lisa Rex, store manger for New York Toy & Hobby at Clifton Park Center, said focusing on the shopping experience is important.
“It is a very interactive store. We want kids to come in and make a mess,” said Rex. “We are just trying to keep up with the big boxes but we are trying to keep it a real shopping experience when you come in.”
Rex said the store doesn’t carry battery-operated or electronic toys. Some of the popular brands such as LEGO can be found amongst classics like a Barrel of Monkeys. She added the store also focuses on trying to get green toys.
“We are very nostalgic, but we are very hip in having the newest and hottest toys,” she said.
All of the store managers and owners said the holiday shopping season has started off good. Having Chanukah celebrated later than usual also condenses some of the frantic holiday shopping, said Murphy.
“It is always said people find a way to make Christmas happen … Santa has to come,” said Murphy.
