At local toy shops, the simple things fly off the shelves
“People sort of shop their feelings at our store,” said Jessie Menken, who owns Ali’s Wagon in Fairmount.
The wooden spinning tops at Ardmore’s boutique toy shop pucciManuli have been selling like mad.
It might seem surprising, in an age of computerized action figures and stuffed bears that rely on AI to tell bedtime stories, that one of the oldest known toys in the world maintains such appeal.
But as the holiday shopping rush reached its peak this week, local toy store owners said many of their best-selling items were also their most basic, including classic dolls, wooden blocks, and plush toys. Small toy shops generally sell niche products, and many don’t sell anything that requires a battery or a plug. But even on Amazon, the best sellers in toys and games two days before Christmas included Play-Doh, Jenga, and the original Slinky.
“We are seeing a lot of people go back to basics … toys that make you think, toys that make you dream,” said Carrie Kohs, who owns pucciManuli. She said puzzles, arts and crafts, and other wooden toys are also popular at the store this year.
Earlier in the season, word got out that the Nesting House in Mount Airy carried Dinkum Dolls, simple plush baby dolls that come in a range of skin tones and are dressed in non-removable onesies. Soon, people from all over the country were ordering the dolls, which are now nearly sold out, said owner Jennifer Kinka.
“They’re just really basic,” she said, “and people love them.” Other best sellers at the Nesting House include colorfully painted wooden blocks by the company Grimm’s, and “A Pound and Tap bench,” which is effectively a wooden xylophone.
Tildie’s Toy Box, with shops in Haddonfield and South Philly, said its top sellers this year included slime, that long-beloved goop that some people make at home, and stuffed animals made by the company JellyCat.
Across the region, shop owners said people were looking for simple items that would last.
“They want something that they’re going to be able to play with for more than an hour,” said Lisa LeStrange, who owns Lucky Duck Toys in Bryn Mawr. One of the shop’s most popular products this year are stuffed versions of the Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty. LeStrange, who bought up some of the remaining Gritty stock when the company Squishable stopped making it, said people drive in from Delaware to buy it.
Some store owners, while delighted about the products selling well, wondered how their customers were doing emotionally.
“People sort of shop their feelings at our store,” said Jessie Menken, who owns Ali’s Wagon in Fairmount. She has noticed that during moments of national upheaval, including the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 epidemic, the toy shop did particularly well. People wanted to escape.
Now Menken is also seeing a flood of interest in simple toys: stick-on tattoos and earrings, clear plastic wands filled with glitter, wooden blocks and trucks, books like those by the 1960s and ‘70s-era author and illustrator Richard Scarry. She imagines her customers are looking to once again distract themselves from the current moment, seeking nostalgia.
“Just looking back,” Menken said, “at a simpler time.”