It’s been lovely to feel things are getting back to normal this year and seeing lots of children in the shop and hearing about the parties they are going to or have planned.
Team Giddy Goat were also excited to be able to attend toy fairs this year and I attended the Toy Fair in London in January and myself, Ruth and Jo attended the Spring Fair at the NEC in February.
Both had a fantastic array of suppliers showcasing their current and new lines and the biggest challenge was cherry picking which we wanted to stock in our Didsbury shop as there’s only so much we can fit in here. As usual we chose lots of games and puzzles from Orchard Toys, who link their products to the National Curriculum Learning Objectives, but without making the games too obviously educational, as they want children to have fun and learn as they play rather than feel they are doing an educational activity. I spent a lot of time on the Character Options stand and ordered in some great new toys for the year ahead including GooJitZu, Little Live Pets and Jurassic World themed toys plus we ordered in lots of new Playmobil, Lego and Sylvanian Families sets (some of which can be seen in our current window display). And we ordered an array of soft, squishy and fluffy toys from Ty and Keel Toys, who make beautifully soft toys from recycled bottle tops. Having read about them I wanted to see and feel the products before I brought them into the shop for our customers and I was amazed by how soft the range was as well as by the competitive prices.
We’ve increased our range of science sets and children’s books and in particular we’ve made sure to get in lots of toys, activities and craft sets for £15 and under for the 4-9 year old age range as we know that many children have parties every weekend and we’re the 6th emergency service for those parents who empty out their child’s book on a Friday evening and discover one or two party invites for the next morning and our Saturday staff are often asked to gift wrap presents for parents who are literally en route to a party via our shop!
Whilst at the Toy Fair I met with the lovely people from Reydon Sports who do a wide range of sports equipment such as table tennis tables, mini trampolines and swingball sets and because we simply wouldn’t have space to store items such as this we arranged a ‘drop ship’ partnership with them in which customers can now order these items in-store or online with Reydon delivering direct to the customer.
We have been offering this service with a company called Yvolve for several months and it works well, they do a fantastic range of scooters and metal balance bikes and we have added some of the Kiddimoto range of wooden balance bikes to our website. Being short of storage space it’s a fantastic way of being able to offer a wider range of products to our customers. Add to that the range of kites, paddling pools, frisbees and bat and ball sets and we have a fantastic range of toys for children of all ages to be able to play with in their gardens or in the park or for days out to the beach, and for those wet days – well there’s as many arts and crafts sets and activities as there are wet days in a Manchester summer – ie lots!! so whatever the weather and whether you need something to keep your child happy or to give as a party present, swing on down to Giddy Goat Toys in Didsbury or buy online at www.giddygoattoys.co.uk
We hope to see you soon
Amanda and the Giddy Goat Toys team xxxx
This post was written for and published in Mums and Dads Magazine Summer 2022
