Birthday Buys

Spring is in the air these days, and that means kids' schedules are filling up with parties and playdates, according to the independent specialty toy stores we surveyed recently. Parents seeking affordable birthday party gifts in the $10 to $20 range as well as smaller impulse items for favors were at the top of retailers' lists, along with games and activity sets.

Toys Ahoy

• Webkinz ($10.99) & Lil' Kinz ($8.99). Ganz; Cheektowaga, N.Y.
• Zoomorphs animal sets ($17.99+). River Dolphin Toys; New York
• Beading/jewelry kits ($9.99). Alex; Northvale, N.J.
• Beach Beads jewelry kit ($14.99). Creativity for Kids; Cleveland
• OptiArt Bracelets kit ($13.99). Creativity for Kids
• Scrapbooking kits ($9.99). Alex
• Rat-a-Tat-Cat ($9.99). Gamewright; Newton, Mass.
• Slamwich ($9.99). Gamewright
• Rush Hour ($14.99). ThinkFun; Alexandria, Va.
• Mad Dog Motors R/C cars ($16.99+). Kid Galaxy; Manchester, N.H.
• Groovy Girls dolls ($9.99+). Manhattan Toy, Minneapolis

"Our top seller, which we can't get our hands on, is Webkinz," Toys Ahoy manager Sandy Russell says, though she also noted, "It's birthday time, so people are looking for small-priced items for kids' birthday parties." Steady movers recently for girls' gifts have been arts and crafts kits from Faber-Castell's Creativity for Kids division as well as from Alex, she tells Playthings. "They go to beading kits and stuff like that first," she says. "There's so much girly stuff...[it] does really well." And for boys' birthdays, Zoomorphs and R/C cars have been a hit. Games are also a strong category, Russell says. "A lot of the Gameright Games are very popular...ThinkFun is one of our biggest sellers too."

Gumdrop Tree of Anoka

• PlayFoam ($6.95, $11.95), Educational Insights, Rancho Dominguez, Calif.
• Pirates, knights ($4.95+). Papo (Hotaling Imports); Sherrill, N.Y.
• Pirate ship Barbarossa ($59.95). Papo
• Bowzers, Meowzers ($25.95) plush & book sets. Russ Berrie; Oakland, N.J.
• Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker ($34.95). Industrial Revolution; Redmond, Wash.
• Do-A-Dot activity books ($4.95) & markers ($14.95). Do-A-Dot Art; Westlake Village, Calif.
• Calico Critters ($7.95+). International Playthings, Parsippany, N.J.
• Wooden puzzles ($9.95+). Melissa & Doug, Westport, Conn.
• Thomas & Friends trains & playsets ($9.95+). RC2; Oak Brook, Ill.

At Gumdrop Tree, space is at a premium, so owner Dan Masloski has to choose wisely which large-scale brands he carries. Top on his list are Papo, Calico Critters, and Thomas the Tank Engine trains and track sets from RC2's Learning Curve division. He also stocks a range of Melissa & Doug toys and wooden puzzles, which are "always in our top 10" he tells Playthings. Recently, there's been a run on the Brainy Baby line, which he discovered at Toy Fair '07. "We've sold over half our order already, and it just came in two weeks ago," he says.

Top Ten Toys

• Playsets & figure sets ($2.95-$39.95). Playmobil; Cranbury, N.J.
• Thomas & Friends trains ($9.25+). RC2
• Kettrike Jumbo tricycle ($135.95).Kettler USA; Virginia Beach, Va.
• Multi-activity tables ($179.95). Nilo Toys; Oceanside, Calif.
• Stomp Rocket Jr. ($10.95) D&L, Porterville, Calif.
• Rocks & minerals ($1 each). GeoCentral; Napa, Calif.
• Blokus ($29.95). Educational Insights
• Settlers of Catan ($39). Mayfair Games; Skokie, Ill.
• Apples to Apples ($29.95).Out of the Box; Richland Center, Wis.
• Quadrilla Twist & Rail Set ($98.95). Hape Int'l; Sherwood Park, Alberta
• Teaching Cash Register ($43) Learning Resources; Vernon Hills, Ill.
• Woodkins ($11.50, $13.95).Pamela Drake; Berkeley, Calif.

"Playmobil is our top vendor, followed by Learning Curve," Top Ten Toys owner Allen Rickert tells Playthings. "We do have things like the Uglydoll, which did really well for us at Christmas," he says, though he notes the line isn't on his bestseller list right now because his store focuses on "more traditional toys" overall. "That's how we juxtapose ourselves to the chains. For example, we have a huge selection of puppets, which your average toy store wouldn't have. We're sort of the politically correct niche. [Our toys are] more ecological, less violent, more educational, less sexist. We just give a lot of thought to everything we don't like. There's nobody—even Playmobil—where we carry everything in their line, because we pick through it for what we think is best."

Top Ten also stocks a lot of children's books, including nonfiction, among its selection of up to 30,000 products, along with impulse items in the "under $2" category such as rocks and minerals, marbles, beads, art supplies, stickers, cookie cutters, and tiny toys from Toysmith and Accoutrements, Rickert says. "People graze those in large quantities for parties and things, so they move by volume. We don't consider ourselves a party store, but we get lots of people shopping here for birthdays."

Village Toymaker

• Calico Critters ($7.99+). Int'l Playthings
• Ruckus card game ($9.99). Funstreet; Northfield, Ill.
• PVC My Name Mugs ($6.99). John Hinde; Oxnard, Calif.
• Quiddler & Five Crowns ($12.99). Set Enterprises; Fountain Hills, Ariz.
• Space Voyagers figures, vehicles & collectibles sets ($1.99-$44.99). Action Products; Orlando, Fla.
• Find It! puzzle games ($19.99+). Find-it Games, Snohomish, Wash.
• Pirates, knights ($4.99+). Papo
• Dragons ($6.99+). Papo

"International Playthings, Toysmith and Small World Toys are our big suppliers," says Melissa Small, manager of Village Toymaker, which has three Tennessee locations. Top toy cagories for the retailer include games, baby and outdoor (depending on the season), as well as collectibles like Calico Critters and Papo. In addition, the space theme "has been pretty big, anything space," Small says, noting that the Space Voyager line has been an especially big hit. "We carry a lot...and when they come in, they go." Small attributes the line's popularity to its cool styling and features—including those on the Ultimate Saturn V rocket, which offers lift-off sound effects and vibrations and an astronaut training manual—though the line isn't that extensive. "Maybe that's even the key," she says, adding, "When we get space in, that does better than pirates."

Small predicts the popularity for pirates will likely begin to fade later this year, although buccaneers at the moment continue to command solid sales, at least in Papo. "The pirates and knights, we can't keep those in," Small says. "The whole line is good but pirates, knights and dragons are the best." Personalized items like the John Hinde PVC mugs and name barrettes for girls are additional steady movers, Small tells Playthings.