It may seem incredible to be thinking about Christmas in the middle of the summer (what summer ?!?) but that’s what we do every year at this time as we finalise our autumn & winter catalogue.  All the toy manufacturers and retailers will have been gearing up for the past few months as the Christmas season begins as soon as the summer holidays are over.

We’re adding a couple more pages of wooden toys this year – which have always been our strongest area – because we know how popular they are, what good value they represent and how durable they are compared with the plastic we try to avoid.  Now it seems we’re being followed by Hamleys & Argos who, according to today’s Times, are predicting a return to traditional toys this year.  Hamleys are quoted as saying “Parents are likely to go for old favourites and solid, reliable materials, such as wood.”  Well we could have told them that because so far as we’re concerned wooden toys are always popular.

Apparently it is predicted that the best sellers this year will be “Barbie, Lego and Transformers” all of which are now classed as traditional toys.  Blimey – a Transformer a traditional toy?  What about the good old snakes & ladders or a pop-gun, or maybe a nice wooden Noah’s Ark?  Now those really are traditional toys.