’Tis the season to start puzzling out what gifts will make the toddlers and tweens in your life light up with joy this year. Luckily, savvy shoppers here on the North Shore have plenty of choices for toy stores that stock unique items, tempting toys, and old-fashioned fun, making it easy to find the perfect puzzle game for your curious daughter and just the right craft kit for your artistic nephew.
As an added bonus: Shopping small businesses helps boost local economies and might just reawaken some childhood Christmas magic. “There’s something pretty nostalgic about stepping into a toy store,” says Nathan Walker, manager of Henry Bear’s Park in Ipswich.
So check out one of these three North Shore favorites to make kids of all ages smile this season.
Henry Bear’s Park, Ipswich and Newburyport
With 10 locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Henry Bear’s Park counts as a chain business, albeit a modest one. However, each individual store – like the shops in Ipswich or Newburyport – retains that traditional dedication to wonder and play that make small toy stores so inviting.
“We try to specialize in screen-free products, and we have buyers that play-test all our toys,” Walker says.
The shop stocks perennial favorites like Calico Critters, Lego sets, and plush animals from Jellycat and Douglas, but also keeps up with some of the trends. Shoppers this season will find make-your-own slime kits, the latest family board games, and a remote control racecar set that promises an “old-fashioned look and modern speed,” Walker says. And for big fun, he recommends the “World’s Smallest” line of games, classic favorites like Trouble and Operation scaled down to keychain size, but still operational.
And even when the holiday chopping is complete, the stores’ events schedules encourage repeat visits with craft activities, toy testing opportunities, and even an annual Lego competition in Ipswich.
“It’s definitely a fun place to be,” Walker says.
3 Market St., Ipswich, 978-356-3636; 50 Water St., Newburyport, 978-572-5295; henrybear.com
Mud Puddle Toys, Marblehead
A few years back, Cassie Sturdivant heard that beloved local shop Mud Puddle Toys was about to close its doors for good. She decided she couldn’t let that happen, so she took over the business, diving in with exactly no experience in retail toy sales. Now heading into its fourth holiday season under new ownership, the store is still going strong with a unique mix of independent toy brands and gifts aimed at tweens and teens.
The trends this season lean toward the itty bitty and the very big, Sturdivant says. Shoppers are loving the teeny versions of consumer products in the Mini Brands line and items from Sam & Julia, a selection of DIY dioramas along with the adorable mice and accessories that populate them. At the same time, some of the most popular items in the store have been a collection of exceptionally large, quirky plush animals called Squishables. “Right now I am looking at a three-foot-long bumblebee,” Sturdivant laughs.
She has also recently started selling more items that are not strictly toys, but are nonetheless fun and appealing to slightly older gift recipients: disco balls, neon signs, and room decor, for example. “They’re things that you might not think about being in a toy store but that kids really, really, really like,” she says.
1 Pleasant St., Marblehead, 781-631-0814, mudpuddletoys.com
Toodeloos!, Gloucester
Shoppers can tell they’re in for fun at Toodeloos well before they reach the front door: The shop’s signature giant teddy bears enjoying a sidewalk tea party out front are visible a block away. Once visitors enter, the same delightful spirit pervades, with shelves stocked with puzzles, books, games, building toys, and much more. A cascade of stuffies occupies one corner, populated by creatures from conventional bears to more exotic creatures like axolotls.
Owner Ben Muniz took over the store from its founder in 2023, keeping the essence of the business intact, but adding his own twist. When he noticed how eager his own daughter was to buy anything Taylor Swift-themed he started adding products and quickly found an audience for the stickers, books, and even Mad Libs featuring the pop sensation. For the younger set (and, honestly, plenty of adults too), he also stocks plenty of toys, games, and books starring characters from the popular cartoon series Bluey.
What shoppers are most taken by, however, are the items that take them back to their own childhoods, Muniz says. He makes sure to offer plenty of these products, from marbles and mood rings to vintage versions of beloved board games.
“The thing people like the most are the retro toys,” Muniz says. “There’s a lot of classics.”
142 Main St., Gloucester, 978-281-2011, facebook.com/ToodeloosToys
Small packages
Adorable, tiny items are all the rage this year. So delight the children on your list with a little something from a local toy seller. Call ahead to make sure your local shop stocks what you’re looking for.
World’s Smallest games: Keychain-scale, fully operational versions of classic games like Trouble and Operation.
Micromags: The teeniest version of popular building toy Magnatiles.
Sam & Julia: Build and decorate a little room, then populate it with mice and their scaled-down food, furniture, dishes, and more.
NeeDoh Nice Cubes: Small and squishable colorful cubes for stress relief or sensory fun.
Mini Brands: Popular consumer goods rendered extra-itty-bitty for big fun.