What does a toy shop owner buy her own children for Christmas?

Happy New Year! It does seem a little late for these greetings, but given that this is my first blog for the new year I'm going to say it anyway. I am presently enjoying an extended pseudo break from all things Entropy. It's a Clayton's break, the break you have when you are not having a break. It means I'm doing my work from home, in between looking after the boys who are still on school holidays for another week. My fantastic elves are looking after both the retail and eStore and are doing a great job.

I've been asked a few times what does the owner of a magical toy shop get her own children for Christmas, so I shall share this with you. It's always a little tricky as the boys are pretty familiar with what is in the store, and I try and get them something that is just that bit different. The biggest hit this year was the Haba ball track marble run. We've had this in store for a while, but the boys has never seen it assembled so it was still a nice surprise for him. Reilly already had the large set of Haba blocks which are compatible with the marble run. With these two sets combined the construction possibilities are endless and he has truly been creating some masterpieces. The Haba marble system is different to the Quadrilla marble sets which are also popular. With Quadrilla the pieces interlock for more stable and structured systems, whereas the Haba set involves more creativity and free assembly.

Reilly also loves his vehicles, so I did a special order for a most wonderful wooden hand-made crane from Fagus. This huge vehicle has been integrated nicely into the marble system, with the box used to carry the marbles over to the track!

Connor has an ongoing love affair with Papo figurines, s

o the perfect gift for him was a home for them all; the Le Toy Van Lionheart Castle. This is the largest of the Le Toy Van castles currently available and has secret little hiding places and features everywhere. Now the figurines are happily used for hours of pretend play, even if the historical accuracy of the play leaves a little to the imagination, with dinosaurs, dragons, knights and roman soldiers all involved in the same scene!

To finish things off, I also had the wonderful Mervyn

at Dobbin and Drum Toys make the boys one of his handmade teepees, and had it embroidered with

their names. It now plays an integral role as a cubby house for secret men's business!