"Probably the quality matters more than anything."

—Jenny Pyles, assistant manager, Discovery Pond, Miles City, Mont.

 

"With Thomas, kids come in here and just play with the ones we have set up."

—Cheryl Richmond, owner, Punkin Doodles, Havre, Mont., December 2006

 

"Farm building sets from RC2 - Ertl. They're just a very popular item and we're one of the few stores in the country that carry their whole line."

—Lisa Pippin, manager, Action Toys, Billings, Mont., December 2006

https://www.actionfarmtoys.com/

 

"Groovy Girls. The price points are very good. Girls are very interested in them. They have a lot of play value."

—Pam Sommer, manager, Montana Book & Toy Company, Helena, Mont., December 2006

https://www.mtbookco.com/

 

"Guillow planes — they're the rubber band prop-planes. They're simple to assemble, inexpensive, you break them up, and you go and buy another one, and they're self-propelled. You wind up the prop, put them on the table-top, and watch them take off like a plane."

—Joel Hardy, owner, Magpie Toys, Red Lodge, Mont., December 2006

 

"I'm doing really well with the Magna Morphs from Wild Republic. You can make so many neat critters with them; they're interchangeable."

—Tony Hoyt, owner, Hummingbird Toys & Treats, Arlee, Mont., December 2006

 

"I'm really excited about Klutz's new Chicken Socks line for the pre-schoolers. I'm really excited about those. That's a market that was under-served in a kind of a craft sense. There's another company that I'm excited about. It's called Be Amazing! Toys. They deal with science. Their science stuff has done very well for me. I just brought them in this summer and it's doing great."

—Amy Barrett, owner, Lasso the Moon Wonderful Toys, Helena, Mont., December 2006

https://goldwest.visitmt.com/listings/15779.htm

 

"PlayFoam from Educational Insights. It's good value and something different. We also put it on display to give people a chance to touch and feel it."

—David Campbell, owner, Amazing Toys, Great Falls, Mont., December 2006

https://www.amazingtoys.net/

 

"Probably the best-selling, with a high price point, is the Plasma Cars, made by Plasmart. Kids love them because the way that they move is different from anything else. I believe that's important. It's very unique. Especially with the demo, customers tend to be attracted to this toy."

—Sallie Scott, owner, The Learning Tree, Missoula, Mont., December 2006

 

"Rokenbok. It's nice and interactive, a lot of parts."

—Jackie Englehart, assistant manager, Great Rocky Mountain Toy Company, Bozeman, Mont., December 2006

 

"We have an electronic kit called Snap Circuits, by Elenco. You can do a hundred different electrical stuff and it's really well thought out. Even a 7-year-old can look at the picture, know what to do, and put it together. You can do burglar alarms, clappers, lights, a lot of things."

—Mary Witbrod, owner, Imagination Station, Whitefish, Mont., December 2006

https://www.whitefishtoys.com/

 

"We sell remote-controlled KG racers, by Kid Galaxy. Parents like them. It's good price point. It has a little remote control, which is about 3" long, and about 3" to 4" high."

—Kim Duff, manager, Giggles Toys & More, Bozeman, Mont., December 2006

www.gigglestoys.com