Playful rush! Vendors stock toys for the season

It's nearly here! Yes, Christmas is so close, you can almost smell the sorrel and ham. Of course, children look forward to this time of year more than anyone and, all around Kingston and St Andrew, store owners and street vendors have stocked up on the staples of every child's festive wish list - toys!

"Mi usually sell like shoes and cologne and all kind of woman perfume, but is Christmas time now, so everything different," said Arlene Roach, a vendor supervising a spread of dolls, remote-controlled cars and footballs at Kingston's Coronation Market last Tuesday.

"You have to really know what to sell and when to sell it," she said.

Roach said, to her surprise, sales have been going well.

"It still early, yuh know, but yuh find that people start buy already. It likkle better than last year."

Roach said she believed the tough economy was driving more shoppers downtown where bargain-hungry parents often expect to find lower prices.

"We seeing some different people. Anywhere dem come from, we happy to see dem."

Meeting the demand

Toys were also out in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, where longtime vendor 'Gussy' Jackson keeps a keen eye on demand.

"Every year yuh have to watch and see what people want. This year, di kids dem more want di sports ting dem, like football and cricket bat, so we make sure that we have dem," he said.

Jackson said prices have been kept low. "If you check it, the toys cost the same like last year. You can get a ball for even $100. The remote car dem sell for about $500, depending on the size."

A customer-service representative at a variety store in Liguanea said that toy sales have started to pick up. She asked not to be identified by name. "We expect to see things getting even better, but, already, we are seeing certain items going bit by bit," she said.

The must-have toys of the season, she said, were educational games.

"Parents are getting wiser now and are trying to get every bit of value out of their purchases. They want to ensure that when they buy something for their child, the child will be learning as they play."