Inside the Christmas rush at Saskatchewan toy stores, from road trips to last-minute saves

Christmas shopping may look hectic from the outside, but behind the counter at Saskatchewan toy stores, the holiday season is about far more than selling toys.

For independent store owners, Christmas means balancing long days, packed aisles and anxious shoppers all while helping families find gifts that feel meaningful. It’s a season that brings pressure, nostalgia, exhaustion and joy, often all at once.

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“We saw very strong traffic in November,” said Bob Siemens, one of the owners of Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy in Maple Creek. “A lot of people travelled for many hours to come shopping at our store.”

That early rush set the tone in the town, where Siemens said customers weren’t squeezing toy shopping into spare moments. Instead, families were planning trips around it, turning Christmas shopping into a destination experience rather than a chore.

Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy operates across four buildings on Maple Creek’s main street, offering toys, books, candy, ice cream and stuffed animals. (Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy website)

Cowtown operates across four buildings on Maple Creek’s main street, offering toys, books, candy, ice cream and stuffed animals. Siemens said that scale changes how the season feels, not just for customers, but for staff as well.

At Christmas, the store becomes a place where generations overlap. Parents and grandparents browse alongside children, often rediscovering toys they remember from their own childhoods.

“Not only do we get to find toys for the kids,” Siemens said, “but we also let the adults go down that journey as well and see toys that they remember.”

That sense of nostalgia, he said, is one of the most rewarding parts of the season.

While December is busy, the work behind Christmas starts months earlier, selecting inventory, planning displays and preparing for an influx of shoppers from across Western Canada.

But the pace isn’t just about volume. It’s about attention.

Christmas shoppers aren’t always looking for the same thing. Some want classic toys, others want hands-on activities, and many are buying for multiple children and age groups at once. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)

Siemens said Christmas shoppers aren’t always looking for the same thing. Some want classic toys, others want hands-on activities, and many are buying for multiple children and age groups at once. The job becomes helping people slow down, browse and connect the right toy with the right recipient.

Part of running an independent store like Zippity Zoom Toys in Regina is knowing how to guide people quickly, whether they’re shopping for toddlers, teens or stocking stuffers, owner Tracy Bosche says. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)

The experience looks different elsewhere in the province.

At Zippity Zoom Toys in Regina, owner Tracy Bosche said the Christmas rush builds steadily then spikes as the calendar ticks closer to Dec. 25.

“Pretty crazy, as always,” Bosche said on Saturday. “We know it’s coming, but it still creeps up every year.”

Bosche said her store sees a mix of planners and procrastinators, with the pressure rising as shoppers arrive closer to Christmas morning. Some come in with lists. Others come in panicked, hoping for help.

That’s where she said the real work begins.

Labubu collectible toys are a hot wish-list item for shoppers at Zippity Zoom Toys. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)

One of her favourite parts of the season, Bosche said, is helping customers who don’t quite know what they’re looking for — parents, grandparents, and especially the “cool aunt or cool uncle” trying to find something memorable.

“There’s always something for everybody,” she said, noting that part of running an independent store is knowing how to guide people quickly, whether they’re shopping for toddlers, teens or stocking stuffers.

This year, Bosche said some shoppers were also chasing popular items, including the Labubu, which she described as one of the most asked-about toys heading into Christmas.

“It’s the La Bubu that was the one thing that everybody is looking for,” she said. “We have it, but we’ll probably run out again before Christmas.”

The Labubu collectible toy known for its mischievous, elf-like monster appearance with big ears, sharp teeth, is often sold in “blind boxes” for a surprise reveal.

But even when popular items sell out, Bosche said the focus stays on helping customers leave feeling confident, especially those shopping at the last minute.

For both Siemens and Bosche, behind the cheerful displays and busy counters, they said, the work is about helping families get Christmas right, whether that means planning months ahead or saving the day hours before Christmas Eve.

— with files from CJME News

Read more:

• ‘One small, kind thing can make somebody’s whole day easier’: Free Santa photos return to Regina
• Cold weather didn’t stop Regina runners at annual Santa Shuffle
• Kids mailing letters to Santa will get a response after brief pause: Canada Post