President’s Report

Welcome to the Holidays,

Time to Ramp Things Up

Holiday Time. It can mean so many things to each one of us. In our professional life, our member categories all have a different perspective:

For retailers, it’s what they have planned for the entire year. Long hours, staffing issues – even greater than what they have experienced throughout this past year, dealing with customers that often wait until the last minute to visit their neighborhood store as their saving grace, and then there’s also general exhaustion!

For manufacturers, it’s rush orders, getting sample shipments and catalogs ready for January shows, sales rep meetings – both in-person and via zoom - and a review of the year’s figures.

For sales reps, it’s handling desperate calls from retailers to check on shipments and inventory availability of best sellers, helping out in stores, sales rep meetings to learn new products, and updating their line lists and price lists for 2023.

I remember working all sides. My first retail holiday season was as an assistant manager at a hobby and craft store. I came home on December 24 to take a nap on the couch, and I didn’t wake up until the following evening when I realized I missed the entire Christmas Eve and Christmas Day family events. I guess my family figured I needed the sleep! As a sales rep, those frantic days leading up to December 24 had me running to stores, working with manufacturers over the phone. On December 26, I was at it again, pricing out catalogs, sorting through samples and planning my road trips for January. When I worked with my husband on the products he made, we spent December sending out - or delivering - products right up to the 24th. On the 26th, we started inventory and began the production schedule for January. There is no real rest for our industry as January sends us into show time mode.

My question is, “How do we handle this craziness and not burn out?”

We are in the toy business and it is imperative – especially as independent retailers – to constantly work at showing our value as neighborhood and community resources. But we need to refresh as well.

Here are my suggestions for keeping energy and enthusiasm as we work through the holidays:

1. Rely on one another.

Find yourself a “buddy” within our

ASTRA community that you can check in with – if not daily, then weekly.

Share experiences, vent, have a few laughs. It will give you that boost you need to keep the spirit up! If you want help finding a buddy, give me a call. I can connect you with another ASTRA member for the month of December.

2. PLAY.

Take time to try out some of the great products that surround you. In our

Certified Play Expert Program, we note the importance of play for all ages.

Author and psychiatrist Stuart Brown,

MD, compares play to oxygen. “It’s all around us, yet goes mostly unnoticed or unappreciated until it is missing,” he said. Play brings joy. And it’s vital for problem solving, creativity and relationships.

3. Take time to appreciate the staff and co-workers around you as well as family and friends.

We all need to feel appreciated, and a little extra gratitude towards those we are around daily goes a long way in relieving their stress and our own.

It’s our time of year to shine brighter than ever. While on vacation in Denmark with my husband, there was a plaque in our Airbnb that my husband translated for me. It simply said:

Nobody can do everything. Everyone can do something. Together we can do it all.

Let’s do this together!

Sue Warfield