Christmas Shopping | Festive Fun | Moss Vale Festive Foraging
Late night shopping and festive fun is coming again this Christmas to Moss Vale, thanks to The Vintage Toy Box and the Moss Vale Independent Retail Association.
Late night shopping and festive fun is coming again this Christmas to Moss Vale, thanks to The Vintage Toy Box and the Moss Vale Independent Retail Association.
On Thursday 12 December between 4 pm and 9pm, Argyle Street and surrounds is going to stay up late as part of Moss Vale Festive Foraging.
Not only will this be a chance to meet Santa and sing along with our local carollers and the Wingecarribee Vocal Musters, but it will be a fantastic opportunity to pick up some exclusive offers from participating outlets.
Best of all, lucky ‘foragers’ who follow the Christmas map and collect the 12 Christmas stamps in any of the participating businesses will go into the draw to win a Festive Forager prize pack on the night, from a total prize pool of $3000.
The prize will be drawn at the Southern Highlands Brewing & Taphouse in Moss Vale at 9pm on Thursday 12th December 2019.
We are delighted to be able to showcase some fantastic local talents, with entertainment throughout the afternoon and evening, and throughout the Foraging Trail from:
Wingecarribee Vocal Muster (Outside Suzie Anderson Home)
Pointe Dynamic Arts (Leighton Gardens)
Moss Vale Anglican Street Carol Singers (Upper Argyle)
Chaszenry (Outside Mossy Store)
Joyce Dingjan (Outside Moss Vale Mall)
White Waratah Face Painting (Leighton Gardens)
and of course … Santa and Mrs Clause who will be putting on an appearance throughout the evening!
As well as many other special treats, there will be a special prize on the night from The Vintage Toy Box for the best dressed Christmas outfit in the theme of ‘The 12 days of Christmas’, so come in your festive finery!
There will be plenty of places to grab a bite to eat, and something for all palates, with the following participating outlets open on the night:
Wine Mosaic Lounge (upstairs and downstairs!)
As well as many more, and treats in Leighton Gardens from:
Shoppers will also get the chance to vote on the Best Dressed Christmas Window on the evening, with the People’s Choice Winner winning this fantastic business prize pack:
2 hours FREE legal advice for the winning business, to a value of $1,100 from Palmer Legal.
1 months FREE advertising on ALL of their electronic advertising boards from BDCU Alliance Bank
$200 advertising boost from University of Woolongong Southern Highlands Campus in Moss Vale
All Moss Vale CBD Business with a window are eligible to enter. The winner will be the business with the most votes at the end of the evening and will be announced at 9pm as part of the Festive Foraging Prize Draw.
Some of our retailers will be offering a special gift wrapping service for a gold coin donation. This year we are getting behind the NSW RFS and will be donating your donations to them for all of the great work that they are doing for all of us. Look out for the gift wrap signs!
Spread the word and get the whole family down for an evening of festive fun and frivolity!
Follow #festiveforagingmossvale on Instagram for updates.
Happy foraging!
Plan your route in advance with our interactive Festive Foraging Map showing the participating businesses on our Festive Forage Trail.
NSW Permit No. LTPS/19/39653
For further information visit: https://www.facebook.com/MossValeIndependentRetailAssociation/
Our Classic Toy Shop | Take a Peek Inside our Toy Box
Just as we close up the Moss Vale store to spend more time with our family, we wanted to capture the essence of one of the most rewarding adventures that we’ve been on.
We have been very lucky to have the awesome Emma working for us here at The Vintage Toy Box in our Moss Vale toy store - she has been a breath of fresh air, a trusted and much valued employee, a window dresser extraordinaire, and now a great friend. Just before we close up the Moss Vale store in a couple of weeks to spend more time with our family, we wanted to capture Emma’s experience of sharing one of the most rewarding adventures that we’ve been on. Thank you Emma for being such a fabulous member of our toy store family - we couldn’t have done it without you!! Over to you Emma …
“Goodbye #UpperArgyle” by Emma Stuart
When I first applied for the job at The Vintage Toy Box I never imagined that working here would be so much fun. I mean, I knew working in a toy shop would be fun, but the vibe and energy that comes from the shop is way better than an average run-of-the-mill generic toy shop. There’s something really special about The Vintage Toy Box. The shop has been such a great place to work, the atmosphere and being around toys made my day – everyday. Not many people get to work in a place that they love to work in, nor do they get to have as much fun as I did as they work.
What made it more fun was the people. Customers, people just popping in to say hello, the local kids running in for their lollies after school, the local businesses that support each other, and of course my boss, Saskia (edit: Emma had to say that!).
I am so lucky to have had this experience. Saskia is such an awesome boss lady (edit: and again!). She accepted my areas for development and pushed me to the full potential of my strengths. She has helped me build my confidence and encouraged my creative side, which has expanded so much since I started working at The Vintage Toy Box.
Saskia asked me to put together a little write up about my favourite experiences working in the shop. It was so very hard to choose just a few, but here goes ….
I loved working on the window displays because not only did it showcase some of the awesome toys waiting just inside the door, but I loved watching people walking by, stopping to have a look and walking off with a smile. I’ve often wondered what triggered those smiles, was it a memory from their childhood? Maybe they played that hopscotch game at school; ran around the backyard with Spud Guns with their siblings; they could have had a toy robot similar to the one staring back at them through the window or maybe they played that board game with their family on family game night. It didn’t matter the reason behind the smile, it was just nice to know that just a peek through the window was enough to make someone smile.
I really enjoyed doing research and learning about the history of toys. How they used to be made and played with in the past is so intriguing to me. It is fascinating seeing through the decades how the toys have changed and what became popular based on the world changing, during and after war time and the difference new technology impacted the sale of toys and changed the way they were made.
Another personal favourite thing of mine about the shop is the stories that people would tell while they were shopping. Whether it was a story about begging their parents for a wind-up tin plane and how happy they were to open one up on Christmas morning, how they’ve treasured it over the decades and how it still sits on their shelf, or how they used to save the bone out of a lamb hock after a Sunday night roast and after they collected them up over a few weeks they would have enough to play Jacks with them. Stories about how they used to make knitting dolls out of old sewing bobbins and nails, or sitting down with a sibling or parent to draw and cut out outfits for paper dolls. Eagerly waiting outside the back shed door for their father to put the finishing touches on their wagon so it was ready to race with the kids down the road. It is so interesting to hear of the way toys used to be made by families who couldn’t afford to go to the shop and by the latest toys. I also enjoyed hearing the friendly bickering between family members as they reminisce about playing and there was always one cheeky cheater … who still denies it!
One day I was sitting at the front counter doing some history of toys research and I had Fleetwood Mac up full volume through the speaker, singing along as I worked and a nice lady worked in. I awkwardly laughed with embarrassment as I rushed to turn down the volume, she just laughed and said ‘turn it back up, I love Fleetwood Mac!’ so up went the volume and she sang as she shopped; it was great!
So there you have it, a few of my favourite memories from working at The Vintage Toy Box and what is next for me? Well, I’ll still be around, in the background, still researching, writing, putting together social media posts and helping Saskia with community events and all the new exciting things that she has planned and of course – turning up Fleetwood Mac until the speaker beeps at full volume.
Until next time, Emma. x
If you want to show your appreciation for Emma, as much as we do, vote for us in the Australian Local Business Awards https://thebusinessawards.com.au/business/48911/The-Vintage-Toy-Box . Go on, it’ll make Emma’s day.
Moss Vale ... it's been fun!
We have an announcement …. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we know it’s the right one for our little family, and we’re now ready to share it with you.
Some decisions come easier than others. Some decisions fly at you like water off a duck’s back, and some need to be digested, regurgitated, revisited, prodded and pruned. Last week we made a decision that falls into the latter category, but now that we’ve made it, we’re relieved and thankful that we have.
It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we know it’s the right one for our little family, and we’re now ready to share it with you, in the hope that in doing so, you’ll decide to come on our next journey with us, because we sure have enjoyed having you all along for the ride!
The next part of our journey begins on the 1st July 2019, exactly one year to the day since we began our last chapter, the opening of our wonderful and magical Moss Vale store. What a chapter it’s been! It’s been fun, games, laughter and friendship. We’ve met some beautiful people (big and little) from our mini wonderland, and have been welcomed into such a wonderful community with open arms. We’ve been embraced, we’ve been loved, and we’ve shared joy. So much joy. We truly can call Moss Vale home. For that we are thankful.
Whilst we have been hanging out in our magical emporium however, we had a niggling feeling, one that wouldn’t go away. We realised that whilst we were watching other children have fun in our store, we were missing out on spending precious time with our own little person. We weren’t following our own message of ‘enjoying the little things in life, before they become big things’. We realised that we’d missed out on a whole year of Saturday fun and family exploring.
So, Moss Vale, it sure has been fun, we’ve loved being part of the high street, but we’re ready to now take a back seat and enjoy the landscape from a different angle. We’re looking forward to some foraging of our own, enjoying all that the beautiful Southern Highlands has to offer, but enjoying it as a family.
It’s not’ goodbye’ however, it’s merely a ‘see you soon’, as we’ll still be completely online. To say a big thank you to Moss Vale and to the Southern Highlands we’ll be offering a free drop off or pick up service for all online orders to anyone within a 15km radius of Moss Vale town centre, after we close the front door of our bricks and mortar shop for the last time on Saturday 29th June 2019.
When one door closes … another one opens. A heartfelt thank you to all of you who have supported us on our journey this far. We look forward to sharing the next adventures with you … here’s a clue … you may see up pop up in Fyshwick in Canberra very soon!
The Vintage Toy Box family x
Check out our awesome Closing Down Sale with a whopping 30% off all our large items. Available for in-store pick up only and while stocks last.
New Traditional Toy Shop Opens in Moss Vale, Southern Highlands NSW
We’ve officially launched our gorgeously fun and funky bricks and mortar store, down in the beautiful NSW Southern Highlands.
We’ve officially launched our gorgeously fun and funky bricks and mortar store, down in the beautiful NSW Southern Highlands.
We’ve set up shop in the heart of the region, Moss Vale, just a short distance away from the historic town of Berrima and the popular tourist destination of Bowral.
We have something for everyone in our amazing treasure trove of goodies. We have toys and games galore, and have partnered with our other family business, Motique, purveyor of gifts and games for the discerning gentlemen in your lives.
So, roll up, roll in, and step back in time as we take you on a trip down memory lane.
Our beautiful mural is courtesy of the fabulous Paul Settecasse. Design by the equally fabulous Angela Settecasse of Angela Farrell Words • Ideas • Designs.
