Moorestown Toy Store Offers Something Different For Holidays

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Children are filled with joy each year when they open their presents and find out they got everything they asked for. There’s something a little extra special about getting something you didn’t expect. That’s what South Jersey shoppers can expect to get when they walk into Happy Hippo Toys.

“It’s a unique toy store,” owner Maryellen DeMille said. “We have a lot of stuff you don’t see anywhere else. We carry a lot of really cool imports.”

Here, shoppers will find Djeco toys, Peco Trains and Bruto Trucks, as well as magic sets, puppets, Matryoshka Dolls, piggy banks, Pogo Sticks, rocking horses, Jack in the Box, Madame Alexander, yo-yos, Calico Critters, wagons, stuffed animals, Slinky's, wiffle balls, an assortment of board games and more.

This collection of toys and a strong connection to the hometown has helped Happy Hippo stay in business for more than 40 years.

The location at 135 West Main Street in Moorestown opened first, about 45 years ago. Just a few years after that, Happy Hippo Toys opened their second location, at 201 Kings Highway East in Haddonfield.

Both stores are corner locations, which is where the slogan, “we have the corner on fine toys” comes from, DeMille said. With a strong history in both communities, numerous generations of shoppers have come through the doors.

“We are working with customers who shopped here when they were kids, and now they are shopping here for their kids,” DeMille said. “It’s pretty amazing.”

Happy Hippo Toys continued to be there for the community through the coronavirus pandemic. It’s one of the few stores in the area that exclusively sells toys, and continued to do so for the community at a time when children were isolated by remote learning and COVID-19 based restrictions.

“We didn’t really close,” DeMille said. “We still did curbside pickup and phone orders.”

The community has returned the favor, particularly this year, as the rush of holiday traffic started in October.

“It’s normally busy a week before Thanksgiving, but it seems to be extended this year,” DeMille said. “People have been Christmas shopping since October.”

There were warnings that people should begin shopping early due to COVID-19 related issues with shipping. Hanukkah also came early this year, running from Nov. 28 through Dec. 6. Last year, it was Dec. 10-18.

Whatever the reason for the rush, it helps small businesses like Happy Hippo Toys because holiday shopping didn’t look like this last year.

Shipping has also impacted costs, although Happy Hippo is trying to keep them under control.

“Some stuff has gone up, but not horribly,” DeMille said. “If a set of blocks was $50 before, it might be $55 now.”

They also send out a ValPak coupon every holiday season. Check out some of the products Happy Hippo Toys offers below.

Happy Hippo Toys is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. More information on both locations can be found on the Happy Hippo Toys Facebook page and at http://www.happyhippotoys.com/.