If you’re shopping for top-quality toys and hobby items this holiday, look no further than Homewood Toy & Hobby Shop.
Located in the heart of Homewood with plenty of free parking, Homewood Toy & Hobby Shop has been family owned and operated since 1950 and is the oldest store of its kind in metro Birmingham.
After all, why fight the crowds at the big-box stores, and why shop online when you can buy local?
Homewood Toy & Hobby has everything you need, from cutting-edge innovation to nostalgic charm.
The store carries a wide array of fun, top-quality brands, including many that are hard to find at most retailers.
Toy brands include Hape Toys, Corolle Dolls, Lego, Brio, Playmobil, Green Toys and Ravensburger.
Hobby brands include Horizon Hobby, Traxxas and Arrma, Revell and Lionel Trains, and the store stocks a great selection of HO, O and G scale trains and accessories.
“We carry the largest selection of remote-controlled items in Birmingham, including trucks, boats, planes, drones and Traxxas cars,” said long-time store owner Tricia McCain.
One popular item this season is a remote-controlled, battery-powered drone made by Jupiter Creations.
“We’ve been flying it around in the store,” McCain said.
Of course, some of the most popular items at the store never change.
“There are things that kids like to play with that never go out of style, such as board games, wooden puzzles, puppets and dress-up clothes,” McCain said.
Homewood Toy & Hobby has a warm, personal touch you won’t find online or at the big-boxes.
“We have great customer service, and our staff is very knowledgeable and experienced,” McCain said.
In addition, most of the store’s employees – including store manager Julie Marix – have been with Homewood Toy & Hobby for many years.
This means that customers recognize familiar faces when they come to shop.
“You go to a big-box store and you don’t know any of the employees,” McCain said. “People like seeing the same people over and over again.”
The employees at Homewood Toy & Hobby also love toys and hobby items and provide enthusiastic service.
“We love walking around the store with customers and helping them pick out toys,” McCain said.
Parents and grandparents love to come into the store with their kids, McCain said.
“It’s one thing to shop online as an adult, but kids love to come in and pick out what they want,” she said.
The store offers customers free gift wrapping on any purchases over $12, and they boast easily accessible customer parking in their own 44-space lot behind the store.
McCain takes pride in her family’s legacy at Homewood Toy & Hobby.
“Not many small businesses make it this long,” she said.
McCain assumed ownership of the store from her dad in 2012 and has been helping out there since she was a child.
“I’ve been working there ever since I could reach the cash register,” she said, laughing.
It’s fun building long-term relationships with customers, she said.
“There’s a lot of older men who shop in the hobby department who have been here my whole life,” McCain said. “They come in now with their children and their grandchildren, especially during the holidays.”
“It’s just nice to have that history,” she said.
