Role-play toys, colourful monkeys and puzzles

Wondering what to buy your kids this Christmas? Finding the perfect gift can be a perplexing task. No doubt, even Santa needs some help. The annual sale of export quality toys organised by the members of the Toy Exporters’ Association promises a wide range of creative gifts that are guaranteed to keep your children enchanted for hours.

Held for the fourth consecutive year, this sale at the Bishop’s College auditorium on December 1 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., will showcase a wide array of products from nine toy exporters: Wooden toys by Excel Toys, Ancel, Asian Toy Company, Timberlina Ltd., DSL Lanka, Simplex and Edna Exports and Fabric and plush toys from Orchid Agencies and Rebecca Designs.

Best of all, the brilliantly coloured and expertly finished toys that conform to international quality and safety standards are toys that teach - toys that would inspire your children to learn.

Excel toys run by Rohini Lintotawela has lots on offer for little ones this year, particularly in the area of educational toys. Check out their bead frames, shape sorters and vibrantly coloured puzzles that teach numbers, shapes and colours, suitable for pre-schoolers. “They help develop motor skills,” Rohini says adding, “Children can learn counting, matching and sorting with these fun sets.”

Among the most eye-catching of toys are the skilfully crafted log cabins and doll houses made of mahogany, teak or lunumidella by Timberlina Limited. Designed for both mother and child, the Victorian toy houses come with miniature furniture and lighting and water systems that actually work.

Managing Director Gamini Amaratunga says that the houses made to the international standard sizes of 1:12 and 1:24 come in flat packs. Following the instructions, a house can be assembled in less than 45 minutes.

Doll houses make excellent role-play toys. Such is their quality that these doll houses are a collector’s item. About five varieties of houses will be on display at the exhibition and Timberlina takes orders.

The environmentally-friendly appeal of wooden toys can never be understated. Each of the skilfully designed toys modelled on Disney characters in the Ancel Collection will thrill children, while the wooden play sets such as the zoo with cages for lions and tigers have animals that the children can place within the bars.

The toys exported from Sri Lanka have to pass stringent tests that ensure that the products are sturdy, strong, unbreakable and large enough to ensure they are not swallowed and are checked to ensure smooth edges. Pointing to the bead frames, Rohini points out that wires are fixed with hidden screws and painted with non-toxic paint.

All products are manufactured by the exporters in their suburban factories in Sri Lanka, in a process that has helped create employment opportunities in addition to developing the area. According to Rohini, some of the work is out-sourced to women who work from home while fulfilling family commitments.