European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                They be singing songs of Joy at cafes toy stores by Chuck Roberts staff writer toy sales Are taking off this Holiday season at cafes toy stores in Europe. The to land in Heidelberg Germany registered $484,945 in toy sales in october compared with $361,000 during the same period last year said assistant manager Lorelei Whittaker Quot sales Are up drastically Quot she said. Quot people Are More ready to spend this  that was t the Case last year when the economic recession and military draw Down were in full swing she said. Quot sales were dead this time Las year Quot Whittaker said. Quot people were worried about not having a Job after  sales finally picked up last year by thanksgiving but by then it was too late Whittaker said. Although the recession continues Whittaker said shoppers appear to to More willing to dig deeper into their pockets this year. That seems to be the Case at the to land store in 3ad Kreuz Nach Germany where the Cash Register has been ringing in sales with monotonous regularity since the store opened sept 12. Quot i did As much business on one Register that Day As the previous seven months said sales clerk Judy Villeme who had been working in other departments until to land opened. Sales were especially heavy the first two weeks after the grand opening when Many customers placed toys on layaway to make sure they got the ones they wanted. The to land at Camp Ederle in Vicenza Italy also got the Holiday buying season off to a Good Start by raking in $14,000 at its grand opening Sale $3,000 More than the previous year said retail manager Theresa Ozbun. So far business at the to land at Rhein main al3, Germany has increased about 30 percent Over last year said store manager Brigitte Shaw. Quot it really is amazing considering the military cutback Quot she said variety might be the explanation for increased sales Shaw said. Some to land managers might not have ordered Large stocks because of the draw Down but Shaw said that s not the Case at her store. The Rhein main to land attracts customers from As far away As Nurnberg. Shaw said these customers have told her they can to find the toys they re looking for in their local military communities. Sales Are holding steady at the four seasons store at Raf Mildenhall said manager Linda Futch Mielke she said parents come from All parts of England to shop at Mildenhall which has the largest Exchange in England. Toy store managers have Only one Chance to place orders for toys so they have to make the most of it said Ken Warden a buyer who works at Headquarters cafes Europe in Zindorf Germany. Toy sales going up i 11 \ f source rates a amps Susan Harris at this late in the season there a not a lot of going Back to the  Warden said of the likelihood of reordering. But so far there seems to be an adequate Supply to meet the Strong demand he said. Warden described toy sales As Quot nothing outstanding but Overall  old favourites much in demand Barbie . Joe trolls battleship and monopoly Are traditional toys currently Topping the hot seller list at cafes to land stores in Europe. Quot everybody wants a Barbie Quot said Lorelei Whittaker assistant manager at the to land store in Heidelberg Germany. Barbie buyers Are faced with shelves chock full of assorted Barbie items such As totally hair Barbie roller Blade Barbie birthday Surprise Barbie Barbie Corvette sparkle eyes Barbie Barbie dream Blouse Barbie magic sounds House plus Barbie accessories including a microwave oven or video camera Barbie sales Are expected to Roach the $1 billion Mark this year compared with $430 million in 1987 even though some Barbie items Cost As much As $298, they re Selling almost As fast As employees can put them on the sales hour said Brigitte Shaw supervisor of the to land store at Rhein main a Germany. Biabio is the top Selling item at both Heidelberg and Rhein main the most popular Barbie at Rhem Mam is sparkle Lyes Maibie and roller Blade Barbie Shaw said big toys that i lots of space Are big Sellers m Heidelberg Whittaker said Little tikes makes big toys such As its Little tikes party Kitchen or Little tikes workshop that Are Selling fast a Whittaker said. Barbie dream House is another popular big stocking staffer that comes with an equally big Price tag of $180. But customers this Holiday season appear undaunted by Steep prices Shaw said talking toys Aie a big hit at the to land store m bad Kieu Zach Germany said sales clerk Judy Welleme among them is the electronic sound hits a talking baseball Bat Fiat tells the baiter whether tie s stroked a single double or another Type of base hit. Loys that baby Boomer parents once played with Aie in Oyog renewed popularity. Battleship risk monopoly i Roll dolts g i. Joe Lite Brito Are old standbys but hot Sellers. Welleme said Quot everybody wants battleship Quot she said electronic battleship and monopoly or Are new versions that also Are in hot demand. Other hot toys at cafes to land stores include a Remote control cars and electronic racetracks. A big Tonka toys such As front end loaders and dump trucks. A laser pinball. A traditional dolls. A stuffed toys a Lego products. More popular this year and a better variety a cabbage Patch kids. They re Back. A crash dummies. A ethnic doll clothes by Walter Schneider. European made. A collectible sporting cards a talking baby dinosaurs. A plays Kool products. A rollerblade. A Chuck Roberts a amps Chuck Robe is Doris Emmerich unpacks toys at the Heidelberg to land. Barbie dolls and All their accessories Are once again popular items. A amps Chuck retorts tips on beating the crowd Here Are some tips offered by toy store managers to take the hassle out of Holiday shopping a avoid Rush hours. The Best times to shop Are weekdays except from 11 . To 1 30 ., and from 5  To 6 30  Saturdays just after stores open and about an hour before closing sundays before the Church crowd lets out at noon. Thursdays and fridays Are Good because stores Are Well stocked in preparation for the weekend crush. A if you need personal attention try to avoid Peak shopping hours when sales clerks Are Busy. A keep those layaway tickets layaway can be tracked a lot faster by number than by name so have it in hand if you need to Clear up a layaway problem. A Don t shop for your children a store manager Brigitte Shaw says sales Are up 30 percent at Rhein main  Good words for the holidays fit i a Ftp by 9h"z col0, half Are amon9 Quot a big Sellers at the four sent St Quot Raf Mildenhall England and at other cafes toy stores in Europe. A amps file gift books can draw smiles and gasps of amazement from children. By the associated press i and what is the use of a Book without pictures or ��1 conversations Quot asked Alice just before taking her dream trip to wonderland. The prescient Lewis Carroll heroine must have been considering the children a Book Market where talk and illustrations continue to lure youngsters into the world of Reading. Here s a sampling of what you can find on the shelves for children for the holidays. A the Joy of friends and the Art of making them is celebrated in pals Andrews and Mccol written and illustrated by Mary Engelbreit a the lyrics to Jom Mitchell s both sides wow have been adapted for a Book by the same name Scholastic and illustrated by Alan Baker. Moons and junes and ferns wheels. The dizzy dancing Way you feel and other lines Are a wounded by but Terrea insects plants Clouds Ansi skies a a Book of poems called monster soup Scholastic gives folkloric explanations of Thunder Waves and likens a  to a Power shovel compiled by dts Evans and illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers t a menders Are ugly funny and fantastic ghost Ghoulie frolicking m an attic Are shown with the old Cornish verse Quot from Ghoulie and ghost ios and Long log Gity  and All things that go bump in the night Good lord deliver  a monsters of a More temporal sort appear in a Viand Cousin homed Toad Scholastica Navajo tale rendered by Shonto Begay. A ii is a hungry Coyote who visits his Friend the Toad and eats everything in sight including the Load which is his indigestible undoing. This cautionary tale about greed includes a glossary of Navajo words used in the Story. A the magic school bus Scholastic by Joanna Cole with illustrations by Bruce Degen turns a class trip into an undersea fantasy tour a children have been learning to read and enjoy books through the Little Golden books for 50 years and the publisher Western publishing has issued a Slipcase anniversary collection of a dozen favourites including a child s year by Joan Walsh Anglund pocketful of nonsense by James Marshall and doctor Dan the Bandage Man by Helen Gaspard. A for the Nursery six Little books encased in a rocking horse booking horse a hymns has been issued by Barron s. The set includes Mother goose1 lullabies and others a three goodies from header s digest amusing traditional and nonsense rhymes m the children s Book of poetry selected a Beverly Mathias with drawings toy Alan Snow an introduction to Fauna in children s Book of animals by Saty Grudle with drawings by Stuart Trotter and a Basic lock at the world and who lives n it in children s world at As Christmas toys in their presence. If children see you buying their toys if could spoil their Christmas. A Don t use to land As a baby Siller. Some parents drop their kids off in to land while they shop in other stores and last but not least Don t wait until the last minute logo shopping a Chuck Roberts the following books have Holiday themes. A another Christmas Morrow by Susan Roth considers the possibility of the holidays someplace a in this Case puerto Rico a where there is no Snow. The moral is of course that Christmas is still Christmas wherever it s celebrated a two jewish boys Moke their escape from czarist Russia and with an old lamp and a night s Worth of Oil relive the Story of hanukkah in Alt the lights m the night Tambourine by Arthur a. Levine. The author approximates the True Story of How his own Grandfather and great Uncle escaped from the she Cal of dra Hitchen in 1914. A the biblical Story of the shepherds and the nativity is retold from the View of Matthias a fictional Shepherd child in while shepherds watched Lothrop Lee amp Shepa Rdby Jena Fleetwood with illustrations by Peter Milnyczuk. A two titles from Mulberry Happy Christmas Gemma by Sarafi Hayes and Angel Mac by Shirley Hughes both revolve around the arrival of a new child at christmastime. A the Carlers an illustrated Carol Book by Georgia Guback and Christmas counting a tale to teach counting along with a Christmas Story by Lynn Reiser a from  books a it s he Waldo but m photographs i spy Christmas Scholastic by Jean Maroto Vilh pictures by Walter Wick r. A collodion of fed the object riddles with a Holiday theme Page 14 the stars and stripes wednesday december 16, 1992 the stars and stripes Page 15