High inflation is impacting the holiday season in the city and one woman is striving to make gifts more affordable for Winnipeggers.
Terri Settle runs a second-hand toy shop in the city that she deems very affordable: “People are relieved when they see my prices,” she said.
The shop is called Terri’s Trinkets and Toys and, with the help of volunteers, Settle finds an eclectic mix of items through social media and thrift stores.
“You know, four kids can come in with twenty bucks and leave with a whole bunch of stuff, so for families on a budget, that’s a really good thing,” she said.
She said she has been dabbling in toys for about 15 years and used to have a store on Selkirk Ave which she called a “terrible experience.”
“Then I moved into a flea market on weekends, which was fun. So I did that for about 12 years,” she said.
She retired five years ago, but when she lost her father in December 2020, she found she had a bunch of time on her hands and wanted to open her own store.
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Settle opened the shop in April 2020 right smack bang in the middle of the pandemic.
“That was like the day after everything shut down. So terrible timing to open a new store. But it’s been a really good experience for me. I met so many awesome people.”
However, this year things are much different, as some people are on a shoestring budget and she said her sales are already up compared to last year.
“It helps families that are on a tight budget to get things that will make their kids happy,” she said.
For Winnipegger Carrie Oman, the high cost of living is really clinching her holiday budget: “Kind of worrying about Christmas because the food prices now are crazy, and it’s a struggle every month to get by.”
The single mom is having to prepare her children for a small Christmas this year.
“I started telling my kids, I’m going to get one present for you guys, and Santa is going to probably bring you one present, too. Just getting them ready for not expecting a big, big Christmas.”
Settle is hoping her shop can offer some support to families who are struggling to give their children a good Christmas experience.
“I think it’s tough when you know what your kid wants and you really want to get it for them, but it’s way out of your price range in the store because you got to choose bills or food and gas over toys, so this is a chance for people to still get what they want,” she said.
With files from Global’s Rosanna Hempel
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