My Small World Toy Store

03/09/2026

26/08/2026

Oh Dolly. As a lifelong admirer, this is a tough day.

And these are the words I've lived my whole life by. You can't do the big things, but you can do the little things. Find every opportunity to do something seemingly small that makes someone's day easier and more joyful. Wherever you can, be kind. As far as you can reach, hug.

It's the entire power behind My Small World.

In honour of Dolly's Imagination Library, and to honour our incredible Dolly herself, we will be sending out into the world 30 free copies of 'Little People Big Dreams Dolly Parton'. Just pop a message in the comments and tell us the smallest kindness you've experienced that changed your day. Let's spread the power of Dolly around our little world.

I think she would have approved. Although she would definitely have chosen a different book.

Goodnight Dolly. I hope your beloved Momma is wrapping you warmly in your coat of many colours.

24/08/2026

Tag someone you know who's child is starting school this September and who will DEFINITELY deserve a glass of bubbles and a high five!!!
You drop your child off at school (morning or afternoon, we're here for either!) and instead of going home feeling wobbly you come straight to us. We'll be here waiting with celebratory bubbles (or something less alcoholic), boxes of tissues if required and humungous hugs.
If you see anyone else feeling emotional by the school gates, scoop them up and bring them too. (In fact, tag as many parents and carers as you can before September… it's a fabulous way to meet your fellow playground parents!)
We'll have goodie bags for you to take back to the new pupil at pick up, and things for younger siblings too, who often feel this big shift quite deeply.
Schools across B&NES don't all start on the same day, so we're running Champagne & Tissues on three mornings and three afternoons:
Thursday 3rd September — 9.15am and 1.15pm
Friday 4th September — 9.15am and 1.15pm
Monday 7th September — 9.15am and 1.15pm
The 9.15am session is for straight after the morning drop-off. The 1.15pm session is for those of you whose little one is doing an afternoon session in their first week — lots of schools stagger the start, so you may find yourself at a very loose end at lunchtime. Come to us.
https://www.mysmallworld.co.uk/pages/champagne-and-tissues

11/08/2026

It’s time to launch our Summer Competition for 2026!! ☀️
From now until 31st August your little mermaid expert could be in with a chance to win a portrait of themselves… AS A MERMAID! 🧜‍♀️🧜‍♂️
Buy a copy of Rhian’s amazing ‘Sweetpea Magee: Mermaid Expert’ in store or online…
Good luck Mermaid experts!!! 🧜‍♂️🧜‍♀️
Be sure to save this post to keep tabs on the competition!

31/07/2026

Our Beccs has done it again!! what an amazing achievement! This new adventure is even better than the last! Come in and grab your copy now! Don’t miss Beccs this Saturday for an exciting window display!

07/07/2026

It’s about time our resident Zebra got the recognition she deserves! She is employee of the month… every month 🦓🩷

05/06/2026

Well. We did not have “ pays us an out of hours visit” on the bingo card this month. But it meant more than you could ever know.

The reason?

Almost three years ago now we learned that the the lease on our beautiful shop in couldn’t be renewed. Finding suitable premises was impossible. Plus we LOVED our Southgate home…Behind the scenes we were turning over every option. Go online only? Sell up? Quietly shut the doors on a 20 year old adventure? Closing a business that is failing is one thing. Closing one that is thriving, building and still growing is quite another.

The choice I ended up being faced with was literally staring me in the face. In the form of the enormous empty old tapas restaurant almost directly across from us. I dismissed it time and again. We weren’t ready. The numbers involved were terrifying. The landlords would laugh us out of town.

But British Land didn’t laugh. They looked at this independent toy shop with an enormous plan and chose to back it. In a shopping centre where the Apple Store, and a Zara, and a flagship M&S, and now the biggest SpaceNK in the country are among our neighbours. Which takes the sort of foresight and innovative thinking that Mary has been asking of the high street for years and years.

So, terrified, we went bigger. Five times bigger.

Many nights before we opened I sat up in the dark and genuinely wondered if this decision would be a triumph or the biggest mistake of my life.

We built the big, enormous jaw droppingly beautiful toy shop we always dreamed we might, if space, ambition and imagination were no object. We built that moment where a child (and their grown up) stops dead in the doorway and just… gasps. (That gasp is the whole job, honestly.) And we proved that people will make a special journey to visit an extraordinary store. They will come for miles. They will tell their friends. They will choose to visit this shopping centre over a different one because something unique exists here……[🍃continued in first comment……. 🍃]

03/06/2026

Miracles do happen!! We’ve had a Needoh restock!! All needohs seen in the video are available to buy in store! We look forward to seeing you! WOOP!

03/06/2026

Miracles do happen!!! We’ve had a Needoh restock!! WOOOP! All the Needohs in this video are available to buy in store! We can’t wait to see you all! Comment your favourite Needoh!