The Retirement of Mrs. Claus

Karen Bobay's thoughts on closing her toy shop after 47 years.

By Ross Boissoneau | Dec. 19, 2020

’Tis the season — albeit a bittersweet one for Karen Bobay. The entrepreneur has operated the Children’s World toy store inside downtown Traverse City’s indoor shopping Arcade for nearly a half-century.

This Christmas, for a change, Santa is bringing Bobay something that’s been on her wish list: retirement.

“I’ve been in the toy business since February 1973,” said the 78-year-old proprietor. And while she’s more than earned the right to close up shop and take time for herself, her decades of customers and neighboring downtown shop keepers might not be quite as ready. “I’ve had lots of people coming in to thank and congratulate me,” Bobay said.

What started her on this decades-long career? Something about necessity being the mother of invention. “I had a son in November [1972] and couldn’t find a brown teddy bear in Traverse City.”

She also remembered her own childhood, when her grandmother would treat Bobay and her six siblings to a visit to the toy department at Hudson’s department store in downtown Detroit.

“We’d stop and get hot chocolate, stroll and look in the windows. That was a great day.”

Thus inspired, Bobay started her own enterprise to bring the kinds of toys she had loved to the youngsters of Traverse City and beyond. In addition to teddy bears (traditional brown included, of course), that meant Legos and Lincoln Logs, wooden blocks, and porcelain tea sets. Dolls and Brio trains. Puzzles, balls, and craft projects. Other constants on her shelves included yo-yos, marbles, Slinkys, and simple games like Pick-Up Sticks.

“I hardly ever had anything with a battery. That never changed,” she said.

Bobay’s son, Mike, said growing up with a mom who spent her days surrounded by board games, Lincoln Logs, balls, and dolls didn’t mean he had all the toys in the world.

Instead, he played outside a lot — though he admits he favored a couple toys. “I liked Legos and the little green army men,” the 48-year-old said from his home in Oakland County.

“I think I had a garbage can full of army men. I remember lining them all up in the living room.” (Which was OK — until one of them got lost in the shag carpeting, and his dad found it the hard way, he said.)

Today, Karen Bobay still runs the shop every day, though she admitted that despite her best efforts, some things have changed. For one thing, things like jack-in-the-boxes, rubber balls, and wooden blocks have given way to video games and other electronics.

“Today people like anything that makes noise or has flashing lights,” she said resignedly.

Not only have kids’ desires changed, she’s witnessed the toys themselves change, morphing over the years from wood to plastic, and the packaging (looking at you, LOL Surprises) becoming more alluring than the trinket inside. Even board games have gotten thinner and less durable.

Another change Bobay’s experienced firsthand: competition — lots of it. First it was big box stores, such as Kmart and Toys R Us. Meijer, Target, and Walmart followed. Then came the online onslaught of Amazon and its ilk.

“In the last 10 years, people are buying online,” she said. And, take note, shoppers: she’s long been wise to it. “They come in, ask questions, then go order [online].”

Another change she’s observed is the number of toys children receive. “Kids get so many toys, they don’t know what to open first,” said Bobay. “Now it’s about how many packages, not what’s in them.”

The biggest shift, of course, came this last year: The pandemic, which has militated against the kinds of familiar and familial gatherings that brought people together and really made the holiday season feel extra special for her and her customers.

“We didn’t have the lighting of the Christmas tree or the fall open house,” Bobay lamented.

Nevertheless, she said customers have always found their way into the little store from communities nearby and distant, whether that’s families here for the summer or visiting from Roscommon, Grayling, Harbor Springs, or beyond. And they have kept coming back, year after year.

“I’m working on the third or fourth generation. It’s like a tradition,” she said.

Support from locals, delighted visitors, and others who’ve returned for the personal attention — plus the hands-on toys and games she’s always stocked — is what’s kept her in touch with youngsters and kept her in business.

No doubt she’s earned her time off after 47 years of running the store seven days a week. What will she do with so much free time suddenly? Her son said he doubts she’ll slow down much. “The last thing she wants to do is sit and watch the birds and pet the cat.”

Funnily enough, that’s exactly what Bobay said she’s looking forward to most. “I want to sit and enjoy watching the birds,” she said.

Told that’s what his mother had said, Mike laughed. “We’ll see how well that lasts,” he responded, adding that his mom was part of a group of women who loved to get together for lunch or go to happy hour.

For her part, upon reflection, Karen Bobay amended her reply. “Maybe I’ll stroll downtown and walk into other stores,” she said.

Whatever her plans turn out to be, that time is only weeks away. Karen plans to close after the holiday season, and indeed, the stock is dwindling. “It’s never been this empty,” said Mike, almost wonderingly.

For those who would like to stop in and say hello, maybe even pick up a last toy to remember, Children’s World is still open every day. And the woman behind the counter, or walking up to ask what you’re looking for, is the same one who’s been there for 47 years.