The very special toy shop where parents don’t pay a penny is open – and busier than ever

Manchester’s very special toy shop where parents don’t have to pay a penny has been open for Christmas again — and it’s busier than ever.

The Wood Street Mission has helped families in need in Manchester and Salford since opening  in 1869. Every year, it gives out free school uniforms, books, and essentials for newborns.

But its busiest month is December when thousands of brand new toys are donated so staff can create a free Christmas toy shop. Parents who are referred to the city centre charity can then meet a personal shopper inside, and walk out with at least three toys for every child — plus a selection box and wrapping paper.

Wood Street Mission

Nearly 1,200 families visited the toy shop for the few weeks it’s open, and around 9,000 gifts were given out this year. That’s ‘slightly more’ than last year, according Wood Street Mission boss Des Lynch.

“We are seeing a lot more families being drawn into this situation,” he told I Love MCR during a tour of the shop on its penultimate day of opening (December 17th).

The amount of Mancunian and Salfordian children living in poverty are startling — two years ago, the End Child Poverty coalition estimated 76,000 kids were below the breadline.

Last year, their estimate was revised up to 81,000. In 2024, it’s shot up again — to 90,000 children.

“If you could imagine standing on the centre circle at Wembley Stadium and looking round, that’s the same as every seat being occupied by a child in poverty in those two cities,” Des explains.

The cost of living crisis

He believes the cost-of-living crisis is dragging more working families into the poverty trap ‘with high bills and rent and salaries not keeping up’. The charity is also ‘seeing high numbers referred through domestic abuse’ which ‘has gone up a lot since the pandemic’, he adds.

Many using the charity live in dreadful homes, with Des recounting one particularly grim example: “There was a family referred to us living in a flat above a shop [in Manchester] and they were overrun with mice.

“The parents told their scared children not to be frightened because the mice were their pets. How can that be?”

But Des and the team are undaunted by the challenge of giving these families a Christmas to remember for the right reasons. Helped ‘generous individuals and companies’, they’ve not ‘run out of anything’, and the shelves are still full-to-bursting with only a day of opening left.

Andy Pearce

One shelf stacker is Andy Pearce, 58, volunteering his time with his company, Ecclesiastical Insurance. Earlier in the day, he was guiding families around to help them pick out presents.

“It was a little bit daunting,” he reflects. “You’re not quite sure how they will react. Some had been before, but a few were nervous. It’s difficult to come to a place like this.

“We’re just treating people like humans and with some dignity. That was the main thing for me.”

Another volunteer is Simi Dhawan, here with her firm, B2B International. She’s been busy: “We’ve collected donations, we have directed people to collect donations, then we were also Santa’s Little helpers with the shelves.

“We’ve been picking trolleys up and helping people carry presents out so they could get them home.”

Both have thoroughly enjoyed the experience, with Andy promising to volunteer more time once he retires in 18 months, and Simi says she ‘loved it here’.

“It has been lovely to see people’s reactions when they see how much they can get,” she beams. “A few people have said they are overwhelmed and really grateful.

“I’ve loved it here. It’s a really nice festive thing to do.”

You can find out more about Wood Street Mission by clicking here