I own a toy store, AMA!

Hello, r/parenting! u/kerouac5 asked me to do an AMA here because I apparently know more than you about toys, and this is a toy-buying season. Background:

I own a toy store. We focus on toys that actively engage kids instead of toys that treat the kid like an audience. As a result, I can count on one hand the number of products in my store that use batteries (microscopes need light, yo). Open-ended play is the best kind of play for encouraging imagination, so AMA about why you should buy good quality "generic" toys instead of the latest licensed crap. Or AMA about the toy industry if you care about that kind of thing. Or the second time a pair of drunk dudes came in and insisted they had never been there before. Battletoads is $50 plus shipping, the rest of my prices are reasonable.

I am also a member of ASTRA (the American Specialty Toy Retailers Association), which has several articles relevant both to parents and for the season:

Play by Age, a breakdown of milestones and what types of toy you should be looking for.
Toys that Keep Kids Engaged, an overview of why play matters and how to choose toys that encourage play.

For the record: I am not against screen time. The current generation of parents is very comfortable with technology, however, and it is easy over-use it. I think the AAP's Guidelines are pretty solid (as they damn well should be if the AAP expects to keep its credibility). TL;DR don't use the screen as the go-to babysitter.

If you like the idea of play and quality toys, I encourage you to use ASTRA's store finder to find a specialty toy store near you (apologies to non-US residents, though there are some Canadian members and at least one member store in the Middle East).

I'll be mostly here for the next few hours, and will come back to answer any other questions because you might be tuning in late.