There\u2019s nothing more heartbreaking than wanting to buy something for someone at Christmas, only to realise it\u2019s nowhere to be found. You\u2019re running around like you\u2019re possessed, desperately trying to find that one shop that still has the item in stock <\/span>on Christmas Eve<\/span><\/a>, but you repeatedly come up empty-handed. It\u2019s a tragedy, but thankfully, with shopping largely moving online, it\u2019s not one that tends to get repeated as much in the modern day.<\/span><\/p>\n Or at least, that\u2019s what we thought. Disquieting rumours suggesting that many toys could be out of stock this Christmas <\/span>have begun to circulate<\/span><\/a>. The suggestion is that you\u2019ll have to hunt for items you want more thoroughly this year, and that\u2019s down to a number of factors. With the PS5 gaming console still very hard to get (over 1 year since its launch), the question therefore becomes thus: are you going to have to look harder for the things you want in December? Will toys be out of stock this Christmas? Let\u2019s take a look at the situation.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The main reason cited by many retailers is that shipping costs have increased. A terminal at the Chinese port of Ningbo-Zhoushan <\/span>closed in 2020<\/span><\/a>, resulting in capacity at that site being slashed and many companies rushing to try and find extra storage space for their stock. These storage issues and transportation problems seem to be widespread; other retailers are saying that although their warehouses are full, they just don\u2019t have the capacity to ship their products in time for Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There\u2019s also the fact that there\u2019s a widespread <\/span>shortage of lorry drivers<\/span><\/a> right now. The Road Haulage Association says that there\u2019s a shortfall of around 100,000 lorry drivers in the UK, and that means there\u2019s simply nobody to transport the goods. Of course, there\u2019s also the fact that in December 2020, although a lockdown was impending and hadn\u2019t yet been imposed, many shoppers stayed away from shops in order to keep themselves safe. With things opening back up in 2021, more shoppers may attend shops this Christmas, leading to more of a rush.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s not get ahead of ourselves. A potential toy shortage doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t get hold of any toys at all. Even during times of a shortfall in stock, there\u2019s always at least some to go around, but it means you\u2019re going to need to be a little savvier in terms of how you shop for toys this Christmas. You might have to have some difficult conversations with your kids or your loved ones in terms of what you can acquire, unfortunately, and that\u2019s an inevitability of stock shortages.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Luckily, there are ways you can deal with the potential toy shortage if it does happen. Nobody likes disappointing their loved ones, so here are some of the ways you could deal with the shortage.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Since the toy shortage is likely to start hitting its hardest around October-November time, when many toys are shipped in order to be sold for Christmas, it helps to know exactly what you want right now. It wouldn\u2019t be an exaggeration to say that heading out to a toy store and buying what you want in August or September would be an excellent idea; that way, you\u2019ll completely circumvent any shortage that does happen, and nobody will have to change their present ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If the shortage does bite you hard, then you may need to prepare yourself to haggle with your kids in order to get them to accept a different present. This is not going to be easy; many children have their hearts set on something in particular, and when they do, nothing else will suffice. However, if you explain to them exactly what\u2019s happening (depending on their age, of course) and why you\u2019re having to make compromises, you\u2019d be surprised how understanding kids can be.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to settle on toys as presents for your kids. There are other alternatives, and these won\u2019t suffer from stock shortages. Why not buy them tickets for a show they\u2019ve been wanting to go to, for example? Alternatively, you could perhaps get them a game they\u2019ve been wanting; digital sales aren\u2019t affected by stock shortages, and in the modern era, there\u2019s really no need to opt for a physical copy of a game over a digital one. You could even promise to take them out for a meal, to see a movie, or to go to a particular place on holiday; experiences make great gifts!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This one\u2019s only for the craft-inclined, but it can be a great way to quash any worries you might have about Christmas being disappointing. If your kids are younger and they\u2019re after toys like dolls, board games, or action figures, why not craft these things yourself? There\u2019s a degree of difficulty in doing so, of course, but the end result will not only let you sidestep the toy shortage; it can also be a beautiful, heartfelt gift that ends up being more warmly appreciated than a toy you purchased. This route isn\u2019t for the faint of heart, but it can pay serious dividends if you commit!\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s nothing more heartbreaking than wanting to buy something for someone at Christmas, only to realise it\u2019s nowhere to be found. You\u2019re running around like you\u2019re possessed, desperately trying to find that one shop that still has the item in stock on Christmas Eve, but you repeatedly come up empty-handed. It\u2019s a tragedy, but thankfully, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,27,29,173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-videogames","category-general","category-rumors","category-toys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6200"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why do people think toys might be out of stock this Christmas?<\/b><\/h2>\n
What other factors are affecting potential toy stock issues?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Does this mean no toys for Christmas in 2021?<\/b><\/h2>\n
– How to deal with the potential 2021 toy shortage<\/b><\/h2>\n
Know what you want well in advance<\/b><\/h2>\n
Be prepared to haggle for alternative ideas<\/b><\/h2>\n
Look to alternative avenues<\/b><\/h2>\n
Make your own toys<\/b><\/h2>\n