Mud Puddle Toys

Excellent customer service! The toys are good quality with a mix of classics and new items. The staff will let you browse or help you pick out a gift if you want help. They also have consignment baby and toddler clothes for sale for reasonable prices. The store is very fun for kids, with neat decorations and sample toys set out to play with. There’s a section in the center with fun little toys for about a dollar, so this place isn’t only for expensive gifts! My daughter says this store doesn’t have every toy, but it does have all the best toys.

I have a friend who can best be described as a child in an adult’s body. She is too shy to go toy shopping while there are others in the store. The woman who owns Mud Puddle Toys volunteered to start her day early just for my friend. She treated her with respect and kindness throughout our shopping experience.
The toys here are awesome, kid powered and a great line up for a kid who likes crafts or more old-​school type toys. I fear that I have overspent there because it was so much fun.

I always go here to get a gift for a little one when on my way to a birthday party, or baby shower. I do Christmas shopping here also. They have a good eye for good toys. There is never any cheap junk that looks as if it will fall apart and/​or harm the little ones. Everything seems mindfully selected and worth the price. I find the staff very friendly and helpful, willing to answer questions about what a kid of a certain age will like, in case you are lost on what to get your darling 3 year old. Since it’s a nice half mile walk from my home in Salem, why would I go anywhere else? An asset to our downtown scene.

Came here for the first time to buy gifts for our nephews. They have a great selection of toys, games, books and consignment clothing. They also have fun promotions like a grandparents discount and their own Black Friday deals. A bit more expensive than Amazon but they seem to focus on high quality items.

I bought a Fisher Price chatterbox here for a birthday present. Lots of wonderful toys for little children and bigger children like me. The store owner was very pleasant.

great store friendly helpful staff.
I brought my niece and two of her friends to this store and after and hour and a half of playing in there we purchased 3 dolls (1 for each) and strolled through Salem.
Downtown Salem two weeks ago for Halloween (avoid) but a nice fall stroll with 3 little girls can’t be beat

Mud Puddle Toys is not your average toy store, it is loaded with awesome educational toys and books. I wish there was a toy store like this when I was growing up but all I had was kaybee and toys r us. The owner was very friendly and helpful. I would recommend this store to anyone with young children and preteens who are looking for unique, different and educational toys and books.

I have been here a couple of times to get gifts for either a friends child or holiday time donation gift for various charities. I have always been asked if help is needed and when I said yes they gave great suggestions based on the age and sex of the child. I like that the toys and games are broken down based on age group. And the cost of items are great– right on par with quality they are offering. So much better then being lost at some of the chain mega stores. I will go back here for sure.

I really like this independent toy store. I’m very glad they came to Salem, and brought a little color to the pedestrian mall.
As a new parent, I really appreciate that the store is arranged by age and type of toy, and that it’s not inundated with Elmo, Sesame Street, and every other piece of crap mass marketed movie and TV toy out there.
Can you find some of these things cheaper if you go the Amazon route? Probably, but the playing is half the fun.

I love that there’s an independent toy store nearby now, but find it a little pricey for me to shop at often. The prices are no more expensive than those of other high quality, educational toys, mind you – they’re just out of my price range in general. Whenever I’ve come here looking to buy presents, the staff has always helped me find the perfect thing based on the age, gender, and pricing information I provide. A great new addition to Salem!

I don’t understand how my reviewing predecessors wrote rave reviews but not 5 stars. Oh well :)
This place rocks! They have LOTS of wooden toys (we love the PlanToys line) and other eco-​mindful stuff (stuffed animals made from recycled plastic bottles! THAT’S what I’m talking about!)
The owners are very friendly, kind and helpful. Lots of toys set up for the kids to play with while we shop. GREAT décor. Fair prices. Great location. What’s more to say?
5 stars! Hip hop hurray!

I wish I was 10 again.
I love this place. and I don’t even have a child
Luckily I have Nephew, I can send gifts too.
What a nice job at making a great little toy store.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting Mud Puddle’s opening since I heard they were coming to Salem. Since they opened in late May my family and I have visited a couple of times, and we always find something new to love.
The décor is fanciful and imaginative, with a giant tree, toadstools and a monkey (monkey!) in the center of the main room. Toys are arranged by type and age, with a wide variety from which to choose. I especially love the large selection of board games and puzzles, and the generous array of eco-​friendly toys.
Every time I’ve stopped in I’ve been met by eager staff who were helpful, but not over-​bearing. And the owner filled us in on some of the many awesome plans they have for the play space in the back of the store. So, so glad Mud Puddle has come to town!

Mud Puddle Toys is brand new on Essex Street in Salem, MA (right behind the East India Mall). I am a huge fan of independent toy stores, and Mud Puddle did not disappoint. They have a great selection of quality toys. They even have model kits– something you don’t always see in a toy store!
The location is great, and it looked like they had several customers browsing. The staff was helpful and asked if we needed help and then recommended a model kit. The store is quite big, so I expect it to fill up with more items. The selection seemed a little sparse, or maybe too spaced out for the space available in the store. Not that I want to feel cramped, but I kept feeling like there had to be more to see in such a large spot.
Prices are what you would typically find in a smaller, independent toy store. Toys are geared toward the educational side, and you won’t find any mass marketed Bratz dolls (phew!). I definitely think young and old alike should pop in and look around the next time they’re in the area!