No screens. No batteries. Just wooden toys, walls of retro candy, and the smell of fresh waffle cones pulling everyone further into the store than they planned to go.
A family-owned Texas shop has been doing this since 2011 and the formula has not changed once.
Personal, playful, and full of the kind of heart that big retail chains spend millions trying to fake and never quite manage. This place does not try.
It just is. Five minutes turns into an hour here without anyone noticing. Kids find something they cannot put down. Adults find something they forgot they loved.
That is the magic of a shop that actually cares about what it puts on its shelves. Texas downtown squares are full of character, and this little store fits right into that story.
Walk in with no agenda. That is always the right approach. The shop takes care of everything else from there.
The Story Behind It
Karen and Christian Soeffker opened All Things Kids in April 2011 with a clear mission: bring back the kind of play that sparks real imagination. Karen is British, Christian is German, and together they built something that feels genuinely different from any chain store you have ever walked into.
Their son Carl joined the family business too, making it a true three-person family operation. Every single item in the store was hand-picked by the family, which means nothing ends up on those shelves by accident.
That personal touch shows in every corner of the shop. You can feel that real thought went into the curation, from the toys sourced in Europe to the candy stacked high near the back.
How many toy stores can say a European family moved to Texas and built something this beloved from scratch? This origin story alone makes the visit feel more meaningful, and visitors say the owners are warm, approachable, and genuinely passionate about what they do.
Toys Without Batteries
Forget everything you know about modern toy stores. All Things Kids is proudly battery-free, and that is not a limitation, it is the whole point.
The toys here run on something far more powerful: a child’s imagination.
The selection pulls from Europe and North America, featuring items made from wood, metal, and recycled materials.
You will find classic sets like Lincoln Logs and erector sets sitting alongside handcrafted European toys that you simply cannot find at a big-box retailer.
Parents who grew up playing with physical, tactile toys will feel a wave of nostalgia walking through these aisles. Kids, on the other hand, often light up in a completely different way when they realize these toys actually require them to think, build, and create.
What happens when you hand a child a wooden toy and no instruction screen? Something pretty wonderful, according to visitors who have watched their kids spend serious time just exploring and playing.
The quality of each item is noticeably higher than mass-produced alternatives, and the price reflects that craftsmanship. These are toys built to last years, not weeks, and that makes every purchase feel like a real investment in a child’s growth.
Over 400 Candy Choices
Four hundred kinds of candy. Read that again.
All Things Kids stocks an absolutely wild variety of retro sweets that will send anyone straight back to childhood, regardless of which decade they grew up in.
You will find classics like Oh Henry!, Tootsie Rolls, Slo Poke, SweeTarts, Zagnut, Sugar Daddy, and Pop Rocks all in one place. There are also international chocolates on the shelves, including German ice cube chocolates that visitors have called genuinely hard to find anywhere else in Texas.
The candy section works on a pick-and-mix style, so you can load up a bag with exactly what you want. It is the kind of setup that makes adults act like kids and kids act like they just found treasure.
Visitors say the candy alone is worth a trip to Georgetown.
Have you ever tried explaining Pop Rocks to a child who has never had them before? Watching that reaction is priceless.
The retro candy wall at All Things Kids is more than just a sweet treat stop, it is a conversation starter, a memory trigger, and honestly one of the most fun parts of the whole experience.
Ice Cream In The Back
Just when you think you have seen everything, you walk to the back of the store and find an ice cream parlor. All Things Kids serves 42 flavors of Beth Marie’s Ice Cream, made fresh and scooped to order right there in the shop.
Fresh waffle cones are made on-site, and the smell of them baking is genuinely hard to resist. You can also order shakes, floats, and sodas if a cone is not your thing.
The ice cream is weighed by the cup if you skip the cone, and you can add toppings to make it your own.
Visitors consistently call the ice cream a highlight of the visit, with butter pecan and watermelon sorbet coming up as favorites. Families often make a loop: browse toys, pick out candy, then finish with a scoop at the back.
It is a natural flow that keeps everyone happy.
On a hot Texas afternoon, stumbling into air conditioning and finding 42 flavors of ice cream waiting for you feels like a genuine reward. The shop is open until 10 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, which means an evening ice cream run after dinner on the Georgetown square is absolutely on the table.
The Big Play Zone
Most toy stores keep everything sealed in packaging, which means kids are guessing what they are actually getting. All Things Kids does things differently with a dedicated Play Zone where toys are unboxed and ready to use right on the floor.
Children can actually play with the toys before anyone buys them. That hands-on approach changes the whole dynamic of a shopping trip.
Kids are engaged, parents can see what holds their child’s attention, and nobody feels pressured to grab something off a shelf without knowing if it is a good fit.
The Play Zone makes the store feel more like an experience than a transaction. Families report spending way more time than they planned, and that is a good thing.
It is the kind of store where kids do not want to leave, which is honestly a rare and wonderful problem to have.
Can you imagine a place where your child is genuinely entertained while you browse at your own pace? That is exactly what this space delivers.
The Play Zone reflects the owners’ belief that play should be free, creative, and a little bit messy. It is not a showroom, it is a sandbox, and that philosophy runs through everything All Things Kids stands for in Georgetown.
Date Night Childcare Option
Here is something you do not see at many toy stores: licensed childcare drop-in on Friday and Saturday evenings. All Things Kids offers parents the chance to drop off their children at the store while they enjoy a night out on the Georgetown square.
It is a practical and creative idea that speaks directly to what families actually need. Georgetown’s downtown area has plenty of restaurants and spots to explore, and knowing your kids are safe, entertained, and surrounded by toys makes the whole evening more relaxing for everyone.
The childcare option is one of those details that shows how deeply the Soeffker family thought about serving their community. They did not just open a toy store, they built a neighborhood resource.
That level of commitment to Georgetown families is part of why the shop has stayed beloved for over a decade in Texas.
Parents who have used the drop-in service say their kids were perfectly happy the entire time, which is the best possible outcome. What parent would not appreciate a trusted spot where their child is having the time of their life while the grown-ups get a moment to breathe?
All Things Kids turned that idea into a real, working service, and it continues to make a difference for local families every weekend.
Books Worth Reading
Not every toy store carries a hand-selected library, but All Things Kids does. The shop stocks a collection of the top 100 children’s books ever published, and it is the kind of selection that makes parents and grandparents stop and actually browse.
Some books come with finger puppets attached. Others are packed with illustrations that pull young readers in immediately.
There are options for early readers, picture book lovers, and older kids who are ready for something with more depth. The range is genuinely impressive for a shop this size.
Visitors have mentioned spending a long stretch of time just sitting and reading through the books before making a choice. That is exactly the kind of slow, unhurried experience the store encourages.
Nobody at All Things Kids is rushing you out the door.
Reading a book together as a family might be one of the simplest and most lasting gifts you can give a child. The book section here reflects the same philosophy as the toy section: quality over quantity, and meaning over convenience.
If you are searching for a birthday gift or a holiday present that will actually be used and remembered, the book wall at this Georgetown, Texas shop is a very good place to start looking.
Visiting Georgetown Square
All Things Kids sits right at 703 S Main St on Georgetown’s beautiful downtown square, which is one of the most walkable and photogenic little downtown areas in all of Texas. The location makes it easy to fold the shop into a full day of exploring.
The square is lined with local businesses, restaurants, and spots worth poking around in. All Things Kids fits perfectly into that mix because it appeals to every age group, from toddlers discovering their first wooden toy to grandparents hunting for a chocolate they have not tasted in decades.
The store is open Monday through Thursday from 10 AM to 9 PM, Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 10 PM, and Sunday from noon to 9 PM. Those evening hours make it easy to stop in after a meal or a stroll around the square without feeling rushed.
Georgetown itself is one of those Texas towns that rewards slow exploration. The historic architecture, the friendly locals, and the independent spirit of the businesses here all add up to something worth a dedicated trip.
All Things Kids is not just a stop on the way somewhere else, it is a destination that pulls people back again and again, and the Georgetown square makes the whole visit feel like a proper small-town Texas adventure worth telling people about.