It’s almost time to crown the winners of the Progressive Preschool Awards 2020 – and the finalists for Best Preschool Gift Range have been sharing their excitement with PreschoolNews.net.
“We are delighted to be shortlisted. 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone but we have endeavoured to keep supplying beautifully designed quality giftware throughout,” enthused Helen Cottrill, marketing director at Enesco. “Christmas is going to be especially important this year, with a focus on the build up to the big event, we all need something to look forward to and decorating your home in preparation is going to be huge in 2020.
“It is fantastic to have our products recognised and on the awards evening I will most likely be watching online, in my pyjamas with a glass of something fizzy, I might even have my Christmas Tree in place!”
For Anthony Temple, md of Rainbow Designs, the Awards are one of the highlights of the company’s events calendar.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have, not just one but two of our new collections, selected as finalists for the coveted awards,” Anthony told us. “Under normal circumstances we love getting dressed up for the occasion and spending the evening with our retailers and licensors, but even in the virtual setting we will certainly still be embracing the awards atmosphere and joining in with the celebrations!
“This year has been extremely hard for all and a very difficult year for retail in general and, therefore, we are very proud to be continuing our sponsorship of the Best Mixed Retailer of Preschool Products Award and wish all the retailers the best of luck. This year has taught us all that it really is so important to make sure we are all celebrating the good.”
Lauren Shipman, group brand and marketing director, Posh Paws – which has a nomination for its Ragtales Baby Range, added: “We are absolutely delighted to be listed as one of the finalists in the Best Preschool Gift Range for our new Ragtales Baby range of soft toys, rattles, comforters and little baby booties. Awards like these are great for gaining trust in the product and that’s been an invaluable source of publicity in a year like this.
“Ragtales is one of our new gifting ranges that we launched this year, the collection is inspired by the popularity and demand for high quality, British designed toys and to be shortlisted for an award in such a challenging year, makes all the investment in bringing it to market worthwhile… obviously a win would make it even more special.
“We’ll be keeping a close eye on the award announcements with our fingers crossed!”
Carrie Robertson, head of marketing at Cheeky Chompers, will be hoping to continue the success of its popular Animal Teether collection.
“We are really excited for our Animal Teethers to be shortlisted in the Best Preschool gift range,” she told us. “All our products are ideal practical and beautiful gifts for any new parent or teething baby. We have had such positive feedback and sales from our new Animal Teether collection – they have been a roaring success.”
The Wilberry Toys HQ will also be logging in from home tonight. Katy Rugman commented: “We are delighted to be a finalist in the Progressive Preschool Awards 2020 Best Preschool Gift Range. This nomination for our Wilberry Pets in Baskets is particularly important to us during what has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone, we believe celebrating positive news is more important now than ever before.
“For the awards evening the team at Wilberry HQ will be logging on to watch remotely from home and we’re giving everyone a bottle of something to enjoy whilst they watch our first virtual awards evening – we can’t wait!”
This year’s event is completely free to attend and will be taking place as a virtual ceremony on Thursday 12 November, from 6:15pm. It is already shaping up to be the most fun you’ve had from the comfort of your own home this year.
The full list of finalists for Best Preschool Gift Range is:
Animal Teether Collection from Cheeky Chompers
Beatrix Potter Christmas Collection from Enesco
Peter Rabbit Alphabet Trolley from Orange Tree Toys
PlanToys Elephant Money Bank from Little Concepts
Ragtales Baby Range from Posh Paws
Signature Peter Rabbit Collection from Rainbow Designs
Sustainable Toy Range from Bigjigs Toys
Wilberry Pets In Baskets from Wilberry Toys
Sponsors of the PPS Awards 2020 include: Amscan, Aykroyd & Sons, Azaria PR, BBC Studios, British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA), CentumBooks, Fundamentally Children and The Good Toy Guide, Harrogate International Nursery Fair, Hippychick, LicensingSource.net, Misirli, Poetic Brands, Rainbow Designs, Redan Publishing, RH Smith & Sons (Smiffys), Toymaster, ViacomCBS, Vista PR, Walker Books.
Click here for more information on the awards and how you can sign up to join in with tonight’s fun. It takes just a few seconds and we’ll even send you a reminder on the day.
