From a century-old shoe store on The Parade to a hands-on furniture store and family business on Magill Road, we like the idea of keeping Christmas classic this year.

1. Windmill Adelaide
252 The Parade, Norwood

At the top of the shopping precinct on The Parade, nestled just west of Portrush Road, is an incredible toy shop. A place genuinely full of wonder and wonderful people – Windmill was opened in 1977.

Stepping into the store the first thing you’ll notice is that the toys on these shelves aren’t all 100 per cent plastic like other toy stores. There are fun alternatives to the buzzing and blinking of digital devices, like felt and velcro, timber and rubber.

Colour abounds, and ideas, there are so many ideas, not just for kids but for adults too – each toy is also an idea for a parent, uncle or grandparent to connect with a young person through.

“We have people shopping with us who bought toys here for their children and now they’re buying toys for their grandchildren,” the sales attendant tells us. Here you’ll find things for backyard adventures and days down at the beach.

2. Ward’s Shoes
184 The Parade, Norwood

“We use a shoe horn,” says Rachel, the manager of Ward’s Shoes on The Parade. “We get down on our knees and fit you properly.”

It seems like a simple sentiment but when you stop and think about it – when’s the last time a shoe salesperson actually did anything more for you than fetch the box?

Ward’s is classic Norwood. The shop was opened in 1909 and the building is still owned by the Ward family, despite the namesakes having sold the shoe business to Adelaide footwear company Slatters some years ago.

The benches you’ll sit on for your personal fitting are original and so too is pretty much everything else in this classic shop on The Parade. Specialising in comfort footwear, Ward’s have the perennial favourites – Birkenstocks as well as other classic brands.

3. St Morris Upholsterers & Klassik Furniture
338-340 Magill Road, Kensington Park

Sam is carrying on the family business his father started across the road at St Morris Upholsterers.

The business model has slightly shifted into refurbishment work rather than building from scratch but the dedication to quality craftsmanship and giving customers a product that’s built to last are steadfast values of this family business.

Coinciding with the move, the family launched Klassik Furniture with a showroom floor featuring a stunning collection of Danish design pieces that will soon have you reshaping your room – if not your entire house.

But it’s worth visiting St Morris Upholsterers and Klassik Furniture on Magill Road just to meet this family who buck the trend of inbuilt product redundancy and instead show us how we can buy and maintain quality goods for a lifetime, refurbish them and update their look if we care to keep them in our lives. Buy once – buy right!