Our return to cooler weather got me thinking about my boyhood and the weeks leading up to Christmas.

I'd lay on the living room floor below the driftwood lamp and pore over the toy section of the Sears catalog. My sister did the same. We were doing research for our letters to Santa, so my mom always paid attention, too.

Geez it was fun. The catalog was filled with great things and there was a strong connection between the gifts from Santa and the merchandise at Sears. One year I got an Erector set. My sister got a Chatty Cathy doll.

Another year I got a toy chemistry lab and a neat little microscope. My sister got an immense stuffed animal. There always were other toys, too.

Toy selection didn't cause any special worries for my mom, other than preventing me from shooting my eye out with a BB gun. Things are different now. Some parents' fears of tainted toys from China could affect the shopping season.

I began wondering about the impact after reading a thoughtful letter from Sam Cox, who owns a Carbondale toy store, My Favorite Toys, with his wife Suzanne. Here is an excerpt from Sam's letter:

"We've been talking a lot to customers the past few weeks about the various angles of this issue.

Yes, 85 percent of toys sold in the U.S. are made in China, and yes, we're compiling a "Made in USA" list of toys and are on the lookout for others for the holidays.

Yes, there is one reason, and one reason only, why toys are made in China - cost - and the big-box retailers who squeeze their vendors so hard that safety corners get cut share in the blame … and even we consumers exacerbate the problem when we apparently choose cost over quality."

I visited the toy store Friday. I quickly learned the shopping season has officially started.

Sam and Suzanne said they regularly are asked about toy safety and enjoy sharing what they know - even if it doesn't lead to a sale at their store.

Sam thinks the scares that started over lead in toy paint actually will have a good outcome for holiday shoppers. Manufacturers are taking great pains to ensure they are producing safe products, especially in China.

"For us, it's not really a problem. People are drawn to a place they know they can trust, where they know the people," Sam said. "It's probably going to be the safest Christmas in a long time."

GARY METRO is the editor of The Southern. You can reach him at 351-5033 or e-mail him at gary.metro@thesouthern.com.