Keighley’s Airedale Shopping Centre has reported a solid trading performance over the last few weeks, as festive season shopping reaches its climax.

And the buyer for Keighley’s largest specialist toy store said traditional family entertainments were flying off the shelves this Christmas.

Airedale Centre manager Susan Mendoza said: “We’ve had a steady build up in December as expected.

“Of course we can’t control the vagaries of the weather but we think it should help us because people are more likely to stay local.”

She added national economic predictions meant she was cautiously optimistic about how the centre would perform during the New Year.

Gordon Walker, of Conways Toymaster, in Cavendish Street, said Lego and board games had been among his top sellers.

He added that Go-Go Hamsters and the Sylvanian Families brand had also proved popular.

“I only wish we’d had a few more sledges,” he said. “I can’t remember when we last had snow a week before Christmas.”

He said Lego had experienced an extremely successful year nationally.

He said the best selling games included old favourites like Cluedo, Monopoly and Twister.

He attributed this to parents wanting their children to enjoy the kind of pastimes they had enjoyed in their own youth, rather than modern computer or console games.

Gerald Brooksbank, manager of Reids bookshop, also in Cavendish Street, said the autobiography of the entertainer Roy Hudd had been heavily in demand.

He said his customers were currently keen on nostalgia-related works, with photographic histories of local villages and towns selling well.

“In terms of overall trade we’re holding our own, bearing in mind the recession,” he said.

“With the weather we’ve had over the last few days people have probably wanted to shop more locally.

“Our ordering service is doing very well and on a few occasions we get books to people the day after they order.”

Azeem Hussain, owner of A to Z Games, in Hanover Street, said trade had been slower than in previous years and noted this was likely to be due to Internet purchases.

“We haven’t seen the rush that we’d normally expect and a lot of that is down to online shopping — it’s had a big effect,” he said.

But he said he and his staff were still gearing up for a last minute surge of customers.

He said the video game Call of Duty Modern Warfare II had been “massively” popular, with Nintendo Wii consoles and Nintendo Dsi machines also attracting a lot of interest.