Country Christmas 2024 | Happy Toys Come From Texas
Equipped with a mind geared towards all things mechanical, Jerry Sims began custom building trucks, trailers and working chutes for his two boys when he couldn’t find them in a store. Each toy is built by hand from designs Sims concocted himself and his catalog only continues to grow.
It’s more than just finding a niche market; it boils down to the natural talent Jerry Sims has for building things. Even as a kid, Sims was making barns out of supply wood and welding together a hand plow for his grandma’s garden. It was plain and simple exposure to farming and ranching that propelled Sims into a career as a cattle processor. Now a full-time toy maker, being raised around cattle and equipment is a driving force behind each item made by The Happy Toy Maker.
“My grandpa had a tremendous amount of patience with me and taught me a lot about what I know about welding,” said Sims who lives in Happy, Texas. “My dad farmed and ran cattle, but they also built panels and hay feeders to sell. All winter long we were in that shop welding.”
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Built from hand carved animals, Patrice Sims can make anything from a chicken and a hog to a unicorn or a roping steer that pair perfectly with the trucks, trailers and implements Jerry Sims builds as The Happy Toy Maker.
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In 2024, Jerry Sims committed to completing 25 new toys that he’s been tinkering with for years. He might not hit all 25, but he’s come very close and added a lot of new pieces for kids to enjoy.
Feedtruck
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Some of the first items Jerry Sims built before he officially became The Happy Toy Maker were for his sons, Wyatt and Wesley, to process their toy cattle. Rodeo and ranching equipment has developed over time as Sims expanded his inventory offering.
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Larger than other vehicle-type toys on the market, Jerry Sims has found a niche market servicing boys and girls on farms and ranches as well as in the rodeo industry
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From the very first piece of metal cut and bent for a toy, Jerry Sims will touch an item at least 100 times before it’s finally completed if not significantly more than that depending on the toy. A toy truck gets picked up an estimated 117 times from start to finish.
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Hand made from metal; Jerry Sims builds toys that’ll last for generations no matter how hard they get played with in their hayday.
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About 15 years ago, Patrice (left) started making animals to fit into the trailers and rodeo equipment her husband, Jerry Sims, was building. His mom, Patricia (right), has been the chief painter for the toys since the very beginning. Even now at 83 years old, Patricia is still paining many of the toys that leave the shop.
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Traveling to multiple ranch and rodeo events every year, Jerry Sims lets his products do the marketing for him. His booth boasts a large amount of inventory, but the most noticeable piece of his booth is that he lets kids play with a whole slew of different toys in the dirt and gravel. It’s just one of the things that makes Sims unique in this endeavor.
Play
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Some of the first items Jerry Sims built before he officially became The Happy Toy Maker were for his sons, Wyatt and Wesley, to process their toy cattle. Rodeo and ranching equipment has developed over time as Sims expanded his inventory offering.
RodeoChute
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Jerry Sims does his best to keep a stock of inventory in his shop in Happy, Texas, but he also does a lot of custom work especially as Christmas rolls around.
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This set was built more than 20 years ago when Jerry Sims was looking for toys that replicated what he did at work as a cattle processor to give his boys, Wyatt and Wesley. When he couldn’t find it on a shelf, Sims set out to build it himself.
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If it wasn’t for this firsthand experience, Sims isn’t sure what path his life would’ve taken. He’s certain he wouldn’t have anything to do with the agricultural industry without it. And the same is true for his sons, Wyatt and Wesley.
Purpose-Driven Designs
“Only two percent of the population feeds the other 98 percent, and I want little kids interested in agriculture to learn more about it from their toys – from the toys I build,” Sims said. “I hope that playing with these toys will give those kids a basic understanding of the equipment they see out on the farm or driving down the road.”
That’s exactly how The Happy Toy Maker was born in the first place. Wyatt and Wesley saw their dad using a tube, snake and chute to move cattle through his processing facility and they wanted one to use on their toy animals. Soon enough pickups, trailers and all sorts of attachments followed. Sims has kept his mechanically inclined mind busy ever since then as he built up an entire business from those first few toys.
Even though Sims describes those first toys as “a little rough,” they’ve provided the foundation for everything he’s built since. Custom made from metal except for a few items like tires and mudflaps, Sims makes equipment that not only lasts for multiple generations, but they also function just like the real thing.
“I’m trying to build everything a kid could possibly see out on the farm and ranch,” Sims explained. “If you get kids interested in those things when they’re young their mind will be geared towards them as they get older.”
When Sims started building toys full time around 2006, he began traveling to ranch and rodeo events as a marketing ploy. He took it a step further when he set up his booth more so as a play place for the cowkids in attendance. If you’ve been to places like the Lazy E in Guthrie, Oklahoma, or the Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City, South Dakota, or even the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale in Montana, then you’ve seen this toy maker in his element.
“I love watching all the kids play with the toys; that’s the best part of it all for me,” said Sims who will become a grandpa for the first time in early 2025. “I feel blessed to be doing this. Maybe it’s just what I’m supposed to be doing. I really love building new stuff and adding to it.”
25 by 2025
There’s always a running list of new projects, a bucket list of sorts, for Sims. Last January he finally sat down and counted everything up. He intended on finishing up 25 of those projects by the end of the year. Included on that list is a functioning windmill that works with the water pump trailer; bulk feed attachment for the truck and a bulk feed trailer for the semis; a cement mixer that’ll allow kids to add both water and dirt to create mud and build whatever their heart desires.
That’s just a short list of the projects that kept Sims busy this year. He didn’t finish his list of 25 but he came pretty dang close. Chances are slim that you won’t find equipment used on your own operation when you visit The Happy Toy Maker at an event or online.
“When I first started doing this full time it seemed like sales doubled every year for a long time,” Sims explained. “Things have been a little slim this year, but everything has gotten so expensive that it’s hard to spend good money on quality toys, I get it.”
What many people might not realize is how much effort goes into a single item. To build a pickup, Sims and his crew will touch that item roughly 117 times from start to finish. Cutting and cleaning the parts is just the beginning, bending everything is only a small part of the process as welding keeps it all together for years.
“Sometimes people complain about how long it can take to build one of these toys but when you look at my shop and the process each piece goes through, it makes a little more sense,” Sims said. “I custom made 31 hydraulic presses for my shop and I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient.”
As any good farmer or rancher knows all too well, you can’t rush quality. It shouldn’t be surprising that around the time fall harvest season finishes up there’s an influx of Christmas orders. The last three months of the year keep Sims out in the shop until 4 or 5 in the morning most days.
It’s just part of owning a business but Sims certainly encourages everyone to shop early, especially if they want custom brands or colors.
A Happy Family
Hand painting almost every piece since the very beginning is Patricia, Sims’ mother. Even though she turned 83 this year, she still runs most of the brushes at the shop. Sims has a few other employees, but his mom and wife, Patrice, are integral pieces of the puzzle.
“When we couldn’t find animals that fit the trailers, my wife started making them herself probably 15 years ago,” Sims said. “She carved the figures to make the molds. She hand paints each one of them. It takes about three hours to go through and pour all 62 molds and then about half the time to pop them out.”
Much like the metal work going on, the wax and resin figures are a labor of love. The figure offering has steadily grown over the years as Sims builds more equipment and attachments.
Even though Sims has geared his toys towards the kids who watch the real things come up their driveway or pass through a field, The Happy Toy Maker knows the only way the agricultural industry will continue is if the kids in town find their way into it, too. Since each piece of equipment and attachment function similarly to the real thing each toy can inherently become a teaching tool that requires nothing but old-fashioned, dirt-covered playtime.
For more information about The Happy Toy Maker and his products, visit http://www.thehappytoymaker.com.
