Kresgee’s or Wollworth.
I don’t know where my gifts actually came from but my brother and I would pore over the Sears and Penney’s catalogs and play “I get that!”
Another one for Sears Wish Book.
And TV.
Sears, Wards, and Penneys. When those catalogs came in the mail, it was heaven!
Oh yeah, definitely TV. I did a thing where when I saw a commercial for something I wanted I would yell, “I’m getting that!”
I was so annoying, it’s a wonder my parents didn’t leave me on the side of the road or something 
Sears/JCP wish books.
Service Merchandise and KMart as places things could actually be seen.
My brother and I used to torment each other during the Saturday morning toy commercials with a little game called “I Bet You Want That”. (Player 2 response: “I do not!” Player 1 for the win: “Well good, because you’re not getting it.”) 
Our toy store was called Play World, I think. Mighta been Toy World. I remember one birthday my mom suggested a teddy bear. I wasn’t interested, so she made it talk to me: “please, julie, let me come home with you, i am so lonely”… When Christmas rolled around I insisted on getting that damn bear because I still felt guilty about it!
In the Upper Midwest it’s the local version of the Fleet-Farm store. They’ll section off parts of the store for toys (seasonally), and they’ll open this Saturday at 7:00 AM sharp for a mad rush. They even have a 64-page toys insert in the local papers, which is much extensive than the big chains promote. But when their stock is gone, it’s gone.
Lionel Play World, by any chance? Any of this look familiar?
Yep, that’s probably it. This would have been Fort Lauderdale in the seventies, so that fits.
Do you guys have a store cat? That looks like a place that ought to have one.
AAFES catalog. That, and shopping off-base downtown. (Japanese toy stores were the best!)
And the BX would have its annual “Toyland”, converting the outbuilding that was usually the Lawn & Garden shop to a huge poorly-organized toy store.
Good times.
Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, JC Penney. All three were present in the small town where I grew up, if only as a catalog store. There were also GC Murphy and McCrory five and dimes that expanded their toy selections at Xmas.
I don’t think stores had been invented yet when I was a kid. 
But thinking in terms of my own kids … Toys R US, of course, and as they got older, gaming and electronics stores – Best Buy and gaming boutiques. I remember a few pre-Christmas visits to family in Manhattan when I joyously descended on the iconic 5th Avenue flagship store of FAO Schwarz to do some Christmas toy shopping. Mostly it was the atmosphere and experience that made it fun, though they did have some unique toys, and IIRC some extravagant ones for the kids of local Wall Street tycoons. Coming out of that famous location bristling with parcels and hailing a NYC cab in a light snowfall, I felt like I was in a Christmas movie. Never again. Kids are grown and have no need of toys, and that store is closed and gone forever.
Hillcrest. I found a couple of photos:
*sears san diego - Google Search
*
Aerial view of the old Sears store, looking NNE. Washington Street is just behind it, University Ave. runs across the lower right corner of the frame, tiny section of Park Blvd runs across the extreme upper right corner.
Sears Hillcrest • 1290 Cleveland Ave • 1952-1986
View from parking area, looking NNE. See the palm trees off to the right of the huge SEARS logo? The lower entrance we always used was right about where those trees stood. Immediately to the right of the trees’ trunks was a short stairway leading up to the upper level south doors. Hard to see in this photo, but the parking lot was split level.
It was all still there in the mid-70’s, but long gone now. The gigantic property is now Ralph’s, boutiques, and condos.
For me, it was always the Sears Wish Book. I would devour that book, and make a very detailed list, complete with item and page numbers. I don’t know how my mom did it, being a single mom, but I always got everything on my list. Even the rock tumbler. 
No. My father was more a dog person.
My brother still runs the place, though his main product is guitars. Back in the day, it was the place to go for toys, sporting goods, household items, and appliances, but discounters put an end to that. 
It’ll be in business a century in 2019, but there’s no one to take it on, so when my brother retires, it’ll likely close.