Page 11 – Toy Street

Monopoly Game Series Review

Monopoly is one of the most well-known family board games around today. The game dates back to the early 20^th century, with the earliest version known as The Landlord’s Game, existing as early as 1902 (patented in 1904) by American Elizabeth Magie. The Landlord’s Game was originally intended to illustrate the economic consequences of Ricardo’s Law of Economic rent as well as economic privilege and land value taxation.

After this, a series of similar property buying and selling games were created. By 1933, a board game had been created like Monopoly seen today, this was patented in 1935 by Charles Darrow and released by Parker Brothers.

Today, the game is owned and produced by the American game and toy company Hasbro, there have been over 1000 versions of the game since it was created: from classic Monopoly, to TV and film versions, as well as county and country versions too. There have also been various add-on games released including: Monopoly Stock Exchange Add-on, Free Parking Mini Game and Get Out of Jail Mini Game.

Playing a Game of Monopoly

Monopoly is a property owning game. Players are land owners who are attempting to buy and develop their land at a faster and more successful rate than the other players. When other players land on property that is owned, the land owner receives income (rent) for this. When money gets low, players need to mortgage their own properties to raise money for fines and taxes owed to other players.

Once a player owns all properties of the same colour they can build houses and hotels which will incur higher penalties if other players land on their space. There are other spaces on the board which cannot be purchased but which involve taxes, choosing cards or even going to jail. The aim of the game is to be the last player who still has money.

Hints & Tips

Some strategies that I would suggest during your next game of Monopoly include:

Buy as many properties you want early on.
Try to get a few houses on properties as soon as possible.
Buy properties other players need.
Try not to buy the properties players don’t land on! Don’t just go for the cheapest properties!

Editions

One of the biggest selling points for Monopoly in the modern age is that there are many different versions that can appeal to a much wider audience. The stereotype that the game is boring is based around the original theme, however (if you’re one of these people who think it’s boring) there are now other editions such as:

Alongside the movie and TV shows, there are also editions released each season for your favourite football clubs and for your favourite video games.

Closing Thoughts on Monopoly

Even though there some people that loathe the game, there are a lot of benefits to children playing Monopoly. The game can help develop mathematics and English skills, as well as handling money and making decisions. Other benefits include improving social and inter-personal skills.

Board games also are good equalisers, so a child or teen could do just as well as or even win against a parent, this can give them a great confidence boost for real life. The game also teaches about investments, taxes, fines and using money wisely which are all important skills for young people to learn.

It’s easy to see why this game has been so popular, it’s great for the whole family to enjoy. Typically you’ll need to set aside a few hours for a proper game of Monopoly, it’s a few hours very well spent. Also with the variety of Monopoly games there’s a very good chance there is a version based on your favourite TV show or film, or even your football team or hometown.

I’ve always loved the game, there’s lots of different aspects to it with the community chest and chance cards as well. Also I’ve always loved the whimsical pieces used in the games, from boots to ships and thimbles, I think they’re great little game pieces!

Given how much I love this game and the fact that there are so many different themes and editions on the market, I’m going to give Monopoly a five on the Fun-O-Meter!!

Editors note: This post was originally published on 20th June 2018. Updated on 14th March 2024 to improve the information available.

Moonlight Castle Review

This blog was written by author Favouritefoe.

Magic

Okay so a game cannot be just about its gizmos, but they are really cool! And Moonlight Castle is a game from HABA for 2 – 4 players age 5 plus which has a 3D Castle tile holder and super cool slidey mechanism!

In the game, we are playing enchanted heroes trying to recover jewels being stolen by a rather mischievous looking magical owl, Zirroz the Evil Magician! Our plan is to replace them with pebbles of the same colour which we find in the fountains feeding the river running through the castle. The player who has recovered the most jewels by the end of the game is the winner!

A Turn Around The Castle

The game is simple to learn.

Each turn there are only 2 possible actions;

(1) Hide; move to an empty fountain along the river path, paying the matching colour 1 pebble cost to take the indicated number of random pebbles from the bag; and/or

(2) Recover jewels; place the same amount of matching coloured pebbles as shown in jewels on the tile in front of you, and pick up the tile (placing it behind your screen). If there is a magic spell on the reverse (i.e. symbols indicating that the river tiles need sliding along 1-3 spaces or that you get to take another turn), resolve that before finishing your turn.

If you don’t have enough pebbles to do anything, you can move back from the river to a wild fountain in order to stock up.

Sneaky Skills

Balancing pebble collection and payment. Working out where you might be (or want to be situated) in relation to the jewels. Deciding if moving back to a wild fountain to stock up on pebbles is going to play out better for you. Even working out which colours to collect knowing that others could move the river along and change the play-scape just before your turn happens in Moonlight Castle. As such, there is a lot of developmental skills being packed into a simple game. Oh and did I mention the COOL 3D castle and tile slider?? Oh I did? I was just checking!

Little gamers won’t know all of this up-skilling going on of course. They won’t be thinking in terms of “strategy” or “tactics” or “forward thinking”. But that is exactly what they will be doing by playing. Each decision they make will push them closer (or further away) from winning. And how they come back from a move that doesn’t quite work as they had hoped is a marker of just how fast their skills are indeed developing.

Family Fun

Moonlight Castle is a great family game. As we have come to expect from HABA, component quality and game play is top notch. The 3D castle and tile slider are indeed very cool, and the tiles generally move well. The bag to hold the pebbles could benefit from a drawstring but luckily the castle doesn’t have to be completely dismantled each time the game is packed away (which will help with longevity).

The age range and time (around 20-30 mins) feels right, and as our son gets older we will add in the extra fountain powers to up the ante. For younger players (or first games), you can play the game without the screens to simplify things. But most kids will I’m sure like to be sneaky and hide what they are collecting….although that doesn’t stop them trying to take a peek behind others’! Moonlight Castle is a wonderfully adaptable and replayable game, and definitely one that will be staying with us as our son grows up!

Editors note: This post was originally published on 15th March 2023. Updated on 14th March 2024 to improve the information available.

Classic Toys Every Child Should Have:

Some toys never go out of style and stay a staple addition to any child’s collection across generations; toys that parents enjoyed playing as children are passed down to their own children, and so on. Here we have compiled a few of our favourite Classic Toys picks for timeless fun:

Lego

Nothing sparks the imagination like Lego! Starting in 1949 as a simple concept of coloured bricks before evolving into a wonder of variety and pop culture sets to keep children (and adults!) entertained for hours on end, it’s easy to see why this makes the top of our list. It gets extra kudos on this list for also including smaller children with fun Duplo sets that are less fiddly (or a choking hazard) for littler ones to experience the joy of building straight from the imagination. Lego is increasing in popularity, thanks in part to the widely-enjoyed Lego movies and Lego’s continuous finger on the pulse of pop culture trends – so parents will no doubt be stepping on bricks of this classic toy for years to come.

Kitchen Play Set

Kitchen play sets such as this Home Kitchen have been a must-have toy for decades, starting as simple home set-ups that have eventually made way for elaborate renditions such as restaurant kitchen imitations for children to cook, bake and sizzle pretend meals and treats for themselves and their friends to perfection! It’s a wonderfully gender-neutral addition to the toy scene too, encouraging boys and girls alike to take an interest in food, cooking and being creative in the kitchen.

Tamagotchi

A beloved digital pet of the 90s, Tamagotchis are still a perfect toy or gift for children wanting to experience virtual responsibility of caring for a pet, or in place of having a more high-maintenance real-life pet! Requiring care and attention via the ‘feed’, ‘light’, ‘clean’, ‘play’, ‘medicine’, ‘training’ and ‘attention’ buttons Tamagotchis need to be consistently attended to encourage them to grow (or evolve in more recent releases!) otherwise they expire and a new pet needs to be hatched. These nifty little toys have so far stood the test of time and become more versatile over the years – you can now purchase smaller ‘Nano’ versions with hatchlings including a Tamagotchi of Star Wars icon Grogu or even Jurassic World dinosaurs! We think Tamagotchis will be the first pet for generations of children to come.

Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels cars have been zooming, crashing and loop-the-looping in living rooms since 1968, providing hours upon hours of entertainment throughout generations. With over 20,000 different die cast cars having been released through the decades, Hot Wheels offers so much variety in play – from classic cars to hot rods and cars inspired by fiction (like the Mystery Machine or Back to the Future Delorean.) There’s also a number of tracks and garages like this ‘race against the dinosaur’ Hot Wheels City Ultimate Garage, with new versions released all the time to keep play fresh and exciting. All the while cars are still on the road, we can’t see Hot Wheels going out of style any time soon!

Barbie

Barbie really needs no introduction! First appearing in children’s toy boxes in 1959, she has been a staple of make-believe play ever since, with play pals expanding to include hunky boy friend Ken (who is Kenough!) and a whole host of dogs, cats and other pets. She has also become a symbol of female empowerment and progression, taking on a series of demanding careers such as whilst enjoying international travel and a thriving social life! Barbie really does have it all – with all the clothing and accessories you could possibly dream of. With so much inspiration it’s easy to see why Barbie is a must-have in any make-believe toy box to encourage a thriving imagination. Enjoying a recent renewed surge thanks to 2023’s Barbie movie, it’s safe to say that Barbie will be holding the fort of intergenerational popularity indefinitely.

Beyblade

Perhaps a controversial pick for this list as Beyblade was only released in the 2000s, this battle spinning-top game has become a toy box favourite thanks to its simple concept that was encouraged in popularity by a TV series between 2001-2005. The metal Beyblade spinning tops come in a huge number of colours, weights and designs and have stats based on how well they should perform in a battle arena. Players then release the Beyblade and watch to see whose creation gets ground to a halt the fastest, or on some occasions, is smashed apart by the other Beyblade. But not to worry, they are easy to put back together again as customisation is encouraged to find the combination that will performance best in the Beyblade arena. It’s suitable for kids of all ages (even toddlers can enjoy playing a gentler and less competitive game) and we think this relatively new toy will stick around to become a classic!

How To Wash Plush Toys

Almost everyone I know has a little plush teddy or toy they’ve had since before they could speak! Whether they still physically have it and it hasn’t torn to shreds yet, or they have put it away for safe keeping, everyone has at least a memory of one. Along with the memory of having one, comes the memories of the mess that somehow developed overtime on them. That’s one tradition that never changes – having a little plush toy you’re addicted to as a child that goes everywhere with you and goes through the wars of food and dirt!

Sometimes used as a tissue for wiping some food off of a little ones face, sometimes dug in a hole to play hide and seek with. They get dirty, and then they need a clean. Pretty much like everything in life. But how do you clean these without ruining the beloved toy.

There will often be care instructions attached – be sure to check them first. So now, go and grab your little ones (or your own) plush toy and get it ready because here is a guide on how to wash plush toys.

How To Wash Plush Toys: Washing Machine

Yes, I admit this is an obvious one. But doing it correctly isn’t so obvious – you want to avoid any possibility of destroying the little toy, and breaking someone’s heart.

The part a lot of people miss out on is the very first step… Protection. Simply just putting the plushie into a pillowcase or a mesh laundry bag, and it’s ready to be thrown in the washing machine! Then, the next step is the wash setting you send the toy spinning on. Ensuring it is being washed on a delicate, gentle or hand wash setting is vital! Having the temperature a bit colder than usual helps as well to protect the colour from fading. Next up is to just wash it, and once that’s all done, take it out of its protection and either let it air dry or even use a hair dryer!

How To Wash Plush Toys: Hand Wash

Often, hand washing a plush toy is the safest way to go. You can see what you’re doing and it’s at a much lower risk of being destroyed.

You just want to fill up a sink (or a bath if you’re doing the rounds of toys) with cold water and submerge the little plushies into the water. Add about a capful or two – if a lot of water – to the water and give the toys a squeeze to really get them clean. A good way to know if you’ve squeezed enough is to pick it up and see how heavy it is. If it’s about double it’s usual weight from the water, that’s about right! Do not scrub, squeeze or wring too hard (don’t wring at all) as some plush toys can loose shape, or even fall apart from loose fabric or string.

There is a second part to this. Empty out the water from the sink or bath (whatever you fancy using) and refill it with clean, cold water. Squeeze again to rinse away the detergent and let them air dry. Again, you can use a hairdryer to speed up the air drying process.

Tips

If you do not have the time to wait for hand washing or using a washing machine, here are a couple of tips that can help short term for a plush toy that may smell a bit funky, or have a little stained patch.

Spot Cleaning

Spot cleaning is the perfect opportunity to do a quick test before doing either of the above. Mix one teaspoon of liquid dish soap into a cup of cold water. Once all mixed in, use a cotton bud to check if there id any dye transfer on a small patch of the plushie. If not, you’re good to go! It is also a good tip to use if you’re trying to quickly remove a stain that has managed to worm its way onto the toy. You do the same process, and wipe away the soap with a small towel to get rid of grime, and go in with a clean dampened one to wipe off the soap.

Deodorizing

Stuffed toys develop a smell after a while – it’s just what happens. There is a quick and easy fix to get rid of the smell. You literally just put the toy into a plastic bag along with some baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and shake it up. Let the toy sit in there for a little while (a few hours), and then take them out, shake them off and remove any excess baking soda with a vacuum or in a no-heat tumble dryer for about a minute.

I hope this helped you in some way, and that you and/or your little one(s) are happy with your freshly cleaned plush toys. Check out our other blogs here!

This blog was originally published on 2 August 2022. Updated on March 14 2024 to improve the information available.

Top 5 Outdoor Construction Toys

Playing outdoors is an excellent way for children to learn and explore. It is also an excellent way for them to burn off energy and get some exercise. Outdoor construction toys are a great way to encourage children to play outside while also fostering their creativity and imagination. Here are the top five outdoor construction toys.

Sand & Water Tables

Sand and water tables are an excellent way for children to explore and experiment with the properties of sand and water. These tables come in various sizes and shapes and can be filled with sand, water, or both. Children can use buckets, shovels, and other tools to build sandcastles or make sand sculptures. They can also use toys that float in the water, like boats and ducks, to make up their games. These tables are also great for sensory play, and children can use their hands to dig and explore the texture of the sand or water. Even if you don’t feel like using the who sand and table set up, this A, B, C sand with me game is a great alternative.

Building Blocks

Building blocks are a classic toy that children of all ages enjoy. These blocks come in various shapes, sizes, and colors, and children can use them to build towers, houses, and other structures. Building blocks help children develop their spatial reasoning skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving abilities. These toys also encourage children to use their imagination, as they can create their designs and structures. These come in a range of different colours, shapes and designs so you are not limited with choice, wherever you shop.

Climbing Structures

Climbing structures, such as climbing walls, monkey bars, and jungle gyms, are excellent toys for children who love to climb and explore. These structures come in various sizes and styles and can be used indoors or outdoors. Climbing structures help children develop their gross motor skills, strength, and balance. They also encourage children to take risks and push their limits while playing safely. If you want something more toddler friends, something like this for INSIDE may be perfect.

Tricycles & Bicycles

Tricycles and bicycles are excellent toys for children who love to ride and explore. These toys come in various sizes and styles and can be used by children of all ages. Riding a tricycle or bicycle helps children develop their gross motor skills, balance, and coordination. These toys also encourage children to explore their environment and get some exercise while having fun.

Playhouses & Tents

Playhouses and tents are excellent toys for children who love to play pretend and create their world. These toys come in various sizes and styles and can be used indoors or outdoors. Playhouses and tents help children develop their imagination and creativity while also encouraging social play. Children can use these toys to create their games and role-play scenarios, developing their communication and language skills.

Outdoor construction toys are an excellent way for children to learn, explore, and have fun. Sand and water tables, building blocks, climbing structures, tricycles and bicycles, and playhouses and tents are just a few examples of the many outdoor construction toys available for children. These toys help children develop their motor skills, problem-solving abilities, creativity, and imagination while also providing opportunities for exercise and social play. Parents can encourage their children to play with these toys by providing a safe and stimulating outdoor environment that fosters learning and exploration.

This blog was originally published on 21 March 2023. Updated on 14 March 2024 to improve the information available.

Betrayal Legacy – A Terrifying review

“Betrayal Legacy” is a very thematic game of exploration designed on the very well known “Betrayal at House on the Hill” series. As in the original game, players take the roles of members of different families exploring an haunted house to retrieve treasures and long lost family heirlooms and to unravel the dark past of the house. With respect to the original game, however, Betrayal Legacy provide players with 13 scenarios plus 1 (a tutorial) that allow them to witness the story of the house unfolding from 1666 to 2004 (the year when Betrayal at House on the year was published). This aspect not only allow to add a very engaging narrative element to each of your game sections but it also makes sure that the actions from one episode will carry on to impact future games. For example, players can mark items as their family heirloom in a game just to obtain various bonuses if they randomly find the same item in a subsequent games. For example, they may find their great granddad book of memories or their great-great-great grand aunt bucket and so on. At the same time, if a character dies in a room during an episode, their ghost may haunt the room an impact the events of future games. As you may have noticed, the game has a bit of a dark theme that should be considered when choosing it for a game night. I personally found the theme to be very well thought and balanced through all the story-telling aspects so that it never becomes too difficult to handle even for younger players but I do recommend to consider the age rating of 12+ when picking it up. Having said that, let’s dig a bit more in the game to see if this game may be up your dark alley.

What’s in the box and how do you play?

Betrayal Legacy is quite a big box packed with a lot of components of good quality. Among them there are countless cardboard tokens and tiles, a few dices and character markers, some miniatures, some player sheets, different rulebooks and sticker sheets and, most important, hundreds of cards. These are the key elements of the game as they provide all the details the players will need to go through all the 13 episodes of the campaign. They also provide all items, instructions and elements you need for your games allowing the game to growth from the first to the last scenario. Once the story fully unfolded, the story deck will be depleted but players will be left with a very personalized game that can be replayed indefinitely. In terms of gameplay, the core rules of the game are pretty straightforward and quite easy to learn. It all starts by laying down a few tiles to represent different rooms in each of the four areas of the House (ground floor, first floor, basement and outside). Players will then start taking turns to move their player miniature thought the house and to explore new rooms. Every time a new tile is placed, the icons on it may trigger an event, allowing the player to take extra actions or granting an item to the player. Some of these items are very special and they are called “Omens”. Finding an Omen may trigger a special event called the “Haunt” in which one of the players will have some nefarious special goal and will be designed as the “traitor”. All the other players will either need to prevent the traitor to achieve their goal or they will have a different goal to achieve before the traitor does in order to win. All these events are very unique and the cards will provide all the information you need in order to play them. In addition, the cards will point all players to read some entries of the “Bleak Journal” to learn more about the event they are about to play while the Traitors and all other players will learn some details specific to their role in the “Traitor’s Tome” and in the “Secret of survival” books. There is a lot of story telling in this game!

Would this game be great for you?

Speaking for myself, I found Betrayal Legacy to be a great game. I loved playing the game and I have enjoyed in particular the legacy aspects of it. The combination of the cards in the Legacy Deck and the stories in each of the books provided such a great atmosphere that kept all of us chained to our chairs at each game. At the same time, the mechanics are easy and quite solid so each play was fast and very enjoyable with very little downtime that helped a lot in keeping the younger ones engaged throughout the campaign. Bonus points to the fact that the game can be actually played after the campaign completed without losing much of its perks. I think the main limit of this game is the strong element of luck and variability linked to the dice rolls and the card drawing. For example, I struggled a couple of times in a hunt as I haven’t found any weapon before the event started and sometime I felt the position of my character on the map may have put me at a disadvantage during the game. Overall, none of these occurences were too much frustrating and they were balanced by the fun of finding a way to beat the challenge. And boy how challenging some of the haunts were!

Codenames Duet Review

Codenames Duet is a two-player version of the smash hit party game Codenames. We started playing this version during lockdown when of course we could not have any parties. This is a co-operative version where you and your fellow player are trying to successfully guess all of the spies without getting caught out by the assassins or running out of time.

This sounds far more thematic than perhaps it is, during the game you are trying to come up with clues that will link multiple words on the board to help them to guess the spies. The game does not have a board, but for each game you will deal out cards into a rectangular grid. These cards all have words on, these will be random things like broth, elephant, rainstorm and carrot cake. You will be trying to get your fellow player to guess all the words you have linked together.

The tricksy part about this game is that you have very few turns and only a small margin for error, so you will need to be on the same page. You will be trying to link together words like perhaps you could link “tail”, “castle” and “wing” together with the clue “fairy”. Thing is though, that it is fairytale not tail, but you have to hope that your fellow player will understand that and guess that and not “pebble”. Sometimes you will win, and sometimes you will be howling laughing at the utter ridiculousness of the clues that you have been given. The great thing is that you will be working together, so it will be winning or loading as a team.

If you want to find a game to play with your teen or your significant other and really work together then you cannot go wrong with Codenames Duet. This is a great two player variant on the smash-hit party game, and you can play through the whole campaign if you want to try and vary the difficulty. In our case however, we still need more practice with understanding the way each other’s mind works when giving strange clues. We will continue to have an absolute blast doing this for a long time to come though.

Editors note: This post was originally published on 24th May 2023. Updated on 7th March 2024 to improve the information available

5 Fantastic Educational Toys For 3-Year-Olds

Happy New Year from all of us here at Toy Street! Today, we are taking a look at the top educational toys for 3-year-olds. Educational toys are a great way to teach them about colours and numbers whilst having lots of fun!

BrainBox ABC

Easy as 123, BrainBox My First ABC is full to the brim with fantastic images to help children recognise objects beginning with each letter of the alphabet as well as the more common blends. Check out our BrainBox collection for more.

Number Colouring Book

This sticker colouring book includes traceable numbers, sums and fun learning challenges – the perfect way to help children learn their numbers, with added fun along the way! The Number Colouring Book is also a great tool to develop early pencil skills. This is now on sale! Grab yours now while stocks last.

Lunch Box Game

Orchard Toys are a fantastic British creator of educational toys and games for young children. With the Lunch Box Game, little ones can learn about healthy food through play. Play can become more interactive for players as they name the different foods they are putting in their lunch box. This game teaches children more about the subject of healthy eating through bright and bold illustrations. It might even encourage some fussy eaters to try new things!

Number Street

A colourful 20 piece number puzzle, including a giant matching poster. This is a fun introduction to counting from 1 to 10 for a child. They will be counting like crazy in no time!

Wooden Learning Clock

Help your children learn the time with this Wooden Learning Clock. You write the time on the provided board and your child has to move the hands to match it. This is a great and fun way of teaching your children how to read the time.

And there you have it – our favourite educational toys for 3-year-olds. For more educational and interactive toys, why not check out our Make & Create section? Or click below to read more great Toy Street blogs.

Check out the Toy Street blog collection!

Editors note: This post was originally published on 5th January 2021. Updated on 7th March 2024 to improve the information available

Top 5 World Book Day Costumes

In the UK, World Book Day takes place on the first Thursday of March. World Book Day is a charity event all about making reading accessible, especially to young people and children. For World Book Day, every child in full-time education receives a £1 book coupon. They can put this coupon towards any book, or exchange for a book in the year’s £1 book selection.

The goal of World Book Day is to encourage children and young people to find a love of reading. It creates an opportunity for families of all backgrounds to buy books and nourishes young imaginations with dress-up and reading events. World Book Day founder, Baroness Gail Rebuck, states that their mission is to teach the world that reading is fun, relevant, accessible, exciting, and has the power to transform lives. They believe that just 10 minutes of reading each day sets your child up for future success.

Who are Melissa and Doug?

Melissa and Doug are a couple of creatives who want to inspire children through imagination and play. They know the importance of letting children learn through play, to discover themselves and what they love doing. As well as a huge range of beautifully hand-crafted wooden toys and puzzles, Melissa and Doug offer arts & crafts, soft toys, furniture, and costumes! Just like the people behind World Book Day, Melissa and Doug are dedicated to helping your children develop into happy and ambitious adults.

World Book Day often means non-uniform day in UK schools. Children dress up as a favourite book character or anyone else who has inspired them. So, if you’re looking for a World Book Day costume, Melissa and Doug’s dress-up collection have you covered.

Journey to the Moon

Houston, we have a costume. Kids will be over the moon when they get to step into this jumpsuit! The first Melissa and Doug costume we’ll be talking about today is the Astronaut Outfit. An interstellar spacesuit with matching silver gloves and helmet, this costume really is out of this world. There’s even a reusable nametag that proudly IDs your little space explorer, then wipes clean so another astronaut can have a turn.

Designed for space explorers aged between 3 and 6, this costume can survive the atmosphere of space and your washing machine! Made to last, this is the perfect get-up for all astronauts.

There are plenty of famous astronauts in both fiction and non-fiction books. From the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, to everyone’s favourite space cadet, Buzz Lightyear, this Melissa and Doug costume is ready to be the star of World Book Day 2022.

911, What’s Your Emergency?

Are you after the hottest costume for World Book Day? Look no further than Melissa and Doug’s Fire Chief outfit. Extinguish the competition this World Book Day with this Fire Chief costume. You’ll have everything an aspiring firefighter needs in an emergency, from the bright red reflective coat down to the iconic helmet! This costume even comes with your very own fire extinguisher and fully functional bullhorn.

A great option for World Book Day 2022, this costume is also great to spark your child’s imagination during play. Machine washable and wipe clean, no need to use the fire hose to wash this one!

Looking for a character to dress up as? Using Melissa and Doug’s Fire Chief Outfit, transform yourself into the pawsome Marshall from Paw Patrol or even Fireman Sam!

Roadworks Ahead

Make sure you pack your book in your tool bag! Melissa and Doug’s Construction Worker Outfit is the perfect choice for anyone that loves a bit of DIY. Your little construction worker will be ready for any task in this bright orange, machine washable, construction vest with reflective stripes. Safety first remember, this outfit even comes with safety goggles and a fully kitted out toolbelt.

Fully customisable, the Melissa and Dough Construction Worker Outfit allows you to mix and match elements of the costume to fit any character. Don’t delay, get building today!

There is one famous construction worker that stands above the rest. One iconic character that can ALWAYS fix it. We are, of course, talking about Bob the Builder. Don’t forget about the hilarious Fix-It Felix from Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph.

Abracadabra!

Hocus pocus. Open sesame. Alakazam. Channel all of these magical words with our fourth entry on this list. Melissa and Doug’s Magician Outfit is certain to spread magic and wonder to whoever wears it. Kids can make a coin magically appear and disappear from the secret vest pocket or pull a rabbit out of the top hat’s hidden compartment. This pack even includes a cape, bow tie, magic wand, and card with tricks. Prepare to be amazed!

This costume requires a magical touch when it comes to cleaning up any messy tricks. The Magician Outfit needs to be hand-washed in cold water, we hear it is to preserve the magic!

There are countless famous magicians that can be channelled on World Book Day this year. From real-life magicians such as Derren Brown or Ben Hart, to our favourite characters like Harry Potter and Doctor Strange, there is plenty of inspiration for a spell-binding costume.

Howdy Partner

Giddy up partner and prepare for a trip to the wild west with our final World Book Day costume. Our fifth Melissa and Doug costume is their rootin’ tottin’ Cowboy Outfit. Little cowpokes can slip on these pleather chaps and denim-and-pleather vest to dress up like a real cowboy and rustle up adventures. The accessories in this set will complete any costume, the hat, red bandanna and sheriff badge really will transport you to the wild west.

Grab your horse and embark upon endless imaginative play with this Cowboy Outfit. No need to worry about that dust from the desert, pop this one into the washing machine and you’ll be ready for another horseback adventure.

We’ve spoken about Buzz Lightyear, now it’s time to turn our attention to his best friend, Woody. Toy Story’s Sheriff Woody of Woody’s Round-Up fame is always there for his friends, including his cowboy crew of Jessie and Bullseye the horse.

We’d love to see everyone’s World Book Day outfits, make sure you tag us over on social media @ToyStreetUK.

For more wonderful costumes and toys, check out our massive Melissa and Doug range.

Editors note: This post was originally published on March 3rd 2022. Updated on Feb 29th 2024 to improve the information available.

Anonymous

Easy to order, arrived very quickly, excellent packaging and phone looks good as new.

1 day ago

I’m very happy with everything, there is a mild delay on shipping but I communicated with customer service who contacted me straight back and resolved that. Everything was great, the delivery came on time after that the item was perfect, great price and I’m very happy with everything, thank you.

Ian

Shopping experience was excellent from price, posting and packaging

4 days ago

Helen

Super fast delivery. A great little company *****

5 days ago

Stefanie

Everything fine,thank you so much!

John

Good packaging fast delivery Mint condition. Toy Street has a great selection of board games.

Great prices and speedy delivery.

6 days ago

Susan

Quick delivery parcel intact and item as described on the website

Linda

Quick and efficient, well packaged so no dented boxes.

1 week ago

Katie

Such a lovely website & good range of items. There was a specific brand of toy I was after and found the best selection on the toy street website, will definitely be a returning customer. Item was dispatched and delivered fast.