It's a Little People Christmas Village
Written: Dec 25 '03 (Updated Jun 05 '04)
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Pros: Very cute. Has all 5 characters featured in the videos. Higher than usual quality.
Cons: Catalog-only exclusive makes it a bit harder to find. Price.
The Bottom Line: This is a VERY cute set. Could be considered a "Christmas Decoration". A favorite in our house.
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Fisher Price Little People Christmas on Main Stree... |
This was our last-minute must-have gift for Christmas 2003. My 2½ year old son recently re-discovered our Fisher-Price shop-at-home catalog, which featured the Little People Christmas on Main Street toy on the cover. He so loved looking at the playset that he wanted to sleep with the catalog every night! Because it is a "catalog exclusive" item, I ordered it online with only a few weeks until the big day, and fortunately it arrived on-time because it truly brightened my little guy's holiday.
Product Description:
Until Epinions can get the images loading again, here's a link to a picture of the set on the Fisher Price site:
http://www.fisher-pricestore.com/images/80836_B5861_main_1.jpg
The Little People Christmas on Main Street playset is an adorable Christmas village from the Little People line of toys. The 3 shops are on the small side, but are all very nicely detailed and brightly colored. Six(!!!) Little People figures are also included, along with 3 "presents" that come with an interchangeable lid. A lamp-post lights up and plays Christmas music when the floor is pressed. All of the pieces and be assembled together in a variety of ways (via little clamps that allow you to connect the buildings/gates together), so you can build your village to suit your own personal taste.
The included pieces are:
⇒ Toy Store -- An adorable white building with a blue roof, a rocking-horse is visible above the toy-store sign, and cute Santa Claus and ballet dancer dolls are visible in the front window. Holly and berries hang down from the window, making it a cute and colorful centerpiece to our little village. The back and sides have large rounded openings, for walking figures between the various buildings, and cute details are molded in everywhere -- from a train-rug on the wooden floor to fancy toys and Christmas decorations above each doorway.
⇒ Candy Store -- This cute pink building has colorful candy canes on the side a green roof. A cheery red door that can open and close is in front, and a yellow flag with candy-canes and peppermints hangs from the roof. Inside is a cute corner table with candy-goodies molded on-top.
⇒ Bakery -- This cheery, chimney-shaped building resembles a ginger-bread house, complete with red and green gum-drop accents and snow on the roof (which makes one wonder why there isn't any snow visible on the other 2 roofs). A bright red door that can open and close is on the side of the building, and a yellow flag complete with a gingerbread man hangs from the roof. Inside is a molded-in counter with Baker-Bob's rolling pin and cookie-cutters, among other details.
⇒ Street Light -- Rising above the snowy ground is an old-timey street lamp that is green with a red ribbon around it. When you press the cobblestone sidewalk next to the lamp, the light comes on from behind the frosted-yellow plastic, a deep "bong" sounds (like a grandfather clock chiming in the street), and some children's voices (that actually sound more like Alvin and the Chipmunks) sing the "Fa la la la la" Christmas song. The clock "bongs" again before the light turns off. An on-off switch is located under the unit.
⇒ The Figures -- All 5 of the featured child characters come with the set -- each dressed in snuggly warm winter wear. Eddie is decked out in a red and white striped coat and hat, complete with his pet frog Freddie. Eddie's twin sister Sarah Lynn wears a flower on her hat and carries a song book for caroling. Maggie looks cute in her ear-muffs and scarf, and carries a large candy cane. Sonya Lee's hot pink coat has heart-shaped buttons and she carries a ginger-bread man. Michael wears a colorful jester-style hat and carries a bell and an ornament. Also included is a 6th figure, Baker Bob, complete with measuring spoons in his apron-pocket.
⇒ The Extras: -- also included are two lengths of gingerbread-man fence. Each fence-piece is particularly cute, with white snow on the ground and 3 brownish gingerbread-men knee-deep in the snow. Three "package bottoms" are included (consisting of a floor and a "gift") with a cute green-and-white "package top" (a hollow box shaped like a present that can be placed over each of the package-bottoms). The 3 gifts are a cute teddy bear, a pair of candy canes tied with a green bow, and a two-tiered pink cake with a gingerbread man on top. A little red sled with yellow-rope handle can be used to cart characters or presents around the village.
The set comes in a keepsake box that can be used for storage. 3 "AA" batteries (not included) are required to power the lamp post. The Little People Christmas on Main Street set is recommended for children age 1 and up.
Our Experiences:
Due to having lots of family who wanted to have different Christmas get-togethers, we let my son open his Little People Christmas on Main Street set at the first of our gatherings (a few days before Christmas) because we knew how much he loved the set already. He squealed with delight when he unwrapped it, insisted that we remove it from the box immediately, and continued to return to the toy in-between opening other gifts. It was definitely the hit of that particular Christmas celebration.
My son has a few Little People videos that came with a couple of his other playsets. He loves the videos very much, and when he plays with his Little People playsets he calls the characters by their correct names. Prior to purchasing the Christmas on Main Street set, the only characters he had were Eddie (who he has 3 of) and Sonya Lee (who he has 2 of). One of the main things he likes about Christmas on Main Street is the fact that it comes with all 5 kid-characters, plus Baker Bob (who is also featured on one of his videos). Since he got them he has made sure they each spend some quality time in his various other Little People playsets. I love hearing him call them by name as he plays with them.
I also think that the quality of this "catalog exclusive" set is higher than your average Little People playset. For one thing, the stickers came pre-applied. If there is one thing I hate on kids' toys, it is applying stickers (mostly because they get torn or I put them on crooked). All of the stickers on the Christmas on Main Street set were factory-applied and look fantastic. Also, I think the paint-job on the characters is of a higher quality than usual. As I mentioned, we already had a grand total of 3 Eddie figures (from our Ramps Around Garage, Fun Park, and Big Top Train sets). Eddie is always carrying his pet frog Freddie, and on all of our other Eddies Freddie is painted green with no other paint-details. On our Christmas on Main Street set Freddie's eyes are painted white with black pupils -- a detail that is lacking on all of our other Freddies. All of the figures in the set are highly detailed -- much more-so than our other "normal" figures. Even the buildings are nicer. Little People sets always have tons of molded-in detail, but I usually find it disappointing that it is all one color (the details are molded in but not painted differently than the base-color). While this set has some of that too, there are definitely more painted-in details than you normally find on a Little People playset. You can tell that they wanted to make this "catalog exclusive" item something special.
My son is a big fan of doors for some strange reason -- he loves opening the doors on this playset and shoving the figures in. Because so many figures are included, he has a blast piling them up inside and closing the door behind each of them. I'm glad there are two doors on the set. I was worried that, with no slides or other action-oriented things to entertain my rambunctious little boy, he would grow tired of it quickly. I have been very pleasantly surprised.
The complaints I have are all very minor. One is that each building in the village is on the small side -- if the characters are standing the most you can fit inside any one building are two or three figures. That can be a pro too though, as smaller buildings take up less storage and/or play space. Another minor complaint is that the lamp-post plays only one song, so that can get old rather quickly. I also wish that they had included 1 gift-top for each of the 3 gift-bottoms. My biggest complaint is that at $35 it is rather pricy for a fairly small set. I purchased it anyway because my son appeared to be obsessed with it, and upon receiving it I think that the higher price is due to the overall higher quality (better paint-jobs, pre-applied stickers, etc).
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Very cute Christmas village
+) Includes all 5 featured kid-characters, plus Baker Bob
+) Characters are more detailed than normal
+) Street-lamp that lights up and plays a Christmas song
+) All stickers came pre-applied!!! No assembly required (except to add the batteries)
+) Buildings are more detailed than normal too, with more painted accents and attention to detail
+) Pieces can be configured in different ways
+) Lots of cute extras (gifts, sled, adorable fence)
+) On/off switch for lamp-post
+) Comes in an attractive keepsake box
Cons:
-) Only 1 present-top included -- I wish they had included 3 (one for each present)
-) A "catalog exclusive" item, so you cannot find it in stores
-) Street lamp plays only 1 song, so it will get old fast
-) $35 is a bit expensive for what you get
Final Thoughts:
I mainly purchased this set because I knew that my boy would love having all 5 of the kid-characters he's grown to love from watching the Little People videos. I was very pleasantly surprised by the higher quality of the entire set. But enough about me -- my little boy absolutely LOVES it! Although I had originally intended on putting up the buildings (leaving out the characters) when Christmas was over, I think my son loves the set enough to make this a year-round toy for now. We're all very pleased with the Little People Christmas on Main Street set!
My other Little People reviews:
Little People Ramps Around Garage
Little People Lil' Kingdom Castle
Little People Fun Park
Little People Fun Sounds Playground
Little People RumblIn' Grumblin' Dump Truck
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 35
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Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
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About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
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