Kids

Top five birthday-money blowers

Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop
It’s a bit complicated to find: once you’ve crossed behind the disused shopfront reading ‘Pollock’s Theatre’, dodged the waffle stand, and hiked up some steep stairs, you eventually discover a kooky haven. Best known for its toy theatres, Pollock’s is an educational wonderland for young thesps and is hugely enjoyed, on a more superficial level, by all. The most popular paper theatre to assemble is Jackson’s (£6.95), with its set and characters for the ballet Cinderella. The Victorian Gothic version features a nativity play and there’s an Elizabethan one (£8.95) that puts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other items on sale include marionettes, glove and finger puppets, and French music boxes (£37.50). If the history of paper theatres sparks an interest, there are books on the subject. Collectors pop in for antiques and handmade bears (from £82), but there are lquirky pocket-money toys too, such as cardboard masks (£1.40) and pocket compasses (£1.99). Mail order.
Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop, 44 The Market, Covent Garden, WC2E 8RF (7379 7866/www.pollocks-coventgarden.co.uk). Covent Garden tube. Open 10.30am-6pm Mon-Sat; 11am-4pm Sun. Credit AmEx, MC, V. Map p317 L7.

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Never Never Land
This teeny rectangle of a shop is crammed with old-world delights and betrays the love and attention of the devoted owner and assistant. The shop is known for its dolls’ houses – high-quality structures (from £85) and individually sold bits and pieces that really do fit together. There are modest alternatives to houses, such as conservatories (£20) and shops (£57.50). The owner is adept at sourcing unusual wooden toys (such as dancing musical frogs, £8.99) and also stocks baby-safe toys. There are many inspired gifts, including winged ‘wish bears’. Lots of pocket money potential here too, in addition to the doll-house content – bright Russian dolls (£6.99), gorgeous tiny Chinese cloth purses (99p) and colourfully hewn German knights, which fathers are drawn to especially. Buggy access. Mail order.
Never Never Land, 3 Midhurst Parade, Fortis Green, N10 3EJ (8883 3997). East Finchley tube. Open 10am-5pm Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat. Credit MC, V.

Rainbow
Rainbow may have a hippie-dippie aura, but it’s certainly not behind the times. The new owner has created a useful website and now there’s also a nifty little mail order business to supplement the treasure-stuffed shop itself. Rainbow’s dressing-up costumes are among the best in town: Spiderman and Star Wars with light sabre are very popular, as are ballerina outfits and Lucy Lockett fairy dresses. There are lots of quality wooden Pin and Plan Toys, including plane and car sit-and-rides and tricycles (£30-£50). There are reasonably priced dolls’ houses (£49-£100) and lots of nifty accessories to go with them. Orchard, Sylvanian Families and Creativity for Kids account for much of the game/kit range. Seasonal clothes and shoes are available too: Toby Tiger T-shirts, lesser-known Bluefish raincoats and wellies, sandals and flip-flops by Starchild. Mobiles and paper lampshades got up as hot air balloons (£5.75) hang from the ceiling, and puppets are much in evidence. Beanie Buddies are heaped in a corner, while display counters at the back offer assorted glass and clay marbles, practical jokes, kids’ jewellery and such dolls’ house furnishings as tiny plates of food, coat-hangers or books (from 15p, often bought on their own). The back room has a useful variety of dolls, balloons and little plastic figures on and off horseback.Buggy access. Delivery service. Mail order. Nappy-changing facilities. Play area.
Rainbow, 253 Archway Road, Archway, N6 5BS (8340 9700/ww.rainbow-toys.co.uk). Highgate tube. Open 10.30am-5.30pm Mon-Sat. Credit MC, V.

Traditional Toys
It's a pleasure to visit this smashing little toyshop on the corner of Chelsea Green. Every nook and cranny here is filled with games, books and toys. There’s a wide range of toys at affordable, pocket-money prices – such as farm animals, cuddly animals, dolls’ house furniture and some of the tiniest accessories and soldiers – plus larger items such as a wooden rowboat (£315 down to £195 on sale when we last visited), painted ride-on toys for the nursery and a bright-red wooden fire engine (£63). Shelves hold Breyer model ponies, Brio train sets, boats, dolls, teddies by Steiff and the North American Bear Company, sturdy wooden Noah’s arks and much more. Don’t miss the fantastic fancy dress: sheriffs, knights, elves and fairies, plus accessories for imaginative games, such as shields, swords, helmets and breastplates, a miniature bow and arrows set, and hobbyhorses (£45). There’s also a catalogue of costumes that may be ordered from the store. Buggy access. Delivery service.
Traditional Toys, 53 Godfrey Street, Chelsea, SW3 3SX (7352 1718/www.traditionaltoy.com). Sloane Square tube, then 11, 19, 22 bus/49 bus. Open 10am-5.30pm Mon-Fri; 10am-6pm Sat. Credit AmEx, MC, V.