…and there’s no better welcome party than a family of tiny toy beavers (two inches tall) — or are they chipmonks? — from my favorite antique store.
I’m not sure why I had to have these, but their post-holiday sale price of $3 must have sealed the deal. I stopped by again today after a dentist appt. and found even more silliness to see me through the marathon. (What? Did I call it a sprint? I recant.)
Oh my goodness! I just had to comment on these little guys – this brings back memories! They are Sylvanian Families, and those are the beavers, my sister had that particular family. We were obsessed with them when we were little… we made tiny food out of clay for them and made houses out of shoeboxes. You could get all different animals, bears, bunnies, foxes, raccoons… they were just so sweet… you could also buy cute furniture for them too. Oh, I wonder if we still have them somewhere…
You couldn’t leave them there for that price! Great find!!
Yes you are so right that is a huge steal!!! Sylvanian families were big for wee ones when I was doing babysitting in High School late 80’s early 90’s and now married living in New Zealand they are huge here. making a comeback like ninja turtles and cabbage patch, I reckon any relly good toy seller would still be able to get them. A complete family sells for $35-40 NZD = $25-30 USD
Oh they are so cute! You take such great photos, so clever. Gosh their outfits are so sweet!
Oh oh oh! Sylvanian families!! My sister once had a set consisting of a little mouse family and I was so very jealous of it :).
Oh, how adorable! I collect beavers (my name’s related to them), and I haven’t seen a little family like that…so sweet, and fabu pictures!
I’m guessing that they are not what you went out looking for…but what a great find!
Oh, I love Sylvanian families. They came out shortly before I was “getting too old” for toys, and my aunt bought me the rabbit family. I just adore my baby rabbit (they are all in storage for my little girl until she is old enough, but I still take him out and look at him sometimes). It is so tiny. It’s a pity the babies and the grandparents were sold separately. I think a baby beaver would be just adorable! And a grandma beaver with glasses? That would be too cute.
OMG!!! These are the cutest things! I’ve never seen them before but I guess they were popular back in the day? Must keep my eye out for them in the future. Thanks for sharing!
What a great find!! So cute!! 🙂 I remember playing with similar toys when I was little… I think one of my friend’s older siblings had an entire set and we commandeered them for our imaginings. lol. 🙂
My sister and I had quite a collection of these! We had the doll house and funiture too. I think my mom kept it all, I’ll have to find out. I also checked out e-bay, there was quite a selection.
I’m loving your blog!! Please keep your plans to make patterns of your little girl clothes! I daydream of my baby girl dressed that cute!!
I had those when I was little! There was the cutest wood furniture to go with them, too. *sigh*
Cute!!! I remember those from my childhood, though I think they were handed down to me from someone else. I’m pretty sure I had bunnies.
Yes! They are so cute, I think they were called the Waters Family!! What a find!
We had the bear family of these. Oh, how I loved them. I do not know what happened to them over the past years, but I still have a few of their little outfits. Remember the dad wearing a pair of tweedish pants with elastic suspenders. As a modest youth, I was puzzled why papa bear wasn’t wearing a shirt. My mom taught me how to make a new sew doll shirt that tied in the back. That is one of the first stabs at craftiness that I can remember. What a wonderful find. I have never seen the beavers.
My little sister (who’s eight) and I have decided to make a dollhouse together and we were trying to decide what kind of family to use. We decided on little animals and are now on the hunt! Yours are adorable.
They are beavers and if they are in fact antique and not the spin offs, then they are from Sylvanian families. If they are the newer ones, they are Calico Critters of Clover Leaf Corners and are distributed by International Playthings.
how appropriate that you purchase something with wee little teeth after a dentist apt.
very fun..
Now, see…..that little post did not take long, and see how happy you have made us? I think you are going to NEED the creative outlet that is your blog. We enjoy the connection with an up-and-coming designer. You’d be surprised how it gives total strangers like us a “warm fuzzy” feeling when your son is excited over jammies made from your fabric….or runs through the store holding hands with you….or your daughter is really excited about her pink clogs. (It made me remember a special pair of red patent shoes when I was about her age….and memories from that age are even more special because there are so few of them!)
So, dear Heather, allow us to share little snippits of your creative brain waves, and allow our feedback to encourage your creative process!
If you were a neighbor, I would bring over one of our “new” gumdrop trees that we made to brighten up January. We made some for a few special friends/shut ins: http://www.pennysanford.typepad.com
Fondly,
Penny
I just checked out the site at http://www.sylvanianfamilies.com/index.php, how adorable!
We need to check out their tails to identify this species. I’m hoping they are beavers. Did you know beavers fell over 400 trees a year?
Awww. Those remind me of some I had as a small girl (as did my sister) and they lived in a log that was a travel case/house for them. She had rabbits… I think I had squirrels.
Now when I think for that log of think of Ren and Stimpy.
I’m getting off topic. I tend to go on tangents. Sorry.
Very cute find Heather! And I think these little random posts are perfect for this marathon time. 😉
~gyl
oooh, you found calico critters.
my daughter loves these little families and received a set from her grammie this year. they are all posable and so sweet.
I had the two little ones….. I got given them from an older friend and never saw them in the shops. Your wee guys look like they’re in such great condition!
Hi –
I just found your link and it is adorable ….I just had to say that the furry little friends look just like the Calico Critters that my daughters LOVE. There is a website and Target sells them on line. We have the rabbit family and the koala family. You got a bargain…..cute and a bargain what could be better!
Annie
I had the honey-colored bears. They lived in my dollhouse, and the dad had glasses. I think they’re still in my parents’ house somewhere…
OMG. I had the bunny family, the bear family, and a house for them to live in. It was too small for even one family – there was a loft bedroom that only fit one bed…. oh, the memories. That was a lovely little jolt I got when I saw them – I never even knew that there were beavers, but I recognised them instantly… there were books, too. Good old comprehensive marketing!
Hi, nice to meet you, I love your blog, as I am a toy collector too. I have these little fellows in my attic some where. My son used to LOVE them. I have the bear that talked somewhere — going to hnt him down!
Stumbled upon your blog!
I have tons of these – only started collecting them properly a few years ago. The Japanese distributor Epoch has the best versions and very extensive sets – the ones from UK-based distributor Flair aren’t so pretty. They are only known as Calico Critters in the USA, and they’re still pretty big over here in Asia.
My sisters and I had these growing up(except ours were monkeys and bears and mice), so nice to see them again, they are so adorable!
What a flashback, I had those! Love it!
Oh my. Tears seriously just came to my eyes when I came across these. When I was little (80s) the little girls next door had these. My grandmother first taught me to sew making clothes for these little munchkins. I can still feel my hand in hers when I look at these pictures. Thanks for sharing!
I had these! wow, you brought back memories.
I just love Sylvanians!
I have the heghog family and heaps of babys!!!!