Sylvanian Families was originally made in Japan by Epoch in the mid-80s as a children's toy. The figures soon spread to the UK. In the US they are known as Calico Critters. There is still a Japanese, a British and an American range which all varies a little from each other.
Sylvanian Families / Calico Critters are cute little animal figures dressed in lovely clothes. Mice, rabbits, hedgehogs, squirrels, bears, cats, dogs, guinea-pigs... to mention a few. The different families most often include a mother, a father, a brother, a sister and two babies (the children varies a bit). Some families also include grandparents. In UK and US every family has a name as well as each member of the different families. This is not valid for the Japanese families. The Japanese figures are also slightly taller than those from UK and US.
In addition to the families there are also different houses, shops, restaurants, furniture of all kind, vehicles, different occupational groups and a huge range of accessories. Everything is made with a great feeling of detail.
It's a whole world in miniature – very peaceful and romantic – reminding of childhood memories.
Sylvanian Families is mainly sold as a children's toy, but also attracts a lot of grown-ups as a great collectible.
Please click on the pictures to get to the different items available in each sub-category.
