Pink Sheep Family (Happy Family)
Happy Family
The Happy Family toy line is produced San Jin Toys, based out of China. These infrequently pop up on eBay and sometimes are blatantly called "Calico Critters". These toys are inferior in quality, but are cheap and cute enough for a child to play with.
What makes these figures hard to place as an actual toy line, is the fact that while they have a house, pony with cart, and a few other play sets, these are all sold under different names. Some of the other names these are sold by include: Forest Party, Forest Homestead, and Forest Fairyland.
What makes these figures hard to place as an actual toy line, is the fact that while they have a house, pony with cart, and a few other play sets, these are all sold under different names. Some of the other names these are sold by include: Forest Party, Forest Homestead, and Forest Fairyland.
Toy Line: Happy Family, Forest Party
Company: San Jin Toys
Country: CN
Year Introduced: 2010
Frequency: Uncommon
Version:
CN, Happy Family
Figures in Series:
pink sheep, tan bears, tan squirrels, white rabbits
Official Names & Bios:
N/A
Accessories:
N/A
How I Got Mine:
This family was purchased on eBay.
Extra Info:
This toy line has blended with a newer line: Silvan Animal Families, which has some of their older figures featured in the packaging art.
Names and bios I have created for this family:
Sweetbriar
Mother Iris, Threadmaker (Spinner)
Father Sherwood, Dyer
Baby - N/A
Company: San Jin Toys
Country: CN
Year Introduced: 2010
Frequency: Uncommon
Version:
CN, Happy Family
Figures in Series:
pink sheep, tan bears, tan squirrels, white rabbits
Official Names & Bios:
N/A
Accessories:
N/A
How I Got Mine:
This family was purchased on eBay.
Extra Info:
This toy line has blended with a newer line: Silvan Animal Families, which has some of their older figures featured in the packaging art.
Names and bios I have created for this family:
Sweetbriar
Mother Iris, Threadmaker (Spinner)
Father Sherwood, Dyer
Baby - N/A
Review
The Price
Happy Family sets can range in prices from $4 - $8 USD. I purchased mine for about $4.
The Package
The box is made of medium grade cardboard and has a clear plastic window in the front. There is a plastic tray inside that holds the family in place. This type of packaging is the cheapest the company could afford and it shows with the lack of quality. Still, it does its job by protecting and showing off the toys within. As usual, some translations are off. I did find it amusing that while Happy Family figures are made in China, they have a Norwegian import sticker.
The Figures
Happy Family figures are the same size and "shape" of Sylvanians. The flocking color from head to body is noticibly off and is quite dissapointing. This also tends to peel up at the neck joint. It is easy enough to gently remove the excess with tweezers. The clothing is incredibly cheap, most notibly of how the father has no shirt and he baby is entirely naked. The faces are very cute, but the black paint of the noses tends to rub against and off onto the plastic window inside the box and onto the figures themselves. One strange thing to identify these figures apart from Sylvanians or Calico Critters is that their bodies are screwed together. Also, their faces had dirt smudges on them when they came and were tricky to clean (if it even came off at all).
The Conclusion
Dispite the lack of attention paid to their manufacturing, Happy Family figures are a cost effective toy that offers a similar quality of enjoyment that one would find with Sylvanian Families. When making my purchase of the Sheep Family, I made my decision based off of price, cuteness, and curiosity. These were few and far between on eBay when I bought them, but have since been a steady knock-off. I was interested in how well they stood up to and copied my beloved Sylvanians. Though I wish their quality was on par with their compeditor, I find the Happy Family Sheep just as attractive as the Sylvanian or Calico Critter versions. There is something about them that is strange, but endearing at the sime time. I don't think these have any harm in the market, but I do think they will be around for a while yet.
