The Toy Shop calls a spade a spade...i.e. it sells toys! For those of you who like jigsaws (I…read morecertainly do!) this seems to be The Toy Shop's favourite product as much of their shop is dedicated to quite a wide range of different jigsaws at reasonable prices. There are plenty of little fun trinkets that would be perfect party bag fillers as well as outdoor games, toy cars and trucks, some beading/ craft type sets and a few dollies among other items. This would be a good place to stock up on last minute birthday presents for the youngsters in your life as there is something to suit most ages and tastes. There isn't a huge range though, but bearing in mind it is a reasonably small market stall it covers most bases well.

In a market room packed and filled to the brim with shops selling useful things ranging from…read morehardware stalls to things related to clothing and hobbies or crafts, and of course foodstuffs, there is very little focus on children, other than stalls in hope of rotting their teeth with confectionary! Therefore, The Toy Shop is a great little store, and whilst it may not focus on the latest games and action figures plastered all over our television screens, there are still a lot of boxes and figurines to buy here. Toys that wont cost you the earth, but with keep the kids distracted for at least 5 minutes, and will satisfy them if you have dragged them out with you to go shopping!

Actual. Toy. Heaven!!…read more I'm a big kid at heart, and one of my favourite things about being a parent is getting to play with toys again yaaay!! Leeds City Centre is desperately lacking toy shops, so when it came to buying Xmas presents for the Mini MacDoos and their friends time around I found myself with little choice other than jumping on the bus and heading down to Birstall retail park to have a mooch round Toys R Us. When I got there and walked in I was completely overwhelmed. I had no idea where to start! I was very glad I hadn't taken the kids with me as I think they might have quite literally exploded with excitement. Which would have made a terrible mess. Aisle after aisle of the stuff of every kids wildest dreams. Action toys. Role playing toys. Educational toys. Cuddlies. Cars. Electronics. You name it, they've got it. There are sections for all the different characters of the moment, I almost peed mutants with excitement when I saw the Hello Kitty section!! Only downsides for me really are that it's not the cheapest place in the world for toys, but if you're not quite sure what you're after it's worth going there to get some inspiration. If you've got a smartphone it's easy enough to check online to see if you can get an item significantly cheaper elsewhere, and the experience of shopping there is so fab that for me it's worth paying an extra pound or so for an item. The other thing, obviously, is that it's not in the city centre, and if you don't drive, then Birstall retail park isn't the easiest or cheapest place to get to (however you can always compensate yourself for the inconvenience by heading over to the Krispy Kreme shop for a treat while you're there!) So all in all it gets a thumbs up from me. If you're young at heart, get yourself there and pretend you're Tom Hanks in Big!!

Toys R Us is a not just any old toy store its a toy mega store. It is very popular with my 3 year…read moreold who loves toys. I found myself queing outside this store on a cold December morning trying to get hold of the number 1 toy for Christmas 2009. I rang the night before and was told they were expecting a delivery the following day. When I arrived there was a small queue outside once the doors opened it was well organised and there was no pushing or shoving staff handed you the items you asked for. I was really pleased. This store has so many types of toys it is amazing I bet kids would be happy to spend the whole day there if you would let them.

Definitely my favourite comic book shop in Yorkshire. The staff are so friendly and easy-going, it…read morefeels like family now I've been going for over a year. They have a very large range of comics, t-shirts and books and their supplier on speed-dial. Their loyalty card, SUPER CARD GO!, is worth buying for £3 as it offers discount on selected books (I've already saved over the price of the card in my first transaction) and you also collect loyalty card points. Downstairs are board games and card games (Magic The Gathering etc), and they have frequent signing events - I recently met one of my favourite artists, Becky Cloonan, at a signing there. It was awesome.

I adore this shop. I suppose this kind of establishment is a bit of an acquired taste sort of…read moreplace, but if you happen to love comics, games and cute little manga toys, then this shop is perfect for you. It is a total geek fest that makes me giddy when I walk through the doors. The ground floor is wall-to-wall lined with comics, graphic novels and books - with such esteemed publishers as Marvel, Dark Knight and Tokyo Pop and many more. They also have a large selection of t-shirts, for both genders, with quirky cool cartoons on, such as a fire-breathing dinosaur with stick people running away from it, or a crocodile/dragon type creature that says "Ra." The downstairs is gamesville. They have hoards and hoards of different board games for any number of different players. My absolute favourite is 'Settlers of Catan'. This is a brilliant strategy game that you can play with your friends - I'd recommend at least four players. They also have tables and seats for you to relax in and enjoy a hot drink. Finally, the staff are absolutely excellent. Once I went in to grab an add-on to a board game for that evening, we were having friends round and we all wanted to play a new version. I knew exactly which one I wanted and headed downstairs to grab it only to discover they didn't have that one in. I went to ask the guy that was working there if they had it in storage perhaps. They didn't have it, but he informed me that the manager of the shop was going to be coming back from the Newcastle branch later that day, so he said he'd ask him if he could pick one up and bring it back for me! Sure enough, he rang his manager who went and found one, and arranged for me to come and collect it a few hours later that day! They even promised to keep the shop open for an extra half hour if I couldn't be there in time. That is customer service.

What a strange little shop! The list of things they sell is just bizarre! It's kind of like an up…read morescaled version of the strange little section in your local shop. There are loads of toys and games in shiny boxes and excessive packaging. There is also a very large collection of watches. The shop fittings, which appear to be straight out of the seventies and a little tired, don't exactly make the products look appealing. I must admit though I quite like the randomness of the displays, with dolls alongside padlocks, batteries and nasal hair clippers! Prices are very cheap. This is the kind of shop that would be perfect if you stumbled upon it on Christmas Eve with a long list of extremely last minute toys to buy, and had got to the point where anything would do...but otherwise I simply can't imagine thinking to make the trip there. However, due to their huge range of products I imagine they could become your shop of choice for, for example, watch batteries or nasal hair clippers...

If I could, I would rate this shop below 1. The woman who works there is extremely rude with no…read morevalue of customer service, shouting at customers for no reason. Absolutely ridiculous and atrocious service, would never return.

This was a fun and clean store. Some of the things are so pricey now, but I get it, Lego makes…read morealmost every character from every movie or book. My kids and I enjoyed making our own Lego characters, including accessories. We got a little 3 pack to commemorate our England trip.

Lego pick and mix alone is worth five stars however they get demoted to four stars for the simple…read morefact you can buy most of the sets elsewhere cheaper. I found the shop to be a little cramped however this was the first weekend the Trinity opened so it was always bound to be full to the brim. the pick and mix is a fantastic facility for anyone who is missing a few bits of any set however it is just standard blocks specialist pieces weren't there. The other great thing is for £3.50 you can make three minifigures up with an accessory and hair from a separate pick and mix, my kids could have spent an age just looking through the various heads and bodies available. The staff are friendly and helpful and the range of sets available is very impressive indeed. For my little boy it was a pleasure to see him take it all in and rush about deciding which set he wants next, however I cant help feel this will become a Jessops type arrangement with customers going into the store having a look to see what they want then buying it cheaper elsewhere.

It's hard to tell whether this shop is called 'Happy Happy Toy Shop', 'Harry's Harry's Toy Shop',…read moreor was once called 'Happy Harry's Toy Shop' but whoever was replacing some of the worn out letters got very, very confused. I thought 'Harry's harry's Toy Shop' was just too downright crazy so tentatively opted for the more believable 'Harry's Toy Shop'. Despite the rather incomprehensible name, the sign is actually rather cute, with brightly coloured lettering on a background of rolling green hills, blue sky and cartoon clouds. This shop has the stereotypical-market-toy-stall obligatory wind up/battery powered moving toys with a crawling baby and a hamster in a ball moving repetitively back and forth and making a mechanical churning noise. How the stall holders put up with the incessant noise I can't imagine...maybe they no longer hear it at all! The range of toys covers most areas including dolls, prams, trucks and cars, board games, jigsaws, toy guns and cowboy hats, toy swords, plastic jewellery sets, miniature umbrellas, tea sets, battery-powered talking parrots, superhero figurines...the list goes on. Prices are generally quite cheap and there's something for everyone so it's a good place to stock up on last minute Christmas or birthday presents for the kiddies in your life (until they get to the age where its iPhones and laptops or tantrums...is that about 6 these days?).

Since the sad demise of the city centre Disney Store this remains as Leeds standing sole survivor…read more It's a shame really something I've always relied on in moments of kidlet present fury is the option to dip into the Disney Store on Commercial Street and spend far too much money on this industry giant of a brand. Walt and his relatives have made plenty of brass out of me over the years, but I don't resent it, as small kidlets and big kidlets alike still light up when you chuck an oversized stuffed animal of film appropriate characters at them. It may be a sad fact but it is true. From the cashing in of the newborn babies super cute baby grows and birth momentos, to the ever so cute toddler clothes and pyjamas, right the way through to the themed character costumes, and then beyond this to Disney's selection of toys, stationary, trinkets and other cartoon gifts, this is a kid's dream store. Like I said, I've never failed to make a kidlet smile when packing various items in a Disney box, complete with Disney fairy dust, and just watch the excitement unravel. Granted this may be a tad indulgent, and many things are overpriced, especially the DVDs, but for treats of special occasion magnitude, then I think it's totally worth it. White Rose's offering may now be a bit out of the way than the convenience of the Commercial Street store, but it's got most of the same things, and the staff are super happy to help. Extra perky is sprinkled on their cornflakes. Fact.

Always call in here if only to play with the stuff or squeeze a cuddly mickey or simbas head, I…read moreeven buy the odd thing

From the outside it's almost impossible to tell what this shop IS...and upon venturing inside you…read moredon't particularly get any more of a clue! Which I think is quite cool. However if you do bother to read the sign, which I generally don't it attempts to break it down for you - products it sells: books, greetings cards, toys/novelties, helium balloons, party wear. This almost covers it but there's bound to be loads of mysterious bits and bobs missed out by this list eg. make-up...unless I suppose that counts as party wear. It kind of seems strange to sell sexy bunny outfits in the same shop as dolls for 1 year olds but I guess the organised disorder of this shop is kind of its making. One wall of the shop seems to be dedicated to children's toys with most of the things you'd expect in a regular toy shop. Near the till they also have one of those stacks of plastic drawers full of perfect party bag fillers including bouncy balls, springy things that boing and mini packs of cards. Near the back of the shop they have shelves full of greetings cards including some rather delightful retro-looking Easter cards for 40p - score! Fancy-dress-wise it's a bit thin on the ground with a couple of pre-packed outfits (including the aforementioned 'sexy' bunny) a few wigs and some neon tutus. They also have cheap jewellery, make up and helium balloons. If you're throwing a kids' party, or looking for a quick fix fancy dress costume/make up you will probably find what you're looking for. Toy-wise it's worth a look but Armadillo Toys across the road probably has more selection. Also I too have no idea what the 'most stylish homeware' or 'bestinteriors' awards on the window were about...utterly baffling!

This is an interesting place. It is most specifically, I guess, a party shop but it houses a whole…read moremix of bits and bobs that could class as gifts too. Amongst a multitude of other things, more notably I spotted toys, gifts, cards, party plates, pick 'n' mix, wrapping, make-up and more. The shop is literally crammed with things, so much so that I almost walked straight into a display as I entered the shop whilst trying to manoeuvre out of the way of a mother and pram! The man who was serving people seemed to be very nice, certainly he was trying to do his best to find what the customer wanted, but as I looked a little deeper I realised a bit of a flaw. You can only do the best with what you've got, and although Pink Banana has lots and lots, the quality isn't consistent throughout. For example, they sell some jewellery items much cheaper than in the other gift shops in Chapel A, but the items aren't particularly great - tat in a word. Which kind of makes them a little expensive for what they are, even if you take into account the fact that they are for kids. All in all, the shop is filled with shiny plastic wonders, but scratch the surface and the paint might come off. Their board said "Everything you need for a party!" which is true - but only if the party is for the kids!