The Big Yellow Teapot was based on two founding principles: little girls love dolls houses, and they also love playing with tea sets. This must-have iconic toy of the 80s combined both these loves so was always going to be a hit when it was released by the now-defunct Bluebird Toys in 1981.
The name said it all, really. The Big Yellow Teapot was a large, plastic, yellow teapot that opened up to reveal a play house inside. It came with little plastic, peg-like (a bit like primitive Playmobil people) family figures and various pieces of furniture. You could have hours of fun playing with Mum, Dad, two little girls, a boy and a dog, positioning them between the four little chairs, a table, a bed, a bedside cabinet and printed cardboard walls to make the place seem more homely. There was even something that resembled a dog's bed! The hidden roundabout under the teapot's lid was a brilliant addition, as was the slide spout our figures could whizz down. The only thing that wasn't in this Big Yellow Teapot was tea - much to the disappointment of those girls hoping to serve some invisible tea to their Barbies.
It wasn't too long before a rival to the teapot was on the scene - Palitoy's Family Treehouse, which worked along the same design principle but looked a little more advanced and attracted an older, more sophisticated crowd of kids. There was also a house for Smurfs that was shaped like a toadstool, a Big Yellow Shoe (well, girls love shoes just as much as tea sets), Mr chimney and Big Red Fun Bus.
The great thing about the teapot, was its bold design - the yellow and red duplo-esque design still scream out 'childhood memory' to many 80s kids, rather like it does that other household staple - the A La Carte Kitchen, which was released by Bluebird Toys only a year later than the teapot. Really, the only thing letting it down was the name - couldn't Bluebird have come up with a better one? After all, it's not even that big...
Do You Remember Big Yellow Teapot?
Do You Remember Big Yellow Teapot?
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Anonymous
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i always woted a big yellow teapot they had one at the docters so i'd always cry when i had to leave the docters
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Anonymous
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I loved this tea pot and played with it all the time, until my brother lift it sitting near the fire and it melted.
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Anonymous
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The big yellow tea pot was just what it says! A huge tea pot thast was yellow and opened up for you to put the little people inside. Its funny now that my own little girls play with so many other new versions of this when i9 loved it so much
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