Hamleys, the largest and most enchanting toy shop in the World, has joined forces with one of the World’s most magical toy makers, Tomy, to unveil a unique set of Christmas windows to dazzle and delight people of every age. Shrouded in secrecy that even Santa’s elves would be proud of - Tomy has spent months developing four unique Christmas scenes to celebrate its landmark 80th birthday.

Each window depicts a different stage in its remarkable history and features some of the oldest and most valuable toys, usually kept in the vaults at Tomy HQ in Japan. In honour of this important celebration, Mr Tomiyama, President of Tomy has made a special trip from Tokyo to visit Regent Street.

He says, “Tomy is confident that our toys contribute to the sound development of children though play and we are here to inspire the dreams and wishes of children throughout the world.” It is a year of anniversaries, as Tomy celebrates 80 years of making the World’s favourite toys so Regent Street celebrates 50 years of its famous Christmas lights, making this unveiling a very special night to remember!

The windows remain on display until 4 January 2005. During the Christmas period over 800,000 people are expected to come to see the awe-inspiring lights and windows along Regent Street, one of the most famous streets in London.

Window One - The year is 1924 and this vintage Regent Street scene features a range of original tin toys including the hugely popular B-29 airplane and the cute Bubble Blowing Elephant. For many decades, the unveiling of the Regent Street lights and the Hamleys windows reflect a special magic at the heart of Christmas time. This magic sits at the core of every kids Christmas experience and makes it one of the busiest worldwide shopping destinations for children of all ages.

Window Two - At the hub of a 1950s home, the anticipation mounts as mum prepares the Christmas meal - the focus of family festivities. At her feet, her child discovers the delights of his favourite present. Toys of this era reflect a growing interest in the future and all things electronic including Talking Miko-chan, Melody Poppo and Acrobat Robot. Parail, one of the most enduringly popular train track toys, runs around in the background.

Window Three - Techno fever grips Toyland! It’s now the decades of the 80s and 90s! The advent of exciting new advances in technology has created a whole new generation of must-have toys. Adults battle kids to the shelves for the latest robo-craze! In this scene, Tomy robots hit the dance floor to have a great Christmas party. Leading the moves is Omnibot – first and most popular robot along with Zoids, Chatbot, 2 XL and Robodoc.

Window Four - Happy Christmas 2004! The setting is behind the scenes at the busy Tomy toy factory being run by one of this year’s best toys - Mighty Movers. They are moving and shipping all the toys to Hamleys in time for Christmas. The window features some of the current best sellers including Choo Choo Loop, Thomas the Tank Engine Big Race Story Set, Telly Tummy Teletubbies, AquaDraw, Megasketcher and sackfulls of Tomy magic!

Hamleys, Regent Street, London W1, telephone: +44 (0)870 234 2266 for customer enquiries.