Picture a playroom filled with gorgeous wooden toys. One looks like rippling ocean waves; another is a miniature shelf filled with coastal creatures; another is a replica rockpool complete with shellfish and seaweed.
But it’s not just the seaside theme that links these treasures - it's that they all come without instructions. There is no set way to play with these toys. They’re designed so that the child (or adult) playing decides for themselves.
That’s the special thing about open-ended play and open-ended toys. There is no right way, no wrong way and no end point. Stack them, narrate them, mix them up… it’s entirely up to the player. Here’s what open-ended play looks like this summer, set by set.
Stacking Coral Reef - Stack, Sort and Balance
This suitcase-sized stacker has limitless possibilities! Challenge kids (and adults) of any age to balance the sea creatures in the Stacking Coral Reef, building fine motor skills, logical thinking and hand-eye coordination along the way. Or use the creatures themselves as characters in undersea stories - that’s dreamy holiday-themed imaginary play with no rules attached.
Become an Ocean Expert
Like so many Tender Leaf toys, the fishes, plants and other sea creatures in this set are true to life. With a little help from you, your nature enthusiast can learn their real names. Can you spot the clown fish, hermit crab and barnacles?
Balance, Wobble, Crash - Then Try Again!
Pick up a shrimp, then slot it into place. Next, a crab - where will it fit? Add a spiky anemone, a slinky eel then… Oops! The whole thing comes tumbling down! Whether your little one reacts with surprise, giggles or frustration, they are learning something valuable: mistakes are fine and the fun comes when you try again.
Sandy’s Beach Hut - A Shoreline Chippy Run By Gulls
Who runs the world? Gulls! Sandy’s Beach Hut is a whimsical little playset, perfect for winding down after a busy day at the beach. With no set scene to follow - just a family of seagulls, a stall full of beach snacks, and 20 loose accessories - Sandy's Beach Hut leaves the seaside story entirely up to whoever's playing.
Inside: a striped fish and chip shop beach hut, fabric deckchair, ice cream tub and spoon, three fish in a dish, shop sign, a bucket of chips, a sandcastle, two seaweed plants, a piece of rock and a newspaper boat, along with two plywood bases that can be used to build a scene. Most importantly, there’s Gully the daddy seagull (complete with knitted bobble hat and removable wooden rubber ring), mummy Sandy and Chips the chick.
A Trip To A Seaside Café
“One large chips with salt and vinegar, wrapped please!” As Sandy busily cooks and wraps a crispy snack, Chips plays in the waves, hoping Gully will share a few hot chips. There’s no right way to play - and even the names are optional. The seagulls’ adventures can follow whatever your child is interested in on any given day.
Sorting, Sorted
Can your child spot any patterns among the 20 accessories? Try sorting by type (food, animals, beach items), colour and size.
Who is Sandy’s Beach Hut Toy For?
It’s hard to imagine who wouldn't want to play with this one. It’s a lovely holiday gift for any child who loves the seaside and the tiny, Borrowers-esque trinkets will appeal to anyone who loves a bit of whimsy.
Coastal Creatures Shelf Set - One Toy, So Many Ways
Ten hand-painted wooden sea creatures, based on real animals, presented on their own display shelf - ready to tidy away, display, then empty out again tomorrow. Simple figures like those included in the Coastal Creatures Shelf Set are a backbone of open-ended play, and an easy one to throw in a bag for a summer holiday.
One Animal, A Dozen Jobs
Give a child a wooden animal and they will find a dozen things to do with it. Perhaps it’ll form the base of a tower, visit the toy farmyard or ride in a bike basket. It can be a puppet in a show, traced round on paper or buried in a sandpit. Times this by the ten figures in this set and there’s no time to get bored - however long the holidays feel!
Sneaky Stacker
Don’t be deceived that these toys are designed to sit neatly in their display shelf - they tower and balance in all sorts of ways, too.
An Ideal Open-Ended Gift?
Because each animal is also sold individually, this set works well as a gift that grows: the shelf as a starting point, with a new creature added for a birthday or a good report card. It also suits parents who like a calmer, more Montessori-style playroom - the shelf gives every animal a visible "home," so tidying up is part of the play rather than a battle at the end of it.
Kitty’s Milkshake Van - Role Play, Any Way
A van that opens on both sides and a family of three kittens give a child every reason to run their own seaside milkshake stand - but no script for how the day should go.
Playing Shop
Simple role play is a favourite for many children - taking orders, ‘making’ milkshakes and chatting to customers is a breeze in Kitty’s Milkshake Van.
Fit It Together
The small (but not too small) pieces in this set can slot together so pleasingly. Slide the doughnuts onto the rack and the ice creams into their stand… Or pile everything wherever it fits and see how many bits you can cram into the van. Anything goes!
My Little Rock Pool - A Shoreline Playset for Nature Explorers
This beautiful wooden rock pool set is the ideal open-ended set for imaginative play. The layered base has different levels and hidey-holes, just like a real rock pool. It includes four fish, 10 pebbles, five pieces of coral and 14 sea creatures that can all be packed away into a sweet storage bag.
The Story of a Crab Who Lives Under A Rock
Slot the pieces into place to build a 3D ocean world, then let the underwater tales unfold! A crab hides among the rippling coral, then spots a fish darting into a hidden crevice. But what’s lurking among the shadows? The curious crab scuttles in to find out, and that’s just the start of the adventure…
Open-ended sets like My Little Rock Pool are ideal for storytellers and dreamers. And when you bring in toys from other sets - a mermaid, a seagull or even a farm animal - that’s when the magic really happens!
Order, Order
If your child loves to sort and order, this playset is bound to grab them. Stack a pebble tower, then send it crashing down. Count creatures, order fish, coral, shells and rocks by size or group everything by colour. For some children, this kind of play never grows old.
From Tiny Tiddlers to Storytelling Swimmers
The pieces in My Little Rock Pool can be grasped by tiny fists, stacked by more careful hands and become an ocean-themed theatre for wonderfully watery adventures by older children. Relive special holiday beach adventures long after the sandy toes have been scrubbed clean.
Six sets, six completely different kinds of play - and not one of them tells a child what to do with it. If you're curious about why that lack of instruction leads to richer, longer play, we go into that in more depth here: Why Open-Ended Toys Lead to Better Play. Or start from the beginning with our full guide: What Is Open-Ended Play? Why It Matters for Child Development