The very first Winter Village set is perhaps the most interesting one in the series. The setting consists of a couple mini-builds, each of which is different and quite imaginative. The centerpiece of the set is the tall Christmas tree which has a MOC feeling to it and is lots of fun to see grow layer by layer. The white kitten, the snowman, the presents, the carolers - all add nice details to the set. The toymaker's shop is also very cool in terms of architecture, decor, and toy displays.

The two downsides to this set are the fragility of the toy store's tower (the roof in particular is very lightly attached) and the chimney (not bad, but looks a bit strange with the 1x1 tiles sticking out in all directions). Also, the heavy use of dark brown and black colors make the set look a little too traditional when compared with the more recent Winter Village sets.

The Winter Village Toy Shop is a classic amongst the Winter Village sets that is well worth picking up, if you can find it at a good price. It's no wonder that it started a whole LEGO series that is still going strong.