Calling All Thomas the Tank Engine Collectors!

Thomas the Tank Engine is a cheeky little engine! He always has a lesson to share and his motto is that he is a "Really Useful Engine". I can't think of a better way to introduce collectibles to children than with Thomas! Not only will Thomas and his friends teach children great lessons but also will begin a collection they can continue throughout their life as a train enthusiast. The selection is endless when it comes to Thomas the Tank Engine; from trains of all shapes and sizes, clothing, books, videos, bedroom décor, and accessories galore!

It's never too early to start a young child's collection of Thomas! My oldest son started his infatuation with Thomas at the age of two! Actually he must have been a bit younger because his second birthday was Thomas themed. He is now five years old and still favors Thomas over most every other toy. His younger brothers have fallen just as hard for Thomas and our home is a haven of Thomas paraphernalia.

Here are some of the "Must Haves" for the True Collector of Thomas the Tank Engine. Books and videos are a necessity to introduce Thomas' story as well as Thomas' friends to your future Thomas connoisseur. I suggest investing in a couple of each to get started. Hopefully you're budding train enthusiast will already know Thomas from watching him on television (PBS is where we see Thomas and Friends).

Obviously Thomas trains are also a "must have". The problem will be deciding which ones to get. There are wooden trains and die cast Take Along trains. Both are great! It is completely a personal preference which ones you decide to collect. Or you can go all out and have two collections of Thomas and Friends! My family went with the Take Along version because they are less expensive, smaller (for small hands), and easier accessibility (we buy them at Target).

My boys are true Thomas collectors. We purchase Thomas trains that are going to be retired and save them in their packaging. Don't worry, they already have the trains to play with but we figured it would be nice for them to have some of the special retired ones as collectibles to save. We also hunt down the rare hard to find Thomas trains for their collections. We follow the release dates of the newest trains. Not a trip to Target goes by without a quick trip to the toys department to check for any "rare" finds.

I have a confession. I get just as excited as my boys about a new Thomas train. I have been known to scope out hard to get Thomas trains on Ebay. I will wait until the auction is about to close and swoop in, like a seagull vying for his food, and place the highest bid.

As true Thomas the Tank Engine collectors we have just about everything related to Thomas and Friends. My Thomas enthusiasts have clothing, blankets, train banks, puzzles, so many books I can't even keep track of the ones we have and the ones we don't have, and movies.

One of the best things about my boys being Thomas collectors is the lessons they learn from Thomas stories!