What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 1pm Tuesday 10am - 4pm Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm

Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre

Home
United Kingdom
London
Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre

We run play sessions, led by experienced play workers, with plenty of toys and books, and activities such as messy play, music makers and physical fun.

All our sessions include a healthy snack, singing and story-telling time.

12/09/2026

🎬✨ FREE CINEMA UNDER THE STARS – THE WILD ROBOT✨🎬

📅 Saturday 19th September 2026
📍 Langthorne Park, Leytonstone
🎟️ FREE ENTRY

Join us for a magical evening of cinema under the stars!

Bring your family and friends and enjoy The Wild Robot in the beautiful surroundings of Langthorne Park.

Bring along your deck chairs, blankets and cushions, get cosy and enjoy an evening of outdoor cinema! 🌙🍿

Drinks and snacks will be available to purchase, or you're very welcome to bring your own picnic.

Please dress appropriately for the weather – this is an outdoor event and will go ahead unless conditions are deemed unsafe.

🕡 Gates open: 6.30pm
🎥 Film starts: 7.30pm

About The Wild Robot

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island’s animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

⭐ Rating: U
⏱️ Runtime: 1hr 42mins
🎞️ Genres: Adventure, Animation & Family

🎟️ Tickets are FREE, but please book your places:
https://ticketlab.app/events/e17toylibrary #/

🌳 Bring a picnic, wrap up warm and join us for a wonderful evening of FREE family cinema in Langthorne Park!🎬✨

11/09/2026

If you become our supporter on , you'll raise free funds for Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre simply by shopping online. And if you join by Sunday, you can help Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre WIN a £250 donation prize in easyfundraising's giveaway! Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre will get a FREE entry each time a new supporter signs up! It only takes a moment and it's completely free, so please get involved if you haven't already - this would really boost our fundraising: https://join.easyfundraising.org.uk/walthamstowtlpc/3XZ98Q/s2s/E7OVWoL0/PMC01/facebook/

10/09/2026

🎃👻 DONATE YOUR HALLOWEEN COSTUMES – AND HELP US KEEP HALLOWEEN GREEN! ♻️🧙‍♀️

We’re getting ready for Halloween at the Toy Library and this year our message is simple:

BORROW, DON’T BUY! 🎃♻️

We’re collecting pre-loved Halloween costumes for children aged 0–10 years so that local families can borrow a costume rather than buying something new for just one night.

And there’s a scary side to Halloween that has nothing to do with ghosts… 👻

🎃 An estimated 7 million Halloween costumes are thrown away in the UK every year.

🧛 Research found that 4 in 10 costumes are worn just once before being thrown away.

🕷️ A 2019 study by the , supported by , found that 83% of the material in Halloween costumes surveyed was plastic – with polyester making up the largest share.

🧙‍♀️ The study estimated that Halloween costumes create around 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste – equivalent in weight to around 83 million plastic bottles!

There has to be a better way.

If you have Halloween costumes your children have grown out of, please donate them to the Toy Library. Costumes can then be enjoyed by another child, and another, and another. 💚

And when Halloween comes around, come and borrow a costume from us instead of buying new.

It saves families money, reduces waste and keeps perfectly good costumes in use for longer – exactly what a Toy Library is all about. 🌍♻️

Toys – and Halloween costumes – that don’t cost the Earth. 🌎

📍 Donations welcome at Walthamstow and Leytonstone Toy Libraries
👶🧒 Costumes wanted for ages 0–10 years

28/08/2026

Happy Friday everyone! 👋💛

We’ve been a bit quiet on here for the past few weeks. Not because we don’t care or because we haven’t got anything to tell you – we do, and we have!

We’re a small team and lots of us have been taking some well-earned annual leave over the summer, so sometimes something has got to give. Busy parents… you know where we’re coming from, right?! 😅

And actually, we’ve realised something important: YOU are our best marketing tool! 📣

A MASSIVE thank you to everyone who has told a friend, neighbour, parent at the school gates or someone at the park about the Toy Library. Whether you’ve recommended our toy loaning, play sessions, Sensory Room, Adventure Playground, Community Cupboard, Little Free Library or any of the other things we do – thank you. ❤️

Word of mouth makes such a difference to a small charity like ours, so please keep spreading the word!

Now for a couple of important announcements…

🌞 BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND

We’ll be closed for the Bank Holiday weekend, which means no Adventure Playground this weekend and no play sessions on Monday. Sorry!

It’s always a tough call. We know not everyone goes away, and not every family has easy access to affordable or accessible things to do with the kids. BUT… we also believe it’s really important that our wonderful team gets a proper break and some time with their own families too. 💛

🎬 OPEN AIR CINEMA IS BACK!

We’re celebrating the end of the summer holidays in true style with and our annual Open Air Cinema in Langthorne Park!

🍿 Friday 4 September – Mousehunt
🤖 Saturday 19 September – The Wild Robot

Both films are FREE and suitable for the whole family. Book tickets through

The films will start at around 7.45pm, once it’s dark, and run for approximately 90 minutes.

Bring something to sit on, get cosy and enjoy a film under the stars. ✨🎥

We hope to see lots of you there – and thank you, as always, for supporting your local Toy Library. 💛

21/08/2026

It’s not too late to get your tickets for in Langthorne Park tonight! 🎭✨

The performance starts at 7.30pm and the Pavilion café will be open beforehand for drinks and treats.

And look we've even got… Bottom cup cakes! 🫏🧁

Come early, grab something from the café, find your spot in the park and settle in for a brilliant evening of Shakespeare under the summer sky.

Here's the booking link https://ticketlab.app/events/e17toylibrary #/

See you tonight! 🌿🎭

08/08/2026

☀️ Summer Closure – Leytonstone Toy Library☀️

Our Leytonstone Toy Library will be closed from Monday 10th to Friday 14th August while our fabulous team takes a well-deserved summer break. 💚

The good news is...

🌳 Walthamstow Toy Library & Play Centre will remain OPEN!

Come and enjoy:
🧸 Toy borrowing
🎨 Play sessions
🌿 Our fantastic Adventure Playground
👋 A warm welcome from the team

Thank you for your understanding and for supporting our small charity. We hope our Leytonstone families can join us in Walthamstow during the week, and we'll look forward to welcoming everyone back to Leytonstone after the break.

Have a wonderful summer! ☀️

06/08/2026

🛍️ Back-to-school shopping? Booking a last-minute holiday? Don't forget to support us for FREE! 💚

If you're buying new school uniform, nursery essentials, stationery, shoes, or even booking a family getaway, please remember to use every time you shop online.

Over 8,000 retailers will donate to Walthamstow Toy Library & Play Centre at no extra cost to you. That means your everyday shopping can help us continue supporting local children and families.

Your free donations help us provide:
🧸 Toy loans
🎨 Play sessions and messy play
🍎 Healthy snacks
🌳 Adventure Playground activities
💙 Support for low-income families

If you haven't signed up yet, it's quick, easy and completely FREE.

👉 Sign up today and start raising free donations every time you shop:
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/walthamstowtlpc/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pmc&utm_content=fb-2

Thank you for helping us provide toys that don't cost the Earth and opportunities for local children to play, learn and thrive. 💙

05/08/2026

🍓🍌 Cook with us every Thursday in Leytonstone!👩‍🍳

A few weeks ago our little chefs made a delicious fresh fruit salad! 🍓🫐🍌

Cooking is so much more than making tasty food. Children develop:
🔪 Fine motor skills
🍎 Confidence to try new foods
🧮 Early maths skills through measuring and counting
🗣️ Language and communication
🤝 Turn-taking and teamwork

There's nothing quite like the pride on a child's face when they've prepared something themselves!

📍 Leytonstone Toy Library
🗓️ Every Thursday
🕙 10.00am – 11.30am

Come along and enjoy a relaxed morning of cooking, play and fun. We'd love to welcome you!

04/08/2026

✏️🎨 Mark Making Matters!🎨✏️

Before your little one is ready to hold a pencil and learn to write, they first need to build the strength, coordination and control in their hands and fingers.

That's where mark making comes in!

Mark making isn't just drawing on paper. It's about exploring different ways to make marks using a variety of tools and materials, helping children develop the fine motor skills they'll need for writing later on.

At the Toy Library you'll find lots of opportunities to have a go, including:
🖌️ Painting with brushes
🌈 Drawing with chunky crayons
🖍️ Colouring with chalks
✏️ Making marks with pencils and felt tips
💧 Painting with water outdoors
🚜 Making tracks through sand
🥄 Drawing patterns in flour or cornflour
🌿 Using sticks to draw in mud or soil
🚗 Rolling toy cars through paint to create patterns
🧽 Printing with sponges, vegetables and natural materials
🖐️ Finger painting
🌀 Creating patterns in play dough with tools and everyday objects

The best part? There isn't a right or wrong way to do it. It's all about exploring, experimenting and having fun.

The next time you visit, see how many different mark-making opportunities you can spot around our play spaces. You might even discover a new idea to try at home!

💚 Play today. Learn for tomorrow.

02/08/2026

🌞What are your PLAY plans this week?🧸🌳

We're open all week across our Walthamstow and Leytonstone Toy Libraries, with plenty of opportunities to play, meet friends and borrow toys that don't cost the Earth.

📍 Walthamstow Toy Library & Play Centre

🌳 Monday–Saturday: 10.00–11.30am (includes the Adventure Playground)
🧸 Monday: 1.30–3.00pm
🌳 Tuesday: 2.30–4.00pm (includes the Adventure Playground)
👶👶 Friday: 2.30–4.00pm – Multiples & Mates for twins, triplets and more

📍 Leytonstone Toy Library & Play Centre

🧸 Monday–Friday: 10.00–11.30am
🧸 Tuesday & Thursday: 1.00–2.30pm

✨ Borrow toys
✨ Meet other local families
✨ Get new play ideas
✨ Enjoy affordable family fun

Older siblings are always welcome during the school holidays!💚

We'd love to see you this week!

Address

William Morris Hall, 6-8 Somers Road
London
E176RX

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 1pm
Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+442089053401

Website

https://linktr.ee/walthamstowtoylibrary

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre:

Want your organisation to be the top-listed Government Service in London?