Don’t be afraid of the dark! It’s always fun to prowl the floor at Toy Fair and see people with great ideas turning them into toys with a purpose and sometimes it’s indeed true that great minds think alike. I got to see a pair of excellent dream-related items at the show worth closer examination and thanks to the two happy ladies with fine tales to tell proudly showing off their products, I’m here to give you the rundown so you can go spend some money in the near future.

Einar, The Monster Eater comes to you from Wendy Lasater of Dandy Innovations. Wendy’s a housewife with a young daughter who tends to (as many kids do) have nightmares and used to come rushing into her parents’ room to sleep with them for comfort. While many parents find this behavior acceptable, Wendy wanted to set her daughter free of whatever monsters under, in and around her room were plaguing her. Enter Einar, and a new plush hero was born….

One look at this critter shows he’s a tough guy with a soft side even adults would want to hug. He’s got battle scars from fighting off and beating all those dream beasties, a look that says “I’ll protect you, No matter what!” and his green complexion makes him perfect for girls or boys. The Monster Eater Kit ($34.99, available NOW) gets you your own Einar, a wonderful book (“The Monster Eater’s Battle Under the Bed” 23 pages, illustrated by Nick and Sheri Gillett ) and a Monster Repellent Spray Bottle (which you can fill with plain water OR nothing if you’re a clever parent and say Monster Repellent is invisible and ONLY can be seen/felt by monsters).

There’s also a nifty “Be Brave” T-Shirt you can buy (I’d say after some improvement in your kid’s sleeping on a more normal pattern this would make a great reward). Now, for some parents, the very concept of more alone time is an anathema or something to sneak thanks to a relative taking the kid(s) for the weekend or some other period of time. On the other hand, having Einar in the house means everyone gets to sleep peacefully and/or get some parental unit alone time with a minimum of fuss. Lasater’s great enthusiasm and passion for her creation on the final day of the show was pretty amazing (many other exhibitors were wilting after four days of constant talking and demonstrating) and both she and Einar deserve mass market success.

As for that other dream-related product? I’ll keep you in suspense for a tiny bit – stay tuned…