Doll houses

[lynn]

Do I get a dollhouse with the family and all the accessories or do I get something like this http://www.target.com/PLAY-WONDER-KidKraft-Wonder-Dollhouse/dp/B001G5AIJ6/qid=1226951477/ref=br_1_2/187-8195783-3095113?ie=UTF8&node=15397881&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1 I have not been to target to look yet but do I purchase additional furniture (it comes iwht couch, table, chairs, bathtub and bed) and people or is a dollhouse something that I let dd play with her barbies, little pets etc in?

[catalinakel]

We've had several different ones, and the ones with accessories and people are nice because they are the right size. So, if you can afford it, get one with all the stuff. Costco usually has a nice one with all the cool stuff around this time.

[RoughCollie]

DD's first doll houses were Playmobil 1-2-3 and Fisher Price Little People ones. They came with furniture and people and I added a lot more pieces that I found at church rummage sales (plus a FP McDonald's restaurant and school).

 

Her next dollhouse was similar to this one, but was a different style FP fold-up dollhouse. I bought lots of extras for it from rummage sales, eBay and Toys R Us. DD used her plastic dinosaurs in it instead of the people.

 

http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=5851&e=product&prodcat=dollhouse-thumb&pid=44946

 

This is the dollhouse that DD never received -- but I wanted it desperately and bought some kitchen accessories for myself. One can buy an expansion floor for it, and lots of discontinued accessories on eBay.

 

http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Product-Show?pid=5301&cgid=Puppenhaus

 

Playmobil also has a medieval house & a medieval house with barn. We have the one with the barn.

 

http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Search-Show?q=medieval+house&Submit=Go

 

Other doll houses Playmobil has a include a large city house, a hospital, fire station, police station, stores, castles, and cabins. All the Playmobil houses work best if they are super-glued together, or at least that's how ours are.

 

The best doll house I bought for DD, due to its versatility, was this one:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Tikes-My-Size-Doll-House-Barbie-Bratz-Great_W0QQitemZ230303111823QQcmdZViewItem

 

It was discontinued long ago, so I hunted for one in the local Want Ad newspaper, and bought it. Today, I'd look on Craig's List.

 

DD could use it for her Fisher Price Briarberry Bears, her Madeleines and her Barbies, along with the things from her other doll houses. It took up a lot of room, but it was worth it. Usually she had it set up with a different type of doll or bear on each of the 3 floors, or with her dinosaur collection.

 

PlanToys makes a neat wooden dollhouse and you can buy all sorts of dolls, furniture and accessories for it:

 

http://www.plantoysusa.com/catalog_show.php?id=15

 

Kids Surplus has a bunch of doll house accessories and some doll houses (including Playmobil). I used to order toys from them all the time, with never a problem.

 

http://www.kidsurplus.com/search.asp?skw=doll+house&x=0&y=0

 

Hearthsong has a bunch of doll houses and everything to go with them:

 

http://www.hearthsong.com/searchform.asp?viewresult=viewall&search_value=doll%20house

 

These dolls are marvelous:

 

http://www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong/product.do?section_id=0&bc=1005&pgc=1913&sv=111&cmvalue=HS|0

 

I never bought a Mattel doll house made for Barbie because they are not well made. I like doll houses that will last a good, long time.

 

 

Basically, you can buy a house and then buy dolls, furniture, and accessories to go with it -- the brand name of the house and the rest of the stuff doesn't have to match -- you just need to make sure it is all on the same scale (unless you buy a huge house like I did). It is really fun to decorate the doll house(s) for the various holidays.

 

I guess by now you can tell that I love doll houses, and I bought a lot of them. Someday, when the kids move out, I'm going to set them up, buy the ones I want but don't have, and get all the neat accessories that have been discontinued.

 

RC

Edited November 17, 2008 by RoughCollie

[KarenNC]

My daughter (age 8) has a large wooden dollhouse. It has housed playmobil, polly pockets, dollhouse folks, horses, little animals, Disney fairy figures, etc, often all at the same time. It is regular dollhouse scale, though. This one looks Barbie-scaled, so be aware that that is much different than regular dollhouse scale. I would start with what it comes with and let her add as she goes and see if she plays with it with something other than her Barbies and needs smaller furniture.

 

I asked my daughter and she suggested to just start as it is as well.

[Guest sydney]

Here is a good place to look if you want dolls and/or doll houses

[KayT]

We have had the Kidcraft Savannah dollhouse for over 3 years and dd still plays with it almost daily. She uses the furniture that came with it, Barbie furniture, and the furniture from her Fisher-Price My Loving Family dollhouse that she had before this set. She plays with all kinds of dolls and petshop animals in the house.The entire attic if full of her modeling clay people and animal creations and the roof houses her bird collection. Hands down this was the best toy investment we ever made for this dd.

[grace'smom]

We got a bookcase that is shaped like a dollhouse from target. DD plays with her barbies in there and when she gets tired of dolls we'll just put books in it. The barbies can't quite stand all the way up in there, but she has never cared about that. She plays with it for hours every day.

[unity]

I bought one of the lovely wooden ones with all the people and accessories...and I'm on my 5th child now and I'd say none of them has played with it enough to justify the space it takes up. :glare: A good friend of mine IRL had the same experience.

 

Playmobil drives me nuts because the pieces keep falling off if you bang it slightly or whatever. I wish I could undo every Playmobil purchase I've ever made and get those $100s back!

 

I guess what I'm saying is that I'd recommend being sure your child will play with a dollhouse before spending a lot of money. Maybe get a cheap one garage sale one first and see how that works. And anything but Playmobil.

[Dobela]

We bought a small wooden doll house at Tuesday Morning as a closeout. Even though it was designed for more traditional doll house doll sizes my dd has used it as a garage for her cars (older brother influence), Barbies, Strawberry Shortcake, her stuffed animals, Fisher Price Little People, an entertainment center with her small TV propped up inside... Our library has a large dollhouse and she has always liked it which prompted me to buy this one. If she had never been interested in the one at the library I would not have considered buying one.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

My daughter has a very cool doll house that my uncle made for her. It's fabulous. When she got it we marched right down to Zaney Brainey, it's been a while, and got her a set of doll furniture for almost the whole thing and a family complete with parents, children, grandparents, and pets.

 

She never really played with it.

 

Then one day she discovered that old fashioned clothes pins, fabric scraps and felt, embroidery floss, and colored sharpies make the best dolls and clothes. Not only would she then have dolls but she could dress them as she liked to play whatever roll she envisioned for the thing she wanted to play (she has an awsome set of servants!) Soon after that she found a roll of aluminum tape and made a bunch of dishes, vases, et c.

 

honestly, I'd get the doll house and then provide her with a box of cool supplies. Maybe have a little fun making some dolls together to show her how creative she can be and then let her go.