Tree House Questions, and Recommendations Please!

[annasmom]

I am not ready to buy, but the recent post about doll houses for boys really piqued my interest in the Battat and Maxim tree houses. Also, I did some searches in the archives and it seems that a few people bought them for their dc for the holidays, so it seems like a good time to get some reviews!

Does anyone have any feedback, recommendations, opinions, etc??

Also, the pictures always have children who appear to be 4-5 playing with the tree houses. Do you think a 3 year old can handle it?? Some of the equipment, namely the pulleys and sky coaster seem like they may be too advanced for a 3 year old. What do you think??

Thank you!!!

For others who are interested, here are some links:

http://www.sensationalbeginnings.com/itemdy00.asp?CATEGORY=&ITN=D+1+802X&T1=D+1+802X&QTY=1&PageNo=1&GEN1=&SKW=tree+house&product.x=23&product.y=62

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-1/qid=1137080364/ref=sr_2_1/602-0428207-9858243?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000BKAOZA

[kelly ann]

DS has the Maxim treehouse and really likes it a lot. We have it in his room to keep the smaller pieces away from the baby. He is doing fine with the pulley...I just had to figure it out first :) I am very happy with the purchase and I think he will get a lot of use out of it in the future. Plus, it looks really cool!

[Raidra]

Colwyn got the Maxim Deluxe Treehouse for Xmas this year, and it's a HUGE hit. He doesn't really play with the pulleys for the most part.. he just ignores them. He does love everything else about it though, especially putting things in the buckets and in the "garage" underneath. If you're concerned about the pulleys for some reason, you can easily remove them completely-they're just screwed into little holes.

I can't wait to get him the Maxim pirate ship next year. :)

[betsydenny]

I was all set to buy the Maxim tree house for my DD almost 3 and DS 1.5 for X'mas when someone kindly posted a picture of it in action with real kids and I realized how HUGE it is. We live in an apartment and it is just too big unless you have a playroom with lots of space IMO.

So I redirected my search and found this treehouse which I bought and they are loving! There are a number of things I like about it starting with it being able to fit in our apartment. It can be taken apart and "re-built" in a different configuration. It comes with all sorts of pulley and such which I actually put away for sometime down the road when they need a change.

I bought ours from atoygarden.com but it is listed on several websites which I linked below. It is more expensive than the Maxim but I love the quality and flexibility of layout.

Hope this helps!
Betsy

http://www.atoygarden.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=591

http://www.magiccabin.com/magiccabin/product.do?section_id=2&bc=1004&pgc=112&sv=333363&cmvalue=MCD|2|DOLL%20%20PLAY%20DEPARTMENTS|333363| COLLECTION|333363|333363-P1

http://www.treeblocks.com/tree_houses.html

[muskiesusan]

Rachel, just an FYI, Maxim sold the Scout ship under the Little Tree brand this past Christmas at Target for $30 or $40. Might be something to look out for next year.

Here's a link to what it looked like:

http://www.sensationalbeginnings.com/itemdy00.asp?GEN9=1&T1=G+2+801X


Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[muskiesusan]

Brio/Plan Toys makes a more simple treehouse that might fit your needs. Sometimes I have seen it at Tuesday Mornings.

http://store.yahoo.com/iqkids1/plantoytreeh.html

ETA: Although I haven't come across it at any of our Targets, I read on another board that they are carrying Treehouses in their B&M stores. You might want to check it out as they often sell Maxim items under the Little Tree brand at a steep discount. They also have Battat items under various names.

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[wendmatt]

DD got the Battat one for Christmas and does like it. She doesn't play with it as much as I would've hoped, but I do think it's something that will grow with her. She enjoys all the little animals and furniture. It is big, but our house we just moved into is pretty big so it's not a prob here.....who know's what'll happen when we have to move in 2 years! It's quite good quality, I think the Maxim one may be a bit better quality, but I like that the Battat one has so many accessories.

[annasmom]

Wendy, I am so glad that you responded! I saw in a pre-holiday post that you were getting this for your dd for Christmas. Target's website doesn't have a description for the tree house, so I have a few questions for you if you don't mind.

Did the tree house come with everything that is pictured on Target's website?

About how big is the tree house? It looks much pretty big on Target's website.

Why did you chose the Battat over the Maxim? And, what makes you think that the Maxim tree house is better quality than the Battat tree house, have you seen it in person??

How are the dolls that come with the tree house? Are they easy to play with??

Thank you so much!

[wendmatt]

Hi Eileen
The tree house comes with everything in the picture. There's lots of furniture, 4 people, farm animals (pigs, chickens, ducks), rabbits, birds, a dog and dog house and cat and little cat basket.
It is big, it must be 4 foot. DD can't reach the top level with the hammocks on yet, but she happily plays lower down and uses the pulley to attach to the dolls clothes and pull them up!
I chose the Battat one as a friend had the battat dollhouse (which is what I originally wanted to get but couldn't find it) and it was really nice quality and had lots of accessories. I saw the Battat one on e-bay for $99+$25 s&h and this seemed like a good deal. I like the fact that the Battat one has all of the accessories and I don't have to spend lots more getting all the bits and pieces.
I have not seen the Maxim one in person but I believe Maxim is really good quality. There's nothing wrong with the battat one though.
The dolls are OK to play with, they don't stand up really easily but most of the time they are put on the bed, on the chairs, on the toilet, on the sunlounger or just in the house, so it isn't an issue yet. They have those little bendy rope legs so can be moved.
DH likes it as it blends in with the room so he's happy to have it in the living room.
I don't know how to attach pics but I will work on it this afternoon and see if I can attach a pic of DD playing with it. I said earlier in the post she didn't play with it so much, but actually just spent an hour playing with it! I'm happy we got it.
HTH, don't hesitate to ask if you have any more q's.

[Elena]

I think I am going to order the Maxim treehouse from Creative Brains just because of their 50% off sale. The price is right...

http://creativebrainsonline.com/50offblsa.html

[chlobo]

I've seen the Little Tree pirate ship on clearance at several targets. Might be worth a look to buy now for later (really cheap)