Dollhouse for DD, age 3, wooden or plastic (FP)? Help!

[swan01]

Thanks in advance for helping me obsess over this relatively small decision in the grand scheme of life :)

I had narrowed down the options to Ryans Room, Plan Toys, some KidKraft options, etc. but now I am having second thoughts about spending a lot of money on wooden accessories.

The Fisher-Price Twin Time and other Loving Family dollhouse look fun (and are less expensive).

Any opinions? Advice?

THANKS!

[fivi2]

Not one of the ones you mentioned, but the Parents Home Sweet Home is my absolute favorite:
http://www.amazon.com/Parents-PM9412DW-Home-Sweet/dp/B000AVK73O

I think that a big open one is best. Other than that (wooden, plastic) I don't think it matters as much to the kids. When I was little, I used an old changing table and just put different pieces of furniture in it!

The Parents one comes with furniture, but maybe getting separate furniture sets is best, if your dc likes to mix and match the furniture.


But - my girls aren't old enough for a dollhouse yet, so what do I know!

[babyready]

Well, we are giving DD one for her 3rd birthday so she hasn't actually played with it yet but I'll chime in anyway.

We got a great deal on the Plan Toys Terrace dollhouse and put it together the other night. I LOVE it! It looks nice, is wide open and has pieces that you can remove to make it even more open. And it is nice and sturdy. But I got a really fantastic deal.

For furniture, I have been finding great deals. Tuesday Morning has lots of Ryan's Room rooms and I got a few Plan Toys rooms for very cheap. We have given her the RR people and a couple of sets that she plays with already and I really like them. They are nice and sturdy and seem to be good quality, especially for the price.

I was also going to mention that Tuesday Morning has the Ryan's Room Home Sweet Home house right now. It is not as open as the Plan Toys one or some of the other RR ones but it is very pretty and the price is good.

I don't have any experience with the non-wood ones but I have heard great reviews from people here about the Loving Family house. The price is right and the rooms are easy for people to find for gifts and things, which could help cushion your cost.

Good luck!

[new_mommy25]

I guess it depends on what you want. If you want a dollhouse that your daughter will love, play with for a few years and then give away the FP is your best bet. But if you want something that will really last and that could be passed on then I would probably go with wooden. We have this doll house and I like it. The price isn't bad because it comes furnished.
http://www.constplay.com/family/default.htm search for deluxe doll house

[greatcanuk]

ITA that it's the cost of the furniture adding up that makes a wooden dollhouse so much more expensive.

There's a Maxim wooden dollhouse at Etoys that comes furnished. I have a similar one. It's basically a less high quality knock-off of the Plan Toys terrace dollhouse. The Maxim furniture is not as nice as the more basic Plan Toys furniture (painted, not stained; soft wood that dings if thrown; not as finely detailed), but I find that DD doesn't care and plays with them interchangeably--the quality difference bothers me more than her.

http://www.etoys.com/genProduct.html/PID/4729613/ctid/17/INstock/Y/D/

Here is the Plan Toys city home dollhouse that comes furnished. This is where I got the furniture from.

http://www.plantoys.com/products.asp?parentID=14#

Camille

[egoldber]

I have a Plan dollhouse and a FP dollhouse. Honestly, I am not at all impressed with the quality of the Plan house. The sliding doors keep falling off and several pieces of furniture have chipped or split.

The FP dollhouse, OTOH, I bought used, is in perfect shape and is totally sturdy.

[swan01]

I really like the Deluxe House at Constructive Playthings, any idea who makes it? I have tried googling, but the only place I have found it so far is constructive playthings.

Also, any idea how the Maxim and Plan Toys Terrace houses compare in size?

Thanks!

[TraciG]

My DD has the Fisher Price Twin house, th thing I don't like is that the room's are small, if she play's with it, she plays with the furniture on the floor, we could have just bought the furniture instead of the house !

[egoldber]

This is actually really common. I think that a LOT of kids play with the furniture out of the house. This is a big part of why I don't think that the actual house itself really makes much difference and why the dolls themselves and the playability with the accessories is more important.

For a younger kid (2-4) I think this is a fantastic option:

http://www.fisher-price.com/us/lovingfamily/products/product.asp?show=dollhouse&id=34805

[new_mommy25]

I almost positive it's the same one I have. It looks exactly the same only mine has a sun room and a garage as well. It's made by Battat. I scored mine off Craigslist for $50 but I haven't seen it anywhere else on the web besides Constructive Playthings.

Also, I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Battat might make the Parent's doll house someone previously linked.

I don't know how it compares in size to other doll houses. The one we have is about the same height as my 18 month DD.

[fivi2]

Yes, Battat makes the Parents Dollhouse I linked earlier. I have no idea the quality and I have only seen it on the Target website... (I think Battat makes all of the Parents line, but I may be wrong about that)

[greatcanuk]

I don't know if this will help anybody, but the Parents Dollhouse by Battat was at BJ's last year. It was furnished. Maybe it'll be back again this year?

[annasmom]

I am going to get a reputation around here as the resident kill-joy, but I would have to say go plastic, or if you do buy a wooden dollhouse - do not buy a whole lot of furniture to start with.

I bought my dd the RR Home Again, Home Again fully furnished for her 3rd birthday. She has played with it maybe 3 times since then. Just recently I put away most of the furniture because it was just getting destroyed by my ds just making huge piles of it. When my dd sees the plastic, pink dollhouses that her friends have she loves them. She wouldn't even notice if I got rid of ours.

Oh, and one more thing. I really do not think any of the mass-marketed wooden dollhouses (RR, M&D, Plan, Maxim) are heirloom quality. Even though no one has ever really played with our house, a huge slab of wood came off from the garage.

[fivi2]

I have spent the afternoon researching old dollhouse threads (long nap!) and you aren't the only one saying this! (Or else you've been saying it a lot, for a long time :) ) It sounds like the plastic ones like the fisher price first dollhouse or loving family get great reviews, especially for the younger set. And then, when dds are older (like 6 or so), if they are into it, buy one of the specialty ones that you can decorate etc. Of course everyone is different, and some children love thiers, but it seems like a lot of people have had the same experience as you.