Doll Houses

[lhafer]

My DD1 was never into doll houses - so never got her one, but my DD2 is. She will be almost 3 at Christmas, and I was thinking about getting her a doll house. I like the Fisher Price Family Loving doll houses because they are bigger, but not huge, and they can fold up and be put away.

What is the difference between the Family Loving Grand doll house (http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Loving-FamilyTM-Dollhouse-Caucasian/dp/B002SNIK4U/ref=pd_sbs_t_1)and the Family Loving Dream doll house (http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Loving-Family-Dollhouse-Caucasian/dp/B0077NCEX4/ref=pd_sbs_t_2)?

I was planning on getting the house with some pieces of furniture. Her birthday is in Feb. and I figured we could get her more pieces then and it not be so overwhelming. If that's a good price on the Grand doll house with the bonus pack, I will get it now, and just hold some of the pieces for her birthday.

Also - I know there is one at Costco that people seem to really like. And I'm interested in that one as well. We don't have barbies though, so would that be an issue?

Other doll houses I'm looking at too:

Kidkraft Chelsea doll cottage (http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-65054-Chelsea-Doll-Cottage/dp/B003ADVR3S/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=68STQ7VXRXJE&coliid=IOQP45UBHOG0C)

Savannah doll house (http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-65023-Savannah-Dollhouse/dp/B001G8J78Q/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=68STQ7VXRXJE&coliid=I32PDVPLPEE1XD)

[wellyes]

I would get a chunky plastic one for a just turned 3 year old. The KidCraft ones are great, but more delicate and intricate. A friend of mind gave one of those to her 6 year old for Christmas last year.

[brittone2]

I generally am not a fan of large plastic toys, but the FP Loving Family dollhouse was a huge hit here from age 3-5 yo or so.

I bought a used set from a mom to mom consignment sale for $30, and it was perfect. I purchased new dolls for it, but I ended up with a ton of furniture and the dollhouse for $30 and it looked like new.

They don't make the one we have any longer...it is the Sweet Sounds LF dollhouse IIRC.

http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Family-Sweet-Sounds-Dollhouse/dp/B000099Z3R

[lhafer]

Well, she had the Little People Sweet Sounds Home, and it never really got played with. She never liked the Little People stuff we had. I have another "chunky" plastic cottage (really it's an entire village) that is Little People-esque (it's Step 2 Main Street village (http://www.amazon.com/Step2-MainStreet-TownSquare-Collection/dp/B000QFCXCC%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2 %26tag%3Dsquid561607-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165 953%26creativeASIN%3DB000QFCXCC) - it's no longer available) and she plays with that more than the Little People stuff.

But when I take her in a particular toy store that has all kinds of toys that are set out to play with (displays that are made to be played with - including doll houses) - she LOVES the regular "traditional" doll houses and spent 30 minutes one day, just moving the furniture around. She stops and stares at regular doll houses whenever she sees them.

She's very gentle and delicate with her stuff, and would be fine with the traditional style of doll house. Also, now that DD1 is 6.5yr old, she's getting into the imaginative play, and she actually plays with the Step 2 MainStreet village collection too. But they like to play together, and there's just not enough space for them to play with it together. So I would like something bigger that they both can play with at the same time.

[brittone2]

DD is getting a traditional wooden dollhouse for her 6th bday this year. She wants to fix it up, make little curtains, etc. We talked about buying one already assembled off of CL, and she was fine with that idea, so that's what we did. It is already wired, so we can do little chandeliers and so forth down the road. I thought it would be a fun ongoing project for us to do together.

[wellyes]

My advice is don't fall for the toy store displays play experience! It doesn't always transfer home. Based on BBB & my own experience, I bet most sales of Calico Critters comes from that.