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View Full Version : Playmobil now or later? (5yo)



kaitlyns.mom
11-28-2012, 01:38 AM
DD is turning 5 two days before Christmas. She saw the Playmobil section at a local toy store and got super excited, so it made it to the Christmas list. I am a little worried about all the tiny pieces though. We have a 22-month-old who can't really be trusted to not stick things in his mouth, and they share a bedroom. Should we hold off on tiny things like Playmobil for another year or two? Or just remove the smallest pieces and stick them in a box somewhere for now? I was also thinking she might like the Lego Friends stuff but same deal...

JBaxter
11-28-2012, 01:50 AM
i would give it to her now. If you wait until your 22 month is "old enough" she will be to old to really enjoy them. I never made any of my 4 wait for a toy because of a younger sibling. I wouldn't take the pieces away either. my younger 3 survived legos, playmobil, game pieces, marbles and a host of other small objects.

KpbS
11-28-2012, 08:40 AM
I say now but keep it out of the bedroom and in a bin you can get out when baby is occupied or asleep for the next 6 mo. :).

KDsMommy
11-28-2012, 09:08 AM
I say now but keep it out of the bedroom and in a bin you can get out when baby is occupied or asleep for the next 6 mo. :).

:yeahthat: Playmobil is great fun at this age.

wolverine2
11-28-2012, 09:37 AM
Now. If you wait, she might be too old. You can also just put the tiny pieces you're worried about somewhere else- Playmobil is still great play value without them. Or put them in a safe place and your DD should be old enough to understand to keep them away from a younger sib.

sophiesmom03
11-28-2012, 09:58 AM
Now is great - but my 9 yo DD1 still plays with it (and asked for a couple of add on pieces for Christmas). So I would not worry too much about being too old. Plus, your younger DC will grow into it very soon.

I was thrilled to see they brought back the "gender neutral" castle that has normal, stone and timber colors, and king and queen and knights all living together. (For a while there, they had a black and red "boy" castle with lots of weapons and tough looking people, and then a white and gold "girl" castle with a prince and princess and "wedding" stuff - ugh! Talk about stereotyping! But they seem to have remembered their commitment to "open play" again. LOL.)

By far, our best and most played with sets have been the circus (the Big Top is huge but makes an amazing present under the tree - set it up the night before or you will spend an hour on Christmas morning) with the tight rope walkers (DH and I love these too), and the animal hospital.

If we were to get a big set this year I'd go for the school - it is adorable.

Have fun!!! And welcome to the obsession. Sign up on their site and they have very good coupons.

mom2khj
11-28-2012, 10:02 AM
Now is great - but my 9 yo DD1 still plays with it (and asked for a couple of add on pieces for Christmas). So I would not worry too much about being too old. Plus, your younger DC will grow into it very soon.

I was thrilled to see they brought back the "gender neutral" castle that has normal, stone and timber colors, and king and queen and knights all living together. (For a while there, they had a black and red "boy" castle with lots of weapons and tough looking people, and then a white and gold "girl" castle with a prince and princess and "wedding" stuff - ugh! Talk about stereotyping! But they seem to have remembered their commitment to "open play" again. LOL.)

By far, our best and most played with sets have been the circus (the Big Top is huge but makes an amazing present under the tree - set it up the night before or you will spend an hour on Christmas morning) with the tight rope walkers (DH and I love these too), and the animal hospital.

If we were to get a big set this year I'd go for the school - it is adorable.

Have fun!!! And welcome to the obsession. Sign up on their site and they have very good coupons.

I totally agree. DD1 is 10 and it's the most played with toy she owns. She is asking for the horse farm for Christmas. The school was a huge hit too (DD2 got that for her 6th birthday).

sf333
11-28-2012, 10:04 AM
Now is great - but my 9 yo DD1 still plays with it (and asked for a couple of add on pieces for Christmas). So I would not worry too much about being too old. Plus, your younger DC will grow into it very soon.

I was thrilled to see they brought back the "gender neutral" castle that has normal, stone and timber colors, and king and queen and knights all living together. (For a while there, they had a black and red "boy" castle with lots of weapons and tough looking people, and then a white and gold "girl" castle with a prince and princess and "wedding" stuff - ugh! Talk about stereotyping! But they seem to have remembered their commitment to "open play" again. LOL.)

By far, our best and most played with sets have been the circus (the Big Top is huge but makes an amazing present under the tree - set it up the night before or you will spend an hour on Christmas morning) with the tight rope walkers (DH and I love these too), and the animal hospital.

If we were to get a big set this year I'd go for the school - it is adorable.

Have fun!!! And welcome to the obsession. Sign up on their site and they have very good coupons.

I'm not the OP but I found this post really helpful. Is this the animal hospital you're referring to: http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Product-Show?pid=4343&cgid=Tierklinik

AlbrightRC
11-28-2012, 10:09 AM
My son will be 4 1/2 at christmas. He already has the take along vet set which he loves and the dragon rock set that is scored for $1 at a barnes and noble sale a couple years ago. For christmas he's getting the police car and the recycling truck from santa and from his grandparents he's getting the large zoo, ranger truck with rhino and the zebra add on set. WE dont' have the younger sibling issue but we do have a dog that eats things. We are also getting into legos instead of duplos now so i have to watch him a little more closely when he plays.

sophiesmom03
11-28-2012, 10:26 AM
I'm not the OP but I found this post really helpful. Is this the animal hospital you're referring to: http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Product-Show?pid=4343&cgid=Tierklinik

Yes, that's the set! DD1 has always really loved animals so this was right up her alley. It's nice and sturdy (all of Playmobil is IMO, and if a piece breaks they will replace it) and does not fall apart if you move it. (The Big Top is awesome but BIG so requires longer arms to move it around...)

KDsMommy
11-28-2012, 11:27 AM
DS has the Dragon Rock set and a few Pirate set add-ons. I so wish we had more space so he could have one of the big sets. We also have a curious cat who likes to steal little pieces of things. :p

Seitvonzu
11-28-2012, 11:29 AM
our first playmobil was a small take along doll house i bought before my child was even born (scored for `12.50 after christmas at target years ago)... we have a bunny treehouse, practically all of the christmas stuff (christmas room w/light up tree, christmas market, sleigh ride), 2 advent calendars (soon to be three), and "stereotypes" aside-- we have ALL the wedding stuff (except the extra cake/couple). i actually started the wedding stuff because I wanted to get the church for my little holyroller ;) the church has hosted elvis/mariachi concerts (playmobil mystery figures) , calico critters, etc. it's really fun! the wedding pavillion? i thought our collection of princesses might dance there...but it's pretty cumbersome and BIG.

my child is going to be 5 in december. she's an only and has had her playmobil nativity since she was 2 :) what can i say? she's always loved little pieces-- and she's always been better and putting them together/pulling them apart than me ;) she also got her first advent calendar that year-- the winter santa one. we still love that every year :)

i'm forgetting lots of the random sets we have (school, beach, circus (not tent), etc). playmobil is so fun! we'd have a house full of it if we had room. i'm currently obsessed with the western stuff, DD lusts after the castle everytime we go to wegmans (not getting it, and her grandma just got her the disneyworld castle set, so that dream is over!), and when i was a child (older, mom thought too old) i wanted the dollhouse. i regret not buying all the egypt stuff, even if we have NO room.

sounds unanimous! do it! :)

Seitvonzu
11-28-2012, 11:30 AM
i totally forgot our pirate odds and ends! the skull island take-along is SO fun. really... the CANON! so fun! girls/boys/adults ;) SO FUN!

kaitlyns.mom
11-28-2012, 12:17 PM
OP here. This is so helpful - thank you everyone!!! Now I can't decide which set(s) to get. ;) The animal clinic looks right up her alley, as does the school. The advent calendars look great but that wouldn't be a gift, right? We would need that now? Does anyone know if Costco has any Playmobil this year? I know they have in the past...

edurnemk
11-28-2012, 03:27 PM
I say now but keep it out of the bedroom and in a bin you can get out when baby is occupied or asleep for the next 6 mo. :).

:yeahthat:

But, boy, I HATE the million tiny pieces with a passion! I have a strict rule about no playmobil outside his room, because of DD. DH wanted them to share a room and and use the 3rd one as a playroom but I just couldn't fathom how to keep those things out of DD's reach 100% of the time, so I refused that setup.

maylips
11-29-2012, 03:20 PM
Tell me more about playmobil. Is it for kids with active imaginations? DD definitely has that, but she also has a FP dollhouse that she rarely plays with, nor does she play with her dolls much. Would she be more likely to play with a Playmobil set of something?

sophiesmom03
11-29-2012, 03:51 PM
OP here. This is so helpful - thank you everyone!!! Now I can't decide which set(s) to get. ;) The animal clinic looks right up her alley, as does the school. The advent calendars look great but that wouldn't be a gift, right? We would need that now? Does anyone know if Costco has any Playmobil this year? I know they have in the past...

I think either of those sets would be great. Seriously it is so fun!

The Advent calendars are fun, we did 2, but then we received a different Advent calendar that you fill each year with different things (24 little handknit mittens :love5:) so we don't do Playmobil anymore for that.

Seitvonzu, don't get me wrong, I think the wedding set is fine...I just didn't like the way they were marketing it, like weddings for girls and mean guys for boys - not fair to girls OR boys!

We love our pirates - I found a pirate ship on CL and gave it to DH, he and DD have a great time playing with them! :)

Yes, the pieces are tiny. Ziploc bags or bins with lids (even tupperware/take n toss types) are your friends. Or, just toss everything in one big bin and go to town, lol.

KDsMommy
11-29-2012, 04:00 PM
Count me in among those that hate the million tiny pieces. This is why I'm seriously thinking twice about getting more Playmobil sets, although DS does so love them.

I do believe I saw a couple different sets at Costco, but of course I can't remember which ones they are. Sorry!

crl
11-29-2012, 06:05 PM
I am very much in the minority on this, but I hate Playmobile with a passion. I cannot tolerate all those tiny pieces. I got rid of the only small set we had.

Catherine

edurnemk
11-30-2012, 12:30 PM
I am very much in the minority on this, but I hate Playmobile with a passion. I cannot tolerate all those tiny pieces. I got rid of the only small set we had.

Catherine

You are not alone! I'm still thinking of gifting Moon Sand to the kid if the mom who gave us the first Playmobil set!

I remember loving Playmobil sets as a child, that's the only thing that keeps me from tossing DS's.

Seitvonzu
11-30-2012, 04:46 PM
i have a love/hate with tiny pieces.

here are a few things that fuel of frenzy:

1. i have an ONLY ;) no littles too worry about once she was over sticking things in her mouth ;)

2. we love LITTLE BITTY things. yeah, we have some buildings (the takealong house, takealong school, the wedding pavilion, the church, the bunny treehouse), but little sets take up barely any room and my kiddo is very drawn to them.

3. we already have piece-a-palooza with polly pockets, tiny princesses, calico critters.... and on and on. it's ok, we're all in ;)


my problem is i have a "sets" problem. i HATE HATE HATE loosing any pieces! if i think a piece is missing i have trouble enjoying playtime until we find it :) when a piece of something gets broken (we had one calico critter bed wake once...), i will admit to a little mommy meltdown :(