Doll Houses

I am considering purchasing the Playmobile Modern House or a Ryan's Room
Dollhouse for my DD(4). Any pros or cons for either of these -to those of
you who have them?

TIA!!!

Melis

I had a look at both of them on line - personally, I'd go for the
wooden one - looks sturdy, classic and full of great play value for
years to come. I find Playmobile stuff a bit annoying and frustrating
since there are too many removable pieces that end up all over the
place (I''m mom of three, and we have a lot of toys in the house - my
experience with playmobile is that because of the little piece factor,
it doesn't get played with as much as the fisher price or other brands
with fewer "bits".

I have a 7 year old daughter - I built her a very inexpensive dollhouse
from a kit a couple of years back and filled it with wooden furniture
from dollar stores and she LOVES it. If you want to see the actual one
I made, go to
http://www.thelittledollhousecompany.com/ and click on dollhouses and
scroll down to "The Fun One" (they used pictures of my dollhouse on
their webpage).

Mary G.

MelisaK wrote:
I am considering purchasing the Playmobile Modern House or a Ryan's Room
Dollhouse for my DD(4). Any pros or cons for either of these -to those of
you who have them?

I think it depends. Playmobil has endless
opportunities for expansion, and I've known several
kids who've played with them for years and years.
My boys (8 and 10) still haul out the Playmobil and
can spend hours playing with it. On the other hand,
there are zillions of tiny, fiddly pieces that you
will find all over your house ;-) On the other hand,
I think it's precisely *because* there are so many
little details that my older kids still really enjoy
playing with it. I think the Ryan's Room (or similar
Plan Toys) houses are more preschooler friendly, but
your daughter is on the older side of that range, and
the Playmobil house might have longer term play value,
especially if your daughter is more detail oriented.
On the other hand, it's not like you can't incorporate
a lot more details into the Ryan's Room house too,
as she gets older. We went with a Plan Toys house
for DD, but she's just 2.5yo, so she's definitely
not ready for Playmobil. They have a similar house
at her preschool, and she really enjoys playing with
that.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"MelisaK" wrote in message
...
I am considering purchasing the Playmobile Modern House or a Ryan's Room
Dollhouse for my DD(4). Any pros or cons for either of these -to those of
you who have them?

We have a Ryan's Room and it has been okay. In hindsight,
I would've bough less accessories/furniture for it, as she hasn't
gotten a load of use out of it. I'd recommend buying a bare-bones
version, and adding on the child really loves it.

Other doll house have more eye-appeal for my child
due to the bright colors, which Ryan's Room lacks. So,
it'll probably get a nice coat of paint this winter.


P. Tierney

wrote in message
ups.com...
I had a look at both of them on line - personally, I'd go for the
wooden one - looks sturdy, classic and full of great play value for
years to come. I find Playmobile stuff a bit annoying and frustrating
since there are too many removable pieces that end up all over the
place (I''m mom of three, and we have a lot of toys in the house - my
experience with playmobile is that because of the little piece factor,
it doesn't get played with as much as the fisher price or other brands
with fewer "bits".

I have a 7 year old daughter - I built her a very inexpensive dollhouse
from a kit a couple of years back and filled it with wooden furniture
from dollar stores and she LOVES it. If you want to see the actual one
I made, go to
http://www.thelittledollhousecompany.com/ and click on dollhouses and
scroll down to "The Fun One" (they used pictures of my dollhouse on
their webpage).

Mary G.


The dollhouse that you built is so adorable! Thanks for the link. I know
that the playmobile pieces are sometimes a pain that's why I am considering
a classic wooden dollhouse - however I am want to make sure that it isn't
something that she will outgrow too soon.

Thanks so much for your feedback!

Melis

"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
...
MelisaK wrote:
I am considering purchasing the Playmobile Modern House or a Ryan's Room
Dollhouse for my DD(4). Any pros or cons for either of these -to those
of you who have them?

I think it depends. Playmobil has endless
opportunities for expansion, and I've known several
kids who've played with them for years and years.
My boys (8 and 10) still haul out the Playmobil and
can spend hours playing with it. On the other hand,
there are zillions of tiny, fiddly pieces that you
will find all over your house ;-) On the other hand,
I think it's precisely *because* there are so many
little details that my older kids still really enjoy
playing with it.

That's what I am thinking too about too - I want this to be something that
she will use and enjoy for more than a year or so. Ryan's Room also has a
lot of new ad-ons, but the specific details that plymobile offers may be
more interesting to her in the long run.

I think the Ryan's Room (or similar
Plan Toys) houses are more preschooler friendly, but
your daughter is on the older side of that range, and
the Playmobil house might have longer term play value,
especially if your daughter is more detail oriented.
On the other hand, it's not like you can't incorporate
a lot more details into the Ryan's Room house too,
as she gets older. We went with a Plan Toys house
for DD, but she's just 2.5yo, so she's definitely
not ready for Playmobil. They have a similar house
at her preschool, and she really enjoys playing with
that.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Thanks for your feedback Ericka! Being a former preschool teacher I know
exactly what you are saying about my DD being on the older side of
preschool. The preschool that she attends now has a classic wooden
dollhouse that she seems to enjoy - but she recently got a smaller
playmobile set for her birthday and she plays with it constantly. She loves
all the little pieces. I think I am leaning toward the playmobile house, I
think it's me who is in love with the idea of a "classic" dollhouse :-)

Melis

"P. Tierney" wrote in message
news:b8Uif.367773$084.170443@attbi_s22...

"MelisaK" wrote in message
...
I am considering purchasing the Playmobile Modern House or a Ryan's Room
Dollhouse for my DD(4). Any pros or cons for either of these -to those of
you who have them?

We have a Ryan's Room and it has been okay. In hindsight,
I would've bough less accessories/furniture for it, as she hasn't
gotten a load of use out of it. I'd recommend buying a bare-bones
version, and adding on the child really loves it.

Other doll house have more eye-appeal for my child
due to the bright colors, which Ryan's Room lacks. So,
it'll probably get a nice coat of paint this winter.


P. Tierney


How old is your DD? My DD definitely notices the details and colors of
playmobile products. I agree that least amount of accessories would be best
in the beginning, sometimes it's it overwhelming how much stuff gets shoved
in those houses! Thanks for your suggestions!
Melis

MelisaK wrote:

That's what I am thinking too about too - I want this to be something that
she will use and enjoy for more than a year or so.**Ryan's*Room*also*has*a
lot of new ad-ons, but the specific details that plymobile offers may be
more interesting to her in the long run.

FWIW, my son was using his pocket money to buy Playmobil people even when
he was 9yo. He might have still been buying it when he was 10.

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

"Penny Gaines" wrote in message
...
MelisaK wrote:

That's what I am thinking too about too - I want this to be something
that
she will use and enjoy for more than a year or so. Ryan's Room also has a
lot of new ad-ons, but the specific details that plymobile offers may be
more interesting to her in the long run.

FWIW, my son was using his pocket money to buy Playmobil people even when
he was 9yo. He might have still been buying it when he was 10.

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

Funny you should mention that - my DS2(7.5) has been playing with the little
Playmobile set that DD got for her birthday. DS1(almost 12) even said that
it was a cool toy :-)

Melis

Another line that you might want to look into is the Fisher Price Sweet
Streets.
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=ssLanding

We have tons of it (including the prior sets now discontinued). Its
relatively inexpensive, and has great play value since it lets a kid
make a whole town (we have a school, various stores, a hotel, several
houses, etc.)

I like the fact you can add more buildings as you go. My daughter is
now almost 8 and she and her friends play with this stuff constantly.

M,