3yo wanting £175 Barbie dream house

[Sunshineandclouds11]

DD has seen advert a few times for Barrie dream house and keeps saying she’s going to ask Santa for it. 🙈 I don’t want to get it on the basis I think it’s too expensive (would spend that kind of money on something like a good quality bike) for a load of plastic and also don’t really want it cluttering up my house as it’s quite big.

Anyone with older DC have any clever tips for handling this? I was thinking about saying it’s too big to fit in his sleigh 🤣

@Friendfoe1 I've a 2 year old daughter so just waiting this one out for a year or so before rehoming 😂

It's honestly massive as well.

Another one saying for a second hand one? I bought my DD one when she was 5, and it was taller than she was! She’s now 9 and still plays with it very regularly. She enjoys lovely soothing play with it on her own, but it’s also always very popular when friends come over to play. And it’s robust - no part of it has broken yet.

The snooty ones would be appalled by me though, I didn’t even buy it for birthday or Christmas- just to break up the tedium of the first Covid lockdown!

Buy a secondhand one, we got a massive playmobil space set for DS from Santa one year. We wrapped up all the parts separately and put them in his stocking so he had loads to open.

I was desperate for a Sindy house as a child. My parents refused to spend that much, so my Dad made me one. I bought furniture for it with my pocket money from Blue Peter Bring and Buy sales - anyone remember those?! played with it for years and years.

If I was you I’d get a second hand one - a three year old won’t notice the difference.

But in answer to your question, my kids were always told you write a long list of stuff you want and Santa chooses from the list. You don’t get everything.

Definitely only have stockings from Santa! It’s too big to fit in the stocking. Santa just brings a stocking full of surprises here, my 7yo knows that writing to Santa is just a bit of fun and gives mummies/ daddies/ grandparents ideas for under the tree gifts. She knows in her heart that Santa did not bring her friends whatever under the tree, it isn’t Santa’s style. 😃
This also stops your child later wondering why an earth Santa bought the naughtiest boys in class X, Y AND Z and they only got X . Last year a friends child wondered exactly this! Was she really worse/ less favoured than some of these kids who got so much…. Fortunately my daughter let them in on that Santa just brings the stockings of surprises, and naughty boys mum is just mucking around.

There’s one in Argos that’s huge with a slide and it’s 80-99

Ah get her it.

Imagine her wee face when she sees it. Core memory material right there.

I remember my Sindy house aged 4. It's one of my favourite and earliest memories.

Life is too short to worry about the size of a barbie dreamhouse.

We got our Dads second hand on marketplace, it was like new and a fraction of the price. Whilst it’s unsightly it’s the most played toy in our house.

How about this OP? I had a Barbie Malibu Beach house as a child and LOVED it!

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7694354?rec=PDP%5B8256595%5D:bottomSlider:P1:OHAT:alternatives:7694354:Wif4979iPtrcWKCb3GDm

Same here.

Father Christmas did little gifts in a pillow case at the foot of the bed then big presents under the tree were from family.

It was meant to stop the awful comparisons in school when father Christmas got one child got an ipad and another got much cheaper stuff.

Had the same request when my daughter was 4. I decided to buy it - on the basis it was the only thing she had asked for. She’s 8 now and still loves it so I did get my moneys worth. It would depend for me if it was one of several things she likes equally as much vs having her heart set on only this - provided you can afford it.

Im getting the (cheaper/smaller) malibu house for dd. I shall play with it when she's in bed.😁

Last year my 2 DD's then aged 3 and 4 wanted the barbie campervan. Was too expensive so bought a cheap imitation. They were non the wiser, thinking it was the barbie one anyway and we're thrilled with it.

Costco have put a giant dolls house on sale for £89 reduced from £170.

I had a quick google of this and I’m shook at the size and price of it - £175 reduced from £350 whaaaat. Smyths are selling a smaller ‘Malibu house’ for just under £60 - could that be a goer?

I played with my barbie dolls house for many years, it was probably the last toy I gave up once I got too old. If you can afford it or find a 2nd hand one I would go for it.

My child wanted it too
So we got this instead
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8256595
It's wooden. Massive still. Got a slide and lift still. And some things that make noises.
Think it's a really good alternative

When I was a kid I asked for Star Wars. My mum said no, girls didn’t have Star Wars. It was all I wanted that Christmas and I ended up with other bits that she deemed more suitable, none of which were what I actually wanted.
That was a long time ago (in a galaxy far far away). I grew up, bought my own Star Wars stuff and now have a room dedicated to it. Only because I’m bigger so is it - it’s all life size.

when my kids asked for things I didn’t necessarily agree with if I could afford them I got them. I remember how it feels to not get that thing you really wished for.

My sister bought the barbie dolls house for her dd back in 1980, she and her sister both played with it for years, then it was passed to younger cousins, now, 30 odd years later the original DDs own daughter has it. It was a great buy and my sister had the same objections as you have today about buying it.

In our house Santa only brings stocking presents and all others are from family/friends. My boys had 2nd hand products right up until they were around 15/16, no way was I paying full price for the latest Xbox/other gaming stuff when it was 'out of date' so quickly. Now they buy their own but they still look for 2nd hand or bargains before shelling out for new.

We say it can't fit in his sleigh!
If all the children asked for big presents there wouldn't be enough space etc etc x

@Sunshineandclouds11 my dd started asking for one at that age and like you we thought it was such a lot of money. We bought her a large wooden one from smyths suitable for barbie size dolls at half the price. She played with it nearly daily but continued to ask for a barbie dream house. Eventually at 5 we caved and got her one for christmas. She’s 8 now and still plays with it. It is actually really amazing she has the day to night one and it’s up in her room now she’s older. I honestly think we will get another few years out of this, wish we had just went for it the first time. Luckily the wooden one didn’t go to waste as my friend adopted a little girl and we passed it on to her. She’s getting a dreamhouse this Christmas after playing with my dds!

It’s within budget, just buy it, she’ll love it!

Expensive is one thing, obscenely overpriced is another.

Weird post. How on earth does yours know that a Nintendo switch exists?
It's not better to only know about the switch instead of a PS5 🤔

We've always said Santa only brings small gifts because he has to transport a gift for every child in the world.

Wright or wrong, age 3 is the perfect age to lead her to something else. I’ve found with my DD (now aged 8) she’s fairly easy guide in a direction or towards a specific product.
I’ve always also told DD that certain suggestions are too big or too expensive to ask for, I’ve also only ever let her write 2-3 items on her list too.