Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Flip

Original poster

Can't decide between Pirates or Knights!

16 replies

snappybadger · 12/10/2014 14:07

I'm after some advice about what should be the main Christmas present (from FC) for my ds this year...he'll be 3.9 by then.

I can't decide between the Melissa & Doug Folding Castle with Playmobil knights sets and a Papo dragon, or the Playmobil large pirate ship and some other Playmobil pirates bits to complement it.

My original plan was the castle and knights but I'm wondering whether the wooden castle might be a bit easily damaged as ds is not always careful with his toys. He doesn't yet have any Playmobil sets but has enjoyed playing with some at a friends house.

Any advice from parents with dc who have had either/both of these type of toys and what might be the better option for this age?

OP posts:

Badvoc123 · 12/10/2014 14:21

My dc have both :)
Hmmm...I think for a 3 year old I would go for the pirate ship.
The Melissa and doug castle is lovely but my beauty 3 year old niece broke a bit off last week :(

PesoPenguin · 12/10/2014 14:30

Anything other than the Playmobil castle!! Ds has both and plays with them together ( when the damn castle isn't in pieces, which isn't very often )

Original poster

snappybadger · 12/10/2014 14:34

Lol Peso! Yes, I've heard that about the Playmobil castle which is why I was going for the M&D castle instead.

Ah Badvoc that's what I was worrying about with the wooden castle and a sometimes heavy-handed 3 year old.

OP posts:

NorksEnormous · 12/10/2014 19:55

DS is 4 and got a castle last year with schleich and papo dragons. It was a huge hit and he still plays with it. We have a pirate ship too which doesn't get looked at much!

Sleepswithbutterflies · 12/10/2014 20:16

The Imaginext castle may not look as tasteful but is great! Ds had it for his 4th birthday and now he's coming up to 5 and a half and still plays with it every day.

IsItMeOr · 12/10/2014 22:45

I have delayed getting DS the Playmobil pirate ship before now (he's 5.7yo) because the sail is paper, and apparently easily damaged.

At that age we bought him the Playmobil fire engine, and put aside the more fiddly accessories.

erin99 · 12/10/2014 22:56

My DS only got into playmobil at 5+. Even turning 5 he didn't have the fine motor control and found it frustrating. But his fine motor skills are not the best.

Would you consider getting a small set of each for now, and see which set he prefers? Then you can get the big castle or ship for his birthday. This set is knights but would work nicely in play combined with a small pirate set with rowing boat Knight treasure transport

Or the £10-15 carry case sets are a good place to start, and I think they come in knight or pirate versions.

NerfHerder · 12/10/2014 23:01

PLaymobil is pretty sturdy. We have only ever had one piece break- a grappling hook that was accidentally trodden on.

But I agree with IsItMeOr, at that age, my DS was obsessed with Fire and Police Officers, the pirate and castle love came later...

IsItMeOr · 13/10/2014 09:33

Nerf DS can be very determined/strong when attempting to pull things apart...we've had a few breakages of playmobil (and lego) pieces - nothing that has stopped him being able to carry on playing with them though.

Yoruba · 13/10/2014 15:26

Having same dilemma op. Between same versions and everything :o

Think I've settled on pirate ship (as pirate love is big right now) but I just don't know!

Original poster

snappybadger · 13/10/2014 16:01

Thanks everyone! Yoruba glad it's not just me with this dilemma!

I'm not sure I'm much clearer on what to do really, although I did ask ds yesterday what he liked best knights or pirates and pirates won...which to be honest I think I would have guessed as he loves Swashbuckle on cbeebies right now.

However he is vehicle mad and maybe a fire engine or the camper van or rubbish truck or something like that might be a better choice right now as less fiddly bits.

OP posts:

PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 13/10/2014 16:16

My ds got the pirate ship last Christmas when he was 3, however all the millions of pieces soon came off; masts, rigging, failsafe now all missing so it's a glorified rowing boat. Ds doesn't mind so long as the anchor still works.

This year I've got him a playmobil castle, however I purposely bought the 20 year old version that I had as a child from eBay because I can still put it together with my eyes closed. it's in very good condition with all the pieces and some extras, all in the original box.

I looked at the Melissa and Doug one but wooden toys do t last long with ds unfortunately.

PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 13/10/2014 16:16

Failsafe? I meant sails.

PesoPenguin · 13/10/2014 16:19

The campervan is fab!

Original poster

snappybadger · 13/10/2014 16:45

Good idea Pourquoi to go for an older version. I actually already have the M&D wooden castle...bought it over a year ago when it dropped ridiculously low on Amazon (I paid £35 for it and its currently £65!) so he will be getting that at some point, just need to wait a bit longer I guess.

I think I may just hold off on both the castle and the pirate ship for another year or so and go for a vehicle this year. Or maybe the ark as that was the set that caught his eye in the Playmobil catalogue recently.

OP posts:

MegBusset · 13/10/2014 17:28

melissa & doug castle, hands down. It;s very sturdy and DS1 still plays with his several years on.

Playmo figures are fab but the buildings/ships etc fall apart as soon as you look at them, so I would not recommend unless you are very fond of rebuilding things every five minutes!

Flip