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Christmas

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

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Original poster

Dolls House recommendations?

20 replies

imwithspud · 08/10/2015 16:19

Looking to get DD1 a dolls house for Christmas, she will be 3. Been eyeing up the Asda one for £35 as it looks quite nice. Was wondering if anyone had this and what they thought of it, is it hard wearing? Or are there any other fairly reasonably priced dolls houses out there which people would recommend?

OP posts:

HeadDreamer · 08/10/2015 16:26

I was going to get the asda one too, with the furniture. I think it's £48 for the lot. Hopefully it's good.

GerrardWinstanley · 08/10/2015 16:32

We bought the Asda one 4 years ago and it's still going strong

Original poster

imwithspud · 08/10/2015 16:40

Thanks, yes we are thinking about getting the furniture set as well. It's great value and seems to have good reviews. I'm definitely tempted.

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BuckyLastard · 08/10/2015 16:44

Is dd into barbie sized dolls?. Smyths do a nice house.

£99 well spent dd got hers a few years back and loves it still.

Original poster

imwithspud · 08/10/2015 16:48

Not really, well not yet anyway. But I will take a look at that one, looks very snazzy!

Just been looking at all the George Home Wooden Toys, I love them all, and so reasonable too. Think we might be getting a few things for her from that range this year.

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RiverTam · 08/10/2015 16:54

We got the Asda one but it's been crap. It's very deep and no side windows so very dark. DD has barely played with it. I would get one that is not so deep with high ceilings and is overall quite tall.

Duckdeamon · 08/10/2015 17:08

We have an early learning centre one, was quite often on offer. it's wooden and pink, has been good. A few years on DD plays with it with the polly pocket sized Disney princesses and sylvanians and playmobile characters more often than with the wood stuff.

Duckdeamon · 08/10/2015 17:09

V rarely played with by DC under 5 IME. And not played with if at ground level, too hard for DC to bend neck down! ours is on a cheap IKEA hollow box thing.

MrsMarigold · 08/10/2015 17:09

What about Sylvanian Families houses, my DD also three loves hers and loves the cats/rabbits etc.

PeppaPigStinks · 08/10/2015 17:18

We got the asda one. It's lovely! But we put it on an ikea coffee table and dh put some pound shop fairy lights in there because it is dark like another poster said. For £35 quid you can't really go wrong

WoahBodyforrrrm · 08/10/2015 18:02

I got my twin girls cherry tree hall by le toy van as a shared birthday gift. We went for this one as it was the biggest therefore most practical when it comes to playing with it together. le toy can do other sizes and it's also worth a look for bundles on eBay!

frankblackswife · 08/10/2015 18:14

I would recommend the Pintoy Malborough Dolls House if you can get hold of one- they are gorgeous but sure how easy they are to find.

attheendoftheday · 08/10/2015 22:00

I've just got the Cherry Tree Hall one from Le Toy Van for my dds to share for xmas too. It is lovely , but large. They're quite pricey new so I've spent a while watching on eBay for a second hand one. I've got a load of playmobil furniture as I find my dds use that better than wooden furniture.

shadesofwinter · 08/10/2015 23:11

DD (now 4) has this one. She plays with it a lot. And I got to wallpaper and carpet all the rooms

Mynameismary123 · 08/10/2015 23:27

My DD has the asda one with the furniture set. I found it be good quality for the price and she loves it.

Original poster

imwithspud · 10/10/2015 11:02

Rivertam I went into my local Asda the other day and they had one on display which had side windows. Maybe they've changed the design of it recently?

I think this is the one we want, I'm going to wallpaper and carpet the inside myself, so excited

OP posts:

RiverTam · 10/10/2015 14:24

That would make a big difference. We bought ours about 3 years ago.

Lovelydiscusfish · 10/10/2015 20:59

I got dd a vintage one when she was almost 3 from a second hand shop for about £20. It was originally a home made one - it's got some charm. You sometimes see them even cheaper on eBay, collection only. I did it up a bit,cleaning it, putting in new windows, carpets etc, so did spend a bit on that. And buying all the dolls, furniture etc hasn't been cheap, but it's fun to collect and add to. Guess it's a bit of a hobby for me, as well as something she plays with a lot.
I do wish I'd gone for a bigger one now, and we'll probably upgrade at some point. So I'd say, whatever type of dolls' house you go for, but the biggest you can afford and have room for - more play value and versatility that way.

Original poster

imwithspud · 10/10/2015 23:05

Thanks for the tips Lovely. The Asda one is a good size, I think anyway. Been looking up how to carpet and wallpaper the inside, didn't realise doll house decorating was a 'thing' there's loads of tips online! Can't wait to get it and give it that personal touch, I'm kinda hoping it will stand the test of time and can be handed down to any future grandchildren we may have

I googled the old style asda dolls house and it's definitely changed! I can see why the old model would have been dark inside.

OP posts:

Postchildrenpregranny · 11/11/2015 17:45

Friend made DD1's dolls house .Was played with a lot .Would go for big ,but having said that ours is too big to go through the loft hatch so currently in the garage.We had a lot of fun decorating and furnishing it ..Needs a refurb(DDis 29)-it's on my ToDo list . there used to be a fabulous show at the NEC every year called Miniatura (very easy to spend a fortune)

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