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Christmas

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Original poster

Dolls' house dilemma - Sylvanian Families or not?

18 replies

Tallulahoola · 30/11/2015 09:03

Advice please! DD is about to turn 3 and we'd like to get her a dolls' house for Christmas. She loves playing with her little Happyland people and has said she'd like somewhere for them to go to bed - at the moment she makes beds and sofas for them out of Lego or whatever random stuff she finds lying around.

Can't decide between the £35 Asda wooden dolls' house that gets rave reviews (and is quite tasteful to look at, albeit very pink) or the Sylvanian Families Beechwood Hall. The SF house seems to have more going on, with balconies and stuff, whereas the Asda one looks a bit plain inside, and the main plus point is that it has working lights which I think she'll love. But she's never shown any interest in SF adverts on the TV, and is it a bit old for her because the furniture and bits are so fiddly? Can anyone recommend one or the other? Need to decide soon before both sell out and she ends up with a cardboard box with windows cut in it...

OP posts:

DiscoDiva70 · 30/11/2015 09:09

I'd go for the sylvanians as you can keep adding to it, such as cars, caravan etc.
Also, you can eventually sell it as it's very popular.

Artandco · 30/11/2015 09:11

I would get the wooden dolls house but add sylanvian furniture and figures

Thebookswereherfriends · 30/11/2015 09:11

Lidls this week have a lovely wooden dolls house that is 2 floors, for less than £20. It's not pink either!

Misty9 · 30/11/2015 09:14

I saw a really cool melissa and Doug doll's house on amazon - it had a lift and everything! Looked similar to the hape all seasons house we've got.

Original poster

Tallulahoola · 30/11/2015 09:16

Forgot to say my hope for the SF house would be that she gets into them in a year or so and we can add the figures and furniture and whatever. But maybe she'll never get into them and I'm just projecting the fact I find them really cute?!

OP posts:

Chapsie · 30/11/2015 09:23

Personally I think 3 is too young for sylvanian and you'll be disappointed. It is very small and detailed and delicate and lots of bits.

DD got a wooden princess castle at 3 and loved it.

http://www.thetoycentre.co.uk/melissa-and-doug-folding-princess-castle.html?gclid=COik4rDot8kCFQoXwwod_foCuw
Used a variety of characters to play in it and had some wooden furniture. She got sylvanian house and furniture etc (big gift set from smyths toys) at age 7 and even now various bits have got lost, broken off the house.

I would wait for sylvanian until older than 3

DiscoDiva70 · 30/11/2015 09:23

Well yes get which one you would like to play with think is the best one

SanityClause · 30/11/2015 09:30

My DC played with their sylvanians in a wooden dolls house that they were given before the sylvanians.

I do think it's lovely when children mix and match their toys, like your DD is doing by putting her people to bed in Lego beds, etc. We can limit their creativity by implying that a sylvanians house is just for sylvanians, iyswim?

So, if you like the asda house, go for it. No reason why a sylvanians caravan can't park up next to it in a few years time.

PitBlackwell · 30/11/2015 09:59

My DD is 10 and only just really appreciating the details and tiny bits of the Sylvanian Families. This is her real passion now - all the miniature bits. We have had 2 Asda houses for the DDs and the associated furniture and they have been played with constantly since the age of 4-5. Great value. She now plays with the SF stuff in there too, because she wants the small, tiny details and the scale is pretty much correct. I'd go for the Asda doll house. You can always add SF bits later.

SweetAdeline · 30/11/2015 10:03

Another option is the playmobil take along house. Even if you take away all the fiddly little bits it still has lots of furniture and a few people. Dd got it for her third birthday and has played with it a lot. She's now nearly four and still not bothered about the few sylvanian animals she has.

RuthieBabeee · 30/11/2015 10:11

I saw a Sylvanian families style house in B&M stores yesterday, it looked great and I had to look to see if it was Sylvanian branded or not because I couldn't believe it was only £20. It wasn't Sylvanian branded but it was a damn good copy!!

Pengweng · 30/11/2015 13:23

My three year old DTs inherited a few SF bits and bobs from my niece (who played with it until she was 10ish) and they play with the doctors surgery and caravan but mostly with their happy land figures or the dolls from their wooden dolls house. They do have the SF dolls house too but it is a bit small and they can't quite play with it yet. I would probably get the wooden dolls house and some SF figures if you like them.

cantgonofurther · 30/11/2015 14:08

I think 3 is too young for sylvaian.it is very fiddly with lots of little bits. I think it is more for 5year old. I would get a nice wooden house for a 3year old.

oobedobe · 30/11/2015 19:24

My 3.5 yo is getting the sylvanian cozy cottage, cat family and a small living room set. I am not sure if she will get really into Sylvanian's but I figured this was a good starting point.

It is not too big/expensive and it is a fairly simple dollhouse type playset for a three year old.

If she loves them you can wow her with the bigger dollhouse when she is 5 or 6 :)

TheStorySoFar · 02/12/2015 22:21

My 8 & 10 yo daughters LOVE all things Sylvanian & my 3yo is very keen to be involved now too. I got her a (bargain) Log Cabin last year & recently she's been enjoying it. So she's getting her first family from Santa this year. There are certain houses which are v fiddly & require lots of dexterity. However, smaller things can be temporarily removed & the set still enjoyed.

wigglesrock · 02/12/2015 23:19

We got the Sylvanian Beechwood Hall for my daughters 4th birthday last year. She loves it, it gets a lot of play - her my little ponies and magiclip dolls live in it most of the time. She isn't as fussed with getting furniture or any other accessories for it - she likes having the space inside for playing with her toys. My older two daughters didn't have any Sylvanian toys and I've been impressed with the strength of Beechwood Hall. My dds aren't blessed with a light touch . She also had the Sylvanian campervan - it's also been absolutely brilliant.

My older two did have the Asda dolls house (about 5/6 years ago now), it was the one where the roof lifted up - it didn't get played with as much as I thought it would. It seemed to be quite awkward and heavy to play with. It didn't seem to grab them as much as I thought it would.

mygrandchildrenrock · 03/12/2015 10:21

All I ever wanted when I was young, was a doll's house with real lights inside. I never got one! We have a lot of sylvanian houses, toys, caravans etc. and they are goreous but 3 seems a bit young for them.
I would get the house with lights and save sylvanians for when she's a bit older.

Crunchycookie · 04/12/2015 14:36

She is a bit young for the sylvanians house so might not be as excited as she might be in a couple of years.

My DD loved her wooden dolls house at that age and when she grew out of it now loves all her sylvanians she is 8

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