Toy for independent play, 6 year old

[ItsNotReallyChaos]

I'd like to get DD an appealing toy to play with that is pretty much ready to go out of the box (or absolute max 30 minutes set up) and that she can play with on her own while I'm cooking Christmas dinner.

Last year I spent ages doing a very fiddly Playmobil set up just to get the set ready to play with. I couldn't believe just how many tiny pieces needed putting together (I'm sure there weren't so many tiny bits in the 80s!).

DD doesn't have loads of toys so it would be lovely to get her something that looks exciting but that she can mostly do on her own.

Any ideas?

She likes pretty much everything as far as I can tell, the only exception being that she told me she thinks Barbies are scary!

Sylvanian Families? The sets we have had been 5 minutes set up time max. This year my DD5 is getting the ballet theatre, reviews say it's quick to set up.

I find Playmobil really annoying for that reason.

Lego obviously needs to be built - but that's the point of it. A small Lego set would keep her quiet for a while.

Thanks. I have bookmarked the Sylvanian families treehouse this morning. I never had Sylvanians myself as a child so I'm not sure what they're like in the flesh.

Neither have I but it's something I've always coveted. It's so expensive! But I like the quality and I get to live vicariously through my DD.

Do keep in mind you have to purchase the figurines separate. When DD first got the treehouse I made the mistake of not buying enough 'child'-size figurines so none of the figurines could use the swing!

You can get adults, children, babies and tiny babies. We have the maple cat family (father, mother and two children), a mother rabbit with a squirrel and a rabbit baby, a mole baby and I've purchased the tuxedo cat family for this Christmas.

Thanks @Needmorelego

We are fans of Lego in this house and DD definitely favours construction/logic toys so it's an option.

I just feel a bit like I've channeled DD into Lego and train tracks etc. so a fresh idea might be good for her.

Thanks @CuteOrangeElephant
Useful to know as I would have assumed each set would include a figure or two!

That's how they get you 😛.

If you want the ballet theatre it's now on sale on sylvanianfamilies.co.uk . That's really annoying because I paid full price for DD's.

We have sylvanians and both my kids love them. We started with the red roof cottage, then bought the bigger set it attaches to (red roof mansion maybe?) once we knew DD1 loved playing with it.
If it’s still available the school is a good set to start with as it comes with quite a few bits and a couple of figures.

Though, moving away from small-world stuff, would she be interested in something like a Spirograph? I did it with DD (5 and a half) the first time, but she’s been able to use it without me once she knew what to do.
Perhaps a marble run set?

I’ve got my DD a lite-brite this year, but not opened it yet so no idea on the set-up time.

Are Sylvanian families just for girls? Or aimed at just them?

@CuriousMama I'm sure boys would enjoy Sylvanian Families too.

@SBAM The litebrite is pretty much immediate. I bought it for a friend's DD and it was up and running without any hassle.

Does she like art & craft? Something like this Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad or Washimals might be good? For small world play, Polly Pocket is a big hit with my 6yo.

I’ve heard good things about that crayola light box thing

lego dots has a kit with a few things to make like key rings which shouldn’t need too much help

vtech camera?

@ItsNotReallyChaos oh good, that’s a relief!

Washimals is a good suggestion, we have a set with a little bath and as long as there’s a towel down it’s pretty self contained.

What about magnetic tiles if she likes constructing things? Absolutely no set up! Connetix are great but rather expensive