Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

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

Original poster

Are Sylvanian Families worth the price?

78 replies

AFewScrewsLucy · 18/09/2023 19:07

DD will be 4 soon, and thinking of some for her birthday. But they're quite expensive. Are they worth the price?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
PickledFox · 19/09/2023 22:59

No, the animals are cute but all the furniture etc breaks very easily.

Lagershandy · 19/09/2023 22:59

The SF reels on Instagram are hilariousl😆

Xmasbaby11 · 19/09/2023 23:04

We love them! The dds have soooo many sets, about 8, and they are adorable and played with more than anything else over the years. More than Lego, more than playmobil.

favourite sets are the nurseries and the cake shop! Also the car and caravan are really nice and the houses.

dd are 9 and 11 and the youngest is growing out of them now but still plays with them a bit. They definitely resell well

Original poster
AFewScrewsLucy · 20/09/2023 07:44

I'm convinced! Will check eBay and marketplace and all that :D

OP posts:
Caro678 · 20/09/2023 12:56

We have one set, and DD does like and play with it, but I was surprised at how cheaply and flimsily made it was. The pieces that clip together come unclipped all the time.

Little people sets are much sturdier, but your DD might be getting to the end of the age range for that. Dd loves Barbie sets, which are much better quality.

mrssunshinexxx · 20/09/2023 12:57

Fb market place or vinted

Original poster
AFewScrewsLucy · 20/09/2023 12:58

Maybe I'll get some older buildings? Might be better made?

OP posts:
fairyfluf · 20/09/2023 12:59

If you can find the bus that's great

fairyfluf · 20/09/2023 13:00

Also do not underestimate the joy of them being able to go into the shop and buy a family of their choosing

Staggersaurus · 20/09/2023 13:01

Yes!! They get more play than even Lego in our house. I got a big bundle 2nd hand from eBay and then family have bought sets for presents over the years.

ButterCrackers · 20/09/2023 13:02

I recommend them but look for second hand. The caravan was worth the price.

bluechameleon · 20/09/2023 13:03

My 5yo has all my old ones, but he doesn't like the clothes so they are all naked now. He plays with them a lot.

ChocolateCroissantCafe · 20/09/2023 13:14

We've never had any come apart (new or vintage). Could be the luck of certain sets combined with careful play as we don't have many with moving parts for example, but just wanted to add our own experience. It sounds like you're already sold on them though! We saw good deals on the houses/starter kit sort of thing in Tesco last year.

Howtohideasausage · 20/09/2023 13:21

Most played with toy in our house. My eldest is 10 and said she wanted to ask Santa for some some. Currently there's a street set up, a ragged school in the treehouse and a holiday camp.

I get bundles of furniture off eBay and houses too, but buy the characters new I'd say.

Original poster
AFewScrewsLucy · 20/09/2023 14:07

fairyfluf · 20/09/2023 12:59

If you can find the bus that's great

The nursery bus?

OP posts:
SkankingWombat · 20/09/2023 14:24

Caro678 · 20/09/2023 12:56

We have one set, and DD does like and play with it, but I was surprised at how cheaply and flimsily made it was. The pieces that clip together come unclipped all the time.

Little people sets are much sturdier, but your DD might be getting to the end of the age range for that. Dd loves Barbie sets, which are much better quality.

That's surprising and my experience has been completely the reverse- my childhood Sylvanians survived 8 years of solid use with me, another 6 with my DCs and are still going strong. Their news sets have been equally robust so far. There are 3rd parties that copy the idea around, which look a bit delicate when I've inspected it in store, but we haven't had any of that in the flesh to compare.
Meanwhile, the Barbie accessories and sets are frequently broken. DD2 has recently broken her easel and gymnastics beam (now both poorly superglued back together!) and I've had to re-sew the seams on a few items of clothing over the summer.

Little People and Happy Land are definitely far more robust, but they are aimed at the toddler & preschool market and lack all the little accessories that get slightly older DCs excited. 3.5yo is definitely top end for those IME .

fairyfluf · 20/09/2023 16:10

SkankingWombat · 20/09/2023 14:24

That's surprising and my experience has been completely the reverse- my childhood Sylvanians survived 8 years of solid use with me, another 6 with my DCs and are still going strong. Their news sets have been equally robust so far. There are 3rd parties that copy the idea around, which look a bit delicate when I've inspected it in store, but we haven't had any of that in the flesh to compare.
Meanwhile, the Barbie accessories and sets are frequently broken. DD2 has recently broken her easel and gymnastics beam (now both poorly superglued back together!) and I've had to re-sew the seams on a few items of clothing over the summer.

Little People and Happy Land are definitely far more robust, but they are aimed at the toddler & preschool market and lack all the little accessories that get slightly older DCs excited. 3.5yo is definitely top end for those IME .

Show quote history

I agree. The sylvanian families last a lot longer in terms of interest

Fizbosshoes · 20/09/2023 17:07

We found Sylvanian stuff to be fairly robust to the point we bought second hand, DD played with for probably 5 or 6 years and then still decent condition to sell on.

Oysterbabe · 20/09/2023 20:23

They're so beautiful. I think worth the money.

LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 20/09/2023 22:15

Absolutely yes. My daughters are 22 and 19 now and have a huge collection of SF. They were their best toys and they have them packed carefully away now for their own children. They are so beautifully made and gave heaps of potential for imaginative play.

Caro678 · 21/09/2023 10:26

Strange… no it’s definitely a genuine Sylvanian families one, from a proper retailer. It is a fairground type thing so it does have a lot of moving parts.

It must just depend on what set you get, the same as the Barbie stuff, as we have a dream house and various buses and things which have gone through 2 children and are holding up very well.

DuploTrain · 21/09/2023 10:28

I used to love them :)

I find that Vinted is much better than EBay these days for kids things.

stickypoint · 07/10/2023 17:18

Thoughts - is 3 too young for these? My DS could do with something more tactile for role play, Lego (duplo) isn’t cutting it for us here and he’s too young to be unsupervised around actual Lego which he loves…..

LaundryWoes · 07/10/2023 19:51

@stickypoint the figures are good for a 3year old, but some of the furniture and accessories is tiny/delicate (so you’d need to be supervising). Last winter Aldi had a wooden dolls house and accessories, we got that for DSs 3rd birthday, and he got sylvanian cats to live in the house (I thought the wooden dolls weren’t as cute). Its all holding up very nicely almost a year later.

GettingStuffed · 07/10/2023 21:21

DD loved hers but we were forever finding clothes and accessories everywhere.

It's now waiting in the storage room for her nieces as she has 3 boys.