Are you looking for the perfect gift for a little girl in your life? Does she love playing with dolls and role-playing? Then, a dollhouse is the perfect item to give her.
A dollhouse can provide young girls (or boys) with hours of fun, imaginative play. They can help spark a child's imagination and help them develop their creativity as they act out different life events with their dolls. Below we have reviewed the five best products so you can find the dollhouse that is perfect for the child in your life.
Top 5: Dollhouses Review
Product Image & Rating (Out Of 10) | Product Name | Price |
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The Melissa & Dog Modern Wooden Multi-Level Dollhouse is an attractive house painted off-white with pink and purple accents. With a simple interior, this dollhouse has three levels and five different rooms where your child can have fun playing with their dolls. Additionally, this product is 28 inches high, so it provides a lot of play space for your child.
This is a high-quality product that is constructed with care. While the exterior of the house is hand-painted, the interior is left unfinished so that your child to use their own creativity to imagine (or design) what the inside of the home should look like.
When you purchase this product, you will also receive 19 pieces of hand-painted wood furniture your child can use to furnish the rooms. Some of the furniture pieces include a couch, chairs, beds and a bathroom vanity. These pieces will provide your child with props to add to their imaginary play with their dolls.
Some basic assembly is required to put this item together, but clear directions are included. Your child can reconfigure some of the aspects of the house, such as moving the staircases around to create a different feel. The exterior doors of the home open to allow the dolls to 'walk' in or out.
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As the name suggest, the KidKraft Majestic Mansion is a large dollhouse that will provide lots of play space for your child. This house is nearly 54 inches tall, so it may even be taller than your young child. There are eight different rooms, an elegant staircase, and even an elevator for your child to enjoy.
The interior of this item is bright and colorful and will engage and excite your child. Most importantly, the walls are filled with bright colors, such as bright pinks, greens, yellows, and purples, which make the house feel warm and welcoming.
In addition to the open front of the house, there are also large windows on the sides so your child can look in and see their dolls from more than one vantage point. As well, your child can push the elevator which can move between the home's second and third floor.
With the 34 pieces of furniture and accessories that come with this product, your kid can work on their interior decorating skills while they arrange the home. A kitchen sink, dining room table, piano, bed, vanity and lamps are a few of the pieces that are included.
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The Fisher-Price Loving Family Dollhouse is a smaller plastic house and a great dollhouse for smaller spaces. The front of the house is decorated with a cream color with pink and purple trim. The backside is open to reveal six large rooms so your child can play with their favorite dolls.
A mom, dad, and baby doll are included when you purchase this item, along with a couch and baby seat. The house plays fun sounds, like a doorbell chime that will make playtime more fun for your child. When your child is not playing with this dollhouse, the sides fold in so it can be stored easily.
Fisher-Priced added lots of small touches to this home that are designed to make it more appealing to young children. There is a balcony on the fourth floor where your child's dolls can 'look' out over the front yard and a patio for dining off of the kitchen. A swing set for the baby flips out from one of the sides too.
More accessories and furniture pieces are available for this product, but you will have to purchase them separately.
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The KidKraft Girl's Uptown Dollhouse is a large, decked-out, modern home. This item is 61 inches tall, which makes it taller than most other options. This product is made from wood and is designed to be sturdy so your child can enjoy playing with it for years to come.
This item offers a lot of play space for your child to enjoy. To start, there are five large rooms in this house, an upper-level deck, and a pool, so your child will have lots of fun choices for their dolls to play. There is also a moving elevator that will move between the home's three floors.
In addition, the interior walls are primarily painted with different shades of pink. There are also bonus details painted on the walls, such as a fireplace, bathroom vanity, and kitchen stove.
When you purchase this product, 35 accessory and furniture pieces are also included. These offer lots of imaginative fun for your child. Lastly, a couch, electric keyboard, desk, and patio set are among the pieces of furniture that you'll receive.
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If you are looking for a smaller, more portable option, then you should consider the Melissa & Doug Fold & Go Dollhouse. This home is made of wood using high-quality craftsmanship. The house is unfinished, so your child can use their imagination or their artistic skills to finish it.
Additionally, this house closes so it is easier to store or move around the house. There is also a convenient handle for carrying on the top of the house. Inside the home are four rooms where your child can play with their dolls. The front door and the garage can be opened for additional fun as well.
Additionally, there are 11 pieces of furniture that are included with this item, so your child can set up the home for their dolls and no additional purchase is required. There are even two small dolls that come with the house. A unique feature of this doll home is that the dolls have legs that can bend, so they'll be able to sit on the chairs.
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Buying Guide
In the section above we reviewed five of the top dollhouse options for your children to play with. As you were reading the reviews, you might have noticed that there are some different options for you to consider when you are buying this new toy for your child.
One feature you'll want to think about before you make your purchase is the size of the home. Some of the houses above are quite large. If you are thinking about one of these options, you'll want to make sure that you have adequate space in your home.
Another thing to consider is whether you want a house that is easily portable or folds up for storage. A few of the homes above cannot be made smaller to store and would not be easy to bring with you.
You should of course consider the overall appearance of the home and be sure to pick something that your child will be drawn to play with. Look at the different colors used in the home, its size and the style of the house itself when you are thinking about your purchase.
Unless you're well-stocked with dollhouse furniture, you may want to look for an option that includes enough furniture to outfit the home. Otherwise, you'll need to purchase enough furniture separately so your child can fully enjoy playing with the house.
best dollhouse
If you read our reviews above, you'll see that there are a lot of great options when you are looking for a dollhouse for your child. All of the products reviewed would make an excellent choice, but our favorite is KidKraft Majestic Mansion Dollhouse.
This product is a classy looking home that offers lots of play space for your child to enjoy imaginary play with their dolls. There are eight good-sized rooms in this large home where your child's imagination can come to life. Since it comes with 34 pieces of furniture and accessories, you will not need to buy any additional furniture items for this home.
The KidKraft Majestic Mansion Dollhouse is bright, cheerful and welcoming. Each room features a different color-scheme as well as unique decorations that make the house look like a real living space. And finally, this product has the added bonus of an exciting garage door that opens and an elevator that moves.
Five Reasons to Get Your Little One a Doll House
Dollhouses are magic. These tiny little replica worlds allow your child to escape into a world of imagination and wonder as they build a home for their tiny citizens. Dollhouses can provide hours and even years of fun, so getting your little one a dollhouse is a great investment. There are many good reasons to get your little one a dollhouse and provide them with hours of fantasy play.
1. They Promote Imagination and Creativity
Nothing holds a child's attention more than something that he can create and immerse himself in. A dollhouse is more than just a toy, it is a whole world that your little one has created. Her toys have lives that are centered around their home. They sleep, they eat, raise babies and play with pets. Doll houses encourage fantasy play, which is excellent for brain development. They are also great at holding their attention for long stretches of time---a skill that comes in handy when they are attempting to learn a new topic.
Then there are the decision-making skills that come along with playing in the doll house. Which doll gets the largest room? Where will this doll sit? What furniture goes where? Younger children are learning to make concrete associations between the physical "real world" and their imagination. Doll houses also encourage problem-solving. What happens when the dog can't fit into the room with all of the dolls? Do we move all of the people to the yard to play with the dog? Do we rearrange everyone so that the dog can fit? Your little one will start to think about the best way to solve problems when using their new doll house.
Children can also learn conflict resolution through pretend play, and a doll house is an excellent tool for this form of emotional intelligence learning. What happens when one doll family member wants to sit in the living room but another family member is already occupying the space? How do we decide who gets to use that room? What happens when one doll family member is sleeping and the other wants to get up and dance? These are just a few of the mini-problems that doll house families often face. Your child will be right there to figure out the best way to ensure that life is fair and enjoyable for every member of the doll family.
2. They Provide Fun for the Whole Family
Young children often have problems with sharing, and a doll house can help to alleviate that. Children love recruiting other people to help them act out their dolls' lives, with parents taking turns voicing different characters or manipulating them in the house. Doll houses foster a spirit of cooperation, turn taking and collaboration. You may find your little one asking probing questions in order to create the most ideal world for the doll. Questions like, "where do we place the stove?" or "Who sits in the living room?" encourage collaboration, feedback and group participation.
Doll houses can be an excellent way for families to spend quality time together for hours. Both boys and girls enjoy playing with doll houses, so they are guaranteed entertainment for most children. Doll houses can also entertain younger children, teens and adults, so it is an excellent toy for family bonding.
Kids naturally want to talk about their play, and a doll house provides the best possible avenue for that. Young children will often mimic words and phrases from the adults around them, which helps them to develop the language skills they need for early learning. They ask questions, develop their own conversations between their dolls and create elaborate scenarios that help them to build and expand their vocabulary.
Finally, a doll house can make for an excellent hands-on project for everyone to enjoy. You can purchase a doll house kit and spend hours putting it together as a family. You can customize the house any way you want, painting it and putting your own finishing touches on it until you have created the perfect toy for your little one.
3. They Encourage Nurturing and Self-Expression
Your little ones will one day be grownups with families of their own, and doll houses are a great way for them to learn how to eventually manage and nurture their own family. They create roles for their dolls that mimic the roles they see in the "real world," or assign their own roles. "Dad" cooks while "Mom" washes the dog. The kids nap while the parents tend to the yard. There are all sorts of families and children can create a virtual family of their own through pretend play in their doll houses.
Doll houses are also helpful in allowing children to work out psychological issues that they may be facing. Children who are adjusting to blended families, a new baby, a new pet or the loss of a family member often find doll houses comforting. The child may have the dolls act out scenarios that they themselves are grappling with. The dolls may express sadness when the oldest child goes off to college, or joy at the introduction of a new pet or younger sibling.
The dolls may express their anxiety about their parents' upcoming anniversary trip but also look forward to a visit from Grandma for the week. You can use your child's play with the doll house to start discussions about topics that may be bothering them. Perhaps your little one is not ready to tell you that he's nervous about going to kindergarten but his dolls can certainly act out his feelings. Doll houses have often been used as therapy for kids, which makes them awesome toys.
4. They're Customizable
For the real doll house hobbyist, there is no shortage of options when it comes to outfitting your fantasy home. You can mix and match furniture, add in accessories and put your own flair on the house. Some doll houses come with a set of stickers that you can use to decorate and re-decorate to your tastes.
Your little one will love selecting and replacing the furniture, buying accessories and adding in the people. You can add in lights, sounds and moving parts to make the house as realistic as possible. The doll house can grow with your child, starting with a basic house and adding on as the child grows. Over the years you can add in more accessories, people and even buy the family a car to park out front.
Wooden doll houses also allow you to customize the interior and exterior paint, making them an excellent expression of your child's individuality and style. There are even some high-end doll houses that feature working lights, sounds and elevators that you can install to even further customize your doll's home.
As your child grows, they can pass the doll house along to younger siblings for them to enjoy. When they tire of playing with the doll house, it can serve as decoration for their room. Doll houses are timeless toys, remaining popular despite toy trends and fads that come and go.
5. They Teach Organizational Skills
One of the unintended consequences of buying your little one a doll house is that they become more organized. Keeping the doll house neat and tidy is a skill that carries over into "real life," and you will find that they become more conscientious about picking up their belongings and keeping their space neat. They also teach younger children about classification, grouping and counting. The doll house is both a fun and entertainment toy and a learning aid for your child.
Even the most forgetful child will learn to keep up with his doll house furniture and accessories. She will learn to keep her doll's home clean, store the furnishings and ensure that the doll house is neat and tidy at all times. Because the doll house is an expression of the child's creativity, they are more likely to take care of it and maintain it.
Children learn by imitating the adults around them, and they apply these skills to their doll house play. They see how their parents and siblings organize the home and they test out these skills in their own doll house. They can't use the stove in the big kitchen, but they can certainly operate it in their own doll house kitchen. In the doll house, they can do all of the things that they want to learn in the grownup world.
When it comes to the ultimate timeless toy for your child, you can't go wrong with a doll house. These interactive and immersive toys are great for kids and adults of all ages, and they can provide years of enjoyment for your little one. By teaching fine motor skills, enhancing the use of language and acting as an emotional outlet, doll houses are also great at helping children to learn about the world around them. If you want the best toy that your child will love, there are few that match the joy of a doll house.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Best Dollhouse to Buy?
The answer to this question will depend on a lot of different factors. You'll want to think about the age of the child the house is for, their likes and interests, your budget, and the space available in your home for the dollhouse.
Do Barbie Dolls Fit in Kidkraft Houses?
Yes, Barbies should fit in most KidKraft houses. Most KidKraft products are designed to hold dolls that are up to 12 inches tall, which is enough to fit a Barbie doll.
How Do You Know What Scale a Dollhouse Is?
Some may include information about what scale they are set to. But, if they don't, you can get a general idea by performing some quick calculations.
First, measure the distance between the floor and the ceiling on the first floor of the home. If it falls somewhere between eight and ten inches, then the house is a 1-inch scale house. If the height is between four and five inches, then it would be a ½-inch scale house.
Do Dollhouses Include Furniture?
It will depend on the particular product you're looking at. Some will not come with any furniture, some will only include a few pieces, and some options will include enough pieces to furnish the whole house.