Creative Play - The Dolls House

You may remember that shortly before Christmas the girls became the proud owners of a beautiful, traditional dolls house that now takes pride of place in the brand new play room.

The dolls house has been used on and off by a series of teddy bears but it was looking a bit bare and lonely in there.  For Christmas, Lara and Holly received a couple of Le Toy Van themed Budkins dolls and fairies who took up residence in the dolls house but it was still lacking character.

In my Christmas break I decided to teach Lara how to use the sewing machine.  We knocked up a few set of curtains for the dolls house and a carpet or two made from old fabric scraps and curtain trimmings and this suddenly brought Lara's imagination to life... she wanted to furnish the entire house.

More recently we were lucky enough to be asked to review some of the wide range of wooden dolls house furniture available from the Big Game Hunters Dolls House website dollshouses.co.uk.  And now the dolls house has really come alive.

The girls were sent a set of furniture for the living room - a Loganberry coloured lounge suite from Sugar Plum.  Lara loved the fact that there was a television and even a surround sound system as it made it feel very much like our home.  Immediately Lara started sitting the dolls down to watch television and was bossing the fairy children about!

We now also have a Sugar Plum dining room suite and a set of wooden Pink Bathroom furniture so the house is really coming along well.

I loved the fact that the Sugar Plum wooden furniture sets had addressed lots of the details.  Lara had great fun deciding where to stick the arty pictures on the dining room and living room walls and spent quite some time arranging cookie jars on the sideboard!

Since we first set up the furniture in the dolls house both Lara and Holly have been in to play each morning.  Holly's Happyland characters seem to have moved into the house.  I love hearing Lara's voice boss her big sister around as they move the dolls throughout the different rooms.  It will never cease to amaze me how creative their imaginations can be when left to their own devices.

You know, a dolls house is so far away from many of the other toys the girls have.  It is simply crafted.  Makes no noise (other than Lara's voice as she chatters on to herself and to Holly) and requires no batteries.  And yet the value we get from it in terms of hours of play is endless.  We love it... and I can well imagine a few more choice pieces of furniture being added to the dolls house over the coming months!

Fairy Tower Dollshouse Review

I had been on the lookout for a REAL dolls house for Lara. We come across a fair few plastic or 'play' dolls houses in our blogging travels but I really wanted something a little more grown up for her, something that would really stretch her imagination and role play skills and keep her interested for a year or more.

Then, as if the dollshouse fairies had been watching me, www.dollshouses.co.uk got in contact and asked if we would like to try out their Fairy Tower dollshouse which is part of their wide range of children's dolls houses.

dollshouses.co.uk sell wooden dolls houses and thats what makes them stand out for me. This Fairy Tower looks and feels like a really good quality item that will last both Lara and Holly many years to come. Building the house was pretty painless and it now feels very strong.

We were also sent a set of three Truth Fairy dolls to live in the house. Lara likes to tuck them into their tiny beds complete with duvet and pillow sets and place them down to sleep in the drawers under the tower! We have already had a lot of use out of this dolls house and I expect there to be hours and hours more entertainment in it.

The Fairy Tower seems to capture the imagination of adults and children who come to visit. Even Lara's grandparents wanted to play! It comes with a table, two flower-shaped chairs and a small set of wooden crockery so that you can host tea parties! One of our teacups was damaged on arrival but we fixed it easily with superglue.

I love the colours on the Fairy Tower - it is painted with pink flowers and water lillies. I also like the fact that there are lots of cubby holes for your child to explore with their dolls - stairwells, arches, tunnels, drawers and towers. The flower on the top of the tower whizzes round.

The Fairy Tower costs just £32.99 and the set of three budkin dolls costs £12.99 which I think is a bargain compared to the big brand high street names. Both are made by wooden toy specialist, Le Toy Van.

dollshouses.co.uk also sell more traditional dolls houses and accessories as well as castles, garages, arks and pirate ships!