Pretend Play Reviews

My daughter received this as a gift for her 3rd birthday. She LOVES it. She is fascinated with going inside and outside of her own house and making goodies on the stove. The phone unit keeps her very busy too. It has several different sayings to keep her busy while she is cooking - "It is raining close the windows," "Ruff Ruff, the dog needs to go out," etc. The phone will randomly ring too and she answers it and talks to others.

In response to one of the other reviewers and her 2 year old not enjoying this house, it is my opinion that a 2 year-old may not have the imaginative play/developmental skills yet to enjoy this toy as it is intended to be played with.

I do agree that the stove is not meant to be stood on as the other reviewer has mentioned. The molded plastic pieces that came with our unit were somewhat warped and difficult to assemble for a perfect fit - but my daughter does not seem to care.

I bought this for my daughter she is 2. We had this in the house for 5 months and she played with it very little. I thought if we took it outside she would play in it more.(she doesn't)When she did play in it all she wanted to do was stand on the stove/table top and try to climb on top of the playhouse.The stove/table top is not durable enough for a child to be standing on. It has been outside for 2 months and the door bell has faded. I would not buy this playhouse again. It cost to much money and she has played with Mcdonalds toys longer than this playhouse.

All of the sounds on the phone and doorbell are fun. I like the climb through window (in the back) because it makes it easier for me to get it rather than squeezing through the door. My 3 year old likes the dutch door and the "accessories" on the molded plastic walls. The way the stove top folds over to be a table outside the window makes a perfect drive through!
Easy to put together. VERY durable. It will be around way past my kids! I would highly recommend it.

My just-turned six-year-old opened the package and played with it for four hours! His one-year-old little brother also loves the count down and take off.

You got to give them credit for the level of detail. It is awesome and makes it worth the price. It's just to bad they did not put as much thought into the design. I bought is for my 4 year old. I takes everything I got to take it about and put back together. A screw together rather than snake would have been ideal. The thing goes to pieces everytime we take about the different stages. However, over all a very cool toy that my some loves.

My son is 4 and loves astronauts. He thinks this is a great toy but wants me to play it with him. I think the rocket is a little difficult for a 4 year old to assemble and the concept of the rocket breaking into stages is slighly bewildering. He always wants me to play it with him. (...)

This set should really be for older kids and collectors. I purchased this for my 3 year olds birthday based on other reviews -Big Mistake. I also thought that becuase the accessories were realistic and colorful, it would capture my 3 year old interest better than the wooden sets.
The accessories for the rooms are really small (think of the smallest Barbie accessories-ie perfume bottles) that YOU have to put stickers on. I don't think any 3-4 year old has the dexterity to manipulate them. So I just put most of them away so we don't lose them. Some of them also have stickers on the back for permanent placement, which for a 3 year old is not a plus.
I also found it difficult to fit the furniture sets in the smaller rooms. I still haven't found a room that holds all of the bathroom furniture.
My daughter does like the critters themselves and the nursery/bedroom/living room sets. However she plays with this toy maybe once a month. Better to invest in one of the wooden doll houses ( she always plays with them in the stores).

This house is really great. One of the few doll houses I do own, and I much rather collect miniature figures. Its massive, for one. Trying to find a place to put it was a little awkward (for kids, its easy. It goes on the floor in the middle of the room ^_^) Also, as both the editor & manufactuer mentioned, its highly detailed.

On other notes. This series IS Sylvanian Families. They are put out by EPOCH (the company that still sells sylvanian Families under their real name, oversea's in Japan and UK) Due to legalities (their old distributor, Coleco, went bankrupt & lost its assets in the 80's )they have been re-introduced under the new name of Calico Critters of Cloverleaf Corners in USA and Canada. As a note, they are totally unrelated to maple town. WHile similar, Maple town is a knock-off produced by bandai to snag some of Epoch's sales in the 80's. Bandai is notorious for that, unfortunatly.
This series is REALLY going strong in Japan. There are gameboy games, advance games, real restaraunts, and shops deticated entirely to sylvanian families. You know what that means, eventual popularity spill-over into the USA. I really do think this series is going to have a popularity explosion, once word gets around. ^_^

This is an amazing value.. not only do you get the house, you get a kitty cat family, dining room, nursery and a bathroom set.

Pretty cool.. I wish they would've told me though, so I wouldn't have bought the accessories!!
LOVE IT

My two kids love this thing. We have had it for a month now and they use it everyday. After a month the line was starting to slack and when I tightened the nut on the u shaped cable lock the stud broke. I was using a cordless screwdriver at the time and didn't think the thing would break it.

Better quality materials would be nice.

We bought this, and althought it's a great toy, it is NOT easy to set up properly. Assembling the trolly bar and stringing the cable wire was a bit tricky, but could be done (although we had to make a trip to Home Depot to buy the nuts and washers that were left out package by mistake). But the problem was that you simply can't get the wire tight enough to make it go well. If it's not tight enough (taut), then the ride sags when the child gets on, and it won't "go." We tried pulling and pulling, and are going to try to locate and borrow an electric winch to pull it tight enough so it will work. Shouldn't be this hard to install . . .

Great toy, especially when the kids have friends over. They love to get in line and take turns using it. Requires a little parent involvement as it is more fun if the parent pushes when they first get on it.

Much better looking in person than in the picture. The sculpture is surperb and the paint is much more subtle and realistic than in the picture.

Hi Ho, Silver! Ever hear that call before? You might with this Breyer horse. The Lone Ranger's Silver is one of Breyers most beautiful creations. He is reared up to save the day. What is also great is that Silver comes with a video, titled: The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold. In that video, you can see Silver in action. I also recommend getting Tonto's Scout, Silver's and the Lone Ranger's sidekick. Get ready to saddle up!

THIS MODEL IS SO BEAUTIFUL.SILVER IS THE HORSE OF THE LONE RANGER.IN THIS MODEL YOU CAN PUT IT STANDING UP IN HANDS BECAUSE IT HAVE THE TAIL PLANE.THIS STALLION IS VERY WHITE AND IT HAS A LITTLE PINK IN THE SKIN OF THE MOUTH AND AROUND THE EYES.NOW YOU CAN SHOUT HI-HO SILVER.

we had just purchased this swing for my son 5 and daughter 4
we have a swing set that has a baby swing and a big kids swing
since we've purchased this swing there's no more fighting over
the big swing anymore.

we had just purchased this swing because my swing set had a baby swing and a regular big kids swing at which i need two big swings for my 4 and 5 year olds. works great both dont have to fight over the big swing any more. i would definately purchase this item.

THis swing "was a good price", which after searching for several days was a great surprise! We had been quoted prices "alot higher" for one swing! We needed 2, "this" was quiet a deal! How they are going to last? Im not sure considering we just got them yesterday. I did question why they are not pre-assembled? You do need some tools to get them put together. AND another thing- they chains on them are very short. My kids have to jump in order to get in the swings, which is fine for the 8 & 6 year old, but the 3 year old is outta luck! My husband is planning on lowering one so she can get on it. All in all, a good swing, for a really good price! Kids need to be outdoors more. Todays kids are too fat & lazy & we buy things that encourgage our kidos to get out & play. Also, we have no TV, which helps encourgage our family to play outside & enjoy all Gods beauty

This item is made out of sturdy, thick plastic. No assembly required (the stickers are even already on). It has all the appliances you could want in a kitchen--fridge, dishwasher, oven, microwave, and even a phone--with plenty of storage space for dishes and play food. However, it does not come with any accessories. Also, the sink handle does not move (so baby can't pretend to turn it off or on), and sink does not have a removable basin. The electronic phone (with sounds) is a nice feature, and was a major selling point in my decision to purchase this item. Please be aware that this item is for SMALL children. My daughter is not even 2 (and average height) and it is just right for her now, so she will probably outgrow it in a year or two. The height is actually just over 30 inches (this site shows it as over 36 inches, but I think the height and width must be reversed). Overall, a solid product, but I was disappointed in the size.

This particular item is very safe and durable for kids.
It last long and can be recycled down the line. The beauty of this toy it keeps kids very active in the kitchen and out the parents hair for a while. My niece she will be 2yrs old soon and she loves to cook, she is always in the kitchen trying to help her mom cook with her plastic containers so this is perfect for her, and i know she will enjoy this.

We just purchased this for our daughter's Christmas and it was a hit! The best feature, IMO, is the full-size fridge. This is my daughter's fav part to play with. The phone would come in a very close second. Although, she will outgrow it within a year or two I think it is sized just right and the picture is a good indicator of it's size. Her head comes to the top which is perfect! It is built very sturdy and the only thing I would change is the shelves inside the fridge which are not exactly flat so her small play milk bottles that are light will fall over easily but for bigger sturdier play food it is perfect! I highly recomend this little kitchen for you 1-2.5 year old!

My infant daughter received this as a gift. It is a very eye- and ear- catching toy. The rings are attractive, colorful, and full of great noises for infants. However the pole is too flimsy. Even my 2.5 year old can easily get frustrated trying to put the rings on.

I love the individual rings that make up this stacking toy. The bright colors, textures, and sounds make them great for a younger baby just starting to explore and manipulate things. Unfortunately, it isn't very good for what it is designed for -- stacking. The middle pole is cloth and is too flimsy. My one year old can stack plastic rings, but when she tries to stack these onto the pole, the pole bends away from her. You really have to use one hand to steady the pole, and one to hold the ring, which is beyond most toddlers. Still, she loves carrying pieces of this toy around the house.

excellent baby toy,worth the investmen

These are a great idea in the Polly Pocket line, but the heads of the dolls pop off very easily. I got on here to find out if I could purchase replacment dolls without having to buy a whole playset. I'm not having any luck. This discourages the parents and the kids from purchasing more of these toys. I hope Mattel will improve on the quality of these dolls, because the idea itself is great. The parts don't get lost as easily because of their magnetic abilities. Mattel, if you read this, please find a way for the dolls to keep their heads on. :o)

Though my two girls love receiving Polly's, the joy is short lived. With in a few days their heads ultimately pop off. EAfter the first few heads popped off and they had learned to be extra careful, to the extreme of not letting no one play with them fearing the head coming off. No matter how careful they tried to be the head would pop off.

I refuse to buy the stretchy Polly now, and my girls are even more leary of spending their hard earned allowance on them either.

Fun but short lived.

These polly's are great. My daughter strives on role play and I tried many of the Polly's that have stretchy clothes. I also tried the old Polly's...I have now tried these. If you have a child who likes to go straight to the role play and not dress little dolls then these are for you. Alternatively my Mother likes them...She uses them for fridge magnets (as do I )...

I wish I had read the reviews before I purchased this item for my 2 year old. As others have discovered, the ramp fell apart IMMEDIATELY!!!! It looks nice, but isn't actually much fun to play with - there is nothing connecting the levels other than the clunky elevator, which makes it difficult to access the vehicles.

At a sale price, this would be a great deal. At full price, I don't think it is worth it. It is a wonderful idea. My son owned this for all of 2 minutes when the string fell off the elevator and the ramp broke. I was able to fix the elevator, but the ramp will need glue of some sort.
Also note that this is NOT one piece. It is actually 3 pcs that just sort of sit together.

I really wasn't very happy with this garage. The ramp broke very quickly and it is hard to get the cars in and out of the elevator. It comes apart and is hard to move around. It was more expensive than the fisher price garage and not as durable.