subject: 6 Barbie Doll Houses What To Look Out For And Where To Buy [print this page] Barbie Doll Houses are every little girl"s dream. Over the decades, quite a number of these dollhouses have been produced both by Mattel, Barbie"s parent company, and others.
Which Barbie Doll House should you go for?
In this article, I"ll show you what to look out for when you shop around for Barbie Doll Houses and some important pitfalls to avoid.
Currently, Mattel have two doll houses on the market, the "Glam Vacation House" and the "Pink 3-Storey Dream House."
These houses are all pink and made from plastic but this does not mean that they are not durable. The main advantage of these original Barbie Doll Houses is their branding: all accessories like chairs, crockery and other items are Barbie branded. Girls love it.
The main drawback, especially of the chairs is that Barbie dolls don"t sit "comfortably". Still, this doesn"t seem to bother Barbie"s owners, at least not in our house. Some of the accessories also feel a bit "cheap" because they are plastic.
These drawbacks mainly seem to bother adults who like things to be perfect and above all durable. I doubt very much whether a 4, 5 or even 7 year old girl would regard these adult drawbacks as an obstacle to her enjoyment of her Barbie house.
Barbie Doll Houses made by other manufacturers are, strictly speaking, doll houses for fashion dolls, not just for Barbie, and pink is not a dominant feature any longer. Make sure they are tall enough for Barbie (11.5 inches).
My favourite dollhouse range is Kidkraft. Their doll houses are very sturdy and can handle treatment by kids more easily than plastic houses. They are made from wood or MDF (which is a wood compound) or a combination of both.
These houses are tall, usually at least 3 ft., and make it easy for several girls to play at the same time. I find this a very important feature as the younger the girls are, the more likely they are to play "next" to each other rather than together.
You need space for these houses. Most of them, like the Savannah, Designer or Glamour can be backed up against a wall. The So Chic is big, has rooms on all sides and fortunately is on castors so that it can be wheeled out of the way in the evening.
All the accessories that come with these houses are made of wood and withstand rough handling much better than their plastic cousins.
Which one you choose really depends on your girl, your preferences and life style. They range from modern-stylish to traditional-elegant in design but whichever you choose, the style will undoubtedly be modified by your girl.
Where do you find the best prices?
Barbie Doll Houses are sold online, by major retailers and in your local toy store. There are always offers around, local and online, so it is impossible to give one answer that fits all.
Generally speaking, online retailers tend to be more competitive but what looks as the lowest price can be misleading, so beware.
For instance, some retailers offer free shipping while others don"t include shipping in their front page price. Or they take a long time to deliver. Make sure that you check these two important elements as early as possible.
I also found one really big retailer who offered a very interesting online price and free shipping but not to your home address, only to their store nearest to you. If that involves travelling a fair distance to collect it, as it would for me, free shipping is not really free any longer.
