Which LT or Step2 playhouse should I get? I need other parents' experience/advice.

[Mono~rail]

The twins have tons of toys because I go to garage sales and thrift shops. I've been hunting for a playhouse for the past year, and I haven't been able to find a used one.

This Christmas my parents and Dh's parents are putting the twins Christmas money together to buy a new playhouse. Dh and I are paying the extra that exceeds their Christmas budgets for the twins. They've told me to pick out the playhouse.

I need advice based on other parents' experience with their kids and playhouses. I don't know if I should get a bigger one or a smaller one. I plan to keep it in the house, and space isn't an issue. I don't know if I should get one of the bigger ones or one of the smaller ones.

Which playhouse do/did your kids have?

Did your kids get too big to play in the playhouse, but still wanted to play in it?

Were you happy with the playhouse? If not, which one do you wish you had bought?

TIA for the help!

 

[shopnfun2me2]

My Dsis gave us a Little tykes house, the one with the windows with shutters and the little sink, stove inside. It was not very big probably 3' x 6'(?). My DD was about 4 then and she would not play it in. We kept it for a year or so thinking that she would eventually like it but finally we gave it back to Dsis to give to another neice. It seems to me that if I think my DD7 will love it because I never had anything like it, SHE doesn't. Just like the Littlest Pet shop stuff now, she loves them and I can not see any fun in them. Has your DD played in other playhouses and loved them? I would want to make sure before I invested much $$ in it. Just my 2 cents worth!

 

[Mono~rail]

My Dsis gave us a Little tykes house, the one with the windows with shutters and the little sink, stove inside. It was not very big probably 3' x 6'(?). My DD was about 4 then and she would not play it in. We kept it for a year or so thinking that she would eventually like it but finally we gave it back to Dsis to give to another neice. It seems to me that if I think my DD7 will love it because I never had anything like it, SHE doesn't. Just like the Littlest Pet shop stuff now, she loves them and I can not see any fun in them. Has your DD played in other playhouses and loved them? I would want to make sure before I invested much $$ in it. Just my 2 cents worth!

Yes, both DD's (20 months) play in one at their eye dr.'s office and at a friend's house.

 

[Schachteles]

You know we went back and forth about the houses...we wanted one that our daughters who are 4.5 years and 18 months can both enjoy and so many would not be tall enough, so we went to Sam's Club and invested in the ultimate playhouse that was well worth a little bit of extra $$.

 

[ilovejack02]

You know we went back and forth about the houses...we wanted one that our daughters who are 4.5 years and 18 months can both enjoy and so many would not be tall enough, so we went to Sam's Club and invested in the ultimate playhouse that was well worth a little bit of extra $$.

My neighbors bought a HUGE one from sams recently. Their baby is 18 mths and oldest is 5 (she is SOOO TALL) They love it, not sure how much they paid but she said she was in sams recently and that is was now about 40% less than what she paid for it a few months ago.
We have a little tykes and its nice, but DS wont be able to fit in it as long as the neighbors kids will be able to.

 

[Mono~rail]

I'm going to go to Sam's tomorrow and check those out. I hadn't heard about those.

 

[rkmassa]

http://cgi.ebay.com/LITTLE-TIKES-PA...ryZ16515QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

We bought one of these from Toys R Us when my daughter was 3. She loves it. It is big and has a nice roomy interior, especially with the back area open. My DD is very tall, so we liked the nice height on the ceiling. It is just a great playhouse that is not too expensive.

 

[Schachteles]

My neighbors bought a HUGE one from sams recently. Their baby is 18 mths and oldest is 5 (she is SOOO TALL) They love it, not sure how much they paid but she said she was in sams recently and that is was now about 40% less than what she paid for it a few months ago.
We have a little tykes and its nice, but DS wont be able to fit in it as long as the neighbors kids will be able to.

I am sure that is the same one that we bought...here is a link to it... http://www.thinking-outside.com/Cottage.php the girls are LOVING it...my oldest talks about sleeping in it. I think that it was well worth the money...I know that it was like $1400 at the beginning of the spring...I think that we paid about $1000 for it. I know here in Minnesota there weren't many left at the stores, I had to call around to find a boxed one...we got ours about 2 months ago and they only had one in the box left and then the display one (which had been well played in and they would not discount it further). GOOD LUCK...it can be a huge investment...we really looked around for them...my husband talked about wanting to build one...and we looked at these wood ones but they were like $5000! NO THANK YOU...once I saw the one at Sam's I fell in love with it and just had to have it.

 

[Mono~rail]

I remember seeing those at another Sam's back during the summer! Dh wouldn't even look at it once he saw the price tag.

I didn't remember what they looked like so I checked at our local Sam's this morning and they have sold all of them including the display.

 

[Schachteles]

My DH was like that in the beginning but I eventually convinced him to buy it...and now he is happy that he did

 

[i3utterfli82]

We got ours for DDs 2nd birthday. We bought the Neat & Tidy Cottage and love it.

Make sure to look for one with a floor!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2313596&cp

 

[jcsbama]

We bought this playhouse off ebay last year for Christmas. http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Tykes-ImagineSounds-Playhouse
We kept it in the house til the weather warmed up a bit. She didn't play with it very often, and it became less when we moved it outside. The reason we bought it was because we went to TRU one day and we could not pull her out of the house. She threw the biggest fit. This was before we even made it inside the store. They had all the houses setup outside the front door. We let her play about 30 minutes before we even tried to get her out. I've thought about selling it, but we're not finished having kids yet. Maybe the next one will enjoy it.

 

[ilovejack02]

My DH was like that in the beginning but I eventually convinced him to buy it...and now he is happy that he did

Our neighbor had her dd's preschool class girls over for a tea party in it.. it was perfect!!

 

[5Slays]

We have the Little Tikes Log Cabin. My parents got it for the older two when they were 2 & 3 and they are now 6 & 7 and still love it!

We also got the baby for his birthday the Step 2 Naturally Playful Woodland Climber. He loves it too and it has a slide, climbing side, and play area underneath.


Good Luck!

 

[Mono~rail]

I calculated the cubic footage of each playhouse that I can buy locally. Besides the humongous one that Sam's Club was selling, the Step 2 Welcome Home Cottage is the largest one on the market (between Step 2 and Little Tikes). I'm posting my calculations to help others who may be in the market for a playhouse. While the Welcome Home is the most expensive, it is the best value! And it is the cutest!

Step 2

Welcome Home Cottage - 257 cubic feet - $500 = $1.95 per cubic foot

Natural Storybook Cottage - 103.67 cubic feet - $400 = $3.86 per cubic foot

Front Porch Playhouse - 83.06 cubic feet - $300 = $3.61 per cubic foot

Neat & Tidy Cottage - 48.03 cubic feet - $150 = $3.12 per cubic foot
****************************************************
Little Tikes

Log Cabin - 81.84 cubic feet - $300 - = $3.67 per cubic foot

Country Cottage - 80.56 cubic feet - $200 = $2.48 per cubic foot

Magic Doorbell Cottage - 50.57 cubic feet - $150 = $2.97 per cubic foot

 

[grlpwrd]

Have you checked Craigslist for Little Tikes and Step 2 playhouses?

I recently bought a Little Tikes ImagineSounds Play House for $45. I have also bought picnic tables, a wooden playground, ride on toys, for a fraction of retail. Of course, it helps that I have a cargo van to haul it, but I found bargains.

You can list under the kids and wanted sections.

GL!

 

[Mono~rail]

Have you checked Craigslist for Little Tikes and Step 2 playhouses?

I recently bought a Little Tikes ImagineSounds Play House for $45. I have also bought picnic tables, a wooden playground, ride on toys, for a fraction of retail. Of course, it helps that I have a cargo van to haul it, but I found bargains.

You can list under the kids and wanted sections.

GL!

I'm going to go check. Where we used to live, Craigslist was a dead zone. Maybe down here it is used more. Thanks!