The dreamhouse was packaged brightly coloured and my little girl (6) and little boy (5) recognised it and was immediately excited to get it built so they could play.
The building of the house was really easy, great instructions (there is a video to watch online too) that were step-by-step guide to how to put it together. I completed this on my own in around 30 minutes. I didn’t need any tools or specialised equipment to do this, as the pieces easily snap together.
The house is very good quality and the structure of the house is solid, I don’t have any worries that it will break or collapse and feel that my children are safe playing with this. The house is big enough for up to three to four children to play together simultaneously. This means that you need enough room (floorspace) to place it, especially as it is 360 degree play (can access it from all sides).
The house has 8 rooms that are decorated to help children recognise the use of the room, for example the study room has bookshelves printed onto the wall to give it a sense of being a room to study. There are lots of details to make this an interactive toy. The toilet and kitchen sink also are interactive with lights and sounds, this is not essential as they have had fun playing with it without the batteries being put in. I have noticed that my children are using lots of imagination and narrating the stories that they are playing and it is definitely helping them to cooperate in play together.
The house comes with 70 pieces of equipment that enhances the play experience, many of the pieces double up with uses, for example, the sofa transforms into a bunkbed (which is their favourite aspect) and the coffee table turns into a small bed.
My children have played with this every day since they have had it, so that’s always a bonus as children often get bored with the same thing every day. I would highly recommend the Barbie dreamhouse to anyone who has children whether they have an interest in Barbie or not.
I am now planning to enhance this with additional equipment, such as the Barbie car that will neatly fit within the garage space.