Boys alternative to a doll house?

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Replies

  • jackiecamarena
    jackiecamarena Posts: 290 Member
    Ninja turtle playset

    may121846-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-super-sewer-lair-playset.jpg

    I must have this in my life.
  • zorbaru
    zorbaru Posts: 1,077 Member
    parking garages are good for boys.
  • Dunkirk
    Dunkirk Posts: 465 Member
    Sandpit (and a friend his age).
  • xmysterix
    xmysterix Posts: 114 Member
    Uhm. A dollhouse.

    My husband had one as a kid (handmade gorgeous dollhouse) that was intended for his sisters. They ignored it for flashier toys and he loved it ...played with it for years. He's now a carpenter studying to be an engineer and loves playing make-believe with his daughter (who, incidentally, prefers blocks, cars, and dinosaurs to dolls).
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
    Mighty Max

    tumblr_kxlsng7wtl1qb42zjo1_500.jpg
  • VictorGWilliams
    VictorGWilliams Posts: 2
    This reminds me of the Guns of Navarone playset I had as a kid. Awesome.

    My boys never really got into playsets. The advantage to Lego is that that every new set you get year after year fits into the old one. Makes for easy storage and cleanup in my book. It takes a long time for the kids to outgrow them as well, so it's a toy that stays interesting.

    We have 2 boys and 2 girls and haven't ever made a big deal of genderization - and we even got a doll house one year for our older boy who was none too impressed and never played with it at home even though he played with it at the store demo. It was one of those gender neutral wooden ones from a Euro mfr. We still have it and the girls like it fine.

    I made a top 10 list of toys for boys and girls, but don't want to link it here for fear of getting banned.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    a fort
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    ninja turtles has a cool pizza box that unfolds to be a whole couple of stories of rooms and the action figures fit in it. it's small enough to fit in an overnight bag and self contained except for the figures. it folds flat as a pizza box.
  • klouise1811
    klouise1811 Posts: 6 Member
    What was wrong again with the doll house??

    This. Let your kids play with what they want. My son plays with dolls and his favorite show is my little pony

    What these guys said
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Playmobil is very good with little people (grandparents, parents, teenagers, kids, babies, all kinds of people) and houses or castles or boats or farms or doctor's office or whatever... But, you can play with playmobil people/sets in a basic doll house that is less expensive (or second hand if you prefer).
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Imaginext sets.

    Love playmobil but too many tiny pieces for a 3yo IMO.
  • samb330
    samb330 Posts: 328 Member
    A workbench and tools. My grandson loves his.
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
    Mega blocks, Lego, Little people
  • forthemoney
    forthemoney Posts: 24 Member
    If he wants a dollhouse, get him a dollhouse. The one in your picture looks fine.
    Other ideas? When my daughter was 3, she and her best friend (a boy) LOVED playing dress-up. We had a big box of hats (fireman, cowboy, etc.), costumes, fancy dresses, etc.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
    Hape makes one that isn't pink and plastic. My son loves playing with it! It's my daughter's but they share all their toys because it's more fun to play together than alone. This is the one we have and it's pretty gender neutral.

    http://www.amazon.com/Hape-Season-House-Furnished-Playset/dp/B005QZLBXO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382053199&sr=8-2&keywords=hape+dollhouse
  • lukasmac
    lukasmac Posts: 216 Member
    My dollhouse was Castle Greyskull.... but He-Man's alter ego made me wonder...

    http://youtu.be/ZZ5LpwO-An4
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Ninja turtle playset

    may121846-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-super-sewer-lair-playset.jpg

    I must have this in my life.

    Im getting this for mys........er my daughter.

    I had He-Man action figures with Castle Greyskull as a kid. Transformers also. Glad to see TMNT are still popular.
  • NinjadURbacon
    NinjadURbacon Posts: 395 Member
    tree house
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Transformers. Lots and lots of Transformers.
  • gsnthensome
    gsnthensome Posts: 23 Member
    build him a "fort" out of plywood.... put some holes in it, glue on some moss and put a bunch of G.I. Jose or commando guys in it.


    or if you want him to be less macho, but still manly you could always build him a court house and put ken dolls in suits in it.... he can practice law.
  • JilloftheDead
    JilloftheDead Posts: 296 Member
    You could make this easily!
    6a012876eb143a970c016761cf333e970b-800wi
    http://blog.landofnod.com/honest-to-nod/2012/02/try-this-bookcase-dollhouse.html
  • westcoastgrl21
    westcoastgrl21 Posts: 172 Member
    My boys have several boy-version "dollhouses". They have a Batcave toy, they have a firestation, and they have a parking garage type of structure (It has lots of ramps and a tollbooth, and some of those road-block things). All of these things they play with a lot, most especially the firestation. My older son played with that thing for extended periods of time daily for like 3 months when we first got it!
  • penguinlally
    penguinlally Posts: 331 Member
    Hape makes one that isn't pink and plastic. My son loves playing with it! It's my daughter's but they share all their toys because it's more fun to play together than alone. This is the one we have and it's pretty gender neutral.

    http://www.amazon.com/Hape-Season-House-Furnished-Playset/dp/B005QZLBXO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382053199&sr=8-2&keywords=hape+dollhouse

    TOTALLY! I was a preschool director for years and then a school age program director for 25 years. The boys LOVED playing with the house and the families... We had to work out schedules for who & when they were used... however I would say that usually it was just a group of kids both boys and girls
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    Something that encourages role play and imagination for a 3 year old. I don't want to get him a girls doll house, but why are these things so gender based?

    I am looking for an awesome gift for my son's birthday. He has 1,000 cars, a bike, a scooter, art center, legos that he likes to dump all over the living room.... I'm out of ideas.
    My 5-yo son is preceded by 4 sisters....he plays with dolls, plays dress up, wears princess costumes, puts his hair in ponytails.....and is 100%boy.
    The best thing I ever did was to......gather up all the toys and put them in storage. Their playtime is so much more creative now. They play with each other more, play outside, create. And I am freed from the drudgery of 1000-toy pick-up everyday. I also informed the relatives that I am so grateful for money gifts on behalf of the children instead of giftcards, gifts and toys.
    I buy them "experiences" such as a special trip, horseback riding lessons, guitar lessons, voice lessons, etc.

    We occasionally get some toys out for a brief time. Only occasionally, and usually when the days are very short and cold.

    We also set up archery and knife-throwing in the backyard on a straw-bale target. Yes, my 5yo has been knife-throwing since he was 4...but I don't let him have a bow/arrow without supervision.
  • zensugi
    zensugi Posts: 76
    A bunch of large, empty, cardboard boxes. It is dirt cheap, kid will have a blast hiding, building, drawing on them, etc.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    A bunch of large, empty, cardboard boxes. It is dirt cheap, kid will have a blast hiding, building, drawing on them, etc.
    This is sooooo true!! Hours and days of fun!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Love playmobil but too many tiny pieces for a 3yo IMO.

    Yeah, probably right about that. My kids loved playmobil when they were littler, but they are 6 and 9 now (they still play with it, especially my 6 year old).
  • anro86
    anro86 Posts: 790 Member
    Maybe a castle... super boyish and similar to a doll house. Or Legos...then he can build whatever he wants :smile:
  • Elliesque
    Elliesque Posts: 156 Member
    They have firehouse "doll houses", submarine houses, bat cave, castles, etc

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