Boys alternative to a doll house?

parking garages are good for boys.

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).

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.

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.

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).

A workbench and tools. My grandson loves his.

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.

My dollhouse was Castle Greyskull.... but He-Man's alter ego made me wonder...

http://youtu.be/ZZ5LpwO-An4

tree house

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.

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!

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.

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!

Maybe a castle... super boyish and similar to a doll house. Or Legos...then he can build whatever he wants