Mattel Barbie Totally Real House with Doll

My youngest daughter kept going on about the Barbie house where the toilet flushes and the doorbell rings, so for Christmas we got her the Barbie Totally Real House with Doll.

*PACKAGING*

The box had a flap which opened to reveal parts of the house, which is a good idea when you want to see what's inside the box. It even had a piece of velcro on the box to keep the flap closed. But when the box needs to be recycled anyway, ...
...box pictures all of the accessories included, with captions for the sound effects.

*UNPACKING & ASSEMBLY*

As with many toys these day, it took an age to unpack and assemble. Far too long to expect any child to wait on Christmas morning. But our daughter is fairly patient, and she did have other things to occupy her with, so this wasn't much of a problem. My Husband put most of it together, which left me to unwrap all ... more

My youngest daughter kept going on about the Barbie house where the toilet flushes and the doorbell rings, so for Christmas we got her the Barbie Totally Real House with Doll.

*PACKAGING*

The box had a flap which opened to reveal parts of the house, which is a good idea when you want to see what's inside the box. It even had a piece of velcro on the box to keep the flap closed. But when the box needs to be recycled anyway, it seems an unnecessary waste of card. Of course the box pictures all of the accessories included, with captions for the sound effects.

*UNPACKING & ASSEMBLY*

As with many toys these day, it took an age to unpack and assemble. Far too long to expect any child to wait on Christmas morning. But our daughter is fairly patient, and she did have other things to occupy her with, so this wasn't much of a problem. My Husband put most of it together, which left me to unwrap all of the accessories, which came in individual bags. Far too many bags than were actually needed. A definite waste of plastic. I think Toy Manufacturers should look into reducing the packaging.

Anyway, after having to slot doors on here, and curtain poles in there, then putting in the batteries for the sounds (3 x AA Batteries) then attaching all the stickers to the accessories, it was time to Play. (I mean time for my daughter to play.) Total assembly time 30-45 Minutes.

*FEATURES*

The Doll House includes:

Bathroom
Kitchen
Bedroom/Living Room

There is a Front door with Doorbell which sounds. It includes a letterbox which opens, so you can post little letters in it.

A door panel which opens to reveal the Bathroom, where there is a Toilet which flushes, and shower which makes a watery noise. The bathroom includes a wash basin, shower curtain, towel rail, toilet roll, mirror and a soap holder.

The Kitchen is behind the bathroom panel which can be moved. The Kitchen contains a fridge/freezer which opens up and food accessories can be placed inside. An oven and hob which can also be used for food accessories. The oven contains the on/off switch for the whole House. The switch is quite difficult to see as it blends in with the oven in the same colour. There is also a washing machine a dryer which both open up. And there is a button on the top which if pressed sounds like a washing machine going round.

Behind the Bathroom Door panel is the Bedroom/Living room. This room just has curtains up at the window, and a couple of stickers representing Pictures on the wall. Other than this, the area is blank. This is where you can place the bed/sofa.

The exterior of the house, looks like the outside of a house. The back is very plain, and just looks like wooden slats across the back. The front contains the Front door, and the Windows to the Bedroom/living room. Under the window is a window box, which has flowers in it. The front opens up in the middle which is held together by a clip, so that when it is closed it stays shut. This makes easy for storing, and carrying around.

*ACCESSORIES*

There are more than 50 accessories, some of which include:

Dining Table and two chairs which need to be assembled

Chair and Ottoman, which converts into a Bed (this comes with a pillow and sheet for the bed.)

Dining pieces which include plates, cups, salt n' pepper, knives and forks

Food pieces which include carton of milk, tub of ice cream, whole chicken on a plate, a pie, some trifle, and cornflakes.

Household pieces which include a standing lamp, small side table, bin and box of tissues.

Anyway, there are quite a few accessories, but unfortunately there isn't enough places for the accessories to be stored. Apart from the fridge and the oven. All the big pieces need to be kept out of the house, as it won't shut with them inside.

*OVERALL*

This House is for age 3 Years +
Size of house is 14 x 30 x 8 inches.
The house comes complete with a Barbie Doll, which is suitably dressed for the style of house. The house has a range of colours, with blue for the bathroom, yellow and orange for the kitchen, grey for the rest of the house which is the same colour as the outside of the house, and the Front door is red.

In my opinion this House is a little overpriced for what it does. The house is also a little out of scale, with the front door being the whole height of the house. The inside scale isn't too bad.

I paid £39.99 which included the House and a Barbie Doll. This was from Argos, which was the only place I could find it, although I didn't look in Toys R' Us.

Please let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about this item.
 

...less