Little girls love to play pretend and they love their dolls, it's a perfect gift I have a daughter that first began her love affair with a certain doll when she was only 18 months old. The relationship was a bit rocky at first as my little mommy pulled her baby's hair and competed with the doll for bottle and binky use. Yet as the weeks passed the love my baby had for her baby grew to complete devotion.



She fondly named the baby doll Bah-Bah-Toe (don't ask, I don't know) and they have been inseparable now for several years. The cementing moments of the relationship occurred when Bah-Bah-Toe was given her own dollhouse. At first this was a humble dwelling that consisted of nothing more than a few cardboard boxes stacked and taped together.

At Christmas time that year, when my daughter was 2, the idea of getting her a brand new doll was down right blasphemous. Bah-Bah-Toe reigns supreme. One evening as my husband and I observed our little mommy lovingly reciting a story to her precious baby and tenderly tucking her into one of those cardboard rooms it struck us: Bah-Bah-Toe needs a real house.

Finding the perfect dollhouse for our daughter and her baby was not too difficult but was a decision that required some care. There are so many options out there. The first thing to consider is size. In our case the house needed to be able to inhabit the doll we already had. For those who may still need to populate the new residence the size concern is moot. Yet size is still an issue. Tall dollhouses pose a tipping threat and a climbing temptation for little ones. The last thing you want is the dollhouse to become memorable because of your child's King Kong impression and the ensuing trip to the ER.

Dollhouses that are overly intricate, ornate or small similarly don't work for toddlers. Those gorgeous Victorian ones are great, but a toddler will destroy it before the sun sets on Christmas day. Those with fine detail and small furnishings also pose a choking hazard. What a toddler needs is a dollhouse that isn't too big, and isn't too small. There are several varieties on the market that your daughter will be thrilled to call her own.

Many dollhouses come with just that: the house. Other brands come with a load of extras including play figures, furniture and clothing for the dolls. Price and your existing collection of accessories is a great way to decide what you need for your daughter's Christmas wishes to come true. If you have many dolls already then a house by itself is probably the way to go. For those just starting out their doll collections a house that comes with extras will have a higher price tag up front, but when you factor in the cost of buying extra pieces separately, it might be the better deal.

Our little mommy has grown so much we hardly recognize the 2 year old who squealed with delight as she tucked a baby named Bah-Bah-Toe into her new house for the first time. Yet she still loves that doll, and her now not so new home.