The best dollhouses

Your kids and your wallet will be happy with the Melissa & Doug Fold & Go Mini Dollhouse. It comes fully assembled with furniture and dolls, so you won't need to buy any extras.

Maybe you want to test out a dollhouse with your kids before investing in a more expensive one, or maybe pricier options just aren't in the budget. Melissa & Doug is an excellent toy brand that always delivers quality kids' products, and we love their Fold & Go Mini Dollhouse.

You're obviously not going to get all the bells and whistles with this compact option that's suitable children 3 years and older, but it comes ready to go with everything you need. Inside, you'll find two stories, four rooms, and a flight of stairs. It also includes 11 pieces of wooden furniture and two dolls. The house itself measures 13.13 inches high, 10.63 inches long, 6.13 inches wide, and weighs 4.65 pounds.

If you're trying to get your money's worth, this is a great choice because you can fold it up and take it with you anywhere you go — it even has a convenient carrying handle, but note that there's not a latch to keep the house closed when it's folded up. You can also personalize it with your child's name, which is a fun touch and helpful if your child plays with it outside your home.

Even better, you won't have to spend any time assembling this dollhouse, giving parents around the world a sigh of relief.

Pros: Compact, comes fully assembled with furniture and dolls, portable, can be personalized

Cons: No latch to keep it closed when traveling

Boys and girls alike will reap the benefits of playing with the gender-neutral Hape All Season House that has six fully furnished rooms that just need the finishing touch of a child's imagination.

Dollhouses aren't just for girls — boys can have a lot of fun playing with them, but some boys don't want to play with a toy that looks "girly." The All Season House is gender-neutral, encouraging both boys and girls to engage in imaginative play.

This modern dollhouse complete with solar panels on the roof has three stories, six rooms, and multiple open sides, making it easy for kids to play together. The roof can be changed to show different seasons, which can help your child imagine a variety of scenarios while they're playing. Another really cool feature is the moveable stairs.

Hape's All Season House comes fully furnished with moveable parts to help kids 3 years and older create different scenarios within the home. It doesn't come with dolls, so you'll have to purchase them separately. Dolls that will fit this house include Hape dolls, Melissa & Doug dolls, Calico Critters, or Plan dolls. Some assembly is required, so don't expect to open the box and be able to use it right away.

The house measures 23.6 inches long, 11.8 inches deep, and 28.9 inches high. It's made entirely of wood, making it easy to wipe down.

Wirecutter picked the Hape All Season House as one of the best toys overall to buy for a 3-year-old. They also like how it's gender-neutral and has open rooms for 360-degree play. One of their writers who tested the home said, "My daughter loved that she could reach into any room from almost any spot to adjust the furniture and play with the wooden people (sold separately)."

Pros: Gender-neutral, fully furnished, season-changing roof, large enough for multiple kids to play together

Cons: Dolls not included, assembly required

Toddlers need bigger dollhouse accessories that are safe and easy for them to handle, and that's exactly what they'll get with this dollhouse that encourages kindness, manners, and helping others.

Dollhouses are wonderful toys for children to role-play, learn about daily life, and foster imagination, but most dollhouses contain small pieces that are dangerous choking hazards for toddlers. We love The Fisher-Price Little People Big Helpers Home as a starter dollhouse for toddlers because it's recommended for ages 1 to 5 years old, and its small size isn't overwhelming.

You can choose a pink or blue color scheme as well as black or white people. The house is plastic and comes with two people, a dog, and a few furnishings. It measures 28 inches long when opened, 16 inches high, and 6 inches deep. As a plastic toy, it's very easy to clean and wipe down, but it is an electronic toy, so it cannot be submerged. It plays sounds that encourage toddlers to help other people. Children can play with the house opened or closed, and when it's open, it has two stories and five rooms.

One of our favorite things about this house is the "big helpers" aspect. When kids press the interactive buttons in the home, sound clips and songs encourage kids to help others, be kind, and practice good manners. Play is a great time to practice these skills, and this home lays the foundation for kids to become kind adults. The youngest of kids will love this familiar aspect that TTPM's Leahey says is important in a dollhouse.

TTPM gave it a five-star rating. "It's a well made play set with a family, and home theme that is age appropriate," their editor said in a review. They like that it's easy for young kids to use and that it encourages helping out around the house. It's also ready to go out of the box — no assembly needed.

Pros: Encourages kindness and manners, safe for toddlers, plays songs and sound clips, comes with black or white dolls

Cons: Older toddlers might outgrow it quickly

From the sturdy wooden construction to Cinderella's glass slipper, no detail is overlooked in the 5-foot-tall KidKraft Disney Princess Cinderella Royal Dreams Dollhouse.

If you have a Disney lover on your hands, the Kidkraft Disney Princess Cinderella Royal Dreams Dollhouse is an elegant castle that will bring your child's fairytale fantasies to life.

This massive castle fit for a prince or princess has beautifully elegant details like a clock tower and a chandelier and is big enough for multiple kids to play at once, measuring 58.75 inches tall, 38 inches long, and 15.25 inches deep.

The castle and accessories are made of a combination of wood, plexiglass, and plastic, although the home is mainly made of wood that is easy to clean with a damp cloth.

It includes 12 pieces of furniture and even has a glass slipper. With its small pieces, the castle is appropriate for ages 3 and up. Your child will love to set fairytales among its four levels, five rooms, a balcony, and two winding staircases. It doesn't come with dolls, but it accommodates dolls up to 12 inches, so your children can fill the castle with their favorite Disney Princesses or Barbies.

A few users have noted that their dollhouse came with missing or defective parts, so be sure to take inventory of the parts when your dollhouse arrives. You will need to do some assembly of this dollhouse.

The ultimate expert on dollhouses — a young girl from Toys Academy — reviewed the house. She loves that the house is taller than her and that there are interactive features like an oven that opens and a glass slipper for Cinderella's foot.

Pros: Fairytale design, furniture included, fun features like a balcony and spiral staircases, made of sturdy wood

Cons: Assembly required and some reviewers note broken or missing parts, dolls not included

The Bianca City Life Dollhouse is a loft-style urban dwelling that is incredibly detailed with retail space on the first floor and beautifully decorated walls visible from every angle.

The Bianca City Life Dollhouse from KidKraft is the urban dwelling of any kid's dreams. Standing 57.36 inches tall but only 25 inches long and 29.49 inches deep, it's the perfect dollhouse for small spaces. It's designed to look like it's part of a skyscraper in a city, and it has retail space on the first level to really give it that city vibe. The home itself is stacked above the retail space with three levels.

Some of the fun and unique features of this house include working lights, an elevator, a sheet of reusable stickers, and open walls to allow 360-degree playing space. The Bianca is made of wood and plastic and includes 26 accessories, but it does not include dolls. Like other Kidkraft homes, it can accommodate dolls up to 12 inches.

Many of the traditional dollhouses are very different from the types of homes kids in the city are used to, so we love how this dollhouse includes that element of familiarity for kids who live in a loft or an apartment while still including aspirational items like a rooftop pool and an elevator inside the home. The Bianca City Life Dollhouse is recommended for children ages 3 to 8.

This home gives kids everything they need to imagine an exciting world for their dolls. It does require assembly, but after it's put together, it's easy to take out all of the accessories and wipe it down if needed.

Leahey said this is one of her favorite dollhouses because of the modern design. "This one also has an elevator, lights, and sound effects, and it comes with several accessories and a variety of spaces in which kids can play with their dolls," she said. "This is one that I wish I could live in, so there's that aspirational play coming in!"

Pros: Unique loft-style modern design, spacious dollhouse that works well in small spaces, open walls provide 360-degree play, comes with 26 accessories

Cons: Assembly required, dolls not included