KidsToys and Games

Little Tikes Cape Cottage Playhouse Review

Reviewed by David Savage

The Little Tikes Cape Cottage Playhouse is a children’s playhouse suitable for children aged 2 to 5 years.

When it was delivered the box was huge and my immediate thought was that it was going to be really complicated to assemble and be very time consuming, but I shouldn’t have judged it by the box as it was very straightforward.

On opening the box there was:

2x roof panels
4x wall panels (2 with doors, 2 with windows)
2x doors
4x window shutters
1x pack of metal screws
1x pack of plastic screws
1x pack of roof clip covers
2x flag holders
1x instruction guide
1x sheet of stickers (door numbers, windows, locks, mail stickers)

After taking all the pieces out of the box I started to assemble using the instruction guide that shows the assembly using pictures. It comes with a flat plastic tool to use on the plastic screws so the only tool that you will need that is not supplied is a crosshead screwdriver.

As I said earlier assembly was straightforward and I was able to do this without the need for another person. The doors and window shutters just click into place. There are 2 flag holders that are screwed onto the panels with the doors. The panels then slide into each other and screwed into place using the red plastic screws. Adding the roof was a bit more fiddly but not really a big problem. The 2 roof panels clip on to the wall panels but also half to overlap half of each panel while lining up the screw holes (it sounds more complicated than in actually is). Once the roof is on it is then secured by sliding on little covers over the clips and using the black plastic screws to screw the panels together.

Now that the playhouse was assembled all that was left to do was add the decal stickers. There are 2 door numbers (front and back), 8 side window stickers, 2 roof vent stickers, 2 door lock stickers and 2 mail stickers. The playhouse has markings where all these stickers need to go so they are easy to attach to the correct places (they are extremely sticky so will stay on).

It took 30 minutes to unpack and assemble including adding all stickers.

The other thing I did notice that wasn’t in the instructions is that there are four holes inside the playhouse that can be used to fix the playhouse to the ground (on grass) using tent pegs or something similar to get a more permanent secure fixture should you require it.

Now that it was assembled I had a 4 foot high red playhouse with black roof and brick styling that has working doors (one front, one back), opening windows on two sides and mail slots so that any toddler occupants can receive their mail. Inside there is approximately 0.7 metre square playing area, enough for 2 toddlers to sit inside and play. The overall dimensions of the playhouse are 124cm(H) x 109cm(W) x 89cm(D).

CapeCottage2

So while I thought it was impressive I’m a bit too big to play in it so reluctantly I had to wait for my 3 year old niece to finish nursery (she insists on calling it school not nursery) and see what she thought. As she disappeared into the garden and only reappeared to collect more dolls I’m guessing she loves it (just as well it was a sunny day).

Asking her what she thought she just said it’s brilliant, her own little house. No one is allowed to enter, we have to knock and wait for her to open the door. She even insists on having post through the mail slots.

Overall the Cape Cottage Playhouse is fantastic. It is made of study, durable, strong plastic and is easy to put together, and take apart should you need to. At 4ft high it is perfect for toddlers to play quite comfortably in.

This playhouse is great for imaginative play with dolls and friends and is light enough (13.5kg) to be moved around (unless you decide to fix to the ground). It is very sturdy and the thick plastic will stand up to weather conditions if you leave in the garden.

An adorable little cottage that children will love and large enough to play comfortably inside.

Little Tikes products are always of a good quality and the Cape Cottage is no exception.  With a retail price of £119.99 it is definitely value for money not only for the size of it, build quality and sturdiness but for the hours of fun and playtime it will bring. I can see this cottage lasting a very long time.

The only small negatives, more suggestions than negatives really, are that the stickers are really high-tack (they need to be so don’t fall off when left the playhouse is left outside) so I feel that these would probably be better already added from out of the box as they can be a bit hard to fix if you don’t get them quite right and the playhouse comes with 2 flag holders but no flags. Yes you can add your own flags but maybe it could come supplied with them to complete the look or maybe with 2 small flag poles so that children can make their own flags.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £119.99

Available to buy from Little Tikes here.

5Star

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