The little people series from Fisher Price almost always gets me excited. I love the interchangeability of this series and the way it always encourages good old fashioned imaginative play. The Little People Surprise and Sounds Home did fall short in my expectation and turned out to be a great addition to this set as well as a lot of fun.
Unboxing the Little people surprise and sounds home was actually fairly simple. The 3 friends that come with this set are secured within plastic which is easily removed, the base of the Surprise and sounds home is secured by a couple of twist and remove clips which are easily removed to free the base from the packaging in two separate parts.
Included in the packaging in a small plastic baggie that includes your instruction manual, a table and small chairs for your Little People friends, as well as two long screws which are used to hold the two pieces together. With a few turns of a Philips head screw driver the Little people surprise and sounds home is ready to go.
The Playtime Experience
The Little People Surprise and Sounds Home was a lot of fun to play with. Since it comes with three Little people friends as well and a table and three chairs for them to sit on. Inside you have a living room with a working front door and a kitchen with a refrigerator, oven and phone to interact with. The kitchen also has the on and off switch to activate the noises and sounds throughout the Little People Surprise and Sounds home. The sounds and songs are activated depending on what you interact with inside the house. When you open the refrigerator or oven a light comes on inside and voices say things like “close the door tight!” and “let’s see what we’re baking”. Pushing the phone button activates a song about friendship and playing as well as the classic phone ringing sounds.
On the second floor, you have a big bedroom with imprinted comforter, floor rugs and coffee on the night side table as well as a bathroom and bunk beds. When you lift and lower the toilet seat you hear the toilet flush or get prompts to “make sure you brush your teeth!”.
The alarm clock next to the bunk beds is another button that prompts sounds and music but it also lifts both bunk bed mattresses to roll your friends right out of bed.
The house opens for play and closes up to store your friends, table and chair accessories safely for either transport or for storage until the next playtime. The handle on the top of the house makes portability.
Things I Liked
I love that the Little people Surprise and Sounds home encourages kids to use their imagination while maintaining a fun element with the included sounds and music. The additional buttons and accessories are engaging for kids of all ages and the fact that it is easily portable is a plus for me as a mom. With the extra Little People friends included in the Little people Surprise and Sounds home it is easily used for multi child play or parent child play time.
Things I Didn't Like
I have no problem with my son playing with toys of any color and I don’t really believe in gender specificity with toys. I think any child should be able to play with any toy regardless of gender. Unfortunately, toy makers don’t tend to agree with me and the Little People Surprise and Sounds home is plastered in pink of every kind, making it only slightly harder to keep a gender neutral idea during playtime. Between you and I though? I still let my son play with it and he loves this toy. Pink or not.
The only other draw back that seems consistent to the Little people series is that while the Little People Surprise and Sounds home has a power switch it doesn’t have a volume adjust. But, the sounds are really not that loud so I don’t mind too much.
Appropriate Ages
The Surprise and Sounds home is intended for kids 1-5 and I think that they hit the nail on the head with that estimate. The sounds and movable parts are great for younger kids without the worry of any choking hazard parts. While older children really get to explore their imagination with the Little people Surprise and Sounds home and other Little people sets.
One Final Note
I really liked the Little People surprise and sounds home and wouldn’t hesitate to purchase over and over again. I love the Little People series. They are cute, affordable and encourage creative play, which is a huge win in my book as a mom. The fact that the Surprise and Sounds home is portable and has moving parts and varying sounds keeps even young children engaged which makes this a great addition to any toy collection in my opinion. Even in all its pink covered glory, my son loves this toy and so does his momma!
I just love the Little People sets! This Little People Surprise and Sounds home is so cute and so much fun to play with. I initially wasn’t sure how much entertainment value this would provide for that 1 year age group but I can say my son really likes this toy and all the little moving parts. He is particularly attracted to playing with the fridge, stove and toilet seat since they move and make noise. I think the Surprise and Sounds home is a great value considering all the play time I’ve gotten out of it already.
Entertaining and Adorable
I just love the Little People sets! This Little People Surprise and Sounds home is so cute and so much fun to play with. I initially wasn’t sure how much entertainment value this would provide for that 1 year age group but I can say my son really likes this toy and all the little moving parts. He is particularly attracted to playing with the fridge, stove and toilet seat since they move and make noise. I think the Surprise and Sounds home is a great value considering all the play time I’ve gotten out of it already.