PLAYMOBIL Sets Bring Out the Imagination

Whenever we do anything and there are any animals around, my kids just can’t take their eyes off of them. It doesn’t matter what kind of animal it is, but they will spend forever learning and figuring out what the new creature does, and how it’s different than others. As an example, they love visiting their grandparents who have dogs. Our kids enjoy just following the pets around. We recently went to an event that had sheep. The kids were first scared to pet them, but with time they were laughing at how different the sheep acted compared to other animals they know.

You can just imagine when we went to their cousin’s house and they invited them to ride horses! How can you miss an opportunity to do that?! Ev clearly got past his fear of sheep because he decided to do mutton bustin’ at the rodeo in town recently. He already got to ride a horse, so why not try to ride a sheep? It didn’t last long, but he will try anything if it has to do with animals.

So, they were very excited when Playmobil sent us some of their products which included sets from their Wiltopia line with tons of animals, a horseback riding set in the PLAYMOBIL Country line, and some My Figures sets that focus on customizing your own characters. These were perfect for the kids to explore and play with new animals and also learn about them. 

It’s important that my kids learn to assemble things by following instructions. We recently had put together some furniture, and sometimes even with the details clearly outlined, it’s harder than you might think. While I watched my kids attempt to construct the PLAYMOBIL sets, it was hard to let them struggle. They eventually figured things out, but honestly, I just wanted to get my hands on the toys as well. I guess my wife is right when she says she has to take care of 3 kids.

The kids were able to go step by step to complete the world imagined. Assembly is just one part of enjoying the toy, but then playing with the toys and the imagination of how the world works is the second part. Em took lead to put things together. During other sessions, Ev would also start putting things together by following the booklet included in the set.

It was great to see random pieces being placed slowly together to make a world that is surprisingly so detailed with many small pieces added. This leaves little effort for the kids to start playing and making an exciting world where the characters involved come to life and are performing tasks related to the setting. One set was all about horses. Included were tools and a vet to care of the horses, another character to ride the horses, and a groundskeeper to take care of the property where the horses live, all with small detailed pieces.

We really enjoyed how interchangeable the people are, as we could make a huge amount of different characters because of this. You not only change their legs with their chest and arms, but you also could change jackets, hair, heads, hats, and so many of the other extra accessories. The possibilities are almost endless, and we love just mixing all these pieces together and making our own people. Although binoculars come with one set, they are used and played by with all other sets as well. So even though pieces come in a certain set, you eventually combine everything together to create a more immersive and complete play session. No need to pretend someone is holding a broom, there is an actual broom in a set that is used by a character to clean up. 

The first thing was actually building the set and putting the pieces together following the included instruction manual. This can take a while, as there are detailed pieces, some small, some large, and some with stickers. After building it, the kids then used their imaginations and just took over the setting and played so nicely together. Em is 8 and Ev is almost 6, and I just think they are the perfect age for a toy like this. The kids took pieces from other sets and imagined a whole new scenario with so many different types of people to live in them. The very specific and detailed pieces keep them involved and it’s not a superficial setting that is easily forgotten.

The variety of animals in the Wiltopia set was great for the kids to not only play in a world of people, but also of animals which they both really enjoy. (I hope this can substitute for not having a pet at home for now.) The monkeys climbed through the many trees, the birds flew from tree to tree with multiple places to land. The fish were stuck in the water, but looked cool due to how they were designed to sit in the water. The sloth was included in the set, and many other animals are sold separately to create an entire jungle of animals. 

It was great to enjoy these sets and the kids really liked seeing so many animals, and being able to create a world with them. For me, I enjoyed watching and helping with the building aspect of the sets, while Em and Ev took off with bringing the world to life and living in a world full of animals. The only thing that Ev wanted was a sheep to ride so he could practice to be next year’s mutton bustin’ champion. I’m sure we can find a sheep in one of the other PLAYMOBIL country sets to fulfill his dream.

Which PLAYMOBIL set helps launch your imagination?