Who needs a television when you've got Playmobil people?

The girls love playing with their people. And I like it when they do.

They’re entertained for hours, develop elaborate scenarios based on very few props, and play nicely with each other, even sharing some with Calista.

But we’ve only had one dollhouse that has suited the Playmobil people, and although I’ve sworn never to take the easy way out and buy one-of-everything-for-each-child, I’ve been pitying poor Brioni who misses out.

And so began my dollhouse dream. (Yes, it has been my dream. So?)

I looked around at what was available. Playmobil make several dollhouses. Oooo, doesn’t this one look tempting (despite the German voice-over)?

But, eek! the price. Plus shipping to this backwaters island. I couldn’t see it happening.

Make-it-yourself dollhouse kits aren’t that much cheaper, and it’s not very easy to find them in the “half” scale (1/2 inch:1 foot) that I needed.

And then David went away for a couple of days.

There’s just something about David’s absence that makes me feel like being crafty, like building things — often grandiose schemes that are clearly possible in my daydreams but don’t translate into reality within the boundaries of physics.

So the build-a-Playmobil-dollhouse-myself dream was borne, and I scrounged all the materials from around David’s shed. When I was ready to start the construction work, I realised David had taken all his tools with him.

So I had to wait.

Then yesterday, David helped me start on the construction and even made me some beautiful stairs after I had abandoned the idea because my skill-level is just not up to the challenge.

I started with the carcass of an overhead cupboard and removed one side.

Notice the little project foreman inspecting the job site? Hmmm. I forgot his hard hat.

We fit shelves for floors and I cut out the various room dividers. David cut the stairs for me and I assembled everything and fixed it with a nail gun.

When I brought the dollhouse up to the house for the final touches, I soon lost control of the project. Aisha and Brioni very quickly arranged themselves in front of the house and started to transfer their families into the rooms after carefully parking the car in the underground carpark. I had to shoo them away in order to get anything done.

I covered the walls and ceilings with carefully chosen scrapbooking paper. David covered the floor with some scrap sheet vinyl. On the ground floor, green felt marks out the garden areas and the "driveway" is black felt.

Cost so far: $25. The house is looking great, and the people are eager to move in.

We have a collection of Playmobil furniture ready for placement in the rooms, and I’ll make some accessories to finish the rooms in a more realistic fashion: ceiling light fixtures, pictures, mirrors, etc.

Ah, it’s a dream come true. But easily another obsession, I’m afraid. I keep looking at the roof-line and wondering if I should add an attic and roof. It’s something to daydream about, anyway.

And food. What can I use for little Playmobil food? Hmmm, the possibilities… How far do I want this dollhouse things to go?

Let me know if you see any cute miniatures in “half” scale size, will you?