Little girls do love their dolls. They love to play and dress them and take them places, as if they really were their mommies.

I have a daughter that first began her love affair, with a certain doll, when she was only 18 months old. The relationship was a bit rocky at first as my little mommy pulled her baby’s hair and competed with the doll for bottle and binky use. Yet as the weeks passed the love my baby had for her baby grew to complete devotion.

She fondly named the baby doll Bah-Bah-Toe (don’t ask, I don’t know) and they have been inseparable now for several years. The cementing moments of the relationship occurred when Bah-Bah-Toe was given her own dollhouse. At first this was a humble dwelling that consisted of nothing more than a few cardboard boxes stacked and taped together.

At Christmas time that year, when my daughter was 2, the idea of getting her a brand new doll was down right blasphemous. Bah-Bah-Toe reigns supreme. One evening as my husband and I observed our little mommy lovingly reciting a story to her precious baby and tenderly tucking her into one of those cardboard rooms it struck us: Bah-Bah-Toe needs a real house.

Finding the perfect dollhouse for our daughter and her baby was not too difficult but was a decision that required some care. There are so many options out there. The first thing to consider is size. In our case the house needed to be able to inhabit the doll we already had. For those who may still need to populate the new residence the size concern is moot. Yet size is still an issue. Tall dollhouses pose a tipping threat and a climbing temptation for little ones. The last thing you want is the dollhouse to become memorable because of your child’s King Kong impression and the ensuing trip to the ER.

Dollhouses that are overly intricate, ornate or small similarly don’t work for toddlers. Those gorgeous Victorian ones are great, but a toddler will destroy it before the sun sets on Christmas day. Those with fine detail and small furnishings also pose a choking hazard. What a toddler needs is a dollhouse that isn’t too big, and isn’t too small. There are several varieties on the market that your daughter will be thrilled to call her own.

Many dollhouses come with just that: the house. Other brands come with a load of extras including play figures, furniture and clothing for the dolls. Price and your existing collection of accessories is a great way to decide what you need for your daughter’s Christmas wishes to come true. If you have many dolls already, then a house by itself is probably the way to go. For those just beginning their doll collections, a house that comes with extras will have a higher price tag up front, but when you factor in the cost of buying extra pieces separately, it might be the better deal.

Our little mommy has grown so much we hardly recognize the 2 year old who squealed with delight as she tucked a baby named Bah-Bah-Toe into her new house for the first time. Yet she still loves that doll, and her dollhouse where her doll baby lives.

What joy she has gotten from those toys and what a great investment they have been in the growing of her imagination.

Edie Mindell is the writer for SimplyUniqueBabyGifts.com. If Santa is looking for perfect Christmas gifts for toddlers, there is a great selection awaiting delivery just in time for Christmas. If Radio Flyer Toys is on the list, visit their online catalog and enjoy free shipping (lower 48 states).

If you are in a place where you need to shop for a crib for your baby, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed. There are lots of things to think about, after all!

You may also want to consider your design preferences for your baby’s nursery, other people that might need to access the baby in its crib, like grandparents, the available space, and your budget.

Let’s go over the different types of cribs available:

First, there’s the Standard Crib. This is the kind you are most familiar with and have seen in many places. Standard cribs typically have a single or double drop side. This means that either one or both sides of the crib can be lowered to provide easy access to your baby.

Only get a double crib when the crib is going to have both sides open to the room; it’s pretty useless when you are looking at a crib that is shoved against the wall.

One great way to save money in the long run is to look into the convertible crib. These cribs are a great way to save money because they will eventually be converted from a crib into being a toddler’s bed. Though the initial outlay of cash is going to be more substantial, you’ll find that it will pay for itself down the road. These cribs might turn into a day bed, a toddler bed or even a small full sized bed.

This can be accomplished by purchasing a simple conversion kit. Oftentimes the head and foot ends of the crib, can then be used as head and foot boards for the full-size bed. Something else you may want to consider when purchasing a convertible crib is to choose a more universal design, so that the crib can keep up with the decoration changes in your nursery / child’s room.

Want to add some elegance to your baby’s nursery? Then, you may want to choose a Canopy Crib. They typically have posts on all four corners of the crib to allow for a canopy frame on which the canopy will then sit.

You can either purchase fabricated canopies to go with your crib, or might even decide to design your own, using fabric you already used elsewhere within your nursery decoration. Canopy cribs may also be a viable choice if you keep your baby’s crib in your bedroom, or the baby shares its room with a sibling, as they provide a way to achieve privacy for your baby.

Another great design that we are only going to be seeing more of is the Round Crib. A round crib is exactly what it sounds like. It allows your baby to sleep in any direction that he or she pleases, and the drop side will let you reach in and scoop your baby up whenever you please. These cribs have no concussion points, unlike traditional rectangular cribs and they will not endanger your child’s safety. This can be a great way to give your baby a 360 degree view of the world around them.