Toy Review: Playmobil Take Along Farm (Playmobile 4897)

Spoiler alert: The Playmobil Take Along Farm is one of the best, most used toys in our house!

Alfie received the Playmobil Farm for his second birthday. Coming from my Montessori background I was deeply sceptical of this plastic and cartoonish toy. I wanted a toy farm that was hyper realistic and preferably wooden, somewhere that Alfie’s Schleich animals would look at home. My husband however, insisted on this one.

For once I’m delighted to say my husband was right! (Read more on What Makes a Toy Montessori here.

The Playmobil Take Along Farm 4897

The Playmobil Take Along Farm costs about £25 and comes with 9 animals, 3 people and a stand alone pasture as well all the food, straw and tools needed to keep a busy farm running. For the amount you get it is amazing value. I had thought about putting some of the items away but in the end Alfie got such good use out of them we’ve left them all out.

One aspect that I love about the farm is that everything is functional. The doll’s hands are shaped so they can hold all of the items and have twistable wrist to make them easier to pose. The animals necks’ bend up and down so they look like they’re really feeding.

Lots of pieces are very small – the apples and mice in particular are tiny but the detail on everything is surprisingly good. At first I disliked this element but now I appreciate that the proportions are correct, it really frustrates me when toys don’t ‘work’ together! Everyone and everything on The Playmobil Farm is in perfect scale to one another.

The farm fits together really well and all the different pieces from the pitchfork with its pre-cut hay to the doors and tiny buckets are easy for small hands to use.

Alfie’s Reaction

As soon as he saw it Alfie’s face lit up and he immediately set to work giving the cows some hay. I was surprised by how he used it, Alfie’s only two so still slightly young for imaginative role play. I expected lots of pointing and naming with some in/and out or transporting but this toy opened up a whole new world of play for my two year old. One afternoon he even filled their drinking trough for them!

The Playmobil Take Along Farm has been in our home for a few weeks now. Alfie plays with it several times a day and this toy holds his attention for longer than anything else he’s ever played with. He will easily spend 30 or 40 minutes playing independently with it…which is UNHEARD of in my house!

Final Verdict

I am so glad that I listened to my husband! This toy is amazing value and has transformed how Alfie plays. He thinks up scenarios and acts out scenes that I thought he was too young to manage. While the pieces are slightly fiddly and there are a lot of different components they really add to different ways it can be used.

This is a perfect present for a two year old!