Toys With Lots of Bits...

Playmobil figures are great for encouraging creativity. But they're plastic. :( And they have more eensy-weensy fiddly-bits than the Barbie Shoe-and-Accessories Mall. :( :( And since our family was bequeathed a large amount of Playmobil sets by a homeschooling family whose kids had all "graduated" to college -- I have lots of Playmobil.

My solution has been to put the Playmobil (and other toys like legos and the miniature brick set and the marble-ramp set) in large decorative popcorn tins and display them in sight but out of reach (they line the top of our current kitchen cabinets). On a rainy day or when the mood strikes, we clear off the kitchen table, bring a chosen tin down, and let the kids go to town playing with the contents. Since a great deal of the fun of these sorts of toys derives from having lots of them (or having all the parts), I put them all the pieces back in the tin when the kids are done and store them back, out of reach. So far it's been a great solution. And because the tins are NOT clearly labeled, I think the kids forget they're there between-times. So 90% of the time, the Playmobil storage bin is kitchen decoration. :)

Works for us.