I have wanted to write about our all-time favorite toys for quite a while now. As a family who has purchased many, many toys over the years, I can tell you that the dozen on this list have stood the test of time! These have been played with the most by both our son and daughter (ages 5 and 2), time and time again. They are extremely durable (most still look like new), entertaining, flexible (in terms of how they can be played with) and timeless (still appealing to both the 5-year-old, the 2-year-old and for the most part, their older cousins and even parents). I did not include books (that will be a separate post sometime), movies, or the like. I know I also missed some obvious ones - bubbles, play dough, etc. But I think this is a pretty good list of what makes the most rounds in our house at playtime.
I have included links to the toys' manufacturers websites, or in a few cases, to sites where you can purchase these items. (Click on the blue linked titles!) Most are available at your favorite toy stores, and I encourage you to purchase them from a local store instead of a chain (wherever possible).
So (drum roll), here is our short list. (I would love to hear from you about yours, so be sure to leave comments.)
Schleich Animals
I don't think that any other toys in our household have been played with more than our Schleich animals. Both of my children are crazy about animals, and these miniature ones are the best out there. I always pack them when we travel or go out to eat, and we use them on an almost daily basis in lots of ways. Our kids love to sort them by color, size, habitat, or other characteristics (climbers, swimmers, jumpers, etc.). The animals make regular appearances in block forts, our wooden Melissa & Doug farm, the bathtub - just to name a few. I usually purchase ours at local toy stores or at Target. Average cost: $2-6 per animal.
Tomy Ball Party Bounce
I would have added any ball to the list here, because you really can't go wrong with a bouncy ball, soccer ball, tennis ball, squishy ball...you get the point. But I had to include this on our list. I am so alarmed to find that the Tomy Ball Party Bounce is soon to be discontinued, and urge you to jump at your last chance to purchase it before it's too late! When Hayden was two years old, I was shopping at Top Ten Toys in Greenwood and trying to decide between a few toys. A woman with a couple of youngsters looked over my shoulder and pointed to the Ball Party Bounce box. "Best $30 I ever spent," she said. "I bought that for my kids when they were just babies, and now they're in preschool and still play with it every day." Fortunately, I was sold on her advice and bought it. Three years and two kids later, I can say that it's probably the best $30 I ever spent on toys too. You can purchase it right now for $22 on clearance at www.kidsurplus.com. If you have kids 5 years or younger, or will be shopping for a toddler soon, click over right now and buy it.
Bilibo
I can't explain the Bilibo very easily, except to say that it is a foot-long, foot-wide, foot-high piece of plastic that sort of resembles a turtle shell. But just hand it over to your child and watch as they figure out what to do with it. (That was the idea behind the creation of the Bilibo, after all.) My children use it to balance or play "King of the Hill" on, to spin in (once flipped over), to hide under (the turtle shell idea again), to race cars in....you get the idea.
Leapster
We have the Leapster (and iPhone and iPod and Nintendo DS) to thank for many a sane trip or long-wait somewhere. I chose to feature the Leapster because it's 1) more educational and 2) appeals to (and easy to use) for many age groups - toddler to adult. I also would have included the Nintendo Wii on this list but I would rather have something portable with us than not. Now I know that it's important to limit screen time (TV, computer, video games, etc.) but when it comes down to it, sometimes you just need a little piece of electronic entertainment wizardry to battle the boredom for you.
Lego
Remember when I said that the Schleich animals received the most playtime in our house? Well, their days may be numbered. My son easily spends the majority of his waking hours playing with, building, taking apart, talking about, thinking about Legos. My husband and I loved Legos too when we were kids, and now they are just as, if not more, appealing to our children. I'm amazed at the themed kits that they have nowadays - my son's favorites are the Star Wars and Indiana Jones legos. But you need to start out (and try to stay with) the basic blocks to help develop your child's creativity (and not lose your mind trying to sort all of those tiny little pieces). This is one toy that I'm sure my children's children will still be playing with someday - an absolute classic.
Matchbox Cars
Remember these? Well, they never went anywhere - you just grew up. My son has new cars and plays with my husband's Matchbox car collection from 35+ years ago. Another great, inexpensive and portable classic.
Find It! Games
If you could take only one toy with you on a long car/airplane/camping/family reunion trip, this would be it. I've never seen both children and adults (maybe adults mostly) become so obsessed as they have trying to find the list of items hidden within Find It! tubes. The idea is so simple, thus brilliant. Tiny objects (listed on the lid and on a pad of checklists) are hidden in foot-long clear tubes of tiny beads, and your objective is to find them all. Sounds easy enough, right? You would be amazed at how difficult it is to move the beads in the very center of the tube, which usually houses that last handful of items you need. If you're lucky enough to spot the penny, go onto Find It's website and log it in. Since these games are not cheap (about $16-20 each), we hand them on to friends when we've found all of the items and swap them for other themes.
Fold-n-Go Toys: Fisher Price Castle
I can't believe how many hours and ways my son has come up with playing with his Fisher Price castle. But I shouldn't be surprised. I can't forget my Fisher Price farm, school bus, etc. from when I was a child either. His usual inhabitants of the castle these days are Lego people - Indiana Jones, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker to name a few. My daughter loves playing with the castle too, far more than she plays with her dollhouse. I love that the castle folds up and has handles for carrying with us. It's one medium-sized toy that we can pack and take with us, and I know that it will keep the kids busy for hours.
A great runner-up to the castle is the wooden Melissa and Doug Deluxe Fold & Go Barn, where the Schleich farm animals live on a regular basis.
Frigits Magnetic Marble Run & Tomy Magnetic Gears
Magnetic toys: these are our two favorites. We put two sheets of magnetic steel from Ikea on Hayden's wall, so that he could play with all kinds of magnets but mostly these. We all feel like engineers rearranging the marble run and gears into all kinds of configurations. Just don't tell the kids that they are learning math and science skills!
Blocks
Many educators will tell you that the most beneficial toy that your child could play with is a set of blocks. In fact, if you do a Google search on "block play", you'll find many wonderful articles on the benefits of block play for children's development. I love these - simple, well-made wooden blocks from Melissa & Doug. Our latest use: building the movie sets from the Indiana Jones movies, so that Hayden's Lego people can go treasure hunting through them. I'm not sure that's what educators had in mind, but I know that it gets the kids thinking about spatial relationships, geometry, etc. (Again, just don't tell them that!)
Playmobil
Playmobil is up there with Lego in our house, though not as generic (and therefore flexible). But we all love Playmobil sets (particularly the zoo) and individual figurines. There are some tiny pieces in some sets and they are not cheap, but they are definitely something that the kids will play with for many years and not tire of easily.
Crayons
How can you go wrong with good old crayons and blank paper? (Yes, blank paper, as opposed to color-in-the-lines coloring books which require far less imagination.) All crayons are good as far as I'm concerned, but I do have some favorites. I love the triangle-shaped ones from Faber-Castell the most, because they are easier for small hands to grip. Again, inexpensive, portable, flexible...you're getting the idea.
Radio Flyer Wagon
You can't go wrong with a red wagon either. Ours is a two-seater by Radio Flyer, which has been great for long walks, trips to the store or zoo, etc. Extremely durable, surprisingly lightweight, and loaded with extras (okay, it has two seat belts and cup holders) - we love this wagon!
Mini Micro Scooter
Hands down, the best scooter out there. I wrote about this in an earlier post, so I won't go into all of the reasons again. But let me just say that this is by far more manageable and safer to operate than other scooters (and you know who they are). Sure, it costs twice as much as other scooters, but far less than a trip to the E.R.
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