I thought I’d give you a few good ideas in case you were in the market for some soon. (wink wink) Here’s some of our favorites.
Duplos…from Isaac to Patrick they’ve been an old stand-by.
I looked and looked to provide a link for you…but I think this company (Brimax) is no longer? My kids have all loved “find it” books…this one if for littler ones, but I know there are some great ones for older kids.
Target has this now!
Seriously, I have no idea what the appeal is…but this giant foam Mickey USA puzzle has been around for at least 10 or more years....something about the foam and large pieces? 
Rush Hour…this is so fun…and I am NOT a game person. It’s addicting for adults and children….Andrew was totally into this even as a 5 year old! This is a family favorite for sure.
Groovy Girls….Abbey has never been much of a baby doll girl, but these dolls are SO cute…she would dress them up, and even take fabric scraps and pin them together to design new outfits. They have been a huge hit when friends and cousins come to play too!
My favorite…EVERY house needs a typewriter….NOT a fake one. Go to Ebay!
Dress ups…no fake ones…real dress ups…go to a second hand store and get some great old prom dresses and wash them up. (These are my old ones!) Hem them if you have to! Real is SO much better. (And probably cheaper?) I can’t tell you how many girls have loved these!
Of course. 
A great magazine…without all the boy/girl crap…just the cutest ever!
You can buy this from Vicki Courtney’s site and I think on Amazon too. There are a couple of these magazine like books…great for any pre-teen girl. 
Of course, again.
An annual purchase...the boys love these.
Please buy this series…you will laugh your heiney off.
My mother-in-law bought each of the kids this treasure box a couple years ago from a local toy store. I think they might even have them in Michael’s now? To keep special things in…every kid needs one. 
Vintage Fisher Price….you know why.
Magna-Tiles. Irresistable. 
Old wooden alphabet blocks…have had these for 15 years!
Zoobs…kind of expensive but seriously worth it. My kids all have loved these….I would say by 4 they are old enough to clip these together. They come with lots of ideas for what you can build. You need to buy a container though, because the one they give you…you can never get them all back in…(don’t you hate that?)More ideas coming soon. Get going so you can enjoy your December!
PS. I'm going to be back in a week or two or three...I'm working on some projects around the house, and any free time (naptime) I have...
you know.
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48 comments:
I so agree with you and the quality of toys. Toys that inspire and spark creativity are the best. Amen! We are big puzzle, games and American Girl folks too. I have some old school wooden blocks from Pottery Barn. Lovely to look at for me and to see what my girls do with them. My girls are pack rats/collectors. Give them a pile of something (rocks, shells, markers, little animals) and they play family. It is hilarious... marker family. Creativity at work, I guess!
We LOVE Rush Hour. So much fun for adults, too!
My 8 year old has the entire 3rd grade at his school in love with Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He's getting the new one for his birthday next week. Such a great series....and yes, filled with laughs.
thanks for the great ideas. my girls LOVE duplos and i put them on their list again this year. they have the lego table too, which is another great find...if you can one!
we just got them their gift this weekend...i found a doll house at a garage sale this summer for $15.00...an older pottery barn kids one...all wood, just needs some paint and then i got them the doll house funriture from PBkids...i was over priced, but wood and not plastic, which is what i wanted.
the girls love their baby dolls...LOVE is maybe not even strong enough for how much they love them...put them in the shirt and tell me they have a baby in their tummy. they have the bitty baby too.
and dress...the goodwill was great to us this year...got lots of fun new things.
thanks for the great list. i love getting stuff that i know i can have forever...even when the grandkids are around!
enjoy!
Waldorf dolls. They come in all sizes and hair and skin tones.They are pricey, but if you have even basic sewing skills you can make them yourself from the pattern or a kit. A great savings.
We've overindulged a little- our doll cabinet looks like the U.N.
But they are so appealing and fun to make that Mimi is always up for constructing 'just one more'.
Ha! That's my mom, Sal, above me there! Yes- my daughter LOVES creating special one of a kind dolls with Mimi. (And she buys really fancy-schmancy hard-carved wooden toys for my kids, too- but bogarts them for her house only!)
And Zingo! LOVE IT! Our son has been able to play it with us since he was two- which is nice. We hate to leave him out.
How about the way they ruin a perfectly good toy by making it sing or talk? I passed on a cute toy grill because it talked. I want my kids to supply the noise, not the toy!
Thanks for sharing your toy collection. - Jenn S.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing!!!
:)
Thank you for those great suggestions! I was thinking of asking you for suggestions a couple weeks ago - then I got sick, blah blah blah... By the way, I sent your post on painting your dining room furniture to my mom - she mentioned painting some of her little tables black - go Mom! Have a great week - looking forward to seeing the projects you're working on!
Great suggestions, Sarah. Guiness books of records are great for boys of any age! It's amazing how all the old stand bys stand the test of time. I always pride myself on a battery-free Christmas! That's getting harder and harder to achieve...
great ideas! i recently did a post on toy recommendations:
http://wirigs.blogspot.com/2009/11/toy-recommendations.html
(is that lame to leave a comment about a post on my blog? sorry! but i love toys, especially ones that make kids use their minds!!!)
i've been really enjoying your blog....very inspirational posts....i love to read your thoughts on motherhood! Thank you!
ooooh, I love your suggestions, some of these I've never heard of before and I'll be looking into. I was planning a post like this, like our top 10 favorite toys or something with Christmas coming up, we'll see if it happens:) Have a great day and good luck with your projects~
Now I have to go find Rush Hour, since the hubs and I are sick of playing Candyland with the boys!
As for your blog question, it is still there, and seems to be working fine. Maybe I have too many pictures and links and crap that it is taking too long for you to pull it up? Hope you can see it soon :)
My "littlest" is fourteen this year, so fun toy-buying days are over for us...(but I have a grandchild on the way from my oldest daughter and her husband so SOON! I will get to buy toys again for Christmas!) but I loved your choices and your photos...they're all fun-looking stuff that even I would enjoy playing with!
XOXO
Joni
Love the treasure boxes and the real dress up clothes ideas!
I am so happy I found your blog I just bought zoobs and zingo from ebay I can't find the magna tiles though
We play alot of zingo around here. We just got charades for kids. Should be fun. My fave little baby/toddler toy are those beautiful Nesting/Stacking boxes. My kids are stackers. Thanks for some new ideas. I have never heard of zoobs.
Love your ideas.. There were a few new ones that I will be looking into!!! Thank you!!
Great ideas! I so agree with you on the real dress-ups. My girls have so many store bought princess costumes and the ones they put on over and over are my old dance costumes and dresses. They prefer my heels to the cheap plastic ones too. Go figure!
The typewriter idea is a good one.
Great toy ideas....but just a warning.... Fisher Price recalled those "vintage" toys due to choking on the little people. Children have died from those little folks. I use to have the same Fisher Price toys with my kids years ago and loved them too...but decide to get rid of them in case of an accident with my grandchildren.
I love the typewriter idea:)
I love our vintage Fisher Price train set, complete with the Little People that go with it. My husband played with it as a child and now our kids play with it.
We also love Magnetix! It has stood the test of time (4 years now, and they are still playing with it). It uses magnets to hold the pieces together and they can build things with them.
Love the suggestions! I'd love to see/hear how you organize all the little pieces! That's our biggest issue.
Thanks for the ideas.
Just wondering how big is the treasure chest?
And the typewriter idea is brilliant.
A big Thank You for sharing these! I am always looking for quality, engaging toys for my babes. I will definitely be looking up the Groovy Girls and the MagnaTiles for possible Christmas presents!
Thank you so much for all the great ideas!
Thnaks so much for your ideas. I'm always on the look out for toys that will last and will actually be played with by real children. Legos are a necessity in our home and I love the idea of the treasure box.
My students used to L.O.V.E. Guinness World Record books and Diary of A Wimpy Kid. These are FANTASTIC for boys (and probably girls too.) Great list.
I meant "Thanks" not thnaks above. hee-hee
Oh my gosh, very timely since I've been racking my brains on what to get them for Christmas. I hate those toys that are played with for an hour then pushed away. Love the timeless ones.
I bought the Zingo game at Target today!
I love that you say everyone needs an old typewriter... because I just bought one, wahoo! Great list!
I love the typewriter suggestion- I had forgotten about it. I had one when we were kids and it was SO much fun: playing teacher, reporter, writer, typing up menus for restaurants... so much better than the toy ones!
PS- I just stumbled upon your blog and I bookmarked it. Visually appealing (looks like a magazine) and great organization suggestions. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing! I love reading about things other kids enjoy!
I don't know how I found your blog but when I did I was hooked. You are such a good writer and some of your posts really spoke to me like we were actually having a heart to heart conversation. I love your honesty!
Love the ideas...with 3 boys I know they would love the Genies books. I love vintage little people, you just need to very careful about what age you are recommending them for. They have been known to be a huge choking factor due to their size and shape and one of the main reasons fisher price begin to change the shape and size of the little people. They do have know at Target over sized "vintage" little people. They have the school house and one other one. I know that they are not the same, and I don't want to be "that" mom and/or reader. I just really felt the need to pass the information along.
Such a wonderful idea, there are so many expensive but not so easy play with or getting broken easily toys out there, it is nice to have something that last longer in terms of interest holding of a child as well durability.
Ooooh, I just discovered your blog and LOVE it! Your house and the changes you made are awesome.
Love this list. I'm going to take your lead and make one also. Every new mom needs to know what is going to stay for the long haul and what isn't. Legos and that thomas duplo set are HUGE hits in our house too!
Awww! I love the vintage Fisher Price. My grandmother cleaned out our old toy closet and threw them all away. I still cringe when I think of it!!
And we LOVE the Diary of a Wimpy kid books! I already have two put away in the closet for Christmas!!
And Rush Hour looks fun. I might have to find that!!
Lovely toys and books...we looooove American Girl too!
Jamie :)
I have to look into this Rush Hour game, I think my kids would enjoy it! Just found your blog and I love it! I will be back!
oooo...vintage Fisher Price...that makes me drool. LOVE that stuff!!
Hi - new from TCB.. love your blog!
ZOOBS! yes! the best! my son got a small set as a birthday gift at 5, he is now 13 and still breaks them out once in a while. My 6 yo daughter loves them too.
I have only been able to find them at the discovery store?
Yes - good list! My daughter loves those Diary of a Whimpy kids books. She has read them over and over and over!
Good luck with your projects!
XOOX
Jen
Great list! Congrats on your TCB feature! I've loved looking through your posts-such wonderful photos!!
Wandered over from TCB - yay! I love new discoveries :)
I can't believe you have the Fisher-Price parking garage! My brothers and I had that as a kid, a hand me down from some second cousins. We loved that thing, and I have never known anyone else in the world who also had one! Cool!
We have many of the toys you posted about...and they are the kids' faves as well. I'd love to get an old typewriter for them though...they will have a blast. Thanks for that great idea.
What a great list! Cute blog. ;)
Love vintage Fisher Price! And I really like your blog!
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