Favorite Toys
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Toys probably make up the biggest mess in our house. Sometimes I daydream that we will somehow have all of our toys lost and the clutter will be gone. Which got me thinking, which toys would i ACTUALLY want to replace. The ones that get played with frequently. The ones that span multiple age ranges. The ones that don’t do the playing and entertaining for the child, but actually build imagination. These are them.
- My kids play with these EVERY day. Houses, car ramps, ball drops, stacking towers, bouncing ball games, it doesn’t matter. They are the most consistent toy played with in our house. Worth the investment. And you can never have too many! They make a great gift and kids of all ages love them. My kids started playing with them around 15 months and I often find my husband playing with them at 29! If you are a grandparent looking for a gift, these are a safe bet. And they have multiple different sets! I don’t care for the themed ones, they seem gimmicky. I do love the basic sets but the ball run adds a good variety if you are bored of the same themes. I have yet to try the car tracks. They look awesome but I read the reviews every Christmas because they tempt me. Every. Christmas. And I always chicken out. So if any of you have them and love them, please convince me in the comments.
- My friend introduced me to these at her house and I immediately went home and ordered them. I even love to use them when I sit to color with the kids. They go on paper so smooth, almost like a glue stick. They dry very quickly. They have vibrant colors. They aren’t nearly as messy as actual paint. And the best part…SUPER WASHABLE. I don’t even get mad when my kids accidentally get some on the carpet. It comes out simply with soap and a wet rag. I let my 1 year old use these. He doesn’t even get to use the markers at our house, but he can use these. I wish I had bought these sooner and I will recommend these to everyone I meet.
Nugget Couch
- My husband was skeptical when I came home from a Facebook Marketplace pick up with two nugget couches. But after the first month of seeing the kids use them at home, he was sold. This is another item that gets used daily at our house. I know they are pricier, but they are worth it in my opinion. That being said, I would totally look for a used one on marketplace or read reviews of knock-offs at Sam’s Club or Costco. But the builds you can do are limitless! We make slides, tents, houses, obstacle courses, and beds for sleepovers. And currently…it is the only couch in our home. We all use it and love it.
- I linked a strider bike here as that is what we have, but most balance bikes are pretty similar in my opinion. Kids can start so young on these and it is amazing to see their sense of balance compared to how I was as a kid trying to learn to balance at the age of 5. My 3 year old has better balance on her bike than I did. It is said to help them learn to ride a bike sooner since the balancing aspect is already mastered. My kids started on their balance bikes around 18 months and are still cruising.
- I’ll be honest, my kids phase in and out of these train tracks. These are a toy I try to keep on a rotation. When I see they are tired of them, I pack them away and bring them out in a couple months. But the imagination I have seen my kids have with these is so fun. They can build new tracks and it helps them plan ahead and problem solve when they are trying to think of how they can connect the train tracks at the end of the loop. Even though these aren’t an every day toy, I would 100% buy these again if we ever lost them. This battery powered train is a must though. All my kids love it and will play with it separate from the train tracks.
