Hey hey!
I guess it’s Black Friday or something like that? Well, you all know that I just cringe inside at the idea of “needing” things and the push to buy, buy, buy for the holiday season. This year more than ever we are scaling back and have decided to do ONE intentional gift for each child. That’s it. No stockings, no “want, need, wear, read”. Just one gift under the tree for each of us. I really want to put my money where my mouth is (literally and figuratively) and make Christmas not about the gifts.
Still, I know that many of us are looking for gifts for our kiddos, so I wanted to take a quick second to round up some of the toys that my kids have and actually play with. Some of these links are affiliate links (which means I get a small commission if you shop through the link), but most are seriously just sources of my kids favorite toys!
Hands down the most played with toy in our home are the magnet tiles! Everyone gets in on playing with these and they are SO FUN! They are discounted on Amazon today, but are also discounted on Zulilly! This is one of those toys that name brand is the way to go, but we have both Picasso Tiles and ShapeMaps and they all work well (and are compatible with each other)!
Another fan favorite of my boys is the standard matchbox cars. These of course get tons and tons of use throughout the day and can be found in every corner of our house!
Tera has a sweet little Calico Critter dollhouse and these are so fun because you can just continuously add to the collection! I love spying these sets at garage sales or on Facebook Marketplace, but Amazon and big box stores also sell the sweetest sets. I also love how you can adjust your price point on these- just need a small stocking stuffer? They’ve got those! Need a big, significant Christmas gift? They’ve got those, too!
Of course, a classic hit in our home is matchbox cars. The boys have so many of these, and yet they seem to play with ALL of them! They line them up, and Kiah has even been known to color code them (love that kid!)
Kiah also loves putting together his train tracks! We don’t have a train table or anything, he just sets them up in different configurations around the house. I also love that this is a toy that can be added to on consecutive birthday and Christmases!
Another huge hit around here is tiny plastic animals. I find my kids playing with these ALL the time! All over the house! They put them in the dollhouse, play with them in the tub, take them outside and leave them in the grass. Ha! I know all three kids love and play with all of these animals!
Of course, we spend a lot of time outside and try to go for daily walks. The kids all ride their bikes, and Ezra is starting to learn how to ride on the balance bike! If you have a toddler (aged 2-4), I HIGHLY recommend a balance bike! Tera got this one for her 3rd birthday, and all of our kids have been using it since. Both Tera and Kiah went from balance bike to riding a regular bike without training wheels- and mastered it in one day (Tera was almost 5 and Kiah was just shy of turning 4).
The kids also LOVE playing with play dough. Of course we have all kinds of fun cookie cutter cut-outs, but mostly they like to squeeze the play dough through the squeezer, drive their cars through it and get out my real kitchen tools to play with it. I am always a huge fan of buying them new play dough and the sensory play dough kits available on Etsy have me IN LOVE!!!
These sensory kits from Young, Wild and Freidman seriously have me SWOONING!
My friend Katie has a limited time offer for a Christmas play dough sensory kit.
Of course, Etsy has lots of options, including this shop, this shop and this shop!
We also just bought Ezra this mini trampoline for his birthday! He LOVES it! All the kids do. I like how it’s small enough to be inside during the winter. Now I actually have a legitimate reason to tell the kids to stop bouncing on the couch- go bounce on your trampoline, instead!
Of course, my kids are always into art supplies, but let’s be real…the things that they play with most often are MY things around the house- the kitchen pots and pans, my books that are carefully arranged on the bookshelf, and OF COURSE — blankets and furniture! Still, the toys that I have listed here get A LOT of use in our house, and I can personally vouch for any money that is spent on them!
You can also check out this post for my family family games, including a bunch of games that my kids love to play!
When you and Dan were little, somebody gave you a bag of plastic animals. I couldn’t imagine that they would be played with much but they were probably THE most played with toys you had. And Daniels army men!