Our kids are now 6&8. How did THAT happen? I see a lot of posts on social media asking for gift ideas and favorite toys that will last. I thought I’d put together a short list of our family favorites.
- When we moved to our current home, we sadly had to come to grips with the fact that our play room was smaller. Waaaaaay smaller. So our oversized furniture wasn’t going to work. We sold it and bought this Nugget Couch in navy as a replacement. It is a couch sometimes, a ramp, a slide, a fort, etc. It is everything my kids want it to be and we LOVE it.
- Magnatiles, or picasso tiles. We have a huge collection of these and it is definitely cost effective to get the Picasso. They work together and my kids have loved them for years. We’ve gotten a few additions along the way, like vehicles bases and they really have been a favorite.
- Memberships. Zoo, Science Center, or anywhere else you can think of. I find taking the pressure off of “this was really expensive so we need to be here for 8 hours for it to be worth it”, is very helpful to my personality. Making the zoo a casual, frequent experience has been a true gift to our family.
- Magic Tracks are a huge hit for our Judah. He loves to watch things move and has a very critical, “how does this work” kind of brain and this toy has been a real joy for him to manipulate.
- Legos. That is pretty self explanatory.
- Dress-ups. Anything from Elsa to Harry Potter to ninjas to Dory. My kids have LOVED dressing up forever.
- We have had a few different “kitchen” type options for our kids over the years. At the end of the day, they end up playing with the play food more than the play kitchen. Unless they are at someone else’s house. Then they obsess over the kitchen! I don’t know why.
- Nintendo Switch. There, I said it. My kids play with screens.
- Craft supplies. Alllll day long. I love gifts that run out and don’t need to be stored for life and Lillian loves creating. Clay, model magic, paint, paper, markers, pastels. Any of it!
- Anything with wheels outside. Bikes, motorized cars, scooters. Anything that requires a helmet is beloved.
A note: Lillian is like her mother in that she has a one-track mind. (I remember in middle school telling my mom I would forego lunch if she would use that money to buy me a pack of Pokemon cards). My Lil will beg and be so hyper-focused on getting something, then she gets it and rarely plays with it. Insert LOL dolls, Polly Pocket, or any other miniature kind of doll-ish thing. They have a short shelf life in our house but they are beloved for a week or two. If you ask her about her favorite toys, she will say Polly Pocket. They just don’t get the hours of play I’d think they would.
Image of what I would love our play room to look like. It does not, however look like this.
rentals and beans 