How much money have you spent on toys your kid never touches? Probably a lot. Or maybe you’re better than I am and always make sure the toy is worth it, but I’ll tell you I’ve spent soooo much money on toys that are honestly a waste. So now, whenever I buy a toy that my son actually spends a ton of time on, it feels like such a win! So I’ve compiled a list of toys that he absolutely loves and will play with time and time again. Save your money! Buy these instead!
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Lovevery Play Kits:
Trust me, I’ve gotten sucked into subscriptions that cost a lot and weren’t worth it. Lovevery isn’t one of them. When I tell you my son has never gotten a single item from this company that he hasn’t loved, I mean it! The play kits may seem pricey at first but when you break it down it’s actually cheaper than if you were to try to get those toys elsewhere. Plus, as a bonus, a lot of their toys are made with wood, organic cotton, or other products you can feel good about. Like seriously, if you’re in the market for holiday gifts or new toys for your kiddos, I implore you to just give their website a look at Lovevery.com. If you’re interested, you can use code LOViUv for $12 off your first box!
Play dough:
Warning, your kid will probably try to eat this. That being said, if you’re buying play dough it’s usually pretty cheap, and if you don’t want to buy it you can just make it at home! And then there’s soooo many activities you can do with play dough. It can literally be turned into anything. Work on your kiddos colors or animals. Work on their fine motor skills. Let them explore their creativity. Make something related to any upcoming holiday. It’s such a versatile activity that doesn’t cost much, if anything at all, that I always recommend it.
Play Mobil:
Now we’re a little lucky because we got most of our play Mobil toys from a thrift store, so they were REALLY worth the money. That being said, they’d be worth it if we paid full price too! They’re a great way to explore imagination play! Plus they’re not too big that they take up tons of space, or too small that they’re choking hazards. You can find just about anything you can think of with play Mobil. Animals, Disney characters, adventure sets. So much fun to be had!
Surprise Animal Train:
This one was kind of a surprise to me, since I didn’t really expect it to be such a hit. I took my son to Barnes & Noble and he was so insistent on getting this train that I finally agreed, fully expecting it to be 5 minutes of entertainment. I was so pleasantly surprised when it kept him entertained for an hour! It sings, helps them with motor skills as they practice popping up the animals, and teaches them animal sounds! Especially since you can get it from Amazon for under $20, it’s totally worth it!
Bristle Blocks:
Now, my son is definitely a block guy. He LOVES everything block, stacking, and building related. But these blocks really stood out from others! They have little bristles that attach to each other and are made from a very flexible material which allows for a whole new level of creativity and motor skill development. At the time of writing this post there’s an 54 piece set only $12.95 on Amazon!
Library Membership:
Library memberships are definitely worth the money because they’re absolutely free! I have no idea why it took me so long to get a membership card to our local library but now we go once a week. It’s great because our local library has a whole play section for kids and we can constantly read new books for free just by checking them out from the library!
Duplo Legos:
Similar to the bristle blocks, duplo legos are a total hit for us and a great way to practice motor skills. They’re a little more difficult for younger kids to figure out, but this just gives them an extra challenge! A lot of Lego sets are also designed to make a specific set up, which you can then use to practice imagination play. Certain sets can get pricey, but I’ll link a few of the cheaper sets we’ve had a lot of fun with below.
Books:
Reading is always an amazing thing for kids. You can get touch and feel books to add a sensory experience for your kids like Pat the Bunny, funny books like The Pout Pout Fish, or learning books like these book and block sets that’ll help your kiddos learn new words! (All those books happen to be ones my son absolutely adores). Some books like fun flap books or books you pull out pieces from might be better purchased in case your kid rips out pages or flaps. Other books, though, you can check out for free with your library memberships!
Busy Toys:
Please, please, please, do NOT overlook busy toys!! Some fancy ones can get really pricey but there’s whole sets you can buy from Amazon that are cheap and will entertain your kids for hours while teaching them valuable skills. I recently bought a busy book from Amazon for an airplane flight and Ollie spent 1.5 hours just on the shapes page. The specific book I bought taught shapes, letters, animals, buckling, shoe tying, and many other valuable skills. I’ll link a few of the cheaper busy books down below, but if you’re designing a playroom or larger area and looking for busy toys it might be worth investing in some of the bigger, more expensive versions. Our local library has this busy crocodile and it’s a hit with the kids!
Pikler Triangle:
If there’s only one thing you buy your kids off this list, let it be this. It will give you hours, and I mean HOURS, of entertainment. Not only will your kids be stoked about it, but they’ll also learn a ton too! They’ll learn spatial awareness, better control over their bodies, and it’ll give them good indoor physical activity time. I know it seems like a bit of a pricey investment at first, but if anything is worth that price it’s this one. There’s also soooo many different ways you can set up this climbing set, so they’ll never get bored of it!
