The Best Toys In (and out of) My House
For most parents, the quarantine we’re living in means a LOT of time with kids. I’m a stay at home mom to begin with but holy moly, I’m running at 200% capacity here! What’s getting me through? High entertainment factors. I have never appreciated great toys, games, activities, and books more in my life and every time I post about my kids using one of their favourites in my Instagram stories, I get a few “where did you get that?” DMs so I know I’m not alone in my need to fill some time. Maybe there’s a birthday coming up or maybe you just want to have something NEW to make your child’s quarantined days a little brighter. Whatever the reason, here are the major entertainment wins in my household and I’d love to hear yours, too.
Some items on this list will look familiar to my regular readers as I’ve elaborated on a previous blog about Christmas gifts that actually got played with. It’s also why some toys are of the showstopper variety.
V Tech Kidi Star Karaoke machine This gets play EVERY DAY. Petra (5) plays games like freeze dance and tongue twisters while both kids enjoy actually singing… and doing stand-up comedy. It’s mostly poop jokes.
Globber scooter Worst name, best three-wheeled scooter I could find. Both kids have one and because the handle is adjustable, it grows with them.
Sands Alive! sand box Around a year and a half, I let Paris into this thing (before that, it was an activity for Petra when he napped) and he became obsessed. This is a HIT. If you’ve ever played with kinetic sand, you’ll understand the appeal. Note: I have the older model of kit that doesn’t fold and I just have to shove the tub back in its box all the time. This seems better.
Pop up tents We have a train pop-up tent, one with Dory on it, and something like the one in the picture. All were gifts and all are total eyesores… but they see a lot of pretend play. And the genius of these things? They slide beside a dresser when not in use. Like they don’t even exist. But then? BIG FUN when you pop em up. I love hearing the kids’ laughter just bubbling out!
Ukulele This Mahalo withstood Petra easily, and about a year of Paris before losing a couple screws in the tuning pegs. The tone is really nice and it stays tuned pretty well. Why buy fake instruments when a beautiful uke like this is around $40? And sure, Paris might not be chording yet, but I think he will be by the end of the year. You will be, too— this is the easiest instrument I’ve ever YouTubed. Musical instruments that also see a lot of play here: tambourine, recorder, roll-up keyboard, maracas. Don’t bother with kid versions, they’re usually awful and not that much cheaper.
Books that have taken us from baby to 5 are anything by Sandra Boynton (although the Belly Button Book makes us giggle every time), Little Critter, Olivia, and Oliver Jeffers’ beautiful books. And new to us: the Dogman series! My daughter often reads this comic book to herself or her brother (they really giggle) but when I’m the reader, I get a kick out of it, too.
Lego Too obvious? We have a lot of Lego and it’s been played with for almost 40 years because most of it was mine and my brother’s! I know the Juniors say 4+ and I probably shouldn’t be suggesting otherwise, buuuuut Paris is totally capable of handling Lego at 2 (we do have Duplo but it doesn’t see much action anymore) and although he doesn’t do a “set” on his own yet, he REALLY loves Anna and Elsa so we’ve got quite a bit of that.
Look and Finds All the look and find books get flipped through around here, from Disney Princesses and Paw Patrol to more advanced ones.
Ravensburg puzzles This is the best quality brand I’ve bought. We are big puzzlers, Petra was maybe 20 months when she was whipping around putting together 50-piece ones but Paris is, um… not quite there. Ha! He does like to join in, though. And Petra can.
Queretti Saxoflute I’d link to the bigger set of this but that one won’t arrive by Christmas for some reason! I see the age says 2-4 but I’ll tell you that even seven-year-olds who come over love making and tootin’ on this toy. It’s fun! Better yet with more piping. Maybe buy two.
Melissa and Doug vet kit Sometimes it’s a vet kit (2 animals are included) and other times I’ve been in need of the medical attention but happily for me, now that Paris is here, sometimes he is the patient!
Little Tikes Car Have two kids and wanna see them argue? Or more optimistically, wanna see them negotiate? Buy ONE of these.
KidKraft kitchen This one ebbs and flows. I find myself eating at the kids’ resto for weeks on end and then nothing for a bit, but it always, always picks back up. It’s not a trend toy, it’s one of imagination, and that’s what I love about it.
Little Tikes basketball Hoop I bring this height-adjustable hoop wherever we’re hanging out: downstairs, in the living room, and outside in the summer. It is indeed a slam dunk gift.
Q-ba-maze 2.0 The most responded-to toy stories are when the marble run makes an appearance. My kids break this out every day and even I can feel it workin’ my brain to build with it. Petra can do it, Paris just likes to watch me build and then run his marbles, and we all love seeing which way each will go. It’s kind of expensive (I found it for like $80 at Winners) but like Lego, you can feel it’s gonna last forever.
Just Dance Your kids (and you) will dance along, mirroring the character onscreen, to oodles and oodles of songs and it will be some of the best times of your LIFE. If you know or follow me, you’ll know that my kids wouldn’t even ask me for screen time… but I’ve never loved breaking a rule more. We bought a Nintendo Switch to play on but Just Dance 2020 is available for other systems, too.
Headbanz for kids I posted this one in my stories, answering yes and no questions as my daughter wore her “I am a flower” card on her head. My friend replied, saying she’d pull out Headbanz when she had things to do (dishes etc.) because it allowed her to still interact with her daughter and keep her entertained. I now follow that advice all the time.
Simon I can’t believe this is labeled 8+. My five year old is excellent at this classic repeating game and even my two year old gets a couple turns in.
Magnetic drawing board This isn’t the exact one I have but this one seems great. We use it for spelling play, for our no-card version of pictionary (one person draws, the other guesses), and for general doodlin’.
Art supplies get a TON of use here, and these tempera paints are an especially hot item for both kids. I like that they’re easy to use, to clean up, and they’re so vibrant. I let the kids go to town on any cardboard box they can find.
Outdoor Playset Okay, this is the biggest on my list. But if you have a yard and don’t yet have a playset, I did a lot of comparison shopping before deciding on Playstar. The wood is very hard and doesn’t have to be stained, the quality of the accessories (we went with their ‘commercial grade’) is awesome, and I’m just sooooo grateful to have a play structure right now. It’s also a lifesaver if I have some blogging to do and want the kids outta here, or if Paris is napping and Petra wants to play outside.
Sidewalk chalk We love when your child has drawn a hopscotch for passerbys to enjoy. WE are those passerbys! And we endeavor to return the favour, despite living in a cul-de-sac everyone just skips on by. ;)
And that’s the toys that rule according to my 2 and 5-year-olds (but I think the age range is pretty lenient here). Lemme know if it helped you or if you’ve got a winning toy you’d like to share!
xo
