Mama Monday Disclaimer: I am nowhere near an expert mom. I am on a mama journey just like all of you are. However, I'm more than willing to share my experience with you guys. If today's topic is something that you have an experience with then I hope you'll share too...either on your own blog (be sure to leave us a link) or in the comments section.
I'm really excited about today's Mama Monday topic. Everyone wants to present their child with a gift they'll really enjoy, right? And not just for a week or so but for years. Many of you have commented over the course of this blog's life about all the "vintage" toys you see my kiddos playing with. And it's true. Many of the things Sarah and Ephraim play with on a daily basis were mine as a child - people toys, Sarah's plastic teaset, wooden colored blocks, cabbage patch dolls (at grama's house). Many of the toys we grew up with were made to last and have years of play left in them. I hope you have some to share with your children too!
It's true that many toys today aren't made the way they used to be. And many toys are geared toward shorter attention spans with flashy sell-now packaging. So how do we navigate through the toys-of-the-minute to find the ones with staying power? I'll share mine if you'll share yours!
Fisher Price Gumball Machine - I bought this toy when Sarah was a baby after seeing Krista's small wonder, Leah, working it like a champ at 7 months or so. It didn't disappoint. Ephraim loves it now and Sarah still plays with it too.
Do-A-Dot Paints - Mandy bought Sarah her first set for her birthday last year and the girl's been hooked ever since. They're perfect for your little one who's not quite ready to be set free with paint yet!
Little Tikes Jam and Groove Boombox - Okay, if you click that link you'll see that this toy only has 1 1/2 stars. And if you read the reviews about it feeling a little cheap and the top being hard to press down, it's all true. BUT. Sarah adores it. Nana gave it to her for Christmas last year and it's rarely on her shelf because she plays with it all.the.time. It has staying power at our house. Go figure.
Little Tikes Shopping Cart - Bought this for Sarah around her first birthday as a push toy to help her walk. It was featured in the famous day-after-Thanksgiving, broken-leg, "Hi!" video. She loved it then and she still loves it now. It's an outside toy now that she uses for gathering up sticks and debris from the yard. We can't play in the front without it. It's like an appendage.
Baby Stroller - This isn't the exact stroller we have (ours was a Goodwill find...thanks Grama!) but it's the same idea. Good for endless hours of pushing babydolls through the house, the mall, the yard, the park...you get the point. If you have a little girl in your house (or a little boy who likes dolls) this is a must.
Magnadoodle - Another gift from way back that still gets a ton of play. It's a great car toy too.
I'll add more as I think of them. Can't wait to read yours!
Buddy Posters
Jenny at Zollars Family
Christie at the Breland Family
Tammy at The Waidas
Shannon
Marilee at Mishpacha
Chris at A Little Love
29 comments:
Great idea for a post! We also have the shopping cart (it's so good, even for a boy!) and a Magnadoodle.
Jonathan has a train table that he plays with almost every day. We found a good deal on a Kid Kraft set last year at Costco. Also, my sister bought him a wooden kitchen set from Target two Christmases ago, it looks a lot like the PBK ones but was a lot cheaper. It gets daily use as well. For outdoors, we have the original Little Tykes Cozy Coupe and it's Jonathan's favorite outdoor toy over a year later!
Oh, and before I hit post, a good set of wooden alphabet blocks is a must! We have the set from PBK, received it as a shower gift. Initially, we just stacked them but we are now using them to learn letters.
Those paints look great! I might have to look into those. I agree about the Gumball Machine, I've forgotten about some of the "younger" toys that we've put away but will be getting out again here in the next few months for Baby Lucy's arrival. Thanks again for the great topic.
I'm in! Thank you for your post as always! Never actually thought of a boombox - but I think that may make the Christmas list this year!
www.thesarahbear.blogspot.com
I am in love with almost everything from Lakeshore (www.lakeshorelearning.com)--I know it's leftover love from my teaching days, but they have tons of great stuff. Some of it is sparkly/flashy but most of it is well made, interesting, unique (and a little bit of sparkle and flash is good, too!)
The current fave in my house (almost 3 year old) is the set of shape boxes that have similarly shaped items inside.
The Fisher Price laugh and learn home is a big hit at our house. Lily has been using it since she was about 12 months and still at 3 she loves it.
And the Costco retro pink kitchen set. She adores that and bakes or cooks something about every day while I'm in the kitchen doing my thing.
We have the shopping cart as well and that's a huge hit
And if you have a girl, throw in a dress up trunk full of dresses/hats/purses/old jewlery and your daughter will be in love.
Thanks for the ideas, we too have birthdays and of course the holidays approaching and I'm an early shopper!!
Our Favorite Toys:
1) Fisher Price Digital Camera (just incase your daughter doesn't already use your old rebel :-)
2) Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Computer
3) Aqua Doodles (one negative they do like to suck on the pens to get the water out.)
4) Target wooden Play Kitchen WONDERFUL!!!
5)Call us crazy but a real drum set! Our middle daughter (3 years) wants to be a rock star...we had to get beyond the noise and see the joy it brings to her life!
Finally it's not a toy to really go out and buy but our old keyboards from past computers. Our girls LOVER them...they are great for playing office, school, grocery, hardware store, you name it.
After thought...Snap N' Style Girls(not the baby) by Fisher Price....so far they are a hit but we have only had them for 3 months
Amy
One of the best gifts we've ever received: two play silks. Seriously, these things are going to last forever. Maddie can tie them (we have two, which seems to be the right amount) into a thousand different dresses/costumes, and Gracie is starting to be able to do that, too. They play baby with them, ghost, whatever. The brand we have is Sarah's Silks http://www.sarahssilks.com/. They are a Waldorf-style toy; we are not a Waldorf family, but we do appreciate Waldorf-y playthings : )
My favorite places to buy toys with staying power: Magic Cabin, Hearthsong, Oompa, and Back To Basics Toys. I recently learned about Nova Naturals, too. If you google those their websites will come up--most have catalogs you can request, too.
Buddy posting:
http://thewaidafamily.blogspot.com/
Great topic!
Our favorite toys with staying power...
-Blocks! E loves her blocks and can spend hours knocking them down and building them back up.
-Another vote for the laugh & learn house. We have had the house since E was 8 months old and it is still a favorite almost 2 years later.
- Little People. They have come a long way since the 80's. But the farm is still a big hit w/ me as a toddler as well as my munchkin.
-Fisher Price Little Mommy Dolls. They have been loved a lot and still hold up like new.
-And of course boxes. Yup, plain old boxes. Sometimes the box the toy comes in is played w/ longer than the toy ;)
Erin,
This is the best idea you've had yet! I love it! Here's what I came up with!
Shoot 'em up
play food, plates, utensils, etc. to make a 'feast.'
princess dress my mom found for $5. she wears this everyday.
ballet shoes.
containers of all sorts, to carry stuff around in.
early on, that playskool ball popper was a HUGE hit. she got it for her first bday and used it til like 2.5 years. i'm sure she'll have a renewed interest when we get it out for fisher. the shopping cart from her first bday is still a huge hit, too.
a CD player with books on CD (we get them from the library and shhh copy them)
The toys that have held my kids attention and interest are:
Loving Family Dollhouse. The girls got this for christmas about 2 yrs ago and they STILL play with it EVERYDAY!!
Ink pads and stamps. I have a bucket of stamps and they are played with everyday.
Star Wars action figures. My son has been in love with Star Wars since he was about 3; he's almost 7 now. He plays with his guys EVERYDAY!!
Hot Wheels and a car rug; we actually have 3 rugs. all 4 of my kids will play for HOURS driving cars around. They love these so much that Santa actually gets them new ones every christmas.
A Deck of cards. The kids love playing matching games with them. I have started using them with the older kids for math sentences.
Barbies. Most of the Barbies my girls have were mine. They LOVE dressing them.
Hayden is currently 19 months and these are some of our favorites:
-The Measure Up Cups from Discovery Toys (https://www.discoverytoyslink.com/ecommerce/control/product;jsessionid=F58E2E936238F0D1B00C8276C4C4DCBD.dtsc1?PURCHASE_STATE=STANDARD&product_id=1971). We've used these since about 3 months old and he still loves them!
-The milk lid bank (http://shertzertime.blogspot.com/2007/10/baby-treasure.html). He doesn't play with it so much anymore (but he did love it for nearly 8 months), and for the cost (FREE!) it was well worth it. Definitely keeping that around for our next baby, whenever that time comes!
-The Fisher Price Ball Popper has been around since his 1st birthday and he still loves it. And the 7- and 4-year old neighbors were here the other day and LOVED it!
-Fisher Price Stack & Roll Cups (http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?e=detail&pcat=bubrilliant&pid=38607&st=2341) have been very popular since he got them at Christmas.
-The Sassy foam letters and numbers set. We have one set for the tub and one set to play with downstairs. Fun for stacking and learning letters.
-IQ Baby Vroom Vroom Cars (http://www.drtoy.com/2003_b/small_world_toys_2003_b.html). He's played with these from about 3 months old and still loves "driving" the cars around.
Ditto on the Baby Stoller and Shopping Cart. Those two things get used and abused daily at our house. Not to mention the poor naked baby dolls that get shoved in them.
Another great toy Zoe loves is the Storytime Theatre that my sister-in-law bought her for Christmas last year.(http://www.amazon.com/Storytime-Theater-Winnie-Pooh-Story/dp/B000SOZ69S/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1220910557&sr=8-2)
There are few other things that see the light of day a couple of times a week, but not like those.
Toni
Great post, Erin!!
Buddy poster at Mishpacha.
I wish that I still had some toys from when I was a kid! How lucky are you?! I remember Noah liking your old "people" bus when we came to play. :)
Awesome Mama Monday Post!
Let's see...the one that has been the biggest hit around here is the Weeble Wobble Tree House. I had one when I was small and they came out with a new one a few years ago.
A few more that have and still stand the test of time...
-Tall Stacker Pegs Building Set by Lauri! These are awsome and provide hours of fun!
-Melissa and Doug wooden pizza and birthday cake set. Also the wooden magnetic doll set! These are always our top birthday gift picks for friends.
-For the older ones...Luke and Zoe love the Playmobil Pirate ship, pirates and access. plus the knights and access.
Hi Erin,
What I learned during my time with little ones is less is definitely more in the toy department.
Blocks, a doll or two, the shopping cart, and books.
When the E-man gets past the stage of putting stuff in his mouth I highly recommend legos. Oh, and here's the brilliant part, buy a big shallow container (not a deep one) that will slide under a bed or dresser so that the legos can be sorted through without scattering them all around the room.
We were big Thomas the Tank Engine folks too. The Brio track and trains are durable and hours of fun for little boys (and big boys, er, dads).
The kids also really loved the dress up stuff. Ben got a wizard's cape that we got alot of mileage out of for years. I had another friend that gave Allison a 3-yard piece of washable lace fabric that was so versatile. It was a wedding dress, a blanket, a tent, a tablecloth, etc. That same friend gave Allison a ream of 8 1/2 X 14 paper and a pack of markers. Sounds simple but it was one of Allison's favorites.
Thanks for the Mama Monday. Mine's at http://cdembins.blogspot.com/
Yay for all the great ideas! I know where Santa will be going for ideas this year. =)
Another vote for a MagnaDoodle. We have 2. They are awesome, and great learning toys to save paper.
There are only a handful of toys I would add. We absolutely loved our exersauser. I know it's for under 1 year of age but it was used well after a year when the kids would stand on the outside and play with the toys. All three loved that one. We also are fans of regular old blocks. The wooden kind with the colorful letters. Each of mine have a set that came in a box with their name on it and they still love to play with them. Mazie and Jamie spell words and Jacob builds. We also have the Fridge Phonics by LeapFrog. We got the set when Mazie was turned one and then purchased the set of lowercase letters. It has been on our fridge ever since. All the kids love it.
I wanna be a buddy poster...
www.thesarahbear.blogspot.com
I will vote for the FP Ball Popper again!! we loved it. My Sam played with it until we packed it up back in Jan when we moved. SAdly it's still in storage and my lil fat man is not playing with it. I can't wait till we get in our house next month (God willing) and he gets it out! All Little People. We are slightly obsessed with them and have a lot of the new stuff. But we also have some of hubby's old stuff...the airport, the city road that is a circle, the mini van and some other stuff.
I will suggest a ball pit and a tent also. Sam (who is 4.5) loves his tent. We set it up for a month or two and he sleeps in it. The ball pit is great, but because we are at my in laws (while our house sells) I was a nervous wreck because they always complained when the balls came out or the kids jumped in too hard. So it was put up. (but it'll be back in our house!) Tunnels are great too. I found the tent and the tunnels at resale shops for less than $40 for both!
And you can get lots of dress up stuff at resale shops now! All those Halloween costumes are coming out.
This is wonderful for a grandma who only likes toys without batteries. I love all the suggestions. We have many for my grandkids and some toys from my childhood and my daughters. The Fisher Price clock is one and wooden blocks. I love that creative items are included. We love the Melissa and Doug ice cream shop. All of their toys are very sturdy. Lakeshore is a wonderful place to shop for all kinds of kid things. Thanks for sharing such wonderful ideas. I have to go shopping!
Hi, Erin! I thought I would take a minute to put in my two cents..in case it's interesting or helpful. I have four kids: boys ages 9, 7.5 and almost 5 and a girl 2. The boys have all been typical boys whose first and forever love is balls. They are sports kids and somehow we got some of those ball-pit type balls way back. We let them use those in the finished basement to play baseball, hockey, etc. They work well and don't put dents or holes in drywall! Believe me, those balls get used and abused. I know you can buy just the balls at Toy-R-Us. They are great.
Also for boys, the blue and yellow dump truck with the handles (FP or Little Tikes?) is awesome. Kids push it (running!) back and forth.
Coupe Car from Little Tikes. There can't be a kid on earth who doesn't have and love a Couple Car. People seek these out at tag sales. They last forever and are indestructible.
I don't know if anyone said playdough - but again, what kid doesn't love playdough? Messy, but definitely tried and true.
The little girlie definitely loves pushing the doll stroller, no doubt.
Hope somebody finds this intereting!
silk scarves.
an indoor mini-trampoline with a handle. they jump on it everyday. our one-year old likes to climb up on it and even our 10 year old nephew likes it.
also, the like-a-bike.
No kids of my own yet, but I *do* have lots of kids in the family (and I babysit part-time too!) and I know that we couldn't live in THIS house without good 'old Lincoln Logs and Megabloks.
They get played with EVERY day here!
And I'm another fan of Little People and the Magna-Doodle!
I bought about 5 different Little People sets for Ryan (age 2.5 now) last year for his birthday and for Christmas, and he has yet to really play with any of them except the school bus set, and that's only because he loves busses - he doesn't actually play with the people. Sigh.
I second (or fifth?) the ball popper. He also really liked the Drop & Roar Dinosaur with the peek-a-balls http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3933933 but it seems to have been discontinued.
He is more of an outdoorsy boy, so anything involving kicking balls, the sand box, dirt, worms, and bugs are our "toys" with staying power. And if he didn't get a daily trip to the park, I don't think he could survive! :-)
He loves anything Thomas the Train, and I also scored with these great little cars I picked up at a garage sale last summer...I think I got about 25 of them for $20. They are similarly-looking to the ones from Cars (ie, they have faces), but they are super cute and there is an Ice Cream Truck, an old "Woodie" with a surf board, etc. http://www.chevroncars.com/
I agree with the people who have said simple is better. Various family members have gotten him different kinds of LeapFrog laptops, complicated electronic toys, etc., and he hasn't given them a second glance. But if you give him a new box of crayons and some paper, or some play-doh, he'll love you forever.
He does LOVE pushing things, so I'm going to have to pick up that grocery cart you are all raving about! :-) Thanks Erin and everyone!
Oh, and I couldn't find my old Cabbage Patch from when I was a girl anywhere in our attic, but I did find the same one on eBay! Thanks for the reminder, Erin!
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