In my house Magna-tiles get all the love
We all want to make smart choices about buying gifts this holiday season– toys that will last, clothes that won’t be rejected by picky preschoolers, and nothing that makes so much noise that you’ll go crazy.
I was thrilled to see that my friend Angie at BabyCheapskate.com has been maintaining her series Toys that get played with. She’s got a list for each age range, so click over to the one for whom you are shopping and benefit from the wisdom of others.
Toys That Get Played With: 6-12 months
Toys That Get Played With 2013: 13 to 24 months
Toys That Get Played With 2013: 25 to 36 months
Toys That Get Played With 2013: 3 to 4 years
Toys That Get Played With 2013: 4 to 5 Years
Here’s what gets played with in my own house:
Scarlett, 6
- Rainbow Loom bracelet-making kit
- Stuffed animals and doll accessories like cribs, high chairs, and doll potties which get used with the stuffed animals
- Colored pencils
- Jump ropes
- Mancala game
Julian, 9
- Baseball, football, and Pokemon card collections, including rearranging them in their binders and plastic sleeves
- NFL board game
- Mini over-the-door basketball hoop (are you sensing a theme?)
- Webkinz (Already have too many plush animals? Here’s how we store them.)
- Clipboards, notebooks, and stopwatches for tracking things
- iPad games – for his birthday his sister gave him $5 worth of gems, our first virtual gift, on Dragonvale and one of the most valued to date!
- Mad Libs – great for first grade and up
Our 22 month old has been in love with a rechargeable electric broom. I have a electrolux with a pop out dust buster. It was rough when it was new and required a full 24 hrs in the charger. He ran the battery out daily for a week straight. He isn’t as good at vacuuming as the rest kit the nearly two year olds, but I’ll take whatever help I can get.