These are things my kids use/play with more than any of their other toys (not counting crayons or books):
1. A MagnaDoodle- they love drawing on it, so much so that I just bought a second one for Pepper for Christmas.
2. A tunnel- we got ours at Gymboree a few years ago, and it still gets a lot of use. Sometimes they play in it like it’s a tent, or fill it with stuffed animals, or roll around inside of it, or else they’ll roll balls through it. It’s worth the money.
3. CD player and CD’s- my kids adore listening to music and books on CD. They have their own real CD player in the playroom that they can turn on whenever and change the music and stories at will. It has been a huge hit. It is almost always on.
4. Dress up clothes- my girls are partial to princess dresses, but they also like to dress up as animals and cowgirls too. It’s usually the first area to be raided when we have other kids over to play as well. Fairy wings, cat ear headbands, fancy shoes, hats, and other accessories are in high demand.
5. Baby doll strollers. We have two, and they are both in terrible shape. Kids like to pretend to be grown-ups, and even if they’re not into dolls per se, they like to put things in the stroller and push it around. Boys too!
What are you getting your kids for Christmas? What toys do your kids love?
The magnadoodle may be the best toy ever invented. We’ve been through two (they were literally worn out by the Bear) and my aunt is purchasing one for E-train this year.
Our tunnel is also in constant rotation. And toy stollers were always fought over by the kids in our playgroup when Bear was little.
I’d add silks to our favorites. Just regular old silk scarves can keep them entertained for an hour. They are worn as capes, hats, used for blankets, slings for baby dolls, used to represent rivers and fields. Their imaginations just go insane with open ended stuff like that.
Our little animal figures are also daily favorites with both the big kid and the toddler.