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Give the Gift of Traditional Toys: 15 Top Choices

Ever just wish you could peek into someone’s toy closet and see what their most-loved toys look like? I wanted to share with you our TOP TOYS. The toys that, after 14 years, we still love and cherish and play with over and over again. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s wasting money on stuff my kids won’t use. These top toys represent money well spent.

Our Top Toys of all Time…for little ones

    1. Basic Wooden Blocks// I mean, if you don’t have a set of basic blocks….well, you need one. Hours of creative play.
    2. Homemade Play Dough// I’ve discovered that bought play dough doesn’t hold a prayer to my homemade stuff. You can make your own batch and package it with a cute set of cookie cutters!
    3. Little Red Wagon// Classic toy. You will use this hundreds of times.

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  1. Peg Blocks// I bought these this year. I thought they were kind of silly when I bought them, but they looked interesting. OH my gosh, Vera has played with these SO much!
  2. Tangrams// A great set that I used all the time with Vera when we’re doing school, because homeschooling with little ones isn’t always a cakewalk. LOVE these!
  3. Play Kitchen// Our play kitchen has been a restaurant, “Mommy’s kitchen,” a bakery and more. We bought a wooden kitchen forever ago and it’s still going strong. They don’t sell the exact kitchen we have anymore, but this one is the same brand and it has been a great one!Our TOP TOYS of all time!

MORE Top Toys for older kids…

  1. Outdoor Trampoline// We bought a big trampoline for our kids when we moved into our house in Minnesota. They would freeze to death on it right now, but when the weather warms up, they LOVE being out there. Jarrod thought I was wasting my money. Not true! Great investment…and they’re exercising too! ย Bonus!
  2. Good-quality Walkie-Talkies// Now here’s something I thought my husband was wasting money on. Wrong, Alicia. We invested in some higher quality walkie-talkies years ago. Not the hallow kind you find at Toys R Us, but legit walkie-talkies. These things have been through it all–zombie invasions, criminal investigations, spy campaigns, you name it. And they’re still going strong. These aren’t the exact pair that we own (I can’t find them anymore) but they are similar and have great reviews.
  3. Playmobil// This one might be our all-time favorite toy. For several years, when the boys were younger, they would get a big set to add to their collection every year. I love that they provide historical sets too, for my history lovers. These sets get played with all the time, years later. We love the Egyptian Pyramid the most!
  4. Legos// Of course, Legos! My kids have spent thousands of hours building Legos. I hate to step on them, but I love to see my kids playing with them. This year we’re adding the Creator Recreation Set to the mix. We haven’t bought any new Legos for a couple of years so this will be a fun surprise.
  5. Nerf Guns// Almost every year, Santa brings a new Nerf gun with darts. They sort of drive me crazy and I’ve sucked up more Nerf darts than I’d like to talk about. BUT my kids have played with these for hours. So, Top Toy.
  6. CD Player and Audiobooks// I cannot tell you how many CD players we’ve been through in this house. Many. My kids love to retreat to their rooms and listen to audiobooks (Jonathan Park was a favorite for many years) and put their Legos together. Not gonna lie, this is a really nice quiet afternoon for me too! ๐Ÿ™‚
  7. American Girl doll// We’ve talked about American Girl dolls in a previous guide. Samantha has been a favorite in our house. No regrets about this purchase at all.
Note: This was not a top toy. But look at Jack ready to rock back there.

EVEN More Top Toys…for all ages

  1. Snap Circuits// This box never seems to get old, no matter how old my kids get.
  2. Classic Books// Maybe not technically a toy but still a great gift. For Christmas, buy the hardcover, special books that you might not buy year-round. Get classics that your kids will have on their shelves for life. Have a bookish kid? Check out this list!
  3. Family Favorite Board Games// There are SO many games out there! We tend to gravitate towards the old classics. Our favorites are Rummikub, Yahtzee, Monopoly JUNIOR!, and Stratego. Risk is also on the kids’ list this year too.
  4. Puzzles for the Family// Wintertime means puzzling time in our house. I love collected new puzzles and pulling them out when it gets cold outside.

There’s a ton of great ideas for toys that won’t disappoint. I’m curious, what’s on your Top Toy list?

Need some more gift ideas? Check out these lists.

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