What I Love Wednesday: My Go-To Toddler Toys
- Abby Hillary
- Oct 25, 2017
- 7 min read
It's nearly the end of October and I haven't done ANY holiday shopping yet. None. Zero. Dan and I have ideas of what we want to get for the girls, but as I write this, we have not bought one thing. Luckily though, we don't plan on buying a lot of things, as, well, we already have a lot. I always thought we wouldn't be that family that has toys everywhere. WRONG. Our front room has exploded with toys, some of which we bought, many of which were handed down to us. This past weekend, I took a bunch of them downstairs and out of sight, and will end up rotating the toys out so it seems to the girls that they are getting something different every few months.
That's not to say we won't do any holiday shopping though. We are on the lookout for an indoor slide or other climbing object for Annabelle, because she's at that age where she's very physical. Although my Fall-Loving heart is overjoyed with this cold weather, it also means that Annie's desire to be physical has to manifest itself somewhere indoors, especially when it's wet. So that will be on the top of our list, along with a balance bike for when the weather gets nicer. Aside from those 2 things, we already have a lot of toys, so for today's What I Love Wednesday, I'm bringing you a list of my go-to toddler toys at the moment, in hopes that it might make YOUR holiday shopping a little easier.
You can find my previous What I Love Wednesdays here:
Just as before, you can find everything on this list on Amazon, and the links will take you right to these products. If you're an Amazon Prime member, as you know, you'll get everything super fast. If you're not, well, you should be. Total game changer for us.
We have this kitchen set, but in dark red. I don't think they make it any more in the dark red, and ours was actually given to us by one of Dan's cousins, but aside from the color, this is the exact kitchen set that we have. Annie LOVES it. There are multiple doors to open, a plastic stove top for her to put things on, and we've found a few of her sippy cups in the oven part as well. It is the perfect size for a toddler and it keeps her busy for quite some time. An added bonus - we use the refrigerator doors to store things like stuffed animals and dress up clothes!
If you're going to get a kitchen, I HIGHLY recommend getting mini utensils. We have the exact set pictured, and again, ours were given to us. However, I would definitely spend the money on the utensils after seeing how much Annie plays with them. She stands at the play kitchen stove or takes some of the pots and spoons to her little table and "makes dinner." She stirs her imaginary food up and comes and offers it to Dan, Eloise, and me. It's so much fun to watch her imitate us cooking while she's playing. Whenever we say "Let's go play" to Annie after dinner in the evenings, I'd say she does this activity first around 75% of the time.
Stacking blocks are amazing, y'all. One of the best things about blocks is that they are great for a variety of ages. They are perfect for when your child is just learning eye-hand coordination and can bring objects to their face. They are great for when the kiddos are just a bit older and starting to learn how to stack objects. Finally, they are awesome as your child even goes past the toddler stage, because they encourage use of the little one's imagination to "build" things such as a house or a tower. These are also something that are super easy to thrown in a bag and take in the car with you for a longer drive! I particularly like this Sassy set because it is very colorful and has a lot of contrast for those younger eyes to focus on.
I got this as a sample from where I work and figured, "Eh, Annie isn't particularly interested in Disney at the moment, I'm not sure if she'll like this, but we'll see." If she didn't I would have donated it to our daycare center, because I'm sure some of the kids there would like it. Boy, was I wrong about her ambivalence towards this! We have both the Mickey and the Minnie Teeter Toddlers, and she LOVES them. They make a slightly muted jingle bell-type sound (I don't know how else to describe it, but it's not annoyingly loud or anything), and they don't fall over, which is awesome. They kind of just rock back and forth. The neck is just big enough that Annie likes to carry them around in a bit of a choke-hold. We do have to be careful when Ellie's on the floor and Annie's walking with them, as they are a bit heavy. But that's a small drawback to how much fun she has with them. She's lately been into putting them in her play baby crib and putting them "night night." Kids' imaginations are so funny!
While we are talking about imagination and having toys go "night night," I might as well mention that a baby doll is a for sure must have, regardless of whether your child is a boy or a girl. Yes, pink baby dolls are easier to find, but if you don't want a pink one, you CAN find blue or gender neutral ones. I know the kids in Annie's class at daycare play with baby dolls all of the time, and her class is mostly boys. They wash them, pat them dry, put them to bed, etc. At home, Annie does all those things with her baby doll, as well has patting it on the back, rubbing its back, putting a blanket on it, and if Ellie's not in her swing or jumper, sometimes baby doll is lucky enough to go in there! My niece Rita LOVES baby dolls - I think the count might be up to 6 that she has now? I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I think that baby dolls are a great way to teach kindness, compassion, and maybe even responsibility too at an early age. Toddlers are old enough to realize that baby dolls look more like them than other toys, so it's a great chance to teach them to be nice and gentle. There are SO many different types of baby dolls too! We have a hard one at home and the one above for the car, as it's got a soft body and is smaller.
These little cars are another current favorite toy - who knew? They are the perfect size to fit it Annie's little toddler hands, and lately she's been making the sound of a car while making them go on the floor, on a chair, on the dogs' backs, on a table...you get the point. She has been asking for Minnie (both Mickey and Minnie currently go by Minnie) if she can't find it - although we do have to do a little trial and error to see if she's looking for the cars or the Teeter Toddler Mickey and Minnie. Either way, Annie will put these little cars on any surface available, whether it's a hard surface like the floor, or a soft one like my stomach (it makes for a more rocky and entertaining terrain, I'm sure!). These particular cars are nice too, because they are a bit softer than, say, a matchbox car, but not squishy soft like a bath toy. Another great toy to put in a to-go or car bag for a longer ride!
Annie received this exact set as a birthday gift and it has been a favorite since day one. The container itself is a plastic drum with a removable lid and there are a variety of different instruments and sound makers inside. She has always loved music and so when she got this for her birthday from our cousins, we knew it would be a hit. She loves all of the different sounds that the instruments make by themselves and she loves using them to make different sounds on each other, on the walls, on the tables, etc. And she's now big enough to put the drum around her neck, because it comes with a really cool strap! This is definitely a great toy option that will entertain your kiddo for a long time, as it grows with them. This particular set is very sturdy, so I'm sure Ellie will also get lots of use out of it as she grows older.
Ok, this is technically a baby toy, but both of my girls LOVE it. I wouldn't even mind having one at my desk at work. The sound that the little beads inside make is actually pretty soothing and kind of mesmerizing. We have a couple of them at home, and it's a good thing we do. One we leave on Eloise's high chair tray for her to play with while she's in there if she's not eating, one we have as a toy that can be taken wherever Annie decides to take it around the house, and one is connected to Eloise's jumper. Both girls love them, as you can see from the photo above. I would highly recommend this if you have a toddler and a baby, since it is great for that entire age range!
That's my short list for this week's What I Love Wednesday. Do you own any of these items? If so, what do you think of them? What would you add to the list? I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback!
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