Was: Kids Want for Xmas? Now best play value toys.

I have three kids (13, 10 and 6), and they want all kinds of stuff,
but how about a list of the things we've bought over the years that
have proven to be winners in terms of solid and enduring play value.

Lets see, off the top of my head:

Wooden train sets (such as Brio)
Wooden blocks of various shapes.
A plastic playhouse such as those made by Little Tikes (we have one
that is 12 years old and still in constant use as a fort, restaurant,
you name it).
Play dishes and kitchenware
Play food
Trikes/bikes/wagons
Scooters
Dollhouse (wooden one I made from a kit)
Pirate ship
Toy cowboy town
Castle
Puppet theatre
Craft supplies


Things to add?

Mary Gordon wrote:

Wooden train sets (such as Brio)

We've had mixed luck, here. It was in hot demand, but
for a relatively short period of time.

Wooden blocks of various shapes.

Drives me nuts that this one required so much
supervision (I had block throwers--here's hoping G.
likes to build more than throw ;-)

A plastic playhouse such as those made by Little Tikes (we have one
that is 12 years old and still in constant use as a fort, restaurant,

We had one that was popular. When we redo the back
yard (soon) we're putting in a playhouse for the kids that
i think will see a lot of use.

Play dishes and kitchenware
Play food

Lots of use.

Trikes/bikes/wagons

Moderate amounts, but we live in a less bike-friendly
situation until the kids are old enough that I'm willing to
let them bike on the street.

Scooters

Lots of use here--they take less space to ride
than a bike.

Dollhouse (wooden one I made from a kit)
Pirate ship
Toy cowboy town
Castle

We have a bunch of Playmobil that has been very
popular.

Craft supplies

Yep, lots of use here.

Things to add?

Books
Game Boys (yeah, I know not everyone is thrilled with them, but
I think they're great on car rides)
Legos
Balls (of various sorts)
Costumes

Best wishes,
Ericka

Mary Gordon wrote:
I have three kids (13, 10 and 6), and they want all kinds of stuff,
but how about a list of the things we've bought over the years that
have proven to be winners in terms of solid and enduring play value.

Oh good idea. Mine are only 3 and 5yo so my list reflects that ;-)

Outdoor tree house
Bikes
Realistic toy vacuum (especially between 2-4yo)
Little Tykes Kitchen (especially between 1-3)
Tools, tape measure, goggles, big hits They have a tool bench but don't use
it very much.
Fishing poles
Any kitchen and cooking stuff
Shopping cart & groceries.
Play dough w/rolling pin etc.
Tents
Flashlights

Blocks, cars, and tracks have not been as big a hit as I had imagined. They
don't play independently with those things and their play time with them is
short lived.

--
Nikki

This is really one of those "Your Milage May Vary" things.
I have two girls, ages 10 and 15.

"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
...
Mary Gordon wrote:

Wooden train sets (such as Brio)

I LOVE the brio train sets. The kids, not so much. I was
thinking we could use that shelf in the family room for
DVDs, maybe I'll make one last train set up this weekend,
then take them to Goodwill.


We've had mixed luck, here. It was in hot demand, but
for a relatively short period of time.

Wooden blocks of various shapes.

That shelf will have to stay for awhile, both kids loved
the big blocks. My dad still loves the big blocks.
They still make towers taller than the youngest (who's
now pretty tall) whenever he comes up.


Drives me nuts that this one required so much
supervision (I had block throwers--here's hoping G.
likes to build more than throw ;-)

A plastic playhouse such as those made by Little Tikes (we have one
that is 12 years old and still in constant use as a fort, restaurant,

Our Castle lasted about a year. Lack of use made it full of spiders,
which then made it too yucky to play in. (Did I mention I had
girls, wouldn't you think cleaning a plastic playhouse would be
fun in the summer, oh well.)


We had one that was popular. When we redo the back
yard (soon) we're putting in a playhouse for the kids that
i think will see a lot of use.

As a four year old my eldest designed a playstructure/fort.
My father came up and built it, as designed, in our back yard.
She played on it very sparsely, her younger sister played on it
very sparsely also. After 7 years we took it out in favor
of a woodfired oven/outdoor kitchen. Now that gets
use....

We did replace the fort with a popup house that we
can take out and put inside or outside. That still
gets some use.


Play dishes and kitchenware
Play food

We finally had to replace the play kitchen with
a popup kitchen, as the kitchen was still getting
played with, but sometimes they would get
teased for still having a little kitchen. Ten year
old pulled it out a few weeks ago to play with
when a friend was over...


Lots of use.

Trikes/bikes/wagons

Moderate amounts, but we live in a less bike-friendly
situation until the kids are old enough that I'm willing to
let them bike on the street.

Tons of use, but not only for play but for transportation.
My 10 year old rides her bike to school. We used to
use the wagon for grocery shopping. (Now we use
panniers on our bikes, and the kids are big enough
to carry purchases home.)


Scooters

Lots of use here--they take less space to ride
than a bike.

Lots of use here. Way to get the neighborhood
kids to come out for an instant playdate. A spin
up and down the street means you are free to
play.


Dollhouse (wooden one I made from a kit)

Funny thing. Dollhouses, no use at all. American
girl dolls, no use at all. Wooden horse barns, big
hit with younger daughter. Older daughter preferred
dress up and dancing. Both loved playing house
with stuffed animals.


We have a bunch of Playmobil that has been very
popular.


Craft supplies

Yep, lots of use here.

Things to add?

Books
Game Boys (yeah, I know not everyone is thrilled with them, but
I think they're great on car rides)
Legos
Balls (of various sorts)
Costumes

Soccer balls get a little use. Other sports equipment just gathers
dust. Craft kits amass in the closets, very seldom completed,
legos only used by mom or grandpa, playmobil very
expensive decoration, game boys just not interesting.

Costume/dress up box used a ton.
Books are the big winner. Both daughters love sitting in
a window box, or lay outside on a lounge chair reading.

Computer games, Zoo tycoon, Sim City, interesting to 10
year old. Also loves IMing her friends.


Best wishes,
Ericka

Brio/Thomas
Baby Einstein Dvd's (for the baby) Disney Dvd's (for the older 2)
Game Boy advance (s)
Kitchen set (wooden stove & fridge set)
Play doh
Bratz dolls
Arts & crafts such as crayons, paper, stencils, paints
Power Wheels - both kids had/have one and they used them a LOT
Outdoor playset - still use it frequently. It has a fort, slide, swings and
climbing wall
Hot wheels cars
Pokemon cards - if you can believe it - they spend HOURS on those things
Play food, play dishes, tea party set
Playmobil sets
Legos
K'Nex
Books. Both of the older kids love to read. The baby loves being read to.

Kari
mom to Kaylie, Noah and Xander

Wooden blocks of various shapes.


I loved my wooden blocks when
I was growing up. My dad made a
special box with wheels on it to
store them in so they could be
wheeled in and out from under the
bed when not playing with them.

I made a "dinosaur" city with the
blocks and had these plastic
dinosaurs that lived in the houses I built for them. My dad
still has that box of blocks stored somewhere in the basement
after all those years. I feel like
playing with them again..... a kid
at heart forever.

firedancer623 wrote:

Pokemon cards - if you can believe it - they spend HOURS on those things

Yeah, I forgot about the YuGiOh cards (how could I?!).
They play with those for hours and hours. And hours. ToyWiz
is my friend.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Ericka Kammerer wrote in :

Mary Gordon wrote:

Wooden train sets (such as Brio)

We've had mixed luck, here. It was in hot demand, but
for a relatively short period of time.

Whereas our Brio was used every day from when ds got it, until he was
7yo.

Wooden blocks of various shapes.

Drives me nuts that this one required so much
supervision (I had block throwers--here's hoping G.
likes to build more than throw ;-)

Not used that much at all.

[snip]
Play dishes and kitchenware
Play food

Lots of use.

Not used much in our household.

Trikes/bikes/wagons

Moderate amounts, but we live in a less bike-friendly
situation until the kids are old enough that I'm willing to
let them bike on the street.

The indoor ride-on toy was used lots. The trike trailer was used lots.
Proper bikes were not used much at all, although that is partly because
we don't have somewhere safe to learn to ride them. I intend to encourage
teenage use, so I can do less driving round.

Scooters

Lots of use here--they take less space to ride
than a bike.

Same here.

Dollhouse (wooden one I made from a kit)
Pirate ship
Toy cowboy town
Castle

We have a bunch of Playmobil that has been very
popular.

The doll's house wasn't used much, but castle sets and toy soldiers
are used lots.

Lego is incredibly popular, and the lego figures are used with playmobil and
toy soldiers: the lego turns into various planes/tanks/James-Bond type
supercraft which attacks the castle etc.

Craft supplies

Yep, lots of use here.

Used here.

Things to add?

Books
Game Boys (yeah, I know not everyone is thrilled with them, but
I think they're great on car rides)

Agreed.

I think the different children have different interests: one kid loves
her science stuff, the others don't care.

Barbie and Bratz are hugely popular.
Baby dolls were in constant use for a couple of years.
--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

Penny Gaines wrote in message ...
Ericka Kammerer wrote in :

Mary Gordon wrote:

Wooden train sets (such as Brio)

We've had mixed luck, here. It was in hot demand, but
for a relatively short period of time.

Whereas our Brio was used every day from when ds got it, until he was
7yo.

Wooden blocks of various shapes.

Drives me nuts that this one required so much
supervision (I had block throwers--here's hoping G.
likes to build more than throw ;-)

Not used that much at all.

[snip]
Play dishes and kitchenware
Play food

Lots of use.

Not used much in our household.

Trikes/bikes/wagons

Moderate amounts, but we live in a less bike-friendly
situation until the kids are old enough that I'm willing to
let them bike on the street.

The indoor ride-on toy was used lots. The trike trailer was used lots.
Proper bikes were not used much at all, although that is partly because
we don't have somewhere safe to learn to ride them. I intend to encourage
teenage use, so I can do less driving round.

Scooters

Lots of use here--they take less space to ride
than a bike.

Same here.

Dollhouse (wooden one I made from a kit)
Pirate ship
Toy cowboy town
Castle

We have a bunch of Playmobil that has been very
popular.

The doll's house wasn't used much, but castle sets and toy soldiers
are used lots.

Lego is incredibly popular, and the lego figures are used with playmobil and
toy soldiers: the lego turns into various planes/tanks/James-Bond type
supercraft which attacks the castle etc.

Craft supplies

Yep, lots of use here.

Used here.

Things to add?

Books
Game Boys (yeah, I know not everyone is thrilled with them, but
I think they're great on car rides)

Agreed.

I think the different children have different interests: one kid loves
her science stuff, the others don't care.

Barbie and Bratz are hugely popular.
Baby dolls were in constant use for a couple of years.

What a great list of things- it brought back a lot of memories
Dish sets always got used a lot with my brothers and I, because
everybody had to "eat"- teddy bears, dolls, GI Joes etc. Its
something you don't really think about but as a kid if you have cool
sets of dishes and fake foods in the sizes of your toys it was a great
toy that was always in use.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bratz World
http://www.bratzworld.tv

"Cathy Kearns" wrote in message .com...
This is really one of those "Your Milage May Vary" things.
I have two girls, ages 10 and 15.

"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
...
Mary Gordon wrote:

Wooden train sets (such as Brio)

I LOVE the brio train sets. The kids, not so much. I was
thinking we could use that shelf in the family room for
DVDs, maybe I'll make one last train set up this weekend,
then take them to Goodwill.


We've had mixed luck, here. It was in hot demand, but
for a relatively short period of time.


I'd been hoping this would be a long-term one. It was hugely popular
from 18 months to 2.5 years, and has diminished from then. Whenever I
think his interest has waned forever, he starts playing with it again
(but only in small doses.) He's 3.5 right now.
Wooden blocks of various shapes.

That shelf will have to stay for awhile, both kids loved
the big blocks. My dad still loves the big blocks.
They still make towers taller than the youngest (who's
now pretty tall) whenever he comes up.


Drives me nuts that this one required so much
supervision (I had block throwers--here's hoping G.
likes to build more than throw ;-)

What I really love are the brightly colored foam blocks - they don't
hurt nearly as much when they hit you as the tower comes crashing
down! However, I have to watch for dd (7 months) eating them. Ds
still would rather destroy than create, but dh and I love building
towers so that's ok.


A plastic playhouse such as those made by Little Tikes (we have one
that is 12 years old and still in constant use as a fort, restaurant,

We have one (hand-me-down from a neighbor) that got a lot of use for
one summer but not much this year. The sandbox gets more use.


Play dishes and kitchenware
Play food


Lots of use.

We just moved the toy kitchen to the basement. It got a lot of use,
but not so much lately, tho that may change.


Trikes/bikes/wagons

Moderate amounts, but we live in a less bike-friendly
situation until the kids are old enough that I'm willing to
let them bike on the street.

Tons of use, but not only for play but for transportation.
My 10 year old rides her bike to school. We used to
use the wagon for grocery shopping. (Now we use
panniers on our bikes, and the kids are big enough
to carry purchases home.)

Trike would've gotten more use this summer except I found it difficult
to help ds with it while carrying a baby. I'm hoping to do a bike
next summer.



Dollhouse (wooden one I made from a kit)

Funny thing. Dollhouses, no use at all. American
girl dolls, no use at all. Wooden horse barns, big
hit with younger daughter. Older daughter preferred
dress up and dancing. Both loved playing house
with stuffed animals.

Ds likes my old miniature dollhouse, tho it only gets occasional use.



We have a bunch of Playmobil that has been very
popular.

Just started getting that - but ds loves MIL's Playmobil dollhouse and
especially the toy scooter and toy soccer ball for some reason.


Craft supplies

Yep, lots of use here.

Paint is the current fave here.

Things to add?

Books
Game Boys (yeah, I know not everyone is thrilled with them, but
I think they're great on car rides)
Legos

That was one of my absolute favorites growing up. Ds gets to inherit
my sets in a couple of years. Hopefully he will be into construction
rather than destruction by then! Or at least will be willing to build
his own stuff that he will then destroy...

Balls (of various sorts)

Yup - lots of use here.

Costumes

The cape from his Halloween costume is the first dressup he's wanted
to do.

His interests are so varied that it's hard to say exactly what's the
best thing. Especially since he's only 3.5 - I don't know what will
stand the test of time quite yet!

I know growing up my favorites were Legos, Barbies, books, crafty
stuff especially making stuff for the miniature dollhouse. We also
made our own paper dolls and dollhouses made out of napkin boxes. (I
had one sister, fwiw).

Irene