10 Toys They’ll Still Love the Day After Christmas
December 3rd, 2012
I feel like having four BOYS of the same age makes us a bit of Toy Critics. We have a perfect little “test group” to try things out, see how they handle a good amount of wear and tear, what holds their attention, and what things are worth the money.
Here are a handful that have survived the “quad abuse” and that your kids should love long after the tree is put away.
1. LEGOs – The boys favorite toy aisle is the LEGO aisle. Thanks to these little blocks of plastic, I have a few glorious minutes of quiet in my day. {Except for the “Mama, look at this rocket blaster on the boat I made.” “Mama, do you like my two-sided airplane with the secret window passage?”}
2. Little Tikes Basketball Hoop
– The boys got this for their 2nd birthday, and it’s still being used every day. We’ve since hacked it into a wall mounted backboard, but that’s a whole ‘nother post!
3. Wooden Blocks
– Classic imaginative play. These are used in my home every. single. day.
4. Hot Wheels/Matchbox Cars
– These dye cast cars take a lot of abuse and use, and they are great for a wide age range. All in all, they are an incredible value.
5. LeapFrog LeapPad
– My favorite educational toy that we own. We limit it to a couple times a week for 15-30 minutes, which keeps it special and engaging. Great games for math, reading, science, and other early learning.
6. Games
– The boys are really getting into board and card games, and I’m so thankful they have brothers to play with…some of their favorites are Candy Land, Story Cubes
, Trouble, Spot It
, and Uno.
7.Dress Up Clothes/Masks
– Our favorites are superhero related, or course!
8. Play Animals
– We have an entire tub of animal assortments. It’s fun for playing zoo, dinosaur museum, or acting out their favorite episodes of Wild Kratts.
9. Fisher-Price Imaginext Toys
– We only own a few of these toys (the Batmobile
and a couple of the Airplanes
), but they are always a hit at friends/cousins houses too!
10. Scooter
– You can usually find great deals on these around Christmas, and I love their portability as well!
So What Am I Missing? What should I add to our list for this year? What toys do your kids continue to LOVE?
*Some highlighted links to Amazon affiliate.
Our favorites include: magnatiles, hot wheel cars, hockey guys (football, soccer and baseball guys). These get played with every day.
Our twin girls will be four in January, and they STILL love their Mega Bloks. We’re giving them a couple of additional building sets for Christmas. They love magnetic shapes (and cookie sheets to make their creations), and their Magna Doodles (the big ones) probably get the most play, consistently, every single day.
Thanks for the great list! I love hearing what really works from other mamas!
I hope you and your family have a blessed holiday season!
My twin boys are about 18 months older than your boys – Lego is their hands-down, absolute favorite. They like some Playmobil too, as well as Hot Wheels cars and Trio building systems. Blokus is a favorite game, as well as the Mousetrap game – they love to make things work. I have a set of Snap Circuits waiting fir them to be old enough – this year or next, they have enjoyed them at a hands-on museum.
This is a great list! We love most of these too. I haven’t had a basketball hoop and my boys aren’t into cars. But I might look into the hoops….I hadn’t thought of that. We also love Playmobil, board games, books are a big favorite, Klutz books, Magnetix, and anything that makes tooting sounds.
Thanks! Lisa~
Great list and I agree! The only think I’d add is wooden train tracks and buildings. Legos, cars, blocks, imaginext, and trains are the go tos in our house.
Are all boys the same or what?! These are exactly the toys my 4-yr-old son plays with all of the time! He’s a little more into the Imaginext super heroes than he is blocks or cars, but still pretty much the same. He is getting both a basketball hoop (from his grandparents) and a scooter (from us) for Christmas, so I was so excited to see these on the list. And I can’t count the number of times he takes on and off his Ironman costume. Best $10 I ever spent at Target:)
Haha, you just named everything we have in our house!
This is a great list! We have several of the things you listed here & you are totally right….they stand the test of time!!
Yes! These are the classics, and you can’t go wrong with giving these gifts at any occasion. Great reminder when pulling out my hair when deciding how to bless a little person…
God bless you as you abide in Him!
Legos, Legos and more Legos here…with a bit of Star Wars. That’s the theme for my oldest (twin) son. Then his younger brother would like to add some more Legos along with some Disney Cars/Mater stuff. Their sister is all about Legos too…as long as she can still have an American Girl doll 🙂
Our twins already have Leapsters so our youngest will get the LeapPad this year to join the ranks. 🙂
This is a hrs great list! My son turns 4 in March and we are getting him a scooter for Christmas. I am trying to decide if I should get 2 wheels or 3? When could your boys ride the 2 wheeled scooter? Thanks!
Erin, my boys are still mastering it..I think the 3 wheel might be a great start! At least from my perspective with my boys! 🙂
I have 2 boys 13 months apart (5&6) and i could have written the EXACT same list, so it must be favs of MOST boys that age!!!
I LOVE that they can use their creativity and play with blocks, vehicles, people….and never get bored with it! they also LOVE thier leappad2 and have learned SOOOO much. my pre-k kid does some THIRD grade level stuff! when i saw that on his learning page on the site, i was floored!
i even bought apps in FRENCh since my 6 year old is in french emmersion at school….BOTH are speaking it now!!!
Extra Lego guys are a must and my twin 8-year-old boys also love Tinkertoys and giant empty cardboard boxes. Oh and flashlights of all types. They are getting headlamps for Christmas and I know that’s going to be a huge hit. LOL!
Love all these ideas!! Only thing I would add is a Tonka truck or two for dome serious dirty work! (: my boys love them!