SIMPLE GIFTS: GUIDE FOR BOYS

When looking through the list of toys we have received over the last five years there are certainly winner among the gifts. Without too much explanation, kids will gravitate towards toys that seemed like simple gifts at the time. This is a short list of toys that our kids ACTUALLY play with on a regular basis.

MAGNA TILES

These come in a bunch of brands and price ranges. Every different brand we have fits together. They build houses, fire stations, zoos, railroad tracks and roads, plus rockets.

Duplos

We love these because we are still raising babies and need to wait on the tiny lego pieces for a couple of years yet. While we wait, the boys are learning to build and create with these blocks. They also have a wide range of prices for sets, from $12 to $90. The collection can expand at whatever rate and price you set.

Green Toys

WARNING: These are indestructible. Unless you run over them with a car.
We got a few of these for a few birthdays and Christmas gifts before we realized that they wouldn’t break. Therefore – we still have all the vehicles we got. If you have seen three kids who play hard with toys you might know that it is rare toys last longer than a year, especially outside. They also dry out well so you can use them for bath toys.

Boats in the bath

This doesn’t seem like rocket science. But we have gone through a lot of bath toys in the last five years. The only one that everyone likes and wants to use… besides cups that are inevitably spilled outside the bathtub… boats (with a hole on top).

wooden blocks

I know, it is simple. Please believe me, this will keep kids entertained. They will play, build, rebuild, pretend and then use it all to play a totally new game. The blocks can be cars, people or animals. They can build thousands of buildings or cities.

CARS / TRUCKS

Think hot wheels size in a variety of styles. This makes them easy to put in a magna tile garage, drive on a wooden block road or ride on a duple train. These are versatile little cars that can be a stand alone toy on a car ride or part of a giant car parade across the living room.

OTHER NOTES

1. For some of you – it might feel like the kids ALWAYS want to play with you. It is really important to teach the kids to play independently regardless of age. For some kids it is natural, while for others it is a learned skilled. It is important because it makes them problem solve, think, imagine and prepare for adulthood. We often need to play, work and rest – alone.
2. We have all boys. So they have a couple baby dolls but they are rarely used, they are simply not bent towards playing house. When they are with girl cousins then they play dad to the dolls.
3. You will see, these are all open ended toys. They don’t require on way to play. There are multiple ways to play with all these toys.
4. The last thing to mention is that we don’t have any electronic noise making toys. It often limits play and also gets overstimulating for parents to hear so many sounds happening at once. Now it will depend on the number of kids in the house, the age and the voice levels of each.