basic / simple/ old-fashion kids gifts... what are they?

[MSSANDRA]

Lego---not the fancy kits, but the huge bins of assorted blocks
Lincoln Logs
Knex
wooden blocks
tinker toys
books books and more books
candy land
chutes and ladders
Sorry
puzzles
open end art supplies
simply, no battery baby dolls
balls, bats, gloves, foot balls
bikes or peddle tricycles
sleds

 

[MomToOne]

Blocks
Marbles

 

[Jenny3]

Memory game
Barrel of Monkeys
Pez

 

[StephMK]

DS10 asked for a slinky one year and loved it so much! However, do you know what an annoying noise those metal ones make when you continually move it from hand to hand? Argh, that thing used to drive us crazy. Here are some other things he has gotten and enjoyed.

Rubik's Cube
Clue game
yo-yo
Cat's Cradle string & book of tricks
rail twirler - disc that spins between 2 metal rods
Yahtzee
Scrabble

 

[usnuzuloose]

Lite Brite

Chinese Jump Rope

 

[libinatorsmom]

Coloring Books, Crayons, Board Games (The Classics), Doll or Teddy Bear, Socks & Undies, Etch A Sketch, tinker toys.

We always get our daughter some classic toys and she loves them...

 

[Iforgetmypassword]

Books and board games.

 

[java]

Wooden Blocks are my favorite.
These are on kid number 4 and still going strong. (ours is an older set but similar in theme to this one)

http://www.blueberryforest.com/images/images-kinderkram/kinderkram-castle-scene-1024x654.jpg

Art supplies are always a hit too.

 

[Disneylush]

Keep them coming!!!

I am tired of American girl and lego kit christmas

don't get me wrong there will be some of that too but i am looking for the simple stuff.

 

[pigletto]

I've done daycare for years. While the new "must haves" are always on the kids lists, I look for quality and longevity in a toy. The newest polly pocket or whatever will get played with a handful of times and be lost. But the classics? They have stood up to years and years!!

Our favourites..

The dress up trunk! ( this was a gift to dd when she was 5. We have added to it over the years and it is stuffed!)
Board games
Wooden Blocks
Play doh.. we make our own though.
Paints, craft supplies etc
Little Cars of any kind
Play Kitchen and Food
Play Cash register
Wooden Train table and trains
Etch-a-Sketch
Jump ropes
basketballs, footballs, soccer balls
Doctor Set
Doll House


Just some things that get used daily and will for years to come


* oh and the Fischer Price play sets!! The farm and the school etc. I do prefer the old ones though. My MIL still has all of her kids sets from the 70's and they are going strong.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Many eons ago when I was a kid, we would spend days playing with blankets, clothespins and the clothesline building tents, sleeping in them and tearing them down when my mom wanted to hang the sheets outdoors.

 

[StacieDreaminODisney]

A marble run! You have to get glass marbles, though, so that they race through the tracks.

 

[Mkaz]

A marble run! You have to get glass marbles, though, so that they race through the tracks.

I forgot about these! Dh said his dad made a huge one for Christmas when he was little. He carved it by hand. He said they would play with it for hours on end.

His dad was a furniture maker, but he always made some wooden toys for them for Christmas. Wooden blocks, puzzles, pull along toys with wheels, doll houses for the girls, rocking chairs, rocking horses, table and chair sets, kitchen sets, and the marble run. He passed away when dh was a teenager, but if he were alive when his grandchildren arrived I am sure he would've made them toys too.

 

[kathyinfl]

Very first thought was a hoola-hoop

Game of Life
Yachtzee
Bingo (Five Below has cool ones)
PUZZLES, we put up a card table Chiistmas afternoon and start a rather large puzzle that we work at on & off throughout the holiday week thru New Years. With the kids out of school all week it is fun. Plus I have a lot of one-on-one time as I often end up doing the puzzle with one kid at a time. It just works out that way.
Paint by Number kits
Play Dough, for ALL ages
Wooden blocks, for ALL ages
Jenga
Fun Playing Cards, like Disney Cars or Princesses to play FISH or Crazy Eights
Target/MIchaels have some fun kits to make bird houses, model cars, etc out of wood.
Children Cookbooks. They kids can plam, prepare and help cook meals for Friday nigh family buffets. We usually do this on New Years Eve.

Depending on ages, last year DD got one of those inexpensive cardboard playhouses that you can color. Everyone had fun coloring it and playing in it. Even the older boys played with her. She slept in it during Christmas break.

Chess, everyone of the kids have learned to play. Yes, it takes time to learn and it get better at it, but it is fun overall.

Inexpensive camera with a good photo shop program is fun too. The girls love making digital scrapbooks and the boys even have fun doing fun things to their photos.

 

[LJSquishy]

Pick-up-sticks (game)
Wooden building blocks
Books
Magic tricks set
Yoyo
G.I. Joes (my husband says that's all he played with when he was a kid...so basically any action figures)
Board games
Outdoor activities such as bikes, balls, frisbees, etc.
Ping pong table (we LOVED that around age 9-16)

I get so tired of kids "needing" all of these electronic toys all of the time. I truly feel it stunts their development if they are not used sparingly. I have a niece that plays with mostly REAL toys (non-electronic) and she has an amazing imagination and can play by herself and be content, and another niece that has access to the ipad, tv, and toys with batteries constantly and she cannot just sit and imagine with a plain toy...can't sit still and focus.

 

[needtoplan]

I didn't see this on anyone's list I don't think. Every year without fail when my sister and I were little there was a paddle ball in our stocking. To this day, seeing those reminds me of Christmas.

 

[Mom_Rides]

I didn't see this on anyone's list I don't think. Every year without fail when my sister and I were little there was a paddle ball in our stocking. To this day, seeing those reminds me of Christmas.

DD is getting a paddle ball in her stocking! She loves them!

 

[Deesknee]

this is a great thread. Like walking down memory lane. Which reminds me ...

memory game
we love family board games. I saw most of what I was going to suggest already. But,
Barbie dolls
the game backgammon, cribbage, Trouble, and Sorry. (we love the new version also. Grampa who can't follow games that he used to love, can still enjoy Sorry Sliders with my youngest.)
Also, how about Roller skates.

 

[kathyinfl]

My daughter & hubby play Sorry 5-6 nights a week before she goes to bed. It is "their thing". Sorry Sliders is also fun for those with smaller attention spans.

Last yr the kids got Backgamon. I was so thrilled becaust it was one of my fav growing up games. We played it all the time.
Now for the life of me I cannot remember how to play and for some reason the instructions seem so difficult. I know its not hard to play and fun. I guess I just have to set my mind to re-learning it.

Another great memory, playing will all my friends was Chinesse Checkers. I remember in high school my boyfriend and I playing it over & over again. Small town living in cold Northeast winters. hahaha/

 

[momxx5]

Although it does require batteries, thus being electronic, it still is one of the more simpler kids type of games......Twenty Questions. We have a larger family one and a smaller hand held one for the car. Everyone has fun playing with it.

I used to use it as a time filler when I was sub-teaching. Fun and easy and the kids loved it.