Inspired by the "lessons learned" thread on kids toys...

[fan_of_small_world]

What toys do your children have that you've been really happy with. Things they actually play with for more than a day and that the quality is good.

I'll start...

Rescue Heroes
Matchbox (not great, but way better than Hot Wheels)
Little Pet Shop
Play Doh and accessories

OK, I know there's way more but I'm beat and can't think of what else. I'll add more tomorrow!

 

[snubie]

She loves:

Little People
PlayDoh
Most things from Melissa & Doug - wooden blocks, puzzles, etc

 

[minnierocks]

LEGOS...the animal sets for my DD and the Star Wars sets for DS. That would have to be my #1 choice. They would create for days!

Other good choices for them were...
DD-Fisher Price Dollhouse, Polly Pockets, Magnetix, and an Easel w/art sets...
DS-Tonka Barn, mini-trampoline, tool sets, and a dinosaur playset...

Total waste of $$$...
Easy Bake Oven, Lite-Brite, Barbie styling head, Hot Wheels Car Wash, Spiderman web blasters, and GI Joe...

 

[Maddie2]

Through the years, plenty toys have come and gone through our house, but those that have stood the test of time in durability and general interest include:

* Legos -- at first as individual sets using the instructions and now as one huge conglomeration of pieces using his imagination.
* K'Nex -- same description as above (we have 2 boys -- one loves K'nex/the other, Lego)
* Rescue Heroes -- not played with much anymore, but still a "keeper"
* Little Tikes Waffle Blocks -- not sure if they make these anymore or not, but fun for younger kids -- and NO batteries required! I'll be saving these for grandkids someday!
* Lego Duplos -- not played with anymore, but saving them for grandkids and visiting younger children.
* Play-doh -- can't go wrong there -- unless your play area is in a carpeted area.
* Marbleworks (Discovery Toys)-- they play with them for days and then not again for weeks -- but when they do have them out, they LOVE them and wonder why they don't play with them more often (go figure!).


Total waste of $$$ --

* most Hot Wheels battery operated tracks. Though we still have "Hot Wheel City", which is not battery operated and allows the child to build streets and attach stores, etc.
* Magnetix -- these have been recalled, so not good if you have little ones in the house, but we don't, so we still have them (and they are still being sold). These were fun for about 2 days and have sat on the shelf ever since.
* Most remote control cars -- they LOOK fun, but the reality is about a day or two and it gets old.

 

[mom2alix]

Leappads, The Leappad Word Whammer, Geotrax, Disney princess costumes (they wash well and she plays with them constantly - well worth the investment)

We love the Little People toys too!

 

[MoeFam]

Gears Gears Gears- both my kids love it, as well as Pop-Ons and Legos. The kitchen we got was really popular too, as are the foods you can cut apart from Melissa and Doug.

Also- books. Our kids LOVE Usborne books, and games. Especially the "Snap" games.

Total Waste of Money-
The Lightning McQueen remote control laser car from Disney Store Last year. We could never get that thing to work right. My son was devastated.

 

[bumbershoot]

Wooden toys, Haba brand, from oompa toys. He *still* plays with them, even though they were from when he was 6 months old.

Tinker Toys. He has only had them since late May, but he plays with them every single day, making everything and anything. Right now it's "blasters".

Old cell phones.

Any sort of ball he can find.

Looking around our place, it comes to me just how much imagination he has, b/c he far prefers the toys that can be used for umpteen things. Train sets were nice for a short bit, but you can only play trains with them. Fisher Price garage was a BIG hit, for a month, and then he grew tired of it. But the things that can be used for almost anything...those are what he loves.

And for Yule he's asking for a kid-sized vacuum that comes with a bucket, broom, and mop. Sounds like in the New Year he's going to be very helpful to me.

 

[jenrein]

I completely agree with Lego's. My son and husband are both lego fanatics and they have a huge collection that has withstood many playtimes. Also GI Joes. For the girls I would say Polly's have held up well,

 

[Matt'sMom]

#1 at our house is definitely Legos!

Other past favorites (based upon DS's enjoyment, and over-all quality & durability)...

Playmobil
Brio Wooden Train sets & accessories
Puzzle World (wooden building sets--compatable with Brio)
Games such as Battleship & Stratego
Hess Trucks
The 'Ology' books and accessories (Piratology, Egyptology, Dragonology, etc.)
Some of the Playdough sets (some were entertaining--others, not so much)

Playmobil & Lego both also make very nice train sets. We set up one or the other each Christmas season. DS also still sets up his Playmobil nativity too.

 

[janey99]

Lego sets, including Bionicles

The SIMPLE Hot Wheels sets (no battery operated or difficult to construct schemes - the plain pieces of track you can just link together. Who knew that at 9 DS and friends would still be going strong with making a ramp going down a flight of stairs and racing side by side!?)

Rescue Heros - we have a Rubbermaid bin the size of a coffin filled with these and various vehicles. My nephew is 8mo, and I'm currently pregnant, and I think Dsis is praying for a girl so she can inherit the Rescue Heros!

Drawing pads and any kind of colored pencils/markers.

And, I hate to say it, but

Nintendo DS - this has been played with every day since last Christmas.

 

[GEM]

I have a 4.5 year old son.

Big hits with him:

Anything by Playmobil. My son plays with his big castle and knights every single day and has for the last 6 months. The pirate stuff if another HUGE hit. I can really see this stuff entertaining him for years to come!

Also, Knex and (unlike another poster) he really loves his Magnetix sets. These will occupy him for hours, literally.

Really nice kitchen set. He uses this every day. We got a nice Step 2 one that was about $200, but it's held up well to constant use, has lots of neat features, and looks nice in our real kitchen.

Art Stuff - especially finger paints, stamps and ink pads, stickers, glue, etc.

Train Table - Got this for him last Christmas and it's a constant source of entertaiment for him and all his buddies. We have a combination of Thomas and Brio wooden stuff. It never gets old because he constantly is switching up the track, adding new pieces, etc.

Books - LOVES being read to, looking through books, "reading" to himself, etc.

Another big hit with him always: Costumes! He loves to play pirate, astronaught, doctor, king, etc. We have lots of costumes and he really, really gets a lot of use from them!

And, when he was smaller, the Little People playsets like the farm, zoo, etc. He's grown out of these now and is much more interested in the Playmobil sets (they can hold things, do things, etc.) so we have given his Little People sets to his cousins - but they were great for a while!

 

[connorlevismom]

What a great thread! I have to admit, I am horrible about buying toys for DS (3 1/2). I am not a boy and I don't know what they like! This is going to help tremendously.

Kristine

 

[Drewsmommybear]

Hands down, the best toys that my son has are his Planet Heroes. They are a lot like Rescue Heroes but each one is named after a planet. He plays with them all of the time and they are so durable. If you have a boy between3 and 5, I would suggest getting some.

 

[okeydokey]

For my son, his Imaginex Castle playset and Heroscape game. He's 7 and loves these.

For my 9 year old daughter, her Baby Alive Designers World game.

 

[PlutoPony]

Wooden blocks (bag of good maple ones was definitely worth the $$)
Rescue Heroes
Wooden train set (Brio type, but TRU house brand and still decent quality)
Legos smaller sets - the big involved ones didn't stay together for long
K'nex - big sets like Roller Coaster and other amusement park rides were better than just a box of misc. K'nex pieces , just the opposite of our Legos experience
Classic games - Chutes and Ladders, Checkers, Life
Pogo Stick
PSP
Wii
Ping Pong
Big Boxes (like appliance boxes)
Anything tent like for indoor use
Matchbox cars

 

[Aristomommy]

DD8: Anything that's related to arts and crafts. She also still plays with American girl dolls and Littlest Pet Shop.

DS2: wooden puzzles, board books, Brio train set.

 

[abcboys]

I have 3 boys ages 2,5,9. I hate getting them toys that only gets played with a time or 2. They are not big toy players. What they do play with more than once are.
Legos
tinkertoys
craft stuff (paper, markers)
magnetix
building blocks
playstation

Almost everything else they have is soon forgotten about. I'm thinking about getting them some K'nex for christmas. Those look like something they would like.

 

[mikamah]

My 5 yo ds loved teenage mutant ninja turtles. He plays with them for hours. The rescue heroes are great also, but his are on the back burner since the turtles came along.

Mega blocks and his mega blocks pirate ship are good too.

Our favorite game is Monolopy Jr. Candy land and checkers are favs too.

We have Lincoln logs that he uses occas, and magnetix that hardly ever get used.

Since he started kindergarten, he's more into drawing and coloring now, as well as books.

 

[sbakersub]

DS: Brio wooden train set; Legos; Star Wars play figures and vehicles
DD: Dress-up clothes and accessories; American Girl dolls, from Bitty Baby to the historical ones
Both: Bicycles, Fisher Price play kitchen, PS2, and now mp3 player/iPod

 

[8 Ears]

I have to 2nd or 3rd K*NEX
Our boys are 13 and nearly 16 and they still dig them out from time to time. When friends come over for a long weekend they even still pull them for the larger projects.
They never got into Legos