I love toys. I think I love toys as much as my sons do. Toy shopping for Christmas and birthdays is so fun for me, and I have such a hard time holding myself back! But I am also pretty conscientious about what toys I choose for our boys, so I’m here to tell you what toys I feel have definitely been worth having around! None of these products are sponsored in any way, and once again – I’m not here to influence you to do or buy anything! But if you’re looking for gift ideas or just honest reviews, you’re in the right place. 

What I Look For in a Great Toy

Promotes open-ended and imaginative play

Child psychologist Jean Piaget said, “Play is the work of children,” and I couldn’t agree more! I believe kids need toys that encourage thinking. Toys like blocks, dolls, vehicles, and role-playing props all promote healthy imaginative play and even help develop empathy and critical thinking. Toys that I feel don’t do this as well are ones that have buttons and such that give immediate audio/visual feedback – bright lights and songs. I’m looking for toys that are versatile and push my kids to be creative.

Sturdy construction and materials

There’s something so satisfying about holding a well-made toy. They bring back a sense of childlike giddiness in me! Toys that cheaply made just don’t bring me that sense of joy, and they have a significantly shorter lifespan than the good toys. I want our toys to have long, happy lives, so I typically opt for ones that are made from wood, metal, and/or high-quality (often recycled) plastic. I especially appreciate brands that make toys that are tough enough to handle the abuse kids put them through, and don’t have stickers or paint that chips and fades. I want my toys to be passed down when my kids are done with them, not end up in a landfill within a year!

No Batteries / Low Noise

Mostly for my own sanity, I try to avoid toys that require batteries. I don’t want to hear the loud noises they make, I don’t want to go through the trouble to replace dead batteries, and I definitely don’t want to keep buying expensive batteries! I also just believe that the loud, bright toys don’t require as much mental exercise to play with, so they aren’t doing my kids many favors when it comes to brain development. There are some toys that are cool enough to make exceptions to this rule. For example, I wanted to get my kids a toy cash register to promote imaginative store play, but I opted for a register with batteries this time to allow the toy to function as a calculator and encourage an interest in math. 

Aesthetically Pleasing

Let’s be real – these toys aren’t always going to be tucked away discreetly in beautiful bins like we see on pinterest (and they shouldn’t, because I want them to be played with!). They’re going to be out and about, and I’m going to be looking at them all the time. So while I don’t buy toys for their aesthetic appeal, I stay away from toys that look tacky, cheap, or just plain ugly. 

Easy to Store / Not a Lot of Small Pieces

This is mostly just a bonus. I love toys that are self-contained so that they’re easy to keep track of and put away. One example is this shape sorter from Green Toys – I love that the shapes all fit inside to clean up easily! Plus, with a baby around, I try to limit the choking hazards we have in the house, so tiny pieces are a no-no unless they can be played with in a very isolated environment (eg. Legos that stay out of reach of babies). 

Favorite toy brands

There are so many good brands out there. These are just a few that we have experience with and have loved!

• Green Toys – This is my all-time favorite toy brand. All of their toys are made from 100% recycled plastic that is extremely durable, and they have minimal, frustration-free packaging. The toys never have paint, screws, or stickers, so they are incredibly safe for kids of all ages and still look brand new after years of heavy use. We especially love their vehicles! Not a day goes by that my boys do not play with Green Toys. 
• Melissa and Doug – They make such a wide variety of toys that encourage learning and imagination. They are typically high quality materials, battery-free, and very aesthetically pleasing.
• Hape & Manhattan Toy – again, these brands just tend to make good, simple toys out of good materials.
• Fat Brain – These can be pricey, but I find that they are just delightfully simple and fun toys that are very well-made. When they design a new toy, knock-offs show up pretty quick but they are never quite as good quality. 
• We love to buy from local toy stores and artisans when we can! We’ve bought little wood trucks and even 3D-printed toys from local markets. We love how unique and special they are, and supporting small businesses is an added bonus!

Our favorite toys for 3 and under

• Train table and wooden train tracks – we got ours second-hand (which I highly recommend) but having seen how much our boys love it and consistently play with it, I’d buy it full price if I had to. The only hard part about it is how much space it takes up! Right now, that’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make since it gets so much use, but I imagine that once our boys get older, we’ll part with the table and just keep the train set itself and store it in a bin. Ours is Imaginarium brand, but there are lots of great alternatives! 
• Mega blocks – so versatile and great for kids of all ages. An absolute staple in our toy collection. 
• Green Toys trucks (and everything else) – see my raving review of this brand above. I seriously cannot overexpress how much we love these toys! I highly recommend buying them on Amazon when they’re on sale–you can get them for really cheap if you keep your eyes open!
• Ball slide – this is not the most ‘high quality’ toy as far as construction and materials go, but it has been a hit at our house for 3 years straight and has lasted this long. Our boys started playing with it at around 6 months old and have never stopped. 
• SpinAgain – this is a Fat Brain toy, but we opted for a significantly cheaper off-brand. Our 3 year-old and our 1-year old both love it. It looks cute on display and is absolutely mesmerizing to play with. 
• Matchbox cars / hot wheels – Obviously these are pretty ubiquitous, classic toys, but I’d be remiss to leave them out. We have a bin of these, and they end up all over the house because they are played with constantly. I keep some in the diaper bag, and they go everywhere with us. They get pulled out at restaurants, church, everywhere. 
• Tonka dump truck – we made sure to get a sturdy metal one, and ours stays in the garage / outside. T loves to use his garden tools to fill it with dirt, rocks, snow – everything.
• Water Wow books – These are great for at home or traveling! The well-designed water brush reveals fun pictures in the book, which dries and can be done over and over again with no mess! 
• Alphabet / number puzzles – Our three year-old is already reading, and I think that we can attribute some of that to the early exposure he had to the alphabet thanks to these puzzles! They really helped foster a love of learning the alphabet and numbers. 
• Magnetic tiles – We went with an off-brand on this one and have no regrets! These are so fun for kids and adults. We love the train cars that come with our set. 
• Abacus – I absolutely love how this toy looks on display in my boys’ room. I also love that it can be used as a more of a fidget toy/rattle for babies and can actually be used for learning about math with older kids!
• Cash register – I have this one wrapped under the Christmas tree right now, but I am so excited for the boys to play with it! I can’t give a full review just yet, but I love that this one functions as a calculator and has an item scanner attached. 
• Beach balls – a simple toy, but so important in our house! I bought a big pack off of Amazon and my boys just love throwing, kicking, hitting, and chasing them around inside the house. I keep two of them out at a time and replace them as they get popped with rough play. Beach balls are the best for not wrecking your house while the kiddos play!
• This cardboard box. It’s been sitting in our family room for months, and the boys are always playing in it. They build magnet tile creations in there, fill it with pillows, use it to build forts, pretend it’s a car, color on it with markers… the list goes on. 

We don’t have a huge house, so we take our choices of the items we buy seriously so as to not waste space and money. We have absolutely loved these toys and would recommend them to anyone. What toys have you loved for your kiddos? Leave a comment below!

Click here to see our post about our favorite baby toys! (coming soon)