Our Favourite Toys for Toddlers to Tweens

I’ve been getting a lot of emails and messages on my facebook page asked me what toys I suggest for certain ages. I am far from a guru on all things toys and gift giving and I am somewhat picky about the toys my children are given, but since so many people have been asking I thought I would share some of our favourite toys and gift ideas.

This week I’ve asked my kids to help me write a list of the toys they have loved the most over the years. We have included toys that have been loved by all our kids, toys that have lasted, and toys that have stood the test of time.

We have not included books or art supplies and creative activities in this list as I’ll share those separately soon.

Where I can I will share a link to where you can find these toys or to posts on my blog that give you more information – none of them are affiliate links so I do not make money if you buy via the links, but I have been lucky enough to work with some of my these brands and toy stores on my blog in the past.

Here are some of our favourite toys for toddlers to tweens!

2-3 year olds

Wooden blocks – a simple set of small blocks and added extras such as wooden trees, castle blocks and more.

Grimms Rainbow, Fire and Water Elements Stackers

Schleich animals

DUPLO

A play kitchen with food and tea set – we got our lovely wooden stove and sink from a local market and we’ve collected lots of wooden play food over the years and it is still played with every day.

A swing – our plain old boring swing has seen more use over the years than just about any toy we’ve ever owned!

A water/sand table – you don’t have to buy a commercial one, try some of these water table options.

Dress ups – just collect old clothes, hats and bags, or sew some simple items, they don’t need to be fancy!

3 – 5 year olds

Tap Tap

Pattern Blocks

Schleich and Papo fantasy figurines – elves, fairies, knights, dragons, mythical beasts and more.

Cars and road signs

A simple Hot Wheels loop the loop set (this basic set has been much loved and much better than all the more complicated ones we’ve had)

The Shopping Game – a great first game

6-9 year olds

LEGO – I am ashamed to admit just how much LEGO we have, but we love it. All the kids love it, even Noah who is four and a half has been using little LEGO for a while now, and he’s really loving the new LEGO Junior sets that I wrote about recently.

Magformers – this magnetic construction set is expensive but awesome!

Uno and Jenga – great family games with simple rules.

Totem Tennis

Scrabble Junior – a good introduction to word games.

Circuits set – clip circuit sets are a good simple set to begin with, we have the Short Circuits I Book and Project Kit from Jaycar which is more involved but great for kids with a real interested in the way things work.

Stick-lets – add a few sticks or some pvc pipes and your kids will build all kinds of things with these.

10-12 year olds

Just Dance – we were sent a copy of Just Dance 2015 to try out and my kids all LOVE it. We’ve collected all the Just Dance games over the years because we all love to dance, and I love that it is a game all four kids can play together, and it gets them up and moving, great for a rainy day and the best console game we’ve tried.

Skipbo – a card game like Uno but a little harder.

Microscope set – We have one that plugs into the computer so you can see it on the screen, but this set looks good.

Music – a cd payer or dock for an ipod and a voucher to buy music or audio books.

A day out – not technically a toy, but we’ve found as our kids have gotten older their favourite gifts are often a family day out – a day at the water park, a day at the snow, a special experience at the zoo. We give them fake tickets with a future date on them and then go all out on the day and the kids talk about it for months after, plus there is no extra stuff added to our house!

You’ll notice that there are more options in the younger age categories, that’s because my big kids still love to play dress-ups, they still play with the Schleich figurines and the wooden blocks and they all love the Lego. That means we’ve gotten 8+ years play out of many of these items!

Win a LEGO Junior Set!

This competition is now closed! Congratulations to our winners – Jo, Molly and Olivia!

To give you a helping hand with your Christmas shopping I have three LEGO Juniors sets to give away!

Three lucky readers will win either a LEGO Juniors Princess Castle set (see it in action here), a LEGO Juniors Police set, or a LEGO Juniors Batman set.

To enter just leave a comment on this post and tell me which set you’d like to win and tell me about the worst toy your children have ever had. The most interesting and funny answers will win.

Entries are open to Australian residents only and close midday December 10 2014. See below for for full terms and conditions.

 
Competition Terms and Conditions.
You must be an Australian resident to enter.
You must provide a valid email address and entries are limited to one per household.
Entries close Wednesday December 10 2014 at midday EST
Entries will be judged on merit and creativity.
Three winners will each receive one LEGO Juniors set – prizes may differ to the ones shown here.
Winners will be contacted by email and announced on this post by Monday Nov 3 2014.
The winner must contact me within 5 days or the prize will be re-drawn.
The winner agrees to have their contact details passed on to the appropriate PR company or brand representative who will send out/organise the prizes directly.
Please note: Prizes are not guaranteed to arrive before Christmas

{Disclosure: we were given a copy of Just Dance 2015 review. I have worked with LEGO Juniors, Finlee and Me and Entropy in the past but I was not asked nor obligated to mention them in this post. This post is not endorsed by any brand or company. All opinions are my own. }