favorite toys

Since the great toy clean out a few weeks ago, I have been able to figure out some of the girls' most loved toys:

1. Little people- the girls absolutely love their farm. That was in rotation for the past two weeks. Today I switched it out for the princess castle. They seem equally enamored with the castle. I know some child development gurus are anti battery operated toys, but my thought is everything in moderation. One quick and easy way for me to judge the worthiness of a battery operated toy is to ask if it would still be fun to play with as sans batteries. The answer for little people is a resounding yes, so they are in.

2. Blocks, links, and stacking cups. It is incredible how some of the simplest toys are also the most lasting. There have been several days when everything else in the toy basket has gone untouched and the girls have happily played with these staples.

3. Musical instruments. We have a percussion set, maracas, a piano, and a glockenspiel. They especially love the maracas and percussion instruments.

4. Play kitchen. We bought the Kid Kraft two piece retro kitchen in blue for their birthday. I'm not sure who loves it more- me or the girls. I can envision them playing with this for years to come. Plus we have some awesome play food that goes along with it (a favorite is the bacon and eggs my aunt made).

(How cute are the aprons from my mom. I may have a slight matryoshka obsession)

5. Wheely bug and activity walker. They love pushing these things around. The bug is meant to be a ride on toy, but for now they prefer to push it around.

I'm trying to limit my purchases for the girls (my mom claims they already have more toys than I had in my entire life...and I wasn't deprived, the girls are just that spoiled) but there are a few things on my list to round out their toy collection:

1. Play kitchen accessories such as pots, baking supplies, dishes, etc. I really want some vintage inspired tin dishes.

2. Melissa and Doug cutting food. Audrey has quite the fascination with the play knife and cutting board, so I think she would especially enjoy the foods she can cut.

3. Colorful wooden building blocks. And pretty much any wooden toy in general... animals, dollhouses, the options are endless. They have an awesome Haba rattle that looks like a bouquet of flowers. It now sits on the counter of their play kitchen. I'm particularly drawn to toys that have a bit of an heirloom quality to them (yes mom, as much as I like decluttering I do plan on saving some of the girls' toys until they are grown ups).

4. A doll house. I'll have to see how gentle the girls are with their things next year- it might be their big birthday present. It is definitely an investment, but I'm loving the land of nod dollhouse. I am fine with buying them one big gift to share though, so I'll probably be able to justify it. I'll need to keep my eyes open for sales and promo codes.

Prices of some of the higher quality toys can be exorbitant, but I've found that Melissa and Doug (at several department stores) and B. (easily found at target) offer toys with staying power at an accessible price point.