If you have a small child, you undoubtedly already know that toys can be hit or miss for most toddlers. A.C., my 14 month old son, is no exception to this issue. We have purchased and received countless toys in the last year. Some of which never get old, and others that are just collecting dust. With Hanukkah starting next week, I am again researching toys my son will enjoy at his current age. I’m hoping this year I will hit on all of the eight days of gifts, but recognizing this is wishful thinking.
As I was browsing online for those eight perfect gifts in hopes of watching A.C. light up when he opens them (he will likely still be more interested in the wrapping paper), it dawned on me that I have a wealth of information for moms with younger children. This post is for those moms not wanting to see unused toys take over their home. Hopefully you can have all hits with your little one. I wish you a less cluttered house and a happy and occupied infant this holiday season.
Stacking, Sorting, Driving, and Singing…Oh My!
Below are eight of A.C.’s most used toys from the last 6 months. Most of these have been in the rotation since he was about 6-8 months, and many are still hits at the moment. One theme that I have found he loves, are items that can be separated into smaller pieces. A.C. loves to carry around pieces to his toys, his favorite being the wooden animals to his Melissa and Doug Safari truck. This particular toy is also a hit becasue he loves to put the animals in and out of the truck repeatedly. The other truck that is a big hit is his Alex busy firetruck for it’s many spinning gadgets attached.
He also loves anything that stacks and sorts. The simple stacking cups , his rubber blocks, and Skip Hop Owl Stacker really keep him busy for this reason. Anything that plays music when it moves or buttons are pressed can keep A.C. occupied long enough for me to cook dinner, which is always welcomed. The V-Tech Busy learning cube, and musical rhymes book are hits, despite having to hear them frequently. The Fisher Price Elephant is the one larger toy I decided to include on this list. It has been a big hit recently since A.C. started to walk.
The Non-Toys
Truth be told, my son spends a fair amount of time playing with random objects. He carried a cottage cheese container around the house for a month, as if it were gold. Recently he discovered the kitchen cupboard with the rubber food storage containers. Of course I can’t forget our backyard that is full of new discoveries. I made the mistake of shooting the pictures for this post in the backyard. I could not, for the life of me, get A.C. to play with the toys featured in this post. He was up in 5 seconds and walking away to discover the pile of pine cones and the sprinkler valve in the lawn.
Nevertheless, these toys still remain the biggest hits in our house to date. I hope this post helps new moms out there to narrow your choices of toys to buy your little one this holiday season and beyond. I will have to keep you posted the eight new toys A.C. will be discovering over the eight days of Hanukkah this year. Stay tuned…
