the twins enjoying their new op shop (thrift store) find. i guess if they really love some plastic toys they might as well be of the recycled variety. i think toy sharing is great, hand-me-downs and pre-loved bargains too. anything we can do to stretch the lifespan of objects well past their built in obsolescence of merely being outgrown.
clover’s first toy-love are baby dolls and kieran reveres wheels enough to have truck be one of his first words, but these little plastic people and their little synthetic dwellings are a hit they can share.
i am always on the look out for toys that are green and healthy and i scour the posts on inhabitots for suggestions. i’d love to hear what your favorites are. what are the toys your kids love and what are the toys you would love for your kids to love.
i have a big crush on this dollhouse…and this one too. this one is fabulously crunchy and fun, but they should totally have helmets on in that last shot.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Your blog is beautiful, just like your flickr site…
I had to respond to this entry because I recently got my daughter a wooden dollhouse off of Craigs List that I absolutely adore and hope she does as well (was going to give it to her for her 3rd bday but now its going to be a christmas gift). http://www.plantoys.com/catalog/products_detail.php?id=7124 I recently blogged about my awesome Craigs List findings at our family blog which is not a beautiful site but is an attempt to keep our families up to date on our life http://therichfamilylife.blogspot.com/2009/07/craigs-list-on-200.html
My kids (daughter 3 years old yesterday and son 19 months) love Lego Duplos, the train set (got Imaginarium but should’ve gotten Brio), tea set, kitchen set (ours is plastic and is not cute which I hate), trikes, scooters (both kettler which i love), wooden blocks (but my son is throwing them and they are heavy so we aren’t playing with them as much as I would like us to), Melissa and Doug wooden puzzles, zingo, rubber bugs that we hide in the yard and search for, matchbox cars and a M&D vertical track, pine cones provided by our trees/shovels/buckets. Most all of these were purchased off of Craigs List or at the consignment shop although a fair bit were brand new.
My latest search is for a kid-sized baby grand piano to go along with their musical toys – another Christmas present idea.
What glorious photos… just goes to show that even plastic can be beautiful!
My twins are almost 6 now but they still adore the ‘steiner-ish’ dolls houses my dad made for them when they were three… so does my two year old boy!
We also love brio trains and the plan toys cars/roads that compliment the trains, also a wooden sink and stove, wooden fruit and vege to cut and cook… as well as a heap of other good stuff. We have quite a few lovely wooden toys from ecotoys.com.au Mel is a local Melbourne Mum who is just lovely to deal with… I can highly recommend her lovely wooden birthday cake and the toaster!
Toys toys toys… im so over them being everywhere atm that i wish i could package them all up and send them on over to the salvos, but then aside from the beautiful sanity/idiot box, what would amuse the kids while im blog hopping or doing ‘work’; read browsing flickr.
But back to your question, i too was just browsing for 1st bday pressies for my almost 1 year old boy, and was considering that doll house, even though its a little too small for now. ‘Bit girly though’ im sure my hubbie would say. We have this indian tent http://www.bebeonline.com.au/shop/product_reviews.php/products_id/798 which im hoping in years to come would be a great play investment (hiden agender from photo mummy) I also have most of the radio flyer ride ons, as they are durable, dont fade much, and again are great photo props!! We have a cubby in the backyard that is very loved. Its kind of two rooms (has stairs leading to ‘upstairs’) so on the second floor i covered a mattress in cute fabric, put lots of cushions around, a cheap IKEA bookcase and put lots of their books in so that its like a little reading hideaway. It also then has a kitchen/chairs/table ect. I like things for the kids that promote imaginitive play. So dress ups (i cant wait to get my hands on that indian head costume you shot comercially recently!) and then outside toys. In the boys room is one of those train tables, which has been good, but my 2 1/2 year old pulls it to bits more often that not. A good 3 year old pressie. For christmas we’ve bought a big slide that has a hole to connect the hose too that they can use it as a water slide. Then a few wooden instruments, a guitar, drums, and the radio flyer trycicle. They have so many toys it makes me ashamed, and frustrated when im tripping over them during the night that i keep reminding myself.. they do not need anymore things!!
Love your blog, you make me laugh with your honesty about life with kids and make me feel better when it hits ‘wine o clock’ earlier than 4pm on certain days! Best stop rambling its a little quiet atm and im sure you know what that means!
I love love love thinkativity toys. The only place I’ve found them is Target and Amazon, but they’re pretty awesome. I got the little girl I watch the “Little Storyteller” toy when her baby brother was born.
my kids love LOVE schelich animals.. they have HEAPS of them (from bunnies to lions and elephants…) they play with them nearly everyday… today it was animal tree houses in the tree outside… so cute i shall have to post a photo to flickr to show you!!
Buy some they are worth their weight in gold… and they are heavy!!