Friday 26 August 2011

Toys My Kids Love That Are Actually Toys

After writing about the toys my kids love that aren’t actually toys, I figured I should write a post about the actual toys they love.  I figured it wouldn’t be good for our blog if people started giving kids size 9.5 stilettos as presents and then told the astonished parents that Escape From Mommyland recommended it.   Besides, despite their predilection to play with non-toys, there are definitely some awesome toys that my kids love and are more than willing to beat the crap out of each other to get their hands on.  One word of caution before we continue – if you do intend to purchase one of the following toys for a child you may want to consider buying one for each of their siblings as well, unless you are willing to take responsibility for the scraped knees, pulled out hair and bite marks that result.

1.  Ride on fisher price car – This is such an amazing toy that when my son got it for his birthday all the supposedly ‘grown up’ men spent a good hour playing with it.  Despite the fact that we have multiple other ride-on toys, this is the one that my boys are constantly fighting over.  Maybe it is because this ‘car’ has a trunk where they can store items ranging from old Cherrios to their favourite blankie.  Maybe it is the zillion buttons, gear shifts, or the wide variety of educational songs it plays that don’t make you want to permanently attach pillows to your ears.  Whatever the reason, this is officially the longest-surviving toy in our house.  It may look a little creepy now, what with half its smile ripped off, multiple scratches, dents and splotches of some mystery substance that defies any attempt at cleaning it off.  But in all honesty it doesn’t look any worse than I do in the morning, so I guess we can keep it around a little longer.

2.  Farm Tractor – This was one of those toys that I thought would hardly ever get used.  I just did not see what was so great about a farmer pulling some animals in a wagon.  But what do I know?  I only have two university degrees, years of parenting experience and a mildly popular blog.  Apparently, re-arranging the animals so that the pig drives the tractor and the farmer rides in the back is freaking hilarious to a 3 year old.  Add to that the fact that the tractor emits some vaguely animal sounding noises when you put the animals in the correct position and in kid-land you are WINNING. 

3.  Little People ABC Letter truck – You know your kids love a toy when it has a million different pieces and miraculously none of them go missing, are accidentally eaten or flushed down the toilet.  I have to say that even I have spent an enjoyable half an hour organizing the letters in alphabetical order and making the little man push them into the truck with his little cart.  But then my 1 year old woke up and I had to let him play with it. 



4.  Fisher Price Bubble Lawn Mower – Despite the fact that it is nearly impossible to make bubbles with this contraption, my kids still adore it.  It has the prestigious status of being the favourite outdoor toy of the summer.  My only complaint is that it doesn’t actually cut the grass, because if it did it would save us a ton of time on lawn maintenance.  
5.  Fisher Price Zoo – This toy has earned a spot on this list due to its versatility.  Not only does it occupy the 6 month old crowd, it can be used as an impromptu race track for the 2-4 age range.  For some reason, kids of all ages seem to be obsessed with putting random objects on the spinny section to see what will go around and what will get stuck.  During one playgroup session at our house all 6 kids were crowded around the thing starring in awe as if they had bet their life savings on which animal would fall over first.  In case you were wondering for your own mommy-gambling purposes, the giraffe usually kicks it first. 

I hoped you enjoyed this list of duplicate toys you can get my kids for Christmas my kids favourite toys.  I honestly was not aware that 3 out of 4 of them came from Fisher Price until after I had completed my list, so no, I am not getting any money from FP for promoting their products (but Fisher Price, if you are reading this and want to send me some cash I will gladly accept it).  Happy Shopping!
-Wendy

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