When I was a kid, I loved flipping through catalogues and circling all of the toys and crafting kits that I wanted for Christmas. And then when Christmas morning came, opening those gifts under the tree was so exciting!
But, for the majority of those toys and kits, they got played with for a few weeks or months and then I stopped using them. They just didn’t grow with me.
Now, on the parent side of things, I’ve watched the same thing happen with my kids. The dump truck that picks up balls, the talking robot, that remote control helicopter; they were all fun for a few months. But, now they sit unplayed with, collecting dust.
It got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be nice to buy toys that your kids could play with through the years? Things that would be exciting as toddlers and still played with well into the elementary years and beyond?
That is exactly what I decided to do. Very slowly, we’ve been phasing out those age specific and ‘one time use’ toys and opting for lifetime toys.
The best part, is that my kids now gravitate towards things they can play with for the long haul without even realizing it!
Some of those age specific toys inevitably find their way under the tree, but our focus is now on those forever toys.
Check out our list of Forever Toys below!
The Toys
*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associates, I earn on qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Wooden Toys:
Building Toys:
Imaginative Play Toys:
- Play kitchen and play food
- Doctor kit
- Doll/animal house
- Small animals
- Small dinosaurs
- Cars
- Flexible Road
- Cash Register
Large Motor Toys:
Fine Motor Toys:
- Crayons
- Markers
- Colored pencils
- Paper
- Stickers
- Play dough
- Play dough tools
- Kinetic Sand
- Balancing Moon
Educational Toys:
Let’s Chat
I know what you’re thinking. “That list is gigantic! I had no idea there were so many forever toys!” I know, right?! There are so many options!!! My favorite part? Almost all of them can double as educational toys.
Everything that I listed is a toy that all of my kids from 3 years old to 9 years old enjoy playing with. They may play with the items in a different way, but they will all play with them!
Let’s break these categories down:
Wooden Toys – These have been a favorite of mine since I began having children for various reasons. Over the years, I have found that the quality is much better than that of many plastic toys. They tend to break less often, and I’m not worried about questionable chemicals that may be baked into their composition when one, inevitably, winds up in someone’s mouth! Obviously, we still have some plastic toys, but I like to buy wood when I can.
Building Toys – The thing that my kids love to do together the most, is build. They will build big with our fort kit and mats or small with Legos, Duplos, and Magnatiles. They just love to build! And, typically, they will build cooperatively until one of them decides it is time to destroy the creation, haha. Building is such a wonderful skill to encourage because it works those fine motor muscles and encourages their ever-active imaginations. Listening to them create their own little worlds is one of my favorite things!
Imaginative Play Toys – As mentioned above, kids have amazing imaginations! Personally, I feel that it is so important to encourage them to continue creating and imagining throughout childhood. Not only are we aiding brain development when a child has to actively create the game, setting, story, and play; but we are also bumping up their confidence, allowing practice with real world situations, and giving them the control to make decisions without consequence. My 4 littles love to use their imaginations! They tend to combine building toys with animals to create animal worlds. They will literally play for hours simply with blocks and animals!
Large Motor Toys – Childhood has changed a lot in the past few decades. Most kids spend a lot more time inside in front of screens than they do outside running around and playing. I feel that large motor toys are just that much more important because of that. The more we can get them moving, even if it is inside, the better!
Fine Motor Toys – Even though kids are really good at swiping and taping on a screen these days, they tend to have a lot more trouble with simple fine motor tasks such as holding a pencil correctly and using a pair of scissors. Throughout my years in the classroom, I have watched children come into school with less proficiency in their fine motor skills. In my opinion, that breaks down into two reasons: Strength and exposure. Although kids can tap and swipe, their hand strength tends to be much less than that of past generations. A stronger hand gives a child the ability to hold a pencil correctly and work on letter formation and scissor cutting. I’m sure you have picked up on the theme, but due to an increase in technology usage and a decrease in hands-on activities, kids have less exposure to those fine motor tasks. Sure there are great apps out there where children can trace a letter with their finger. But, in reality, we don’t write with our finger tip. A child needs to be able to grip a pencil and hold it properly in order to form a letter. So, while the apps allow for great letter exposure, they do not help with the fine motor aspect. I love to sit my kiddos down with some play dough or kinetic sand and just let them imagine. Sure, a lot of it ends up on the floor with my 3 year old, but he is strengthening those all important fine motor muscles by squeezing and molding.
Educational Toys – I love a good educational toy. And, lucky for me, my kids do too! I truly feel that the most important thing you can ever purchase for your child is a book. My oldest had the luxury of having me alone for nearly 19 months before his brother came along. During that time, we read thousands and thousands of books. To this day, that 9 year old will read for hours. No exaggeration, hoooooouuuurrrrssssss! Whenever you can sneak in an educational item and make it fun, do it!
So Many Choices!
With so many choices, what will be on your Christmas List this season?! Truly, you can’t go wrong with anything on this list. Make the switch to Forever Toys and you won’t regret it!
Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend! As always, you can check out more ideas on Pinterest and see what we are up to on Instagram. And check out more of our fun Christmas ideas below! Happy Holidays!
