Classic Toys

As a maturing mother (wink, wink! ha!) I quickly realized the value of good, classic toys.  Very few of our toys make noise of any kind.  In fact, I can't think of a single one right now...I'm sure there is one somewhere.  Or maybe not - I tend to hide those quickly (or give them away!).  

The children did get Leap Pad 2's last Christmas but they are not a free reign toy.  We use them when we go somewhere, or for a few minutes in an evening maybe once a week.  Sometimes we go a month or better without turning them on.  

As you shop this Christmas season I encourage you to stop and think about the life value of a good sturdy classic toy.  We love wooden toys, solid plastic, and things that lend to great imagination!

Favorite brands of our include Discovery Toys classics, Imaginext, and Melissa and Doug.

ALL of our Imaginext pieces have been purchased second hand.  I was a Discovery Toys consultant for awhile, until they started changing their line from classic originals to things they were just "approving" that you could buy anywhere.  We have a great local store that carries Melissa and Doug and we buy them as gifts for others as often as we purchase them for our own children!

Just a little food for thought as you shop this season!

 Melissa & Doug wooden toys.

My mom & dad gave Natalee this doll house for Christmas in 2010 (?), I believe.  It wasn't something I ever thought to buy her and it's easily become a favorite in our house, amongst our kids and the daycare!

 

Discovery Toys Hammer Away boat.  

PS - YES, we have given our children good quality second hand toys as gifts for bday/Christmas.  Nope, we don't harbor guilt about it!  The train table and all the trains you saw in the Christmas 2011 catch up post were all purchased 2nd hand for a STEAL of a deal.  

We have a kitchen set (given to us by a loving aunt!) and a wooden tool bench that get hard daily use!  Books are also our other favorite Christmas/birthday gifts.  We have a new found love for Usborne books and also appreciate the Scholastic book orders (great books, great prices!).

This seems like a random post but in light of the season I've looked around my house often and realized how LOVED the toys choices we've made have become.  It was never so apparent to me until I came home and the children and I were here all day and night.  Then I quickly realized that it wasn't about how many toys (though we do rotate ours in totes downstairs) but about the quality of the ones we had!