Toys and Games

[Shirley]

Do you have any really good toys and games that you can recommend?

I hate and detest the run of the mill toys and games and do try to buy things that don't require batteries etc.

Both my boys will have birthdays in the next 6 weeks - Jonathan will be 3 and Christopher will be 12.

I want to get something that is going to be used, and loved... and hopefully looked after in such a way that it can be passed down to their own children afterwards. So many things nowadays are 'disposable' - people get amazed when something has lasted for a couple of years!!

Any suggestions??

[albert onglebod]

My 2 have a wooden castle that OH had built by a local workshop. Its about 3ft square and comes to pieces. That got used a fair bit and I expect will get grandchild use in the future. I remember my brother had one years ago (might still have it).
Lego is nice if your kids are that sort of kids.
Board games are okay if other people are willing to play.
My son loves Monopoly .My daughter likes Frustration.
When they were little we got loads of use out of an old fisher price play village that my SIL handed down to them.We passed it on to the next SIL when they were too old for it.

[Upahill]

Sticklebricks! I'd still play with them at 26 if I had them. The 12 yo might not be too impressed tho.....
My father was handy and knocked us up wooden forts, castles, play ovens, farms etc and we loved the tree house. Trampolines are very popular now it seems but I imagine they are pricey.

[the woodmaiden]

Lego!!! wouldnt it be nice if they made it out of recycled plastic?! maybe they do I dunno!
Oh I loved that as a kid & played with it for years,& any kind of den! At a party I went to once..I saw in one of their rooms a kids teepee,wow! I wanted to go sit in myself
Board games I loved & still do
I had a cardboard castle thing that I had for years to & I know I also wanted sooooooooooo much but never got......... ........boohhoooo things like a telescope to look at the stars & binoculars.
I like the idea of little gifts for birthdays & the *main* one to be a day out,maybe that the child chooses what you do,my nan used to do this with me & I liked to go to a Roman villa excavation or a old manor house-bit small to be called stateley lol Breamore its lovely,nan & me used to walk around there & drop back from the guide,we went so many times we knew the blurb lol we used to drop back & then pretend we lived there & we were on our way to another room & make up stories to that effect
it was great!
What about a moonlite ghost walk?or a pirates picnic?oooo I love partys!!
I think for kids the funniest things stick in their heads as to whats a great pressy.
In the Green Parent they had a thing on birthdays & I just love the idea of decorating a Birthday Throne!flowers & garlands & gorgeous things & making it a special chair for a special day!
Bright Blessings
Woody
x x x x

[mellie]

Hallo

I am a big fan of fisher price too , and if you tap vintage fisher price into e bay, it'll come up with great stuff which all mine (children) have loved.
Playmobile is another firm fave and is also widely available on e bay.

The NCT have regular sales, usually in church halls, where these things turn up as well.

Another lovely site for lovely toys is Bramble corner. They do all the traditional toys , but again , at a lovely price.

Hope this is helpful

Mellie

[the woodmaiden]

Hi Mellie
I was looking on EBay a few weeks ago & saw a Playmobile recycling truck with little men lol! I didnt have any money or would have bid for it,it was very cute!
Bright Blessings
Woody
x x x x

[ina]

If Jonathan hasn't got one already - a farm set! They come in wood or plastic... I've got a really cheap one which I bought at Lidl's - nasty plastic, £2.99 - visiting kids always discover it pretty quickly and then they are happy while I can chat with their mum!

There are similar systems to Lego made from wood. I had some building stuff that came with logs, boards, screws and tools, all made of wood. Don't know whether that type is still easily available, though, but it was great. (Of course, me being a girl, I only had what was left over from my brothers to play with. )

Hand or finger puppets? They are good for the whole family to play with!

[Wombat]

We had an english system called build-a-bricks that I suspect pre-dates Lego (also plast1c), or just perhaps predates Lego availability over here.....

Nev

[shiney]

My boys 5 & 13 love lego, brio wooden trains and jigsaws etc. We always end up with fights over Frustration but the little one is learning that you can't always win!

We have a dressing up box as well.

I have found some great bits and peices in charity shops too.

Tracey, the Downshifting lady bought her kids Christmas pressies entirely from the charity shops. She is a whizz at finding fab stuff and the kids were over the moon with all the stuff they got. All without a battery in sight!

[Tigerhair]

We have been given a lot, and my mum has found loads of stuff in charity shops, but yes, we've bought stuff. And you know what Josh is happiest doing? Sweeping outside and mopping the kitchen floor. And far be it from me to stop him.... LOL.... Anyway, take them to the dreaded Toys R US and see what they want to play with then get them a cheaper/free alternative, and hand that down to another family when it is no longer the best thing since sliced bread. I haven't bought Josh any clothes hardly either as I get given TONNES of stuff! So, I give stuff away to others...

I don't think I could choose that one special toy for Josh, he'd know it when he saw it!

[nick]

my 4 yo loves the thomas the tank engine track and trains. it is expensive but the amount of time spent playing and designing new tracks and acting out different scenerios is worth it. you can get wooden or plastic track in a large set or in smaller lots so you can add to it later. can get the wooden trains individually as well. some friends have passed their wooden train set through their family for a number of years so I guess it has well and truly paid for itself.

[liwymi]

The 3 y.o should be easy, wooden blocks, trainsets, puzzels etc..

The 12 y.o, a billycart? something with wheels! maybe a skateboard. Something to keep him active would be cool. Maybe even a book, one of your (or your parteners) favourites when you were young.

Oh, you could even get some gardening equipment and do some gardening activities.

Have fun!