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Favorite Toddler Toys

If we’re not careful, our house could easily get taken over by toys (and books, but that’s not all Jona’s fault). We’ve purchased very few of these toys ourselves; for the most part they’ve been gifts. I’m certainly not complaining about that, because when Jona gets fun toys from family members, that means we can buy him things like diapers or socks for his birthday and he won’t be mad about it.

However, I feel that when I’m on the other side, the one who’s doing the giving, I never know what to get unless the child is the same age (or younger than) Jona. So today I’m rounding up a few of Jona’s favorite toys (and a few not-toys). I hope that this list helps you the next time you have a toddler to shop for.

favorite toddler toys

1. Sound puzzles. Okay, this may not win the award for “least annoying toy” but Jona sure does love it. He has a vehicle-themed puzzle, and he loves putting it together and repeating all the noises. Also, since it has more pieces than the jumbo puzzles he loved when he was younger, it entertains him for a little longer. (Or until he gets frustrated that the fire truck doesn’t fit when it’s upside down.)

2. Books. Jona’s favorite books could be a blog post on its own, but I’ll list a few of the most-read. He still loves board books, because they make it easier for him to turn the pages, which is a must. Along with The Little Blue Truck (I talked about that obsession here), we read Bear Snores On, Where’s Spot?, and Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs on a daily basis. Jona does make an exception to the board book rule for Richard Scarry books; we have his Best Mother Goose that was mine as a child and Best Storybook Ever and he adores both.

3. Animals. For Christmas Jona got a set of plastic safari animals, and they’re such a hit. His favorite thing is taking them out of the bucket and putting them back in. He also likes to put the little rocks in the seat of his ride-on toy. I also like this toy because it’s easy to stick a lion or rhino in my purse and pull it out when we’re running an errand and boredom strikes in. Grocery shopping sucks until mom pulls a zebra out of her bag!

4. Music box. This one is right up there with the sound puzzle as far as being annoying goes, but he can’t get enough of the wind-up radio that plays Farmer in the Dell. That’s all it plays, again and again, but I just can’t resist when he brings it to me and says “here y’go” or “peeez”.

5. Not-toys. So these aren’t things we received as gifts, and you may get strange looks (for some of them) if you give them, but I swear, Jona has more fun playing with some of these things than anything else. Favorite not-toys include: winter hat and mittens, sunglasses, flip flops, shoelaces (even better when they’re not attached to a shoe), and a colander.

What are your favorite toys to give or get as gifts for the little loved-ones in your life? 

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