Our Favorite Toys! (2014)

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  Such a fun holiday.  Hard not to enjoy an excuse to eat and hang out with family.  We've had such crazy warm weather here lately that after we ate Thanksgiving dinner we all went for a swim.  Something about it just didn't feel right!  But we did it anyway.  :)  It is supposed to cool off this week and actually rain.  My fingers are crossed!  I am beyond ready for scarves and fireplaces.  

Today I'm sharing our favorite toys from the past year for those of you who are looking for a few Christmas ideas for the children in your life!  These are the favorites around my house that my kids turn to again and again.  I'll start with my little buddy's top picks (age 4). 

STRAW CONNECTORS.  You can build all sorts of fun things with these.  

Kole especially loves to build houses and cages.  To trap monsters like himself of course.  :)  You can also make huge sphere shapes.  I love that they foster so much creativity.

MINDSCOPE NEO TRACKS.  LOVE these.  A gift from Santa last year that Kole has played with over and over.  They are flexible and bend and are really easy to pull apart and put together.  The cars race around the track at top speeds.

He especially loves to combine them with other blocks and legos to create a fun track for his race cars.

Kole isn't the only one who loves the Neo Tracks.  :)

MAGNA TILES.  This might be my all time favorite toy.  These are SO cool!  Big hit with my kids.  The tiles link together and you can build all sorts of things with them.  The sky is the limit!  A little pricey (especially if you get a large set) but definitely worth it!  They provide hours of entertainment. 

MAGFORMERS.   My mom has this set of Magformers (similar to the Magna Tiles) and they are also a huge hit with all the grandkids.  You can make so many fun shapes/structures with them.  (The catalog that comes with them has pictures of fun things you can make - soccer balls, rockets, etc.)  Fun toy!

ZIGGLE.  Ok.  Maybe this is a tie with the Magna Tiles for my all time favorite toy ever for my 4 year old little boy.  He has such a blast on his Ziggle!  Have you all seen these?  My mom bought it for Kole for Christmas last year and he has been on it almost every single day since. 

He can get going so fast on this thing!  He races around our bike path with a big grin on his face.  Great gift idea for any young child.  

PIRATES OF THE TUB.  Kole's all time favorite bath toy.  These fun pirate foam pieces float and stick to the bath tub walls.  Another gift from grandma that has become a beloved favorite.  (Grandma's find all the best toys, don't they!?)  Kole asks for his pirates every night in the tub and would play in there for hours if I let him.  It's always a struggle when it's time to clean them up!

FOAM ALPHABET LETTERS.  Had to include these because they were favorite bath toys for all three of my kids when they were little (age 1 to 3).  They stick to the side of the tub and provide a great learning opportunity during bath time.  Bonus!

PRETEND AND PLAY DOCTOR SET.  I don't know a pre-school aged child who doesn't love a toy dr. kit and this is a darling one!  Another gift from Santa last year that is still jus as popular today as the day he got it.  

DR ROLE PLAY SET.  My mom has this Dr. set by Melissa and Doug and it's a huge hit with all the preschool age grandkids.  Always fun to dress up in the dr. coat and give everyone a flu shot.  

CANDY LAND and SORRY.  Last but certainly not least, these are Kole's favorite board games (my kids have been on board game kicks this year!).  He loves Candy Land (an oldie but a goodie) and Sorry.  If someone will play with him he will play these games over and over.  The girls and I take turns.  :)  We are getting him Chutes and Ladders this year for Christmas.  

Now for my girls!  They are 8 and 10 and these are their favorite things...  

BEANIE BOOS.  My girls have had a thing for Beanie Boos for the past two years and it's still going strong.  They love them and play with them all the time.  They want another one for Christmas but I don't know if they will get it because we already have TOO many of them!  I asked my sister what we should get my niece for Christmas and she said all she is asking for is Beanie Boos! 

 RAZOR SCOOTERS.  I had these scooters on my favorite toys list last year but had to include them again because my girls still love them and ride them all the time.  They like their bikes, but not as much as their scooters.  I've thought about getting them a motorized scooter like this one, but probably won't because I like them to get exercise and if it's not broke, why fix it.  They still love their razor scooters!

AMERICAN GIRL DOLL MATCHING PJ'S.  My girls still love American Girl doll accessories - especially matching pj's.  I'm so grateful they are still playing with dolls!  I know our years are numbered.  {tear}

MY LITTLE PONY MONOPOLY.  This was a bit pricey for a board game but I bought it for my girls last year because they have always loved My Little Pony stuff.  I have to say I have been thrilled (and a little surprised!) at how much they play with it!  Almost every time they have friends over this is what they all pull out.  They love it!  Keeps them entertained for hours.  Monopoly with a fun pony twist.  :)

This year my girls are asking for gymnastics outfits,  a slinky, and of course more Beanie Boos.  We are laughing.  This is their chance to dream big!  They are easy to please.  :)  

Here are a few toys that all three of my kids have loved:

TETHER BALL.  This is an old picture.  I have a ball in my hand and one in my belly.  :)  (pregnant with Kole)  But my girls still love Tether Ball just as much as they did when they were little!  Fun game the whole family can enjoy.

TENT or TEPEE. My kids have played so much with this beloved princess tent (a Christmas gift from years ago) that I am thinking of getting them something similar and fun this year.  Maybe a tepee that Kole can keep in his room?  Looking at this cute one from Land of Nod.  

16' ROUND AIRMASTER TRAMPOLINE.  Hands down the best "toy" we've ever bought.  We honestly think buying this trampoline was our smartest purchase of the new house!  

I think these pictures tell it all.  My kids love this thing... 

We had the trampoline set down into the ground so that it would be safe.  (I know I need to do a post on how we did this at some point!)  It's in the back corner of our yard and because of the small hill right before it you can't even tell it's there from the back of the house.  A hidden treasure for the kids.

Honestly this trampoline is such a huge hit with our kids and all of their friends.  They LIVE on it.  Every day.  They play all sorts of made up games like the latest - don't touch the ball.  :)

My girls use it to practice gymnastics and I love that my little buddy has a place to burn off all of his endless energy.  We bought the biggest size we could find and I'm so glad we did because we've had so many kids on this thing at once.  In fact, kids will come over for a swim party, spend 20 minutes in the pool and then all end up on the trampoline!  Such a hit.  Our favorite toy for 2014 and most likely will be for the next 10 years.  :)  

So that's it!  I hope this post helped give you a few Christmas toy ideas for your kids!  I would love to tell you what I'm getting for my kids this year but my girls are old enough to check out the blog now and again so I'll have to share those ideas for next year.  :)  Happy Christmas shopping everyone!

p.s.  You can see past favorite toys here:

{FAVORITE TOYS 2011}

{FAVORITE TOYS 2013}