y’all know we have Monthly Play Themes to offer a rotation of activities in a fun, non-overwhelming way for me.
what works really well for us is to offer several monthly-themed activities, yes - but also offer KK’s absolute favorite toys. and those favorite toys are available all the time, just because they’re played with so often.
these toys are a combination of bigger toys that sit out on their own, and toys that are stashed in baskets in our play area and drawers in our hallway. see a quick tour of our playroom in this reel.
Here’s our list of favorite toddler toys we always have available:
building toys
our favorite Lovevery blocks - one of our most popular toys - worth every penny.
we also have these more basic Melissa and Dough blocks out, too.
we love keeping Building Toys in the main area of our home. Here’s why.
a big ol magnetic chalkboard
tldr: we have a big magnetic chalkboard near our kitchen. and we love using it for magnatiles. (but we also love using it as apart of our monthly play themes.)
animal figurines - ALWAYS a hit!
two sets of jumbo farm animals: mommas and babies - we didn’t mean to own two sets, but it ended up being a happy accident since now kk pretends to have entire families of animals
we also love these in the bath. here’s KK’s 7 favorite bath toys although none of them are actual bath toys.
this awesome set of stacking/nesting wooden boxes
kk uses them to build, but she also uses them for animal homes and/or car garages.
one of our top favorite toys
I love that it’s white, so I don’t mind it sitting out in our home
but I love even more that it’s ambiguous enough to be either a baby doll stroller, or a shopping cart. generally kk just likes piling all her treasures in it and pushing it around.
kk has a set of four washable baby dolls, too, but they’re not her go-to toy
plus a limited selection of play food:
a pretend set from our grocery store
this breakfast set with oatmeal and yogurt, two of kk’s favorites
and this rainbow sorting produce set
(she LOVES using this with her play blender linked above!)
we do rotate a new food and/or cooking toy out each month - like an ice cream set in July and a waffle maker in September - see our monthly play themes for this list
a basket or two of stacking cups, measuring cups, spoons, old formula scoops, a few small spatulas, etc
this has unexpectedly been an absolute hit. kk loves transferring small treasures between cups, she loves stacking cups, she loves using her cups in her play kitchen, she loves taking her cups to her sensory bins. (same goes for spoons and cooking utensils.)
one of kk’s favorites will always be this set of stainless steel condiment cups
and this set of rainbow stacking cups/buckets - INVEST IN THIS SET NOW.
these baskets are shown in the “play area” highlight of my instagram!
this wagon + this school bus wagon
two more of kk’s absolute favorites
trains + town
this reel of our playroom shows how we store trains!
KK has a bigger train set at my parents’ house, so we keep the bare minimum at our house.
cars, etc
service station parking garage (with a car wash and elevator!!!)
school bus wooden play set (kk loves taking the people and out!)
aka her favorite thing to use as a car ramp
aka her second favorite thing to use as a car ramp
but also, kk finds balancing on this gemstone challenging, so she’s completely captivated by it.
kk’s climbing triangle with slide
aka her third favorite thing to use as a car ramp
but also, in all seriousness, kk is a very talented climber and this purchase saved us. it’s - i kid you not - something KK has used every single day since she was a year old. one of her favorite way to get out any wiggles right before bed.
for gross motor play, for balancing, for color sorting, etc.
color sorting quilt and beanbags
kk’s two tables - Ikea flisat children’s sensory tables
see this instagram post for a peek at them
each month kk gets a new, themed sensory bin and it is one of her favorite things to revisit all month long. see our monthly play themes post for a list of our monthly sensory bins.
we also have - and love - these two Ikea kid stools.
kk’s play kitchen
originally a play kitchen from Ikea that I tweaked to fit our needs better: blue and white handles to match our home, a wall-mounted phone (and mailbox!) on the side for ample play opportunities.
this post has allllll the links and details, as well as a full list of the few, select toys we keep in the play kitchen. we keep the same pots/pans, utensils, etc in the kitchen all year long, but every month we rotate 2-3 “new” food/cooking toys. this works really well for us. see our monthly play themes post for a list of our monthly food/cooking toys.
or, or! see this quick reel for a tour of the 13 things we keep in our play kitchen.
pretend mail bag with working envelopes
perfect for the mailbox we added to our play kitchen, perfect for pretend play, perfect for stuffing with treasures.
this scooter + this balance bike my parents' cycling friends swear by
see our other favorite outdoor toys (and why we love Daily Outdoor Time!) here.
I love that it’s portable, I love that it has handles, and I love that it’s a neutral color.
our duplo table
here’s the instagram post on our diy duplo table!
I used these white lego baseplates, this duplo set, and this duplo set.
a rice bin
yes, we have sensory tables. but we also have a separate, simple rice bin - like this Busy Toddler post! - that KK LOVES. if i feel up to it, I may use bowls/scoops/tools that match this month’s colors and/or small parts that coordinate with this month’s theme. (see all our monthly play themes for this.) or I just keep it as-is and it’s still a GEM.
a big ol basket (from Home Goods) of our Grapat pieces
the second box is where we store all our Grapat pieces: our beloved small, loose parts for play. at the height of my grief from our pregnancy loss, I bought what Brett affectionately calls my grief purchases, aka our Grapat collection:
this quick reel of our playroom shows this beloved basket next to our train basket!
poodle pull-toy
it looks like the store from which I purchased our beloved black poodle pull-toy isn’t currently making the custom dog pull-toys, but here’s the storefront in case they offer them again in the future.
nuggets
we have two of these nugget play couches, and I can’t recommend them enough. we actually got them both when KK was maybe three to six months old, mainly because our house is all tile and I wanted a softer spot on which she could play. but also? I knew these would grow with us so well. and they have.
we love keeping Building Toys - like our nuggets! - in the main area of our home. Here’s why.
Whew!
Loved this post? Follow me on Instagram - I’m always sharing peeks into our home and our daily life on my stories. I’m always tweaking our home and our routines and our systems to best meet our current needs in our current season, so my Instagram has the most up-to-date photos.
Also see my “play area” highlight on my Instagram.
See my daily rhythm here to see when we prioritize play in our day.
And see this quick reel for FOUR things that really, really help my toddler’s play.
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