Here’s something you might not know about me……I don’t like toys with batteries. Something about buying batteries for toys just makes me want to go insane. And most of those battery operated toys are loud and, dare I say – annoying. Lest you think I’m a hypocrite, Annie does have some toys with batteries – an Elmo remote control, Violet the talking dog (I think it’s a dog), and Limbo Elmo. Do you sense a theme around here? Anyway, a few toys I don’t mind – but Annie’s toys for the most part are NOT ELECTRONIC. I don’t want her to have electronic toys. I want her to embrace her creativity and play with simple things…..and guess what? She prefers toys WITHOUT all the pomp and circumstance. So, today I’ll share my top 5 favorite toys for Annie……keep in mind, she’s 2 ½.
Confession – She does have some toys that Barry and I just never put the batteries in. Uhhh, oops? 😉
Annie has a small area of the kitchen where she keeps her toys. It’s her “kitchen” where she “cooks.” She’s got some toy food, a few of my old kitchen utensils (no knives, ha!), and some plastic plates and cups for “cooking.” My favorite part of this little area is her fabric food that I picked up at Ikea on a trip. It’s the exact set you see on the left. I LOVE it! It’s easy to clean if it gets dirty….it’s soft, and because of the fabric type, it sticks together if you need it to – unlike plastic food. So, fabric toy food ranks really high on my list. You can buy felted toy food all over Etsy. No batteries required….score!
Every child should have a good set of blocks. I scored this Melissa and Doug set on a daily deal site last year. I think I ended up paying $5 total. It’s been a GREAT buy! She plays with them every day. Every. Day. They come in a cute little bag, so they’re easy to store….and trust me, you want to store them. Stepping on a block in the dark is NOT a fun experience and might cause you to lose your religion for a minute. They’re not just blocks for stacking, they also have letters and animals on them – the uses are endless…..especially with creative children. And aren’t all children creative? No batteries required….score!
Another toy Annie plays with every day? Her doctor kit. I picked her kit up at Wee-Cycle It last year for $3. She wants to doctor me. She wants me to doctor her. If you come over, I can assure you that you’ll get doctored. Have an ailment? See Doctor Annie. Another great buy. One of the best ways I’ve used this so far, is on doctor visits. Annie is super scared of going to the doctor. So, we take our doctor kit with us and she keeps that with her. I will say that it’s helped a lot. No batteries required…..score!
If I had a nickel for every time Annie played with her Magna Doodle, I’d be rich…..or a dime for every time Barry played with it. Seriously, Magna Doodles are fun stuff, man! I love drawing on them….and erasing it before Barry can see and laugh. They are so portable – in the car, at the store, at church, etc. They bring hours of entertainment for me and Barry Annie. This might rank at my #1 favorite toy……at the moment. 🙂 No batteries required….score!
Okay, here is my splurge toy on the list….it’ll set you back about $200. However, I am tighter than Dick’s hat band, so if I like it you know that means something. We LOVE Annie’s learning tower. Barry made hers and it’s been one of the best things we’ve done. It allows Annie to learn AND play in the kitchen. Currently she’s learning to “wash dishes”….but it’s more like play in the bubbles at this point. It moves easily to wherever I’m working in the kitchen. It allows me to get things done while Annie “helps” instead of trying to crawl up my leg. Definitely no batteries required here….score! And this “toy” lasts for years and years – for all your children and likely your grandchildren. So, I consider it a good splurge.
So, there you have it! I could list at least five more, but you might fall asleep, bang your head and get a concussion….that wouldn’t be a Happy Holiday.
What’s your #1 favorite child toy that doesn’t require batteries?
We never buy battery operated toys, either. Mostly because I hate the nasty electronic music that they all have. **shudders** Also because I feel like they do not involve the brain at all; it’s just push a button and see what happens. My son’s favorite toys are his cars and trains that he plays with literally for hours.
Ya know, I never thought about the brain part. I just new they drove my brain CRAZY!
Oh, that tower is awesome! We could use a couple of those around here. Currently my children enjoy pushing chairs around my kitchen to “help” me do things, but I’m about five seconds away from a heart attack when they stand in them. Especially my daredevil one year old.
I know, right? I would gasp about a million times when Annie used a chair before Barry built this. It’s a GASP saver. 🙂
and books
Totally books. 🙂
Ugh, I HATE battery operated toys. I have been told that I would not be able to keep them away from my kids, two and a half years later… the closest we have is letting Christopher play on my keyboard.
I like simple toys that encourage creativity. I love duplox for Christopher. He builds with them ALL. THE. TIME. His favorite toys are also:
a duck that has rubber feet on a wheel, so when you push it around the feet plop, plop, plop on the ground. I NEVER play with this as I am too mature.
balls
blocks
legos
cars
scooting car
magnetic drawing board
You do too play with it…..don’t lie. 😉
Awesome choices! My kids do not own battery operated toys. I hate them also. Now…every now and then somehow I find one..with old leaky batteries and wonder how it entered my home…LOL. I love toys that inspire imagination not provide it in a confined predigested way.
Amen to that!
I hate batteries with toys, too! I seem to always be out of “that size” battery when the ones we do have quit working. 😉
Our favorite toys (for my almost 6 year old boy) are cars. Especially the little Tonka Wheel Pals, because they don’t hurt when you get hit with them. They do still break glasses, but they don’t really hurt.
Our other favorite is the toys that they can make fore free at Lowe’s about twice a month. We’ve made tons of them (cars, trains, science lab) and they were all free!
And, of course, we love LEGO’S. They put them on clearance at Target occasionally, like right after Christmas and Easter, so we stock up on them and use them throughout the year.
My kid’s favorite thing to do ever though is read. He literally spends up to 2 hours a day reading. Yay books! Yay used book store for really cheap books! Yay library for free books!
My son’s favorite toy with batteries (about the only one he ever uses) that we do actually keep up is his camera. He loves to take pictures, and I love seeing the world through his eyes. =)
Great list Christina! Annie hasn’t hit the Legos stage. 🙂 But when she does, I’ll be sure to stock up at our local consignment sale. Yay for books!
Love the learning tower! Wish we had such a thing when my children were little. We used a chair, and I am fortunate that my kids didn’t get hurt falling off of it.
Great suggestions! I think my favorite toy has to be legos! My son is 12, and he still builds things.
Kathy, before we had the Tower I”d let Annie stand in the chair…..and it always gave me a heart attack. LOL
You know me, I like sticks. But also, play silks–those get lots of use at our house. We even made a football out of one once.
I saw the play silks listed on several sites this year. 🙂
My favorite toys are action figures. The boys will play with them for hours. My second favorite toy is cardboard. We have to keep all cardboard boxes around our house. They have became forts, houses, campsites, and one time a gumball machine. They would seriously rather play with cardboard and masking tape than anything else.
I know, right? Who needs all those silly battery toys??
We have our fair share of those too, and they use them until the batteries die, but instead of buying new batteries I started buying rechargable batteries. So much easier. They still enjoy battery things too, it’s just that I don’t.
Kids love batteries. Parents don’t. Seems like a conspiracy. 😉
I love that leaning tower idea. I wish I would have had one for my kids! It would have been great to have them helping me everyday instead of me trying to get something done and running after them every two seconds instead!
BTW I think battery toys are evil and always hated when some one gave me one that was extremely noisy. Do not worry..I have who gave me what in my memory bank to return the favor when they have kids!
LOL You get ’em Eileen!
Love all your battery-less toys! We have gone through quantities of batteries. Soooo aggravating! Anyway, we have boys & so far a couple stuffed animals, playdoh, cars, tractors, & ride-on toys have been the biggest hits at our house.
Down with batteries!!! 🙂