living simply: toys we love

Last year I wrote about some of our favorite things. Most of those were things we had around the house, and I'm a firm believer that kids will play with any old thing, if given the time and opportunity to be creative.

But! But, having a few really good toys is a great privilege, and one I do not take for granted as I care for two young children. Most of these are made to last, and though some are fairly expensive, I definitely think they are worth the cost. In no particular order, here are the toys we love.

1. Magna Tiles. I cannot recommend these enough. I think everyone should own these, and the more the better, in my opinion. Charlotte and Asher have had these for at least nine months, and they have been used in so, so many ways. For awhile we were building giant towers that Charlotte said were animal hospitals. They had garages and potties and parking lots. These days, both kids call them "ice cream" and Charlotte sorts them by colors and puts them in her "freezer," while Asher carries the triangular ones around pretending to lick them. We also use Magna Tiles along with our wooden barn and farm animals to make "cow houses" for Asher, who loves to drive a little tractor around his farm.

2. Play kitchen. This is BY FAR the most used toy in our home. Joel's dad made ours from an old TV stand when Charlotte was tiny, and she definitely dominates it so much that Asher really only gets a chance once she's asleep. ;) But we love it so, so much, and it's worth its weight in gold for how many playtime hours have been spent in creative play there. I also recommend some play food, and some other kitchen supplies, preferably wooden or metal since plastic gets kind of gross and also is easily smushed by not-so-careful toddler hands. (On my wishlist for the kids: this adorable wooden tea set)

3. Doll house and/ or wooden barn. I'm planning to make a doll house using this cool tutorial. Our neighbors asked us to store their giant doll house for a few months, and my kids played with it a lot. However, it was so big that it got difficult to store once they lost interest and I really think kids get tired of staring at unused toys after a while. Once I make ours, I plan to move it around to different parts of the house, and eventually I will retire it to use as a regular old bookshelf. I also plan to buy just a few pieces of furniture; another friend has a cool house but there are SO many pieces of furniture that someone Asher's age can easily get overwhelmed and just not play with it at all.

We bought this classic wooden barn from another neighbor's garage sale, and along with this set of animals from Asher's first birthday, it has gotten a lot of use. There's SO much creative play that can come with well-made, basic toys.

4. Schleich animals. We asked Asher's grandparents to give him a set of animals for his birthday and they've gotten a lot of use. There are sooooo many cool Schleich animals on Amazon, so do a bit of searching to find ones that your kids would like best. I hope to expand our collection in the coming years (this wildlife set looks awesome!).

5. Outdoor toys: swing set, kiddie pool, Strider balance bike. (Note: we have this balance bike in green and it took a loooooong time for Charlotte to love it. But we all persevered, and now she's definitely ready for a pedal bike. I'm just feeling intimidated about deciding which to buy!)

*Let me say that we have A LOT more toys than this in our house.. Mostly because people give us toys, which can be good and bad. Good because it's nice to have free stuff, but also bad (sometimes very bad) because-- as I said in my last post about simplicity with kids-- there's a lot of junk that disguises itself as children's toys, and some things we've been given aren't good quality and don't get used. I try to move things out and pass them along if they aren't beautiful or useful or well-loved.

But it's not always easy. Both of my kids adore stuffed animals (which I can't really stand!) and they use them and I just can't de-stash those darn things as much as I'd like, since they love and use them a lot. Also, I bought two used sets of Littlest Pet Shop toys (which are plastic and gaudy and not beautiful at all!) from my neighbor (for $3!!) and gave them to Charlotte for Christmas last year. She has spent countless hours playing with those things, and Asher really likes them as well. So there's that. Ha! :) BUT I'm so, so glad I bought those used and didn't pay full price!

Now let's share! What are the most loved and used toys in your home? Do you have any of these that my kiddos love?