To ask what the best £1 you've spent on your kids has been?

[MrsAukerman]

I'll start with mine (DH's actually to give him his dues) - a ball from the pound shop - hours of hands-free parenting both of in the park and our small back yard.
Yours?

A greggs sausage roll

A skipping rope. The boys (3 and 5) have been using it I. All sorts of adventure games outside - mountain climbing, pulling trucks, tying stuff up and rescuing it. Not actual skipping though

A V-Tech Catapiller thingy from a charity shop was Ds's very favorite toy for months and months.

£1 on raffle tickets at the school summer fair..won a barrow of booze
Wahey!
(Sorry not children's toy related)

I bought a long handled dustpan and brush from pound land. It saves my back. I have also got a mini dustpan and brush for brushing up crumbs which also came from poundland.

A plain book of paper - my son loves to draw/paint/colour etc

Bounce and Rhyme at the library. He didn't particularly enjoy it at the time but he used to nap better than at any other time after a session and wake up in such a good mood. He also likes me singing the songs we learnt there when we're at home.

A bag of those little green plastic soldiers. They combined them with some hand-me-down wooden blocks and a small bouncy ball to invent a game that they played for YEARS!

Years ago bought one of those little wooden toddler tricycles for 99p on eBay. It was brand new and still in its box. Although it was about £5 in p&p.

I don't know of the top of my head but the poundshop is great for toys if you are on a tight budget also cooking gear

Cornflour. Pile it on the kitchen tables or a tray. Make a well in the middle and mix to a paste. Hours of fun.

a coconut, spent ages trying to get it open

A novelty timer.

Going to the pound shop as a reward for good behaviour and telling them they can have ANYTHING they want.

Does it have to be a whole £1? DS spotted two plastic power rangers on a toy stall at a summer fete once when he was about 5. They were 20p for BOTH (although I think I paid 50p), and he played with them for many months. Best bargain we ever found.

My dd wanted a hair curling wand for Christmas but she's only 7 so I decided against it and got her some £1 bendy rollers from primark. Not kidding - they are brilliant! She loves them! I'm happy!

A small paint roller & tray from the DIY bit in Poundland.

Keeps DS entertained for ages, along with some cheap poster paint & a roll of lining paper

Bath crayons from the pound shop. Every day DS and I draw a silly face on the bathroom mirror for DH :)

a pack of stickers. my two year old lives them

Empty spray bottles. Put water in and they can help you "clean".

Two first class stamps for their Blue Peter Badge applications.

Free entry into hundreds of places including theme parks until they are 16!

A little plastic toddler bike that Dd insisted on buying from a car boot sale when she was about 2 years old. She is now 5 and Ds is 3 and its been used so much and they still use it even though it's too small!

A giant bubble blower from ELC, shaped like a trumpet. It made really huge bubbles.
A Pound Shop Batman key ring and torch , it used to make the Bat Sign; and a Jurassic park roaring dinosaur keyring.
A Pound Shop Alien Queen figure.
A Pound Shop Ring Tailed Lemur stuffed toy, and a really nice bear.
Another vote for pavement chalks. We used to get buzzed by a hot air balloon once a week, then we drew a chalk outline on the patio and made the dog lie with his nose pressed to it.
They never cam back after that!

A pot full of 2 ps which kept 3 boys entertained for about an hour in the penny arcades at Butlins while their parents kicked back and sat down for the first time that day!

SLS free aqueous cream from Savers! Its the only thing that she can wash with.