What was the biggest hit last year? What's still being played with?

[Marne]

The dd's got quite a lot last year ( mainly tat ) and was just thinking ' what still gets played with? ' I think the biggest hit was scrabble trickster, dd2 plays with it almost everyday and uses it to play along to countdown on the tv. Dd1 does not play with anything she got last year ( she got skylanders which we sold a few months later so she could buy a 3ds ).

So what toys are still being played with that your dc's got last year?

DS1 (7yo) got a bike which he still uses frequently and DS2 (3yo) got a Fireman Sam fire engine and Mike's can which he still plays with everyday and have done for the last ten months!

My ds1 got the Imaginext Batcave 2 christmases ago and it is still being played with. Every child that comes into the house loves to play with it. We have since expanded the set with some vehicles and it is definitely the most played with toy we have ever had.

A close second is the Fisher Price Piggy Bank that ds1 got when he was 1 (he is 6 now) he loved it then and now ds2 (22 months) adores it. Really got alot of play out of that one.

I went through last year's christmas list for ds (still on my iPhone) and discovered (much to my disgust) that he barely plays with anything off it. Octonauts toys and a playmobil fire engine were the only things, some of the things I've already gotten rid of.

However he had the imaginext castle for his birthday and he plays with that every single day.

Looking at last year's list was a wake up call and I have bought far less this year and have asked for money for his savings account or books or clothes when family have asked what he'd like.

We bought a massive Tupperware box and filled it with arts and crafts stuff, and it's played with at least 3 times a week. Scissors that make funny patterns, foam shapes, glue, coloured paper and card, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, sequins, glitter glue, coloured biros, feathers, etc, etc.

Also the dressing up outfits we bought last year even though they have both grown out of them so we need to get some new ones really.

A keyboard with lots of preset tunes that they like to dance to and put shows on for us.

The marble run I bought very cheaply off ebay was the biggest hit. DD's friends beg to come round and play with it.

Dd got a laptop that she has used every day since last Christmas. She barely looked at the craft sets that are still unopened upstairs. The Moxie dolls got opened and put in the storage box. She loved the annuals but had too many books so they were put on the shelves and forgotten about. I think we should have saved the money instead tbh.

Playmobil castle.

mine where like this,.... i went over board last year and think they where overwhlmed.

im sticking to 6 things this year mainly due to money but also because i want them to actually play with it.

last years big hits was toy story remote crontroll car, the scooter my mum got the kids are used near enough every day. the tv with inbult dvd (they share a room and was a bargon at 80) thats about it.

this yeat i know every single one will be loved as iv stuck to what they love and havnt brought what i want them to play with or want them to enjoy.,

This kidizoom camera.
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9154782.htm?CMPID=GS001&_$ja=cgid:11020839030|tsid:41361|cid:143303070|lid:55208757510|nw:g|crid:32817428190|rnd:2142857422745300618|dvc:t|adp:1o4

Toy kitchen currently reduced to £35 in Asda for DD2 age 3. Wooden pizza from Melissa and Doug.

Kindle fire for DD2 seldom out of her sweaty grasp.

Not hits- Peppa Pig characters and school house, wooden Melissa and Doug castle, hair crimpers, La la loopsy doll, Bop It.

I haven't really thought about this before, but am rather pleased as I think DS plays with the vast majority of big presents he got last year
The duplo, keyboard, wooden garage all get played with at least twice a week.
DD's weren't quite as successful, although DS does play with her duplo a lot too She got a Melissa and Doug latches board which is the most successful puzzle either of them have ever had, they both love that one. They also use the table and chairs set daily

Micro scooter for DD2, charades for both of them- they love that game!

DD1 got a DSi after badgering for one for months- after the initial excitement she barely looks at it.

Scooter (3 year old)
Wooden birthday cake you can slice and put candles in, played with all the time

Fire engine and firemen for 1 year old, plays with that a lot

DD still plays with Lego that DS1 had for Christmas 18 years ago!
It has been added to over the years we have enough to stock a Lego shop , but even at 11, DD still builds with it.

Even DS1 when he comes for a visit still sits and builds with DD/DS2. It gets very competitive. Ds are 16 & 22

Last year, Lego.

Playmobil was played with for a bit but then it was ignored. It gets dragged out about twice a year and makes a terrible mess. She has a dolls house that has sat ignored for years (it was given to her by her uncle when his DD grew out of it so she had it from a very early age) but in the last year she has really got into playing with it - not as a dolls house as such, as a 'hotel' for her moshling figures (she's 8).

She got a keyboard a few years ago which still gets played with - it was an ELC one she can record stuff on for playing along with/over and it's that rather than any music-making that entertains her (think Ross from Friends and his 'sound'...)

She has begun to get into board games this year and Monopoly has been a big hit.

Just shows that most of us buy too much. I'm trying to be careful and only buy things I know they will love rather than buying things because they are on offer or because I would have liked them as a child, last year I bought far too much, furby was hardly played with, skylanders lasted a few months and craft sets are still unopened. I will be buying far less this year.

Pillow pets were the most used here - they cuddle up each night and take them whenever they go away.

Ds still plays with his imaginext batcave and figures daily We have added to the collection throughout the year and he now has a substantial amount of imaginext batman toys! They are great quality and none have broken despite being regularly bashed around. Also a big hit were the micro scooters and they are still used almost daily.

Melissa and Doug wooden food gets a lot of use, as do the secondhand plastic animals from dd1's advent calendar. The ikea kitchen is used every day.

Her garage was used for a few months but not so much now.

The biggest failure of last christmas was the gruffalo toy I got for dniece which gave her nightmares

This isn't the exact one we have, but our still played with toy/game is {{http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apples-to-Party-Box/dp/B00112CHCK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382049748&sr=8-1&keywords=apples+to+apples Apples To Apples]]

Sorry www.amazon.co.uk/Apples-to-Party-Box/dp/B00112CHCK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382049748&sr=8-1&keywords=apples+to+apples

My 8 and 9 year old loved it too. It's fantastic for getting kids to articulate.

Last years was a snow white dress I got from a car boot for £2 !!!! Worn nearly every weekend, i had to hide it sometimes to get her to wear something else just occasionally!

She also got a camera and ignored it at first then went mad for it.

As I got lots of free or cheap second hand stuff last year, I spent a little more this year on craft type stuff, and now am thinking about the Hudl for her, and after reading some posts, know all the beautiful craft things will get left for dust rotting away.....

Batman outfit, batman imaginext toys, puppet theatre, octonauts toys, Lego, magic set, post office set, a variety of annuals, Thomas take n play trains, playmobil pirate stuff. All a big hit still with DS (now 5). Some of this was from his birthday last year I think.

Micro scooter
Lego
Small tubs of slime
A few books became favourites