Six months on- which toys are still being played with?

[SimplyNigella]

I really enjoyed reading the thread about the most appreciated and play with gifts just after Christmas and I wondered what everyone's DCs were still playing with and what has been forgotten about (almost) six months later.

DS was 2 a few weeks after Christmas and I tried to buy toys that he would grow into over the year. He still loves his play kitchen best and the way in which he plays with is developing as he does. He isn't playing with his Brio train set as much as I hoped but he is starting to show an interest and I'm sure he will be ready to add to it by Christmas.

Anyone else?

We got the mat from IKEA Cagliostro It's excellent value for money, although does take up quite a bit of space, even folded. It gets used at least once a week. It's not a professional one, but perfect for what DD uses it for.

Is your bar pressure fit only? Ours has little round metal 'cups' that screw permanently into the woodwork. You then fit the bar. pressure fit style, as usual but with the little cups holding it in place and preventing slippage. They are like the ones pictured here. I hope that explains it, but if not I can take photos of how DD's is fitted. One other thing we do is encourage DD to swing in one direction only, then fit the bar so that it tightens rather than loosens with every swing.

DS who is 4 next month loved his Star Wars Lego (the only 3 year old I know with any ) he has a couple of the medium sets which are a bit much for him and pretty much all the small ships that are played with constantly! He's amazing with it. The Lego Star Wars sticker books and encyclopaedia with figure were worshipped but his other non Lego ships and figures weren't played with much past the second month, sometimes they attack the Lego but were a fail.

DD who was 2 in February loves her megasketcher, little people castle, the elc happyland sets we've added to and her peppa pig sets. Her jewellery and dress up are still played with too. The most surprising was the mlp teddies that I got from China, they went in her buggy and are adored, the big pink pony from build a bear not so much. Go figure!

iPads, Micro Scooters, Lego &
Sylvanian Families.

DS (turned 3 the month after Christmas):
Wooden train set and engines. Every. Single. Day. Bargain at £30 for a decent set from JL, and a couple of Thomas trains both new and second hand from eBay.
Random toy dinosaurs/cars.
Jig saw puzzles.

DD (9 months at Christmas):
Fisher price stacking ring
Grimm's wooden rainbow
Soft dolly

DS really is a simple creature with simple tastes. I reckon this year we'll get him some proper Lego (box o' bricks style), as he still plays with the Duplo loads, but we never added to that at Christmas.

And 100% playmobil (thank god we had tonnes!) they're both asking for it for birthdays so will get more sets (the elc wooden pirate ship is perfect to go with too!) Wooden train tracks are always a hit when we get them out, we usually add bits each year.

DD was 3 the month before Christmas. We bought her the duplo creative cakes and ice creams set which still gets played with almost every day.

We also got an ELC till with pretend money that is well used.

Sons 3 and 5 yrs.....still being played with:

-policeman costume
-Nikki Wonderland boy bath doll - my 5 yr old likes it even more than my 3 yr old.
-Lego bits
-play mobile bus and police car

my 3 yr olds favourite gift? Elsa lip gloss or "lipstick" as he likes to say

DDs 6 and 4 (some of these were also birthday gifts, wasn't all for Christmas 2015!):

MISSES
Playmobil, amazingly. It just sits there unused.

Lego Cinderella castle. Was assembled and played with a bit (cue lots of arguments as both wanted Cinderella but there is only one, then DD2 lost the Prince's legs). Now half assembled and never played with.
Leapfrog Tag pen (they like the books though especially Disney princess ones)

HITS
Leapfrog tablets and games cartridges (BIG hit and get used a lot; ideal for travelling, robust, secure etc)
Jigsaws
Books
Colouring in things, felt tip pens, sticker books
Hair bobbles/clips/jewellry
Useful things like clothes and undies (obvs - worn every day!)
Tangleteezer
Swimming costumes (they love getting dressed up in them)
Dress up costumes (Disney princesses)
DJECO princess castle and mini Disney princess figurines - this gets a lot of use and is a lot cheaper than buying a proper castle - a tenner!
Barbies and associated paraphernalia (bought secondhand for a birthday buy played with a lot)

For anyone with younger kids, the following presents from years ago are still played with to this day:

M and D ice-cream set

Wooden cake stand and cakes

Leapfrog picnic basket

Leapfrog magic tea party set

Also bikes/scooters been great presents and used a lot!

Lego for ds1 nearly 6 and toot toot for ds2 who is now 19mths

Baggy am jealous of your Grimms rainbow - ds2 has a lot wooden toys I actually want the ammonite puzzle

Oooh, the ammonite puzzle is now on my list for DS. He would love it as would I

Dd1 (3) and dd2 (18m) still both love duplo, brio, crayons (both crayola and some odd gel ones from lidl), a grimms rainbow (so recommend them, so wish we had a bigger one than the 7 piece one) and a pair cuddly compare the meerkat meerkats that (cheapskate) Santa brought.

Not popular at all wooden dolls house (although I luffs it) and my happy land rocket whim.

•M&D shopping trolley. - Has been played with as a walker from 12 months and is still being played with now at 5. It looks like new still.
•playmobil - especially the pool when i put water in it.
•Marble run.
•All things crafty.

I'd forgotten about DS's little Waitrose shopping trolley as it wasn't a Christmas present but it does get played with daily along with his set of groceries and his shopping basket.

Until v recently I would have said that annoying little pet mouse toy with its own house/run....it was barely looked at beyond Christmas day until a friend of DS (6) got one and now literally all they do is play with their pet mice??!!!.....maybe it's one of those toys which is only fun if someone else has one.

Struggling to remember exactly what dd (now 4) got for Christmas...

She did get a load of My Little Ponies which get played with reasonably often, plus Princess Twilight's Rainbow Castle (the may be other words in its title which I have forgotten - it falls apart very easily, but she does seem to like it. Oh, and her My Little Pony dvd. And a game where you have to pull out sticks from a hollow plastic tree, while trying to prevent small plastic monkeys from falling out the bottom.

Her birthday was a few months ago - the biggest hits from that were the marble run (it's amazing) and a really good plastic case of stubby Crayola felts in a good range of colours - they might be called squiggles, or something? They've created in her a desire to draw, which she never had before.

We got some Orchard Games, too, which always get played with.

Ds 5:

Lego
Playmobil caravan
Imaginext batmobile and figures
Superhero figures
Puzzles
Audiobook and headphones
Transformer
Marvel Spiderman story collection

All used on a daily basis - I got it right last year, after Octopod-gate the year before. Would echo the previous poster who said figures not playsets. It's too late for me, but heed her and save yourself money and regret.

Dd (dec birthday)

Played with constantly:
My first baby Annabel & Pram
Melissa and Doug Fold and Go dollhouse
Sylvanian figures
Breakfast set
Frozen cd
Backpack

Still enjoyed regularly:
Duplo Batman & Batmobile
Anna/Elsa toddler dolls
Bing soft toys

Ignored:
Happyland school
Elc fire engine

Orchard games and puzzles extremely good play value in my experience.

I just read through this and was surprised to see no love of Imaginext until the final post. It's the favourite toy bar none here, though DS thinks the Playskool hero sets are also Imaginext. (Imaginext is better quality though.) He got the Imaginext Batcave and Fortress of Solitude playsets and figures last year. And the Playskool Spiderman house. All still played with all of the time, though it's spurred us on with collecting it. They are such great sturdy sets, with so many cute, interesting features and the figures are so robust. The only complaint I have with them is that so many of the figures are male, though that's starting to change now. I end up on ebay hunting down female figures, augmenting the sets with Playmobil women or customising female superheroes.

This year he's getting Star Wars Playskool Heroes sets, so more of the same general toy. But so great for imaginative play.

emgee that cake stand and set is STUNNING!!!

SitsOnFence Mon 27-Jun-16 12:31:14
Cagliostro Sun 26-Jun-16 18:01:19

what are you talking about it sounds like gym bars but cant tell

Great thread.

Lucy dog BIG dissapointment here too...played with little on and off but not worth of hte buy...

Great hits are little figures, fairy, prince, and queen etc for play castle.
Huge hit has been kitchen with some accessories, esp working baking set from ELC ( new from ebay half price)

got more accessories for it this year kitchen is ikea, second hand ebay.
toddler didnt take to her lego though, hoping she will grow into it
also a pirate ship - sainsbo which makes noises.

I am concentrating on more figures to play in castle and am trying to get peter rabbit figures but they have gone out of production

A till I know would be a big hit.

My two use their till a lot alongside the Ikea kitchen - they sell the food like a supermarket or they use it as a cafe with menus etc. My two year old brings out the 'shop' practically every day, and will spend a good bit of time playing with it by herself ringing things through after I've wandered off to get a cup of tea so a till would not be a wasted buy going on my experience.

I got some Peter Rabbit figures from the magazines, they are only cheap but have become permanent fixtures in the dollshouse.

I have 2 DDs, 7 and 4.

LEGO - as everyone else has said.

Notepads and pens/pencils - they get used for taking orders at cafe, doing work at 'school', being reporters/authors, and everything else you can imagine.

Build-a-bear and clothes - they have way too many of the latter but they are played with every day.

Dressing up clothes (esp fairy and pirate though disney princesses are a hit too)

Books - any and all

I remembered another one - dd (4) got the wooden Dino Park play-set from ELC for her birthday, which she plays with with all her plastic dinosaurs - gets used a lot.

Dd (12) still uses the bargain chalk pens on her bedroom mirror - changes the design regularly!

Favourite family games that are still going strong are Dobble and Monopoly Empire.

Marking place so I gone back and read this nearer to Christmas.
I should have read it before DS's birthday though. He's two next week and I've just been randomly buying everything and anything. Hopefully he plays with it all for longer than a few minutes!