Outside toys

[Summerdays2014]

Hi all,

Now it's starting to get lighter and warmer I'm spending a lot more time in the garden with my 13 month old. He loves being outside and running up and down the garden.

What toys do you/did you have outside that your one year old loved? Looking for inspiration!

So far we've got a football, a little slide (which he can't get up yet!) and a baby swing (which he doesn't like, despite loving the ones at the park!)

Thanks all.

Ride on toys went down well with my DC.
Plus sandpit.

And blowing bubbles never fails to amuse.

Oh yes, sand pit! Thanks stitches. We were given a water/sand table. I'll have to dig that out (though I suspect he'll eat the sand!)

Mud kitchen? My 14month old GD loves hers not as much as i do though

DD's favourite is a little watering can, she waters all the plants with it.
She also likes sand/water tray, bubbles and chalking on the patio.

I'd love a mud kitchen! Not entirely sure how to make one... will look on Pinterest! Watering can is a great idea!

Tuff trays are good, you'll often see them in nurseries and the like. Can be used for sand, and water, or mud etc, combined with plastic toys like cars or animals. So you could fill it with mud and leaves and branches and chuck in some toy dinosaurs for instance...
On the other end of the scale, the thing our kids love more than anything is the cheap bubble machine!

• Old pots and pans for your DC to play at (shells, leaves, sticks)
• we're making a wildlife garden (bird food, bird house, bug hotel etc) look at the rspb website m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc-qlIWG_4E
• a wildlife garden doesnt have to cost much

One of those bright plastic rocking horses - little tykes maybe?

Anything made by Little Tikes is indestructible so scour your local Facebook selling pages for second hand stuff. I recommend a cosy coupe if you can find one - the sit-in cars with a roof.

DD also enjoys helping to plant bulbs etc and look after them.

Some great ideas thanks everyone. Has anyone ever made a mud kitchen? If so how did you do it?

Little Tikes rocker. We have the whale which can be used with two kids or just one. Huge though and not exactly beautiful!

Water table (I have a £20 one from amazon) - we get this out every summer and put it away in the winter. Toddlers LOVE it. I don't put sand in it, just water.

Paddling pool.

Watering can.

Bubbles.

Pop up tent - Ikea do good cheap ones.

@Summerdays2014 Yes! We made one, pic attached.

I looked on line and fainted at the price they were going for on ebay, so we made one, 2 days and £50.

Grand daughter loves it and we actually enjoyed making it - it was dead easy 😉

Tooold that looks amazing! Not sure myself or my husband have the diy skills for that!

Oh, believe me, you do!

1. Buy a cheap coffee table from a car boot or second hand shop £10
2. Go to a proper timber merchant and buy planks of wood NOT B and Q or major DIY store £10
3. Fix one plank across back of table and then screw uprights into place, add a plank on the back near the top for strength. We made a 'Z ' shape because we had too much wood.
4. Buy square, not round bowls (too hard), and cut squares out of coffee table - needs electric saw, borrow one if necessary.
5. Use spare wood to fix a shelf.
6. Sand everything, then paint (we used paint we already had, outdoor paint obviously)
7. Pimp it up 😆

Bowls and accessories were about £15, allowing £15 for paint and it would only cost £50ish. To be honest, looking at what they want £300 for on ebay, we knew we could cock up monumentally and still have something half decent. It just happened to turn out well.

Just about to start a second one for a friend!

We have a mud kitchen - a free wooden box and old pots and pans and some baby plastic plates and cups - free as we are semi hoarders

Its all about magination kids dont care if it looks like a real kitchen.
At least mind dont.

How about chalks if you have paving slabs? Other one that is good is water and a paintbrush - he can paint fences etc and once dry, it disappears! You could also think about growing some sunflowers when he weather is nicer?

Thanks again for the great ideas! This morning his favourite thing to do outside was put the pegs in and out of a box and turn all the plant pots upside down! Who needs to spend money?!?