I want to stay in more with my toddler

[Carrotcakeplease]

I am feeling a bit like my life is a whirlwind of activities and my toddler has sort of forgotten how to play. He does at nursery and at other peoples houses but at our house he just wants to watch TV.

I would love some suggestions of things to do with him. He isn’t really into jigsaws. Sticker books work for a while but then he wanders off. His interests are mostly vehicles - tractors and cars and so on.

What might we enjoy? I really want to get him engaged with toys again.

My DS is almost 3 and has the same interests. I do find it hard to persuade him away from the tv. What tends to work for me is that when he says no to all my suggestions and just wants tv instead, I just sit and start building something with his duplo/making a train track etc and he will then join in and take the lead.
It also helps to incorporate his vehicles into his play eg. Using his vehicles in the kinetic sand/making tracks in the play dough etc. Or I give him a tray full of rice crispies and some construction vehicles and he has hours of fun.
He also loves a patch of mud in the garden where he can play tractors stuck/being pulled out, then we put them through the 'car wash' afterwards.
I think at toddler age you need to set something up for them mostly.

My daughter will be 2 in January so similar age. Some things that she loves:

Big cardboard box - let them colour it with crayons and then pretend it's a car/train/rocket/cave. My daughter just loves sitting in hers and closing the flaps and then popping out. Or hiding her toys in there.

Den building - clothes horse and some blankets. Usually wants me in there too and we play with a torch or fairy lights sometimes.

Duplo - she loves it and it's her go to toy at the moment. She has some figures and animals in there but generally it's just a big base plate and she builds towers or pushes it round the floor claiming its a train or something.

Brio style train track - she does need a bit of help putting it together to start with and taking apart she has a tenancy to dangerously wave bits around when she can't disconnect them! But really started enjoying this in the last few weeks.

Other things we've done simply are scooping things and sorting into bowls or cupcake trays - pom poms are good as easy to clear up but at one of the playgroups we go to she loves the rice they have out. Cardboard tubes for balls/cars to slide down, or a hand drawn ramp on a big ramp of cardboard. Posting toys - homemade from a box and using milk bottle tops to post through a slit just a bit bigger. I also involve her in things I'm doing - she helps load the washing machine, gives me pegs to peg clothes out, helps with baking, dusting etc.