Good toys for toddlers?

[Willow2]

My son will be twenty one months old at Christmas - but, aside from a toy garage (a friend has one which he enjoys playing with) I haven't a clue what to get him - relatives are asking for advice too. His main obsession is cleaning - the hoover, the mop, the dustpan and brush, a wet sponge and a duster are all big hits. His auntie is actually thinking of getting him a kid's cleaning kit she has seen. What are good toys for this age?

My son will be the same age. At the moment it's anything with wheels. He is mad on Thomas the Tank Engine and has a large plastic second-hand Thomas, so we were thinking of getting him a very basic train set, just a circular track that can be added to as he gets older. He is also showing a vague interest in cleaning - driving me mad switching the hoover on and off when I'm trying to use it!
He's also into stacking things, and has some cheap imitation Lego bricks so will get some more.

I wholeheartedly agree with the Kitchen. DS started playing with the real pans at 15 months but has received his own kitchen set at 20 months and loves it ... we get to eat lots of things from him !!!

Willow2, brio track and accessories are a good idea - for when he grows out of wanting to be you!

a basic set plus one of the battery operated engines (some now have lights!) might be a good idea to begin with and it lasts for years. we started at about 3 for senior daughter, who is now 19, and will still make a track when the spirit moves her. junior son at 8 is still keen on it; for younger ones you have to make up the track but older ones enjoy doing it themselves, especially bridges and flyovers.

have a look in the ELC catalogue.

Willow2- have you got a toy library near you? It can be a really great way to see what they like to play with. There's so much to buy that it can get v confusing...
I've yet to meet a wee boy who's totally indifferent to things with wheels (I'm sure girls like them too, I just don't know as many little girls!)- little cars to push and ride ons or trikes are usually popular. Drawing equipment, balls, trains and track, teddies and dolls, farm & zoo animals, hats, bags, play dough, pots and pans, simple jigsaws, lego, wooden bricks are all things my toddlers have enjoyed in the past year or so.

My children had a blue, heavy-duty, rubbery inflatable horse which they loved bouncing round the house on (it was a bit like a space-hopper for toddlers), and it helped improve their coordination too. Even the nine year old still fights the 3 year old over this horse! Definitely one of the best toys they had. You can get them from: www.jako-o.de
it is a German website but they do deliver abroad and they have lots of lovely things besides.

hedgehog, i just went to your jako site and it's ALL IN GERMAN!!!!!
do you speak german? or is there a way of getting it in english?

Hedgehog, that sounds a complete gas. I'm off to check it out!
Our son has played continuously since 18 months with a fireman's helmet (£3.00 from local bargain toy shop) and his ride-on bee on castors (Tridias, Urchin etc, £50 for the smaller size, £60 for the bigger). Not cheap but excellent ££ per play value. Jigsaw puzzles are also popular in our house - but I think that depends on the child. And you cannot have too much Duplo. Motorbike and Fire Rescue sets (both under £10) have been really much used and loved.

Sorry, I forgot they didn't have an English version.

Anyway, what you do is click on "Kataloge" (catalogues), then click on "Hauptkatalog" (main catalogue) and then in the "Schnellgefunden" search window you type in "Pferd" (horse). You will then see a small picture on the right hand side of toddlers sitting on inflatable horses in a variety of colours. You can click on the picture for further detail. The item is actually called a "Hüpfpferd" (bouncy horse). If you need any help, let me know. In the mean time I will try to find out if they have any catalogues in English.

Hedgehog, I'd definitely be interested in a catalogue in English. The pictures are really enticing. Thanks - I tried to guess my way through Kontakte and got stuck on Betreff - wossat then?

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Willow2, take your son down to a big ELC. Try to do this soon, so you can still pick a quiet time before christmas. Then either let him loose or pass toys to him as he points at them. You know best on this. Linger for as long as you can, without incurring 'looks' from the assistants (though I've found our local ELCs are very tolerant about browsers).

Hopefully you'll begin to see what toys really ring his bell. Then buy him a very little something and leave. Your son will soon forget about the visit, but with luck you'll have a better idea about the sort of toys that capture his attention.

Having dd's 2nd birthday fall two days before xmas I've been wracking my brains for good toy ideas too. Especially when people ask you what she wants for them both. I've decided that her 'main' presents will be a trike and a pop-up play tent / house. Stupidly these are more like 'summer' toys but if I get another electronic-v-tech-type-flashy-lights-and-annoying-music toy like last years pile I'll cry (if you can hear me over the bleepy noises!!)

Willow2, we have a toy vacuum cleaner and it's great, dd loves to follow me around with hers while I'm hoovering. Always good to make them understand the value of 'helping' mummy round the house, I'll be letting her loose with the real one as soon as she's developed her technique

Marina - I speak Dutch not German but I suspect betreff means "concerns" or basically subject/topic.

Thanks to everyone - I knew you would come through! Am off to ELC to hang around (top tip tigermoth) will let you know if I get arrested for suspicion of shoplifting! RobinW - well aware off the perils of Bambi - took my nephew and niece to see it at the cinema. When it came to the bit where his mum gets it, the shot rang out and some child screamed "what's happened". My nephew, a down to earth child even at the age of six, replied loudly "they've killed his mum". Hey presto - one cinema of crying children and one very embarassed auntie. Marina, have seen those ride on bee things, look dead cute, they seem to go up to two years of age and then two to five - should I just hang on a few months and get him the two and up one? Am also intrigued by the German blue horse space hopper type thing.... but can't speak a word of German so keen to hear off an English catalogue or outlet.

Lizzer, back to pop up tents again, but check Littlewoods website, they have some in their toy section. Not Pooh, but lots of others.

Personally I wouldnt ever order from GLTC again, especially if you want dds present this side of Christmas.

Have you been to Woolworths Toy Sale, they've got a really good one on at the mo. Buy a Chad valley toy and get 2nd half price etc.

Thanks Ems -I'm off to Littlewoods right now...

Our local ELC have a morning (Tuesdays) where you can take your little angel along and try out the toys, with their help!

They lay out various things each week, farms, kitchens, train sets etc.

My dd is at nursery on Tuesday mornings, so misses out! Cheaper for me though!

Ikea do a fantastic yellow plastic table and red and blue matching chairs (all can be bought seperately £20 for table and chairs £10 each but they have other small chairs at 2.99 each) I bought dd this for her birthday in the summer and it is used constantly. it is a perfect height - can be kept outdoors in all weathers - is much bigger and more practical than ELC type tables - great for parties - I could go on. Currently it is a baking and cooking table as we have a 'table top stove' (don't have enough room for a 'full kitchen set') painting and drawing are always a big hit and she will sit/stand at the table for hours - enough room for two plus children to play on it without too much jostling as well.

For girls my daughter (at 28 months) has just gone baby mad - feeding it (either bottle or breast - i'm not kidding!) changing it's nappy, taking it for walks everything... and it was just a mothercare baby but guaranteed to keep her occupied for quiet some time.

Willow2, my son is a bit older than yours, 25 months and shares the hoover obsession. These are some of the things he has really enjoyed playing with over the last 6 months:
An ELC gardening set, particularly the push along trolley which is marched around the house full of all sorts of stuff.
Cars, diggers, buses - any wheeled automobile - particularly ones with doors that open & close.
A tea set
A stacking tower - £3 from IKEA. Made from lots of different coloured cardboard pots with lids.
Wooden trainset from Tesco with some real TTTE trains - probably more in the last 3 months.
A wooden farm with realistic looking animals.
A box of marbles - we've had no problem with him putting them in his mouth - but I know some children just can't resist eating them.
Going to the ELC just for a mooch around is a great idea. I'm ashamed to say we do this on wet Friday mornings & it has given me so many insights.
Have fun choosing!

Willow2 - have you considered a trike? We have bought one for our dd who will be 24 months at Christmas and I know she'll love it.

We ordered the one that mumsnet recommends but I wouldn't necessarily recommend the GLTC, it arrived with the box completely bashed up with a massive hole in the side (and also the wrong size slippers, and customer services were utterly unhelpful - grrrr - but thats beside the point).

Willow2, I just caught up with this thread. Your little boy sounds just like mine. I was in mothercare the other day and he spied a toy dyson and his face just lit up. It was not even an upright like mine but still recogniseable to him! I checked out the price on various websites and the cheapest seems to be www.littlewoods-index.com . Obviously if you are near a store you can buy it in person but for me it is easier to buy online. it is £14.75 plus £2.95 delivery which was the best deal I could get. Look up the website, I think it comes under role play. It apparently actually sucks stuff up! I have ordered it and it should be here within 48 hours.

Can I add a warning to everyone about their kids' christmas presents? Last year we bought him the little tykes cozy coupe, had it hidden in the shed for several weeks then got it out on xmas eve to assemble it....it was faulty and could not be built properly - the roof could not be fitted. It was of course too late to do anything about it. My little boy was too young to notice/mind but it upset me a bit. So get the toys out of the boxes and check them over well before Christmas eve!

Grrrr, I had a heated discussion with my dh the other night, I suggested that we get our ds a toy vac as he loves playing with them at mums and tots and I may as well have suggested we buy him some make-up and dress him up like Lily Savage!
I got my way though ...

My dd loves playing with a magnetic playboard at toddlers. Its a farm scene background with lots of little animal and tractor magnets that cling on. We think its great as you can change the pic around and make up stories - and its much easier to use than stickers which she's not really ready for. Has anyone ever seen one (not necessarily a farm) for sale anywhere? The only thing I've seen remotely like it is a magnetic letter board in the ELC but letters are pretty dull when you're 2.