There are so many toys out there that it’s difficult to figure out which ones are worth your money and will stand the test of time. These are the toys that have had the most play between Charlie and Olive, and are always popular when kids come over for play dates!


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1) Play tent – Every kid loves these pop-up tents, and they fold up nice and flat so they take up no space at all. We always pull this out whenever we have a playdate and it never fails to be a hit!

2) Shopping cart – Both Charlie and Olive love our Melissa and Doug shopping cart, and it’s one of the first toys kids gravitate to when they come over for a playdate. This particular cart is so well made, and looks just like the real thing. Even though it’s indicated for ages 3+, Olive started playing with this at a year before she could even walk, pushing it along on her knees. In fact she learned how to walk using this cart. Both Charlie and Olive love to load up the shopping cart with as many of their toys that will fit for some reason!

3) Doll stroller – The doll stroller is probably Olive’s current favorite toy. Charlie loved playing with his doll stroller for a long time and I think our doll stroller still has many years of imaginative play ahead of it. When I first bought a doll stroller for Charlie 3 years ago, there were only 2 options for boys. Luckily there are many more nonpink doll strollers available today.

4) Magnatiles – I knew that magnatiles were a highly coveted toy, and I stalked my parenting listserv for 2 years in hopes of buying a used set because they are so pricey. But a set never came up for sale because everyone holds onto these forever! Finally my mom bought Charlie a set as a gift, and they are currently his favorite toy. They are just the coolest magnetic blocks, and Charlie really makes some impressive structures with them.

5) Sandbox – Our sandbox gets way more play than our water table, which is something that I wouldn’t have expected!

6) Train Table and Trains – Our local toy store has 2 train tables where the tracks and accessories are glued down, and Charlie and Olive vastly prefer it to the free play set up we have at home. So we’re considering gluing down some of our tracks in a cool configuration (they like the elevated tracks best) on a piece of plywood that’ll fit over our current train table. Then they’ll have the option to play with the fixed tracks or make their own (we got the deal of a lifetime on a huge set of used trains, tracks and accessories on my local parenting listserv). We can always restore our table later when they’re older and perhaps embrace free play more. Our train table used to be Charlie’s #1 toy, but it has definitely fallen in favor the past year. I think setting up this track configuration will get them excited about the train table again!

7) Play Kitchen – We got Charlie a play kitchen when he was 9 months old, and it has had continuous play since. Even at 9 months of age he was able to play with it for hours by opening and closing the doors, pulling up to stand, etc. At almost 4, it still gets played with almost daily.

8) Megabloks – Megabloks are like oversized legos. Olive got into them around a year, Charlie got into them around a year and a half, and they still play with them today. Megabloks are really great as a first building block set.

9) Play doh – Ever since we started making our play doh, Charlie is even more into playing with it because we make it together. Even I have fun with play doh!

10) Play food/Cookware – No kitchen is complete with play food and cookware. This Melissa and Doug Cutting food set is great for ages 2+. We also have this condiment set, this play food set and a cookware set similar to this one.

11) Legos – This is the third building toy on this guide, but Charlie and Olive can’t get enough of them (we also have this Melissa and Doug Wooden set). They’re such a great open-ended toy! I think Legos are a toy that the kids will get even more into as they get older because there are so many specialized Lego sets. Get one of these building plates to take Legos to the next level!

I haven’t included some popular toys like scooters, bikes, doll houses, dolls, and dress-up clothes either because Charlie and Olive didn’t play with them that much (scooter, bike, dolls), or because we don’t own them. They both do love dressing up at daycare though!

What are some toys that have stood the test of time for your little one?