Well with 4 girls who pass everything down, most anything we buy is worth it...however the thing that sticks out in my head the most is our HUGE toy kitchen. After struggling with having to pay $120 for it, "Santa" gave it to my odest DD when she turned 2. Since then it has gotten played with tremendously over the years ~ and it probably still has great garage sale vaule (as we still have all the pieces, and it's not broken in any way.)
I was lucky and found one of these at goodwill for a woping $7.00. :happy dance:
then I found one in even better shape for free. the guy was getting rid of it during free dump day. dh grabbed it up right away. we then gave one to my bro for his dd.
oh- our Little Tikes activity garden- we had it since our first one was born and my youngest is still playing with it (although I want to sell it before the end of the summer!).
With my two boys, I still have the same set of blocks I bought when DS1 was a baby, now he's almost 9, and they both play with them regularly. Also, whenever I see Halloween costumes marked down to $2-3 I pick them up in various sizes. My kids have a huge bag of dressup and they love to play ninja, star wars, whatever else is in there.
We have a few already mentioned:
wooden blocks
hot wheels
polly pockets
and I am almost ashamed to admit...the Nintendo DS lite was one of the best investments ever. I think we can go a few years with just Super Mario Bros and Big Brain Academy. It breaks the monotony of long car trips and we use it as a reward occasionally ("you can play DS for 15 minutes since you have done your homework, chores, and reading").
We have a few already mentioned:
wooden blocks
hot wheels
polly pockets
and I am almost ashamed to admit...the Nintendo DS lite was one of the best investments ever. I think we can go a few years with just Super Mario Bros and Big Brain Academy. It breaks the monotony of long car trips and we use it as a reward occasionally ("you can play DS for 15 minutes since you have done your homework, chores, and reading").
I agree the Nintendo DS!! dd loves it and does not abuse it!! plus I will get toplay!!
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Kelly mom to 3 great girls A Peanut, a monkey and a little burrito.
The current fave for my 16 month old is her Little Tykes water table. If I could only think of a way to use it in the basement during winter...
I used to be a preschool teacher and during the colder months we would fill the water table with all kinds of different things like: uncooked rice, uncooked pasta, shredded paper, foam shapes and leftover puzzle pieces. Just give them measuring cups and spoons and they'll have a lot of fun.
I always liked toys that used creativity and imagination. My favorites were probably legos, playmobile, wooden blocks, lincoln logs, etc. Oh and my dd had puppy in my pocket puppies that she played with forever and loved.
I can honestly say: None of them! This is because my preschooler derives as much pleasure from playing with an empty diaper box as his $50 X-wing Fighter!
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(as we still have all the pieces, and it's not broken in any way.)
the guy was getting rid of it during free dump day. dh grabbed it up right away. we then gave one to my bro for his dd.
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