The truth is your kids need no toys. They need dirt and friends and sticks. But if you live in the modern world, they will want toys. That doesn’t mean you need to fill your closets with piles of plastic, but this list exists for birthdays and Christmas and when they have that lousy strep throat and look so, so sad. All kids deserve a present once in a blue moon for no reason at all!
Maybe you’re a new boy Mom wondering what toys get put to the back of the closet, and which toys are always winners, or what boys even play with – we wrote this article for you. Maybe you’re registering for a new baby or birthday party wish list and want to add to the obvious things you want for your child like books (check out our list of the 72 best children’s books!) and clothes, we’ve found this to always be a smart move so you don’t have to run around exchanging or re-gifting duplicates – plus others appreciate having to take the leg work and worry out of the shopping. Maybe you have a birthday party next week and need a present. Either way, you’ll find this expansive list to be helpful!
These are the basics that most boys love – ages 2-9. This isn’t your baby list, but you’ll be glad to buy these items now so that when he hits 6-9 months he can start looking at the larger toys and touching them.
This article has been co-written by friends and boy-Moms Lisa Feld and Chloé Jo Davis, two Moms of 5 boys total, we’ve tried our share of toys and been gifted our share of duds! There is always the odd kid who doesn’t like Thomas trains (Chloé’s kids) but Lisa’s loved them, go figure! Worst case one or two of these aren’t winners – donate them to your local shelter, hospital, pre-school, or church/synagogue who are always happy to take toys in decent condition, or return them if they are still new. The trick to an organized Mama toy closet is constant re-examination of what you have and what they are paying attention to, and regular swapping out of what’s in front of their faces so they don’t get bored with the same few toys.
This will set you up with a great starter set of toys. When you’re ready to move on to more elaborate options, follow us on pinterest for our regular postings of our favorite toys!
We are aware that we are a site about green living, which is why it’s a bummer to share so many plastic toys (note we do share non plastic and eco conscious options in the list below as well,) we worry about having so much plastic around our babies, but some plastics are hard to avoid – especially in classrooms and on playdates. That said, from an environmental stand point, consider buying them second hand or taking friends hand me downs which is the greenest way to shop! The other way of seeing things is that some older toys are made with plastics that are less safe. As environmental standards and regulations change, plastics are adhered to stricter testing and parents are demanding higher standards. Some green living experts advise recycling old toys as they find the older plastics to be so unsafe. But let’s be clear: non finished wooden toys are the cleanest and safest toys for your child(ren.) There are a number of brands we love that are strictly green like: Plan Toys, Hape, Grimms, Green Toys, Soopsori, etc. It is VERY simple to create a toy closet out of only these toys, feel free to try. But after a while, your little eco baby will be begging for a batman and lego set… and that’s when you can choose if you want or acquiesce or not.
We’ve hyperlinked all these images to their direct link to buy – mostly on amazon, as we’ve found it most convenient to shop amazon as busy Moms, but if you’d like to use the list as a template to bring to your local Mom n’ Pop toy store, please do!
We also LOVE toy subscription boxes like Monti Kids, Lovevery, Tinker Crate, Koala Crate, and Kiwico which are enriching STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) projects that come fully ready to assemble for ages 0-14!
Moving on — the list (to make things easy for you, you can click on any image to be taken directly to purchase or review more about each item):
Building Toys:
Lego: Duplo and regular. You can never have enough lego, Duplo (the larger pieces) are best for little ones, though the older ones still seem to play with it regularly as well. As they get older, they’ll beg for the bigger kits and it will keep them extremely busy! Start with basic kits and work your way up to the larger sets. Buy the bases for big projects. They will want every. single. minifigure. Start your collections early.
Larger sets like the one below are always a hit for birthdays or downtime. Chloe’s six year old had no problem putting this set together himself last week regardless of the recommended age. You can always guess a year or two below the youngest recommended age when buying for your own child or for a gift. If the child isn’t as advanced with their building skills, it can always be saved in a closet for later on. In find, we find most Moms prefer a few “for later” toys so they don’t end up with 100 rattles at their baby shower.
Magna-Tiles: Magnetic stacking blocks that are always a hit – from ages 6 months to 10 (and up!) You can never have enough and you can never go wrong with these buildable babies. Mag-formers are of the same ilk.
Tegu: Eco-winner Wooden magnetic toys made sustainably that are aesthetically winners. You can swap magnatiles for these, though they’ve seemed to serve different purposes for our boys. These seem to be hits in the younger years when they are teething safe.
Lincoln Logs: Building logs in basic wood that are a never-ending source of entertainment and you may recognize from your childhood!
Marble Maze: There are numerous brands that make these, we’ve found our kids love this one. They can’t stop building different types of marble mazes and marble runs with this set. Hape offers an eco-friendly version.
A great set of building blocks is key. We love the Soopsori brand for being smooth, smelling beautifully, and being totally environmentally safe. The Land of Nod set below is fantastic because the blocks aren’t finished wood so they stick together in ways most blocks don’t.
Sets with gears and building options are popular.
Tinker-Toys (yep, the same ones you played with as a kid) are still beloved:
Zoobs come in a ton of different sets and they are smart and always challenging.
Imagination/Imaginary Play:
Playmobil sets/vehicles: Endless scenes and characters are available with sweeter scenes and characters like Veterinarians and animals that don’t feature the bad guy/ good guy scenario.
Imaginext: These sets and characters, especially superheroes and bad guys, are a hit starting around two.
Playskool Transformers are an easier option for little fingers who can’t necessarily figure out how to transform the more classic (and more complicated) transformer toys just yet.
Power Rangers are a huge hit in Chloe’s house. You can’t go wrong with starting a Power Ranger collection. Go Go Megaforce!
Costumes (Melissa & Doug, other brands) and hats (especially, superheroes, firefighters, police) are always beloved. We recommend a box or drawer for costume play. Etsy offers lovely hand-made customized options that are often made from organics.
Play tents are wonderful for imaginative role play, but they can also be made with an old sheet and some heavy books.
Little Foodies:
Kitchens and cooking play stuff (pretend food, pots, etc.) will be popular til about 5, after which it’ll still pop up as a favorite once in a while.
Cars/Trains:
Trains (Thomas, Chuggington, etc.) are EVERYTHING to some (most) boys. If you end up with a traino, a train table will be their go-to. Otherwise, they will reach for the occasional car.
Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars (and all sorts of tracks and car sets); and also related car transporters are a general joy.
Fisher price car ramps/tracks:
In an ideal world we’d all have art rooms with scrolls of stickers, eco-friendly paint, and scraps to collage with. In reality, a nice corner with a little person table and chairs and crayons, markers, construction paper, paint/finger paint, glitter glue, and stickers will have to suffice. Scroll Pinterest for rainy day projects like DIY goo (a favorite at Chez Davis!) Your child may also enjoy embroidery; this is something that will likely require supervision, but it’s definitely something that’s fun to do together. You can check out the various designs online and see which ones appeal to them to try out themselves. It may also be something that you’ll want to continue in your own free time too – it can be quite addictive!
Follow Chloé Jo Davis GirlieGirlArmy.com’s board Kids Crafts (& diy for kids) on Pinterest.
Here are some fun projects our kids have enjoyed that are of the buy-n’-go variety:
More nimble fingers may enjoy things like pillow latching sets, looms, or jewelry making. Boys love making necklaces til at least 8.. that knows no gender. Chloé’s middle child spends hours making necklaces with his pop bead kit.
Active:
Scooters are a must, must, must. All our boys got on scooters around age 1. They are all still using them daily when the weather allows. We’ve found the Mini Kick brand to be by far the best brand. You can upgrade to the bigger size (shown below) when they are around 3 or 4.
T-ball set (for park/playground); basketball net (for home)
Obviously sandboxes, swing sets, and other outdoor ride-on toys are all musts if you live out of a City or have a Grandparents house to store it all. The Gorilla gym has changed our lives indoors during the winter. We would say it’s a must!
A brand called CedarWorks makes outrageously cool and eco playsets for indoor and outdoors like this one;
And, unfortunately for apartment dwellers, you can never have enough ride-on toys
Board Games:
The classic favorites remain Zingo, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, and Hoot Owl Hoot. Scroll through them, and other here. We love Peaceable Kingdom games (like Hoot Hoot Owl below) because they are cooperative – which means no fights over winners or losers – and eco-conscious.
Melissa and Doug wooden ones for younger kids, more detailed ones as they hit 3. You can never go wrong with giving or getting a puzzle as a gift.
Musical Instruments:
Kid guitars, drums, maracas, recorders, and pianos are the best to develop their love of music and personal expression. Plus – everyone wants these as gifts!
Magic & Science Sets:
On The Go Toys:
Bath Toys:
Remote Control Cars & Drones
Did we leave off your sons favorite toy/s? Let us know in the comments.
Does the kid have everything? Here are some more little ideas for gifties that this age range would enjoy;
We will keep adding to this list, so keep coming back!