we have been doing a major toy overhaul in this house- we spent a good part of last week purging the playroom of items we never play with.. and by the end of it about 85% of the toys were in the donation box. about 4 years ago we flipped our dining room into a place for the kids to play, and over the years its turned into a place where we basically stack and pile all the toys. we’re right in the middle of updating and transforming it into a usable space for the kids and not just a catch of toys! I’ll be sharing more about this transformation in the next few weeks! that being said, we’ve become picky with what we’re bringing back into the house with Santa on the way. I’ve been searching for toys with one thing in mind: how long will they actually play with this?!

my favorite toys for the kids have become ones that have more than just 3 days of play to them. since the purge last week, I’m trying to get the most out of each toy we have in our house and I don’t have room for things like a light up guitar that plays four loud songs and will be outgrown tomorrow.  for Brady, my toddler boy, I focused on STEM toys that we will get a lot of use out of as he grows over the next year or so. I also included a few tried and true favorite toys we currently love- he is really into TRAINS right now and this little boy’s gift guide wouldn’t be complete without them!

Melissa & Doug activity table  :: I’ve gotten a TON of questions and comments about this activity table! Brady got the Melissa & Doug wooden railway set for his birthday and we ended up buying this table to keep the trains set up on in his room. we dont usually keep a ton of toys in the kids’ rooms, but when we moved the rocking chair out to use in the nursery we replaced it with this table and he LOVES it! it can be used for a variety of activities; coloring, legos, blocks, doll houses, puzzles.. the options are endless! such versatile table for kids of all ages.

Melissa & Doug train cars :: there are hundreds of toy options when it comes to train cars- the Melissa & Doug brand has been consistent in our house for years and I’ve never been disappointed in their quality!

Melissa & Doug wooden railway set :: this is the railway set we have and we LOVE it. for the price it comes with a lot of pieces and a ton of options for different track set ups. the big girls love playing with this set, too!

Paw Patrol fire truck :: Brady LOVES trucks. in true little boy fashion he’s obsessed with plains, trucks, trains, tractors.. he plays with a food truck the twins got for their birthday last year and so getting him a big truck of his own to play with seemed like a good fit for under the tree.

PB personalized dinosaur hooded towel :: as the kids have gotten older they still love to wear the hooded towels after bath/shower. I love the different variety of wraps available (I ordered them for all 5 of the kids.. you’ll see these on the girls’ gift guide, too!) and the fact that I have the option to get them personalized. I think that little extra touch makes them special enough for giving this as a gift for Christmas (or birthday!)

wooden peg shape stacker :: we got this for Brady’s first birthday and he plays with it every single day! perfect for motor development; his shape and color recognition has improved tremendously since we’ve been playing with this toy.

Melissa & Doug stacking train :: of course, I included the train version of the stacking peg toy 🙂

Skoolzy pegboard set :: another STEM focused toy for my toddler! I’ve never heard of this brand but when browsing Amazon this toy kept popping up. I’m excited to give it a try!

Radio Flyer classic trike :: I love the classic style of this trike and the size is perfect for him to actually pedal and steer!

Leapfrog learning tablet :: Brady has been playing with his sister’s pink tablet that is similar to this one. he carries it into the car with him all the time and will sing to the tunes and interact when prompted. I really think he is at the perfect age for using this kind of toy while being introduced to letters, numbers, shapes, and animals.

wooden puzzles :: we have one hundred puzzles and about half of the pieces 🙂 time for a few upgrades to land under the tree this year, especially for the toddler age!