The 6 Christmas Gifts My Toddler is Still Obsessed With

Christmas Gifts My Toddler is Still Obsessed With

Christmas Gifts My Toddler is Still Obsessed WithThe average toddler attention span is, what, five minutes? Ten if you’re lucky?

That was one of the reasons we instated the Four Gift Rule last December—which was only moderately successful, because while my son Luke didn’t get as many gifts from me, he still got plenty of presents from family and friends (every one of which we greatly appreciated!).

Naturally I assumed he would play with his gifts for a few weeks, maybe a month. And for the most part that’s what happened.

But there were a few toys that, almost five months later, are still favorites that get played with on a daily basis. Here they are.

6 Holiday Toys My Toddler Can’t Stop Playing With Tweet this!

 1. My First Marble Run

The My First Marble Run toy was an instant hit, and has remained one.

My First Marble Run

My son’s game used to be to send one ball through the track and watch it, mesmerized, all the way to the end. These days the game has evolved a bit—yesterday Luke gathered every small ball in the house (ping pong balls, cat toys, etc.) and sent them all down the track at the same time. I think I was as amused as he was!

My First Marble Run Luke

2. Little People

Little People toys are so great for pretend play. This Christmas my toddler received both the Little People Race Track and the Little People Learning Zoo, and he’s spent countless hours racing cars and mimicking animal sounds. He especially loves filling the cars up with gas.

 3. Basketball Hoop

My 21-month-old is obsessed with all things sports. If there is a ball in the room he will automatically make a beeline for it, and he is known for repeating the word “football” over and over again while making a quarterback motion.

Not surprisingly, then, he has loved the Fisher Price toddler basketball hoop he got for Christmas.

 

Toddler Basketball Hoop

4. 5-in-1 Sports Zone

Along the same lines, Luke also received the Bright Starts 5-in-1 Sports Zone, which—between basketball, soccer, golf, baseball, and hockey—keeps him busy all day long. The best part is that now, with the warmer weather, we can take the various equipment outside.

Bright Starts 5-in-1 Sports Zone

 5. Homemade Bench

This gift will forever be a favorite.

Bench

It was made for Luke by his loving Aunt Hannah, and he was obsessed with it on Christmas Day—sitting on it, standing on it, what have you. These days he stands on it while bushing his teeth, and I think it’s the main reason (scratch that, only reason) he willingly scrubs those pearly whites. Aunt Hannah has since passed away from the terrible disease of drug addiction, so this bench will always have a special place in our hearts.

6. Blocks

Building (and knocking down) towers is where it’s at right now.

MegaBloks

 

Luke has his choice of classic Mega Bloks or wooden blocks, and he loves both!

wooden blocks

What holiday gift is your child still obsessed with, even all these months later? Or, what gift are YOU still obsessed with? 


24 responses to “The 6 Christmas Gifts My Toddler is Still Obsessed With”

  1. Grandma.

    We do very little for Christmas gifts and focus on the experience (people, music, food, etc.). Susanna received a couple of gifts, but nothing stands out now.

    What does is her relationship with her paternal grandmother with whom we spent Christmas (and visit monthly… along with Papa).

    Susanna and Grandma are best buds. A close second best gift would be Cousin Charlotte.

  2. My son got a t-ball set when he turned 2 that he still plays with over two years later. The basketball hoop gets a lot of play, too. I considered a marble run for Christmas, I guess I should have gotten it! I’ll have to file that one away for the younger kiddo.

  3. Funny – the one gift I thought of seems to be a smaller version of #1 on your list. We gave it to our son who was 13 months at Christmas. It is just a tower, but the same idea – the ball spins round and round and eventually reaches the end and then he does it all over again. And like your kids, all three of ours love this toy and have also found every possible ball in the house that will fit!

    I have two girls, so they have dress-up clothes that get used over and over and over again. My mother-in-law bought some versions from the Disney store (can we say spoiled much?) and so they actually look like Belle and Cinderella. We bought a Disney princess shoe set for our daughter’s birthday two years ago and those suckers still get daily use. There is apparently something about wearing fancy shoes even at that young age. 🙂

    On the opposite hand – sort of a waste of a present at our house: the overly involved Play-Doh ice cream set. UGH, I hate that thing! The parents have to help them use it, plus it gets all the Play-Doh stuck in all the little pieces so it is a huge P.I.T.A. to clean up- ie: like it takes 15 minutes. I am not that dedicated of a parent!

  4. Vanessa- my parents got our kids that play-doh ice cream set and I can’t stand it! Lol. Let’s see, cars of any kind are always a hit with both of our boys. And months later they are still playing with them. They usually go through phases where their interest is on one toy for a while, and then it will move to something new. I’ve heard several people say that the marble track was a hit with their kids. I may need to invest in one for my toddler in the near future. 🙂

    • I am glad to hear I am not the only one, Abigail! Our oldest daughter got it as a gift from a family friend after her most recent surgery, so I have been guilted in to helping her play with it a few times, but it is in the closet now and I pray they forget about it!
      Cars are big at our house too. They are cheap and require imagination. Those are the kinds of toys I like. 🙂

  5. Nolan loves anything with a ball + puzzles, blocks, or anything with wheels. He gets *too many* gifts from his grandparents, too, but his Grammy keeps finding my husband’s old toys, and that’s been really fun for everyone!

  6. I have been eyeing the marble run for a while and there are so many versions out there but I like the one you have in your photo. I am going to have to look into that for my son’s upcoming 3rd birthday. My son has a fascination with miniature versions of animals/creatures, so I have been buying him little collections: sea animals, safari animals, insects, birds… even dragons and dinosaurs. He loves learning the names of every single creature.

  7. My friend has that marble run and I love it, much less my kids!
    Their birthdays are coming up and we usually do 1-2 BIG things. I’ve also decided to tell the family no more toys with 100 parts. Not for the toddler! With the older one, it’s inevitable.
    I think we’ll do a sandbox for his 2nd birthday. My daughter got dress up clothes that stand the test of time! And my son loves the Little People farm that my daughter actually got four years ago!

  8. When our kids were little, they got way too much stuff and I think that leads to overwhelm. I think they are better off with a few really cool things that will stand the test of time (and not be still in the box three weeks later). Sounds like you got some great ones!

  9. 1. We boys never outgrow the urge to build stuff with blocks and knock it down.

    2. Little People are the bomb. Especially the animals. They should make Little People Target, Check Cashing Place, and Waffle House.

    3. Judging by what the girls have left out in the living room today, I’d say colored pencils, soccer balls (yes, inside) and Pictionary are the hits right now. Or, they just don’t clean up after themselves very well.

    *Glad I found this post on the Manic Monday linkup.

  10. The mega blocks remain a favorite around here. With 9 kids, we find we barely need toys. Nerf guns are probably most popular. We have lots of wars. 🙂

  11. I’m laughing as I read this post because my boys have received very similar presents in the past. At 8 and 5, they still play with some of them! Little People is the only one they probably would pass up. 🙂 Blocks and sports type stuff never gets old.

  12. Little People have always been a big hit in our house. My boys also love all kinds of cars. My youngest runs them all over the house, constantly. He’s got a few stashed in his bed too!

  13. My 21 month-old grandson lives with me and he is really into trucks. He has a rug with a town printed on it that he loves driving his trucks on. I also loaded him up on board books that I got at my thrift store for 25 cents each and he will sit and look through his books for about 10-15 minutes daily on his own.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.