toys for guests | Imamother

amother

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 3:32 pm

Ok, so this may sound weird to some of you... we don't have any children yet, iy"h soon, but that's for another forum Wink

Anyway DH and I are in our late 20s so all of our friends and the people we meet and have over always have kids. We have started buying some toys so that the kids have something to play with and are not so bored when they come for meals. Can any of you recommend some great toy "hits" for various ages? Especially younger toys good for 1-2, 3-4 year old's and then some other for 5-6 year old's and even something for more like an 8 year old. I don't want to buy a ton of things but I would like to have some toys so that the kids can have fun (plus it beats them turning my furniture or kiddish cups into toys Wink

)

In addition, I wasn't totally sure where this thread belonged, so if anyone has a suggestion as to where a better place for this thread might be I would be most appreciative.

Lastly, I am anonymous because some people might think it is weird that I am spending money on toys for other peoples kids.

red sea

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 3:58 pm

A small doll with a bottle (an inexpensive umbrella stroller that folds away if you want to go all out), a few kitchen set type of items, some cars, and one building set - be it lego or clicks etc. That should cover it.

bearyspecial

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 5:56 pm

yes! Red sea covered all bases. U don't even need so many toys. Generally when kids have new toys (that r new for them) it doesn't need to b perfectly suited. Clicks covers many ages both boys & girls. Dolls for the girls & cars for the boys covers many ages too. My 11 year old son would still play with matchbox cars.

Raisin

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 6:08 pm

a few kids books might also be nice. You can try and get these second hand so they are not so expensive.

clics take up space and are expensive...maybe a smaller size building toy would be better.

MiracleMama

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 6:09 pm

red sea wrote:

This is the perfect list.

And OP, you are so kind to do this for your guests' children. May Hashem bless you with a house full of your own kids to enjoy all these toys too!

seeker

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 7:55 pm

Very smart and considerate, I don't think it's weird at all! What the others said makes a lot of sense to me.

I'd consolidate even more:
A doll
Some little cars
A building toy (clicks seem to have universal age appeal, legos could work but are too small for really little kids and duplo doesn't appeal to the big ones, can go to toy store and check out the options)
A couple of good books (I find kids of various ages enjoy Shikufitzky for light reading, it's small comic strips so you can read them on a short visit and not feel like you can't finish a whole book. Or a short story collection)

DefyGravity

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 7:59 pm

That's so nice of you! When we used to have guests with kids, I always told people to bring toys for their children because I'm not nearly as nice and didn't want extra junk around if I didn't have to have it yet!

Check out garage sales, I've found that you can get great stuff there for a fraction of the full price.

amother

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 8:15 pm

Mitzvah kinder sets are great. You can even get a playmat that becomes a house. (it also folds up nice and neat for storage!)
Wooden playsets with Shabbos items (grape juice, challah board, etc.) cover many ages and both boys and girls. (They also sell them for Pesach and Chanukah, too).
A few, nice Jewish books, some board or cloth books for really little kids.
A doll , a few doll outfits and a foldable toy stroller will keep girls of many ages very busy.
A few trains and/or cars for boys.
Puzzles.
Megablocks are even better than legos. Little kids can play with them too, and you don't have to worry about the small size of the blocks. Plus, older kids like them as well.
Regular wood blocks.
Games like Monopoly or Scrabble for older kids. Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land for little kids. Decks of cards are really cheap and will keep kids very busy.

lamplighter

Mon, Jul 04 2011, 8:50 pm

All the years that I had IF I wanted my nieces and nephews over and friends with their kids so I made sure to have toys for them to come, not just to keep them busy but also to give them the message that I wanted them there.

I have:
a beach ball (deflate and store)
one box of lego
4 books
2 toy cars (not big trucks)
1 doll and carriage
That I bought.

Some of my SILs had doubles of things (bc of presents or whatever) and they give those to me.
I do not have room to store these things so they go in an under the bed storage box that I stow away till they visit. Sometimes all they want is pots or pans, empty bottles or delivery boxes to play with and those are easy.

life'sgreat

Tue, Jul 05 2011, 4:56 pm

amother wrote:

The bolded are really clumsy and klutzy to have on hand just for guest coming over sometimes. I tried to have toys as well during my IF years for my nieces/nephews. But such big toys would just be too much for only 'sometimes' use. Mega blocks isn't such a big hit with older kids.

pumpkinsbubby

Tue, Jul 05 2011, 5:03 pm

DH and I live alone. All our kids are married, b"H. I always keep toys around for when the grandkids come over. Rattles for the babies, maybe some building blocks and a few puzzles. Also, for weekdays, some coloring books, construction paper, and crayons keep the kids entertained.

Simple1

Tue, Jul 05 2011, 5:07 pm

Card games like UNO and SkipBo, and even a regular deck of cards (good for War for younger kids, Spit for older kids, and much more.) Card games are good because they're small and easy to store.

Little ones love wood puzzles like this: http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-.....2_t_2

SplitPea

Sun, Aug 07 2011, 8:25 pm

I also did this during my If years. Books (board and a few regular story books) the thing I found with the most universal appeal were blocks/clicks building toys. the younger ones chew on them the older ones build with them and everyone is happy. I got everything I have at amazing savings for like 35 bucks total and it worked like a charm for all those times when we really needed them.