Here are five classic toys that have been well loved and well played with at our house. Maybe this will give you some gift ideas for your younger kiddos, during this portion of the holiday season also known as mom-wracking-her-brain-for-gift-ideas.

1) We’ve had Color & Shape Bingo for a long time. It’s requested over and over by my little ones. An adult can manage about four young children participating in this game. (As you probably know, this cannot be said of many games.) Great learning reinforcement of colors and shapes, and good for short attention spans.

2) Hammer and Tap is a unique toy, excellent for fine motor skills, concentration, and fun. It requires close supervision, especially if you have crawlers, because the tacks are small. I found this at a thrift store when Joshua and Ethan were little. I wondered if Hammer and Tap is a vintage toy that’s not available anymore, but was recently pleased to see that it’s available on Amazon! Our original cork boards got destroyed, but we were able to get more cork boards at Lowe’s.

3) Our children were thrilled to get these Plasma Cars from their Papa and Nana a year or two ago. They have played and played and played on these cars, especially in the basement of our new house. It’s amazing they are still in one piece (both the cars and the kids! haha) so they must be a very well made toy. If you’ve never seen them ridden, they are neat because they have a kind of self-propelled motion as the child turns the “steering wheel” back and forth.

4) We got Pattern Play for Katelyn when she was in about first or second grade. It has lasted over the years, miraculously we still have all the pieces (I think… I should go check), and it’s an engaging toy for many ages. The pattern cards are a big help in making successful patterns. Joshua commented as I was working on this post, that although Pattern Play does not look like it would be a fun toy, it actually is.

5) The Christmas that we got Kinetic Sand for the kids, Steve was as enthralled with it as they were! This cool stuff kind of sticks together and is a pretty fascinating toy.

(These are not an Amazon affiliate links. I just enjoy sharing with you!) Happy shopping!♥