Top Five Friday #3 - Toys

Last week I received a comment on one of my posts asking me for toy recommendations. After reading it, I thought the best way to respond would be with a top five toys post. We have a lot of beloved toys in our house so it is hard to narrow it down to our top five but I think the following toys are played with most often in our house.

1. Imaginext toys - C has the Imaginext castle, jungle, pirate ship, and Bat Cave as well as some of the accessories. They come mostly (if not completely) assembled and they are extremely durable. He plays with these all the time and I highly recommend them.
2. Building toys - We love legos, wooden blocks (especially Haba), Magneatos, and straws and connectors. Building toys are open ended and encourage creativity. They can become anything you want. C and R both love building cities and castles and including other toys in their play.
   
3. Melissa and Doug puzzles - the quality of the M & D puzzles is fantastic and they have great puzzles for every age group. We started with the chunky puzzles and have progressed to the 48 piece puzzles in a tray (C loves this pirate puzzle) and 100 piece floor puzzles.
4. Play food - We have a variety of play food but I have noticed that the cheap plastic food is played with a lot less than the felt or wooden food. The Melissa and Doug wooden food sets are played with often, and the food that can be "cut" is a lot of fun.
   
5. Dress up clothes - C and R both love playing dress up. We have a lot of princess clothes, as well as police officer, Native American, cowboy, superheroes, and pirate costumes. They are used almost every day.

I tried to keep the list gender neutral but our favorite boy toys are action figures and our favorite girl toys are dolls and My Little Ponies. I could not put this item in our top five list, but C and R will both agree that our favorite computer related toy is the Fisher Price Digital Arts & Crafts Studio. They both LOVE the Digital Arts and Crafts Studio and will make creations on the computer for hours. I definitely recommend it.

Here is our top five wish list for this Christmas:

1. art supplies - we use a ridiculous amount of construction paper, paint, glue, and markers
2. R is in love with the American Girl catalog, specifically the Bitty Twins; she wants the girl/boy twins so that one can be her and one can be C. Isn't that cute?
3. C saw the Playmobil pyramid in the store and he has his heart set on this toy. It was ranked #2 in the Family Fun magazine list of top ten toys. The set has hidden passages, trick staircases, scorpions, and a skeleton that fits in a sarcophagus. C has always loved playsets and plays with them often so I am not troubled by the hefty price tag ($105) on this item.
4. Board games - We love to play games. Our favorites are Hi Ho Cherry O, Candy Land, Don't Wake the Hulk, Hullabaloo, and Zimbbos. If you have a game recommendation, please let me know!
   
5. Books - Yes, I know that books are not toys (actually, art supplies aren't toys either so this list is lean on toys, sorry), but if you read my blog then you know that books rank high among our favorite things. All three of my children love to read and I think a book is one of the best presents you can give or receive.

You may notice that our list does not really include any of the hot new toys. Over the years, I have found that the hot new toys are often the toys that are played with least. I know there are exceptions to that rule, but it seems that the most basic, simple toys are the best in our house.

Adriana at My Bilingual Boys is hosting a MckLinky titled Toys My Children Actually Play With every Thursday through Christmas. Check it out for more ideas!

So, if you are interested in sharing your top five of the week or your top five toys, please link up here! I would love to know what you love!