10 toys I’m never getting rid of

 

So, I had this whole post written, and I just wanted a few pictures of the toys I’d talked about.  Then I went upstairs to where the kids had very carefully set up their toys to play with friends who were coming over.

 

I was greeted by this.  A castle full of Playmobil pirates, horses eating, Star Wars guys waiting to attack.  Batman on the battlements.  The king on a throne.

 

And this scene, it’s not as clear, but this is an entire village created out of Princess’ Lego Friends, some Clone Troopers, and Harry Potter set.

 

Then I went to my kids room, and found this:

 

Princess’ favorite doll lovingly tucked into bed with my first crochet failure project.  She’s been lugging this doll around for the past several weeks calling her Ginny from Harry Potter and wearing the matching dress I made her.

 

And then I just wanted to grab my kids up and cuddle them like they were babies again, and sob like my Mom did at every birthday, “My babies are growing up.”

 

That’s when I realized they’d written my post for me in my tour of the upstairs.  And, I deleted my old post.

 

So, here’s my revised 10 Toys I’m never getting rid of

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10 Toys I’m never getting rid of 1-3ish

Our castle sets

We have the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Folding Medieval Castle (this is the newer version of ours, which is discontinued, ours one of the towers has broken off and that has become it’s own tower to protect the kingdom); Melissa & Doug Fold and Go Princess Castle, and a castle bought from Michaels (decorated as Hogwarts), AND  Imaginext Eagle Talon Castle (our most recent acquisition).  These were collected over about 5 years of birthday, Christmas, and what have you (I bought the Hogwarts one because I was so tickled by the ability to decorate it).

 

They have stood up to 5 years of continuous hard play by large numbers of kids for hours at a time.  They have never been out of play by any of my kids since I first got them.

 

Playmobil

I’m not a big fan of the bigger Playmobil sets because they have so many little pieces for me to step on, BUT I love their figures and the variety of play we get out of them.  We’ve also used them in our school work.  My favorites are the Playmobil Princess Carrying Case Playset, Playmobil Carrying Case Knights.  I like these because they have a couple of figures, some accessories, and a case to hold them in.  My kids are big on small boxes and carrying cases, this may or may not be inherited from me.  I also love that all 3 of my kids can play them together.  The princess set integrates with the pirates, which integrates with the farm, which integrates with the knight.  It all plays well together.

 

Imaginext

This is another item that has stuck around for years and years and years.  My boys easily have 50 of these figures because they’ve been getting 3-4 each for every gift giving occasion for the last 5 years (when each kid is giving their sibling a present the numbers add up).  They are sturdy, they don’t break, unlike all other figures we’ve gotten.  In addition, the play is open ended.  Yes, many of the figures are inspired by named characters, but I have yet to see my kids exactly imitate a single show or book they’ve read, it’s all their own creations.

 

4.  LEGOS

This deserves its own category because fully 1/3 to 1/2 of the kids Legos were mine.  My Mom did not get rid of the Legos my brother and I received as kids.  I am very thankful for that because some of the sets we had were very cool, and I regret they don’t have sets like that anymore.  Poor Robin Hood sets.

 

We have used Legos in our school, we have used Legos as small presents, heck, the boys had a Lego birthday party this year.  Who, doesn’t love Legos?

 

5.  Toy Soldiers

These particular ones are from Colonial Williamsburg.  I love them, chipped paint and all.  My boys regularly pack up the toy soldiers I’ve gotten for them.  I picked up some American and British soldiers when we were studying the American Revolution, and they’ve never stopped playing with them, two years later.  I’ve even converted a few of the boys friends who played with them and now think it’s the coolest thing ever.

As a side note, my boys gave me Batman figures in the same scale as these soldiers for Mother’s Day and they were so proud of that find.  I’ve already promised we’ll play a game or two with them.

 

6.  Toy Food

My daughter loves to pretend to cook.  She also loves to cook, but that’s another post.  I’ve made her all manner of food, the toy stove there is another creation of mine, and she loves them.  I’ve pinned an entire board of felt food (with a few other felt items on it, I’m a sucker for felt toys).  Princess will happily cook me entire gourmet meals out of an assortment of materials, it doesn’t have to be toy food, she’s just happy to use whatever.

 

7.  Toy Weapons

I know some parents don’t let their kids have weapons, but I believe if taught properly they can help kids show virtues I want to encourage.  I want my kids to be brave, I want them to stand up for the weak and fight for a righteous cause.  That’s what I teach them to do when they play with these weapons.  They have a toy musket from Williamsburg and they reenact battles from the American Revolution.  They defeat evil trolls that were stealing.  They rescue damsels in distress or their captured comrades.  It’s been a great way to teach them when it is right to fight and when it is wrong.

 

8. Dolls

All 3 of my kids have dolls.  My boys have superhero dolls I made them, oh and Superman has a Diego doll I made when he was 3.  Dolls are a great way to encourage nurturing in your kids.  We all know this, and some of these dolls will have great memories associated with them.  Princess plays not only with her own dolls, but some of my Barbies from my childhood, and a few of my stuffed dolls that survived.  It provides a continuity of generations, and she treasures each and every toy I’ve passed down to her. That’s my most frequent question “Mommy, do you have any other toys that were yours to give to me?”

 

9.  Stuffed Animals

That jumbled mess of stuffed animals is my boys.  Princess has hers “neatly” put in her cradle.  All 3 of my kids love their “dollies,” and they play with them.  The boys may play a bit differently than Princess, their animals tend to get thrown a lot more and need more repairs (I’ve got a troll waiting for repairs right now, popped a seam).  But, they’re all equally loved.  Batman has a family of manta ray dolls, and he can tell you what part of the family each of his 6 manta ray dolls are, from Dad down to baby, they all have a place and a name.

 

Who doesn’t smile seeing this?  I certainly do.

 

10. Our dollhouse

My father-in-law built this dollhouse for Princess one year for Christmas.  It’s seen a lot of wear and tear over the years, a window is busted out.  The fencing around the balcony was removed before it broke.  Some of the rooms have been redecorated, but it’s gotten a lot of play over the years.  I’m keeping it not just because it’s been played with, but for the memory of the hard work my father-in-law put into building it.  It’s gorgeous.

 

So, there’s the 10 toys I’m never getting rid of that I discovered on my tour of the upstairs.

 

For the next 10 Weeks I will be joining with many other fabulous ladies to create 10 in 10, 10 different lists and ideas for the next 10 weeks.  I am really looking forward to some of these topics to see what everyone else comes up with.  Come join us with your own interpretation of the 10 in 10 at Many Little Blessings.