In a world where toys are here one season and gone the next, the amazing endurance of Fisher-Price Little People is unmatched. They have been played with and loved by children since the 1950’s and I personally have possession of my own Fisher-Price School Bus (circa 1968) that I snagged last time I was home. (Sorry, Mom and Dad!) 

That is why these have my stamp of approval as a top gift for holiday giving.

Because children have different interests, Fisher-Price offers a lot of variety. This is not a one size fits all type of toy and that’s why I like them so much. Although the look of them has changed over the years the concept has stayed the same.

Pretend Play. 

While kids may wonder why they are receiving these and may ask what size batteries they take, believe me when I tell you that most won’t be able to resist them. With choices like Michael with Bulldozer, Mayflower Playset, Lil Pirate Ship and Lil Kingdom Palace  one of these charming options will  surely peak their interest.

Actually, Little People Mayflower Playset would be a fun thing for the kids to play with on Thanksgiving. (How about a little early gift, Mom?) 

Check out Little People Hanukkah Set, for a multi-cultural experience complete with a collectible gift box. 

Always appropriate, always entertaining, Fisher Price Little People.

I can’t say enough about Lego’s.  They have kept my son enthralled for hours (So I can get some work done!) and I have fun playing with them too.

One of this years “must have’s” for the Lego loving child is The Lego Agents Mobile Command Center. There is something about the words “command center” that gets a little boy’s heart racing. Must have something to do with being the good guy. (Which is a fine thing.) This toy certainly comes with a lot of opportunity to do just that. 

The imaginary story of Dr. inferno and his evil henchmen will most definitely bring out the hero in your little guy, as he races against time to save the world.  With a little help from the intel center, weapons Bay (Whatever that is? I’m a girl so I’m still learning!) Jet plane boat and two cars surely it will all turn out all right. 

Until Dr. Inferno escapes in his monster robot! (Lego Agents Robot Attack, oh, how kids love robots!) This superset comes with missiles and a harpooned quad bike and is the perfect addition to the command center if your little guy has been extra good this year.  

My son’s birthday is coming up, as it seems are those most of the children in his class. So, of course I’m stocking up on birthday gifts to distribute over the next few months I’m more and more and more these days shying away from cheap toys. Admittedly, I’ve never been a fan of overly commercial, what I call, “ten second toys”, that is, toys that have limited play value, but I find I’m getting even pickier.

So, I’ve started to limit myself to just a few categories of toys. One of them is building toys, which I’ve written about a few places, including here and here. As I’ve been cruising my favorite web site, PriceGrabber of course, for ideas, I ran across these Kapla blocks.

Lightweight and simple enough for a toddler, they are just the kind of toy I like – one that grows with your child. The simple shapes can be used to make fences or small structures and later on to build intricate buildings. They also can be combined with favorite pretend play toys and incorporated to pen in horses or build a defense structure!

An award winner, Kapla blocks’ proportions are based on the elementary progression of odd numbers: 1:3:5. This ratio for optimal strength is often used in forming bricks, cutting beams, planks, and stone. In other words, you can build these to the ceiling without them tipping over – more or less.

Here’s another great train table, this one from KidKraft. I wrote about all the advantages of a train table here. You can tell I’m a big believer in them. This one has all the bells and whistles and is available at a great price too.

The KidKraft Train Table includes handy drawers that are great for storing trains and track and are easily labeled and relabeled with a chalkboard strip on each drawer. It’s never too early to teach your child how to be organized. This comes in handy as your child gets older and the train table becomes a craft table. The drawers can be used to store craft supplies and sundry art materials.

And in this era of value shopping, where we look to purchase products that last, KidKraft has a reputation for quality – something we are all seeking. Well built of solid wood, the drawers even have wheels that make clean up easy and add to the alternative uses that you might find for them down the road.

Best of all, this set comes with a complete train set of 91 pieces so you don’t have to cruise the sale racks (as I did) to pick up those expensive accessories on sale. The included train set includes bridges, tracks and a tunnel, as well as, a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, game booths, and more.

Double duty toys are the best in my book. And I like Mega Blocks. So this 3 in 1 Rideon Dump Truck is a toy we had for quite a long time.

This is a toy that your child will enjoy playing with for several years. This is saying quite a lot in the early years where it seems just as she or he notices a toy, it’s been outgrown. This dump truck can start as something that can pushed by a crawling baby or used as a walker for one just starting to toddler.

Children can sit on it as they get older and push it around the room or around the driveway, powered by their own two feet. Finally, it can be loaded up with rocks, or dolls or even dirt and used for, well, a dump truck’s intended purpose. The child simply supplies the story line, which is, of course, great for a developing imagination. Three buttons on the steering wheel blow the horn, make engine sounds and make the sound of a dump truck in action.

And, of course, it comes with Mega Bloks. These chunky plastic blocks are great for children just starting to understand connecting blocks. And the truck bed becomes the storage container for the blocks when not in use.

Despite popular belief, wooden railroads are not just for 3-year-olds. A wooden railroad can be a popular plaything for your children for years and a great accessory for your Christmas Tree as well.

We’ve had our wooden railroad for a number of years now. We pieced it together by buying several sets over the years as they went on sale or as we found pieces we needed at a reasonable price. Though it saw a lot of action when he was a preschooler, we keep it around and he plays with it from time to time now that he is in elementary school. What I like best though is that Christmas, we drag it out and set up all the pieces around our Christmas tree…a nice alternative to the classic electric train.

This Yukon Express 100-Piece Wooden railroad is a great price for a wooden railroad set. It includes all of the basic pieces you need to get started and some fun pieces that are often difficult or expensive to find, like a trestle bridge. There are also just the right number of pieces for pretend play, including people, fences animals and even telephone poles.  Since  the pieces are compatible with most wooden railroad manufacturers’ offerings, you can mix and match as presents and opportunities roll in.

Nuts and bolts and wheels, oh my! Here’s a golden oldie. With all of the electronic toys out there today, simple, old fashioned toys are making a comeback (as are simple old fashioned names, you may have noticed). So maybe, though they are still gold, they are no longer old.

But wait – this one is both. The Erector Set was invented in 1911 and they say, was the first toy to be advertised. Don’t we wish fewer were advertised today!

If you’re not familiar with this popular toy, it’s a collection of gears and nuts and bolts and plates for building structures and vehicles. It comes with a 6 volt motor, ball bearings and clutches for building just about any motorized vehicle including a forklift, excavator, crane, airplane, cherry-picker truck, towers…the list goes on.

Truly a child powered toy, this is terrific for the older (8+) child who enjoys building. It’s a great way to encourage logical thinking and beginning to understand about physics, mechanic and deductive reasoning.

So, if you’re looking for an alternative to video games and electronic gizmos this year, consider this classic toy. But better leave some extra room and have a bin handy for all of the pieces. This one could take over the house!

Looking for a holiday present for a kindergartener or grade-schooler?

Timber logs are a great choice. You remember playing with these as a kid. Well, they are making a comeback and just in time.

By early grade school, your children are starting to hear stories of log cabins and perhaps pioneers. They’ve heard stories or watched movies that feature log homes.  This is a great way to let them create scenes that feature log homes or frontier themes.

Timber blocks like these from Maxim, are a little tougher to manage than regular unit blocks. They require some skill to build in the crisscross pattern that actually makes them stay together. But while learning the intricacies both your and your child can learn a little bit of engineering. Perhaps not everyone needs this type of help, but I admit, a few of my structures tumbled before I finally figured out the system. My six-year-old however had no such problems.

I like this set from Maxim because it seems pretty comprehensible. Included are roof slates and roof supports, as well as blocks for making chimneys. A total of 300 pieces in the box means your child shouldn’t run out at a crucial moment!

Using building toys are some of the most educational activities for young children that there are. It’s never too early to get kids started whether it’s stackable cups and wooden blocks.

As your little one improves his or her eye hand coordination (I know, sometimes it seems that day will never come) he or she may be ready for something a little more challenging.

While Legos remain a long way off for a two-year-old, larger blocks that are easier to attach together are a great way to start. I like these K’nex Sesame Street blocks because they feature characters with which even non-TV-watching toddlers are familiar and include activity cards for parent/child play…an essential element for new parents who need a little refresher!

The Bert and Ernie K’nex Set comes with a storage tub and a total of 46 pieces - plenty to provide extended play value. Not a stand alone set, K’nex offers additional Sesame Street building toys featuring Oscar, Grover and Cookie monster to help your child along with the important developmental skill of collecting.

Though each set comes with its own storage tub, I recommend mixing up the pieces to encourage even more creative play. Keep the tubs to store the multitude of small rocks, stones, jewels and trinkets that rapidly pile up in any home inhabited by children!

If you happen to have a boy, you already know that building toys are a big hit. We find that often when we finishing reading a story or come home from an event, our son rushes into his room and pulls out the TinkerToys to recreate something that stuck in his mind. I guess that’s just one way boys process and make sense of what they have seen.

And so, I often find elaborate machines, cars and weapons constructed of TinkerToys, bits of string or elastic, tape and rubber bands scattered around the house. We never seem to have enough of those wooden pieces.

Almost 100 years old, this is one of those retro toys that both parents and children can enjoy. No batteries required.

Holiday and birthday lists usually include, “another tub of TinkerToys” and we find this is, surprisingly a great present- since so few parents seem to remember how much fun they had playing with them when they were children.

I’ve recently been encouraging parents I meet to pick some up or stop by my house to view the elaborate creations my son has made. I can see their eyes light up when they realize just how much peace and quiet that requires.