Top 10 (+ bonus) Toy Finds
By the Munchkin and Me
Last week you may have read about how the Munchkin and I have been touring Melbourne’s boutique toy stores (over 20 so far) as a way of mixing work and pleasure during the school holidays. I called the post There’s more to toys than Target because I thought while everyone was getting carried away in the big sales, getting a bargain and all that, that sometimes we forget what toys our kids actually love to play with.
The Toy Shop Tour has been a really interesting exercise. Very few of the toy shops we visited have stocked the big ticket items and assorted licensed goods (often of poor quality or dubious play value) readily available at the big department stores. So without the distraction of his favourite TV shows and with Lego not always on offer, it’s been really eye-opening to see where his true interests lie.
I think a special thanks should go to the munchkin for helping me compile this list AND more importantly, for being so absolutely, beautifully behaved (most of the time) everywhere we went. Not one thing was broken or damaged, and he didn’t whinge and complain too much when we didn’t buy anything from a store. Well done!
Here is a list of our favourite toy finds… I’ve included some more “girlie” toys that I have loved too.
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1. Fire Engines
We didn’t get the munchkin a firetruck for his 3rd birthday, as we’d originally planned, as the Black Saturday bushfires were still a bit fresh in my mind… (I had to evacuate that day, so it was a sore point). However, I wish I had, because EVERY shop we went to involved a fire engine stop. Supposedly the munchkin is saving up for a firetruck with his pocket money (see my post Financing the Fire Engine).
We’re still tossing up between the following ones…
Bruder
Just like the real thing – it squirts water and everything. Not sure if it will stand up the munchkin and our hill though… Best place to find: Kinderplay, Armadale.
Playmobil
A bit sturdier and it squirts water too. Unfortunately, because our best friends are Playmobil addicts, hubby is having a Lego standoff and refuses to buy Playmobil anything. Hmmmm… Best place to find: The Walrus and the Carpenter.
Le Toy Van
This is the one I should have bought for the munchkin when he was 3… oops! It’s a wooden one for indoor use only, and has the cutest little fire accessories, plus you can buy a fire station and firemen separately, and that’s really cool. Widely available.
GreenToys
Made with recycled plastic, so it’s eco-friendly and stuff. It doesn’t have all the wizz-bang gadgets of the other firetrucks, but is quite a bit cheaper. This may be as far as the pocket money will stretch. Widely available.
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2. Green Hat Workshop Planks
Who could have thought that a whole heap of pieces of wood exactly the same size would be this much fun? The munchkin loves building engineering, so I’m thinking this would be right up his alley. Thinking his Daddy would have fun with it too. Check out Greenhat Workshop’s Flickr page to see what you can do with them. Best place to find: Kinderplay, Armadale.
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3. Sarah’s Silks Rainbow Wands
The munchkin loves all silk wands, so it wasn’t really surprising when he chose a Wizard Wand, a gorgeous blue silk ribbon wand with a wooden yellow start on top, to spend his “holiday toy allowance” on. He loves that he can cast spells AND make a swishy, swirly movement! Sarah’s Silks also make fabulous play cloths, fairy wings, dress ups and other goodies. Best place to find: Honeybee Toys, Malvern
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4. Dinosaur Skeleton Excavation Kit
Possibly the only thing (apart from Lego) that has kept the Munchkin sitting in one place for… ages! He has been watching Time Team, so he has his careful “archaeology digging” technique down-pat. Word of warning – this is VERY messy, with pink dust getting everywhere. Make sure you have smocks, newspaper and the vacuum cleaner on hand. Widely available.
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5. Play kitchen
Once the munchkin had had his firetruck fix, without fail he next went to the play kitchens (and surprisingly, ironing boards – must be the novelty factor). We don’t have space for a play kitchen indoors, so we’re taking a leaf out of SquiggleMum’s book and building one outside. Or you can make one out of cardboard boxes. Check out this one from Childhood 101. There is a huge range of styles available, including ones that are not pink. Widely available.
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6. Tiger Tribe Magna Scenes
I may have mentioned my childhood addiction to Fuzzy Felt previously… as a kid I loved making up pictures and stories with it. I reckon these are even better. Wondering if the magnets and the cool designs will hook the munchkin in (unfortunately Fuzzy Felt hasn’t 
). Available in different themes for boys and girls. Widely available.
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7. Rosy Flo’s Colouring Books
Another one for me… I also used to spend hours colouring in as a child, but often forgot to draw. These are definitely the best of both worlds. Plus, I was into fashion in those days. Colour in the clothes and draw the heads, arms and legs. There are now some suitable for boys too. Widely available.
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8. Eco Clay
I hate the smell of commercial Playdough (let alone wondering what’s in it… ugh!), and I rarely get time to make our own, so this is a great alternative. A great sensory play tool that is not only good for the eyes and hands, but smells good too. Best place to find: Eco Toys, Hawthorn East
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9. Seedling Craft Kits
I can’t pick just one. I love them all. I just wish the munchkin could sit still for more than 5 minutes! They come with everything you need to create well… just about anything your heart desires. Widely available.
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10. Haba Toys Ball Track
Well any marble run actually, although this one you’ll pass onto your great-grandkids! Fun to build, fun to play with. Great for working out the mechanics of, and discussing, the principles of gravity. Available at stores that specialise in wooden toys.
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Bonus: makedo
I’ve already reviewed them. See our post Make Stuff with makedo. Our first creation, a robot dinosaur, was not a promising start, but we’ll keep at it. We now have a healthy collection of boxes, meat trays, foil patty pans etc etc slowly taking over our dining room, so there’s plenty of scope. Widely available.
PS. I think it would be fair to add that the munchkin still loves his Lego – luckily we got some on sale at Target last year!
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SquiggleMum says:
August 5, 2011 at 9:22 pm
Would love to see your outdoor dirt kitchen when you’ve finished it! Thanks for the shoutout
Jackie says:
August 5, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Lots of construction! Love the selection.
Cath says:
August 6, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Shall be heading down to the op shop in the next week or so. Hope I have some similarly good finds.
Cath says:
August 6, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Obviously our selection was biased towards the munchkin’s interests, and he’s a keen builder – thinking he’s a potential engineer, architect or something similar!