I think if I could only keep 9 toys it would be…
1.) Animal figurines
2.) Stepping stones
3.) Playdoh
4.) Blocks
5.) Wooden cars
6.) Magnetic train
7.) Play scarves
8.) A ball
9.) Shovel and pail set

I got the yoto mini before she was even born. Used it as a white noise machine when she was a newborn and now I get family members to record themselves reading stories for her to listen to. She doesn’t use the machine herself as she’s only 8 months old but it’s already had a lot of use. I love the make your own cards.

So interesting to hear how your girls aren't very much into the Yoto. My daughter is 2 and she has been interested for 1,5 years already 😊 Might depends on the cards too!

My boys always preferred different toys from each other, as they were so different. One liked magnet tiles, lego, and army men. They other liked costumes, nerf guns, and the play couch.  The main essential at our house as always been bikes, starting at 18 months, and they still love their bikes more than any toy!

I made the mistake of buying a bunch of name brand Magnatiles, assuming my daughter would love them because they are all anyone ever talks about, only to have her not care one bit for them 😂 that was three years ago and I just decluttered them because they have been played with maybe a handful of times and it has always been me leading that play. She’s just not into them and honestly, I wouldn’t have been as a kid either just based off what my play preferences were! For now, she can just enjoy the novelty of them when they bring them out at school haha all that to say, never assume that just because other kids like something, yours will too. That was an expensive lesson I had to learn 🙂🙃🙂

On the subject of dress up, Ive saved the headpieces and accessories for all of my kids' (3 kids, 0-6) Halloween costumes and some of my old ballet recital costumes . 🎃🩰  It's really fun for them because we get to remember Halloween costumes and they can be really creative with what they dress up as! 😊

I’m here!!! I’m so glad getting 2 base plates has been worth it!!!! Glad that was a suggestion that was useful for your family :)

I have two boys that have autism and they were never into dressing up, sports, crafts or Lego. I was shocked that they didn't like playing with Lego bricks.
My eldest loved copying me and had an ironing board with an iron, a vacuum cleaner and kitchen and he'd play with them all day. He also had a wooden garage and loads of different vehicles.
My youngest didn't do make believe play or use toys as they were intended. He would spin anything he could or stack items. He loved dice and numbers so I bought him a set of five large wooden dice and he would throw them and count them. Oh and marble runs.
Bath crayons were also popular. My eldest drew tanks on the bathroom tiles and my youngest would write roman numerals to 100 or equations (he was obsessed and only four 😳).
Watering cans, sit and ride police car, scooters, balls, skipping rope stretched out and used for balancing, mini trampoline, little bean bags, play parachute, foam bricks, bowls of soapy water and a sponge, chalks, one of those mats with water pens and a toy wheelbarrow.
Even though they're both teens now I have kept a fair amount of their favourites up in the attic for future grandkids.
Love from 🇬🇧❤

Was so glad to discover our library has tonie boxes and tonies to check out 👌 such a gift!

I have one boy (4). Most of these toys aren't popular with him, even at friends houses. And truthfully we don't have the option to stay inside bc his energy level is so very high. He will run for literal miles. What has been worth the money- investing in good outdoor clothing every season, comfortable walking gear, his bike from Guardian, a swingset with an attached fort platform/slide/rockwall we had built. He's tall. Its 8x8 with a 13ft arm for 3 swings and no ceiling. He won't outgrow it. For indoors, all kinds of monster trucks/hotwheels, a wooden block set from Uncle Goose, magnatiles and his Yoto. And his train set has been a hit since he got it at Christmas.

If you need gift ideas in the future, my daughter loooooved the Angelina Ballerina Tonies figure.

I alway took my kids to McDonald's or burger King or Wendy's once a week. That was as far i was taken my kids out to eat. 2 out of 3 had play places. I kept the happy meal toys . Put them in a Tupperware tub. And by the time i started to babysit my nieces and nephews or friends kid . The Tupperware was pretty full. And when they got bored i would bring it up from the basement and they would play in that box for hours. When they went home back down the basement it went. 😊

Great list, we had very similar hits.... I was going to donate all the Duplos, but then even 9yr olds still had blast with them, so we kept some for now :)

bottles and containers filled with beans, rice, rocks etc and then taped shut for shaking were a big hit with my niece.

We have a doggy pool for my toddler son.
We love it as it folds up and has so much grip on the bottom.

Homemade playdough was great for us

I think it definitely depends on the kiddo. My new 2 year old (Nov bday) who has never watched tv, LOVES her yoto mini. She can totally operate it herself other than holding down the button to turn on and off. That’s her one piece of technology and it’s a hit! Also, we have a play kitchen in our living room because that’s the only space for it. It’s a neutral one from kid Kraft that I got on fb marketplace for $20. That gets played with alllll day in so many different capacities. It’s a kitchen, store, doctor’s office, etc. Thrift what you can!

Just wondering what are some ideas you use for the sensory bins?

That’s funny because we are definitely a yoto family! We don’t like the extra toys of the tonies and don’t want the extra clutter. The yoto is a lot more customizable, uses the licensed audiobooks, so fantastic quality, and not so babyish, so older kids can use it too. Our 1 year old loves it all the way up to our almost 12 year old, who is my oldest. I also made her some myo cards with the Anne of Green Gables series, Mallory Towers, and Little House on the Prairie books. My 3 year old has no problem putting the cards in and playing what he wants, nor do any of my friends’ kiddos with them who also have littles around his age, so maybe just have them try to practice putting it in? It is a fine motor skill, but definitely one that is age appropriate at 3. My 1 year old cannot do it himself, but if they won’t leave a card it, you can just play it directly from your phone, onto the yoto, without any card in there. You can also put podcasts on cards really easily, so I will put them on a card to listen to on a yoto while cleaning or doing other activities through the day when I want to be screen free and not use my phone for it and risk getting distracted. So I would say that it is even useful for adults! I just put the redwall series by Brian Jacques on cards for my 10 year old son and I am excited for him to finish the book so I can listen too. 😂 I guess I could play it directly on my phone to another yoto from the app, but I have better luck on it going back to the exact spot when I use the card, so just waiting to do that. Audiobooks go on sale all of the time too, so it is really easy to get great audiobooks for cheap and put them on there. I print labels for the cards and cover with a holographic sticker and it looks so cool and doesn’t get worn out or anything. We have never had kids lose cards or mess the cover up on the myo cards I have made, but if it happened, I could just play from phone or put on a new card rather than just losing the content. So those are just a few reasons that we are a big yoto family! It is interesting hearing a different experience though as all of my friends that ended up getting both ended up adopting the yoto and letting the tonie sit and donating or reselling, so yours is the first where I have heard the opposite! I would definitely revisit with your oldest, at least, since she is getting closer to the age where many start to outgrow the tonie. ❤

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