Christmas 2020: The Best Natural, Sustainable, Open-Ended Toys for the Early Years (PART II of II)
My picks in the $50-$100:
Wooden Toy Cash Register with Bell - $59, Perfect for market and shop play. Of all the one-trick pony wooden toys (like a blender or other kitchen item), I think this one actually gets used in a lot of different ways.
Picasso Tiles - $53, These are more affordable magnatiles. I have a set of these and a set of Magnatiles and cannot tell the difference! If you’re new to these, they are magnetic tiles that provide endless opportunities for building and construction. Great STEM toy for building, but also for small world play.
Way to Play Expressway - $59, We grabbed a small set of these flexible roads a few months ago and I’m in love! For younger kiddos, you can set up the roads as an invitation to play - add houses, trees, and bridges! For older ones, it’s an opportunity for endless creative play. So many ways to set these up and incorporate other toys; bonus: they don’t take up much space and store easily! These are offered in a few different sizes, with additional road pieces in the bigger ones.
Wood Building Blocks Set - $69, This is a quality set of basic wooden blocks that come with enough pieces to begin building. A good value for the size. The pieces are solid, and can combine with many other building sets.
Grimm’s Wooden Semicircle Building Set - $59, This doesn’t look that exciting off the bat, but trust me, it’s a must-have for building. Make staircases, use as platforms with other small blocks, and create huge towers with it, using Grimm’s Large Rainbow.
Raduga Grez Wooden Tea Set - $54, A nicely made, simple tea set, that is just the right size for pretend play teatime.
Olli and Ella Luggy - $ 75, Load up this pretty rattan luggy with your favorite toys or market finds and head out! This age group loves lugging around collections of their favorite items; this aptly-named luggy will make a welcome companion!
Grimm’s Large Rainbow - $98, This beautiful wooden rainbow is worth it. It’s incredibly versatile, ageless, and heirloom quality. Make towers, tunnels, castles, houses, or just about anything else you can imagine.
Plush Sheep - $54, Senger plush toys are beautifully made. This little sheep is made with organic cotton, and stuffed with pure wool. He’s a good size to snuggle for little arms.
Waldorf Baby Doll - $50, Waldorf-style dolls are intentionally expressionless, to allow for ultimate creativity in play. They are soft, heavy, and welcoming, a good fit for little ones learning empathy and care. These particular ones are customizable in both skin color and clothing.
Grimm’s Wooden Nesting Bridge - $62, These rainbow bridges are a wonderful addition for building, tunnels, bridges, or scenic play!
Organic Warming Goose - $69, This warming goose comes into two generous sizes, and is made of soft organic cotton; perfect for chilly winter nights, sick days, and tummy aches!
Fagus Basic Wooden Toy Truck - $75, Fagus wooden vehicles are incredibly well-made out of beechwood, with no nails or screws. This truck comes with two peg people and can be expanded with other Fagus vehicles, like the conveyer belt, crane, and many more in the series.
Rainbow Blocks - $64, Everything Wooden Story makes is lovely. This beautifully-colored, non-toxic set of 54 blocks is a great addition to your building blocks arsenal.
Nins in the Woods Storytelling Set - $55, This is a fantastic small-world play set from Grapat, with peg people, mushrooms, discs, and more, for a total of 21 little storytelling pieces.
5 Car Wooden Train Set - $65, Another beautifully crafted wooden piece from Camden Rose, including an engine, cargo cars, and caboose! Comes with peg people, plus a mini car. Generously sized at 28 inches.
Doll Cradle - $54, This is probably my favorite wooden doll cradle on the market. It’s absolutely beautifully made, rocks gently, and so generously sized! Truly an heirloom piece
Wooden Chicken Coop + Felt Chickens - $60, This is an adorable little play set, with a well-made wooden coop, nest, eggs, hens, chicks, and rooster!
My picks in the $100+ range:
Play Kitchen - Starting at $234, There are SO many play kitchens on the market and at various price points. I wanted to share my absolute favorite (on my someday wishlist! :) These hardwood and pine play kitchens are absolutely stunning. No plastic, melamine, or plywood; many other kitchens are often cheaply made with a high price tag. They come with a lifetime guarantee, are made entirely in the US with locally grown and harvested wood. These are truly heirloom pieces, to be passed on to grandchildren!
Grimm’s 1001 Nights Building set - $146, This is an amazing building set with beautiful colors and shapes, perfect for creating grand palaces and storylines! The Wooden Wagon is restocking this item soon!
Grimm’s Four Elements Puzzle Blocks Set - $145, Earth, air, fire, and water are represented in this block set with a cave, rainbow, flames, and wave. Lots of unique organic shapes for building fantastical worlds, and also simple puzzle play.
Wooden Toy Train Set - $115, This train is a total showstopper and an amazing value for what you’re getting here - this thing is 6 individual cars, plus peg people and lumber. The whole thing is 3.5 feet long! I can see this getting played with daily, and in many different ways.
Poppies Rattan Shopper - $149, A beautiful little rattan shopping cart for your little one to cart around belongings in!
Playstand - $439, Another one from Elves and Angels, this playstand is a Waldorf favorite, and serves as the ideal piece of furniture in your home for pretend play. Market, kitchen, cave, fort, post office, sailing ship, and everything in between. This pieces is made from hardwood and pine, and definitely an heirloom piece to pass down. Make sure you get the playclips and a giant silk to go with it, creating the canopy over top.
Way to Play Car Track King of The Road Playset - $156, A huge 40 piece set of flexible play roads, for endless road building and easy imaginative play (also available in smaller sizes)
Wiwiwurka XXL Rocker - starting at $390, This rocker board comes in smaller sizes, but linking the biggest size here. It’s an amazing addition to your indoor playroom, to get wiggles out where no one seems interested in heading outside. It’s great for imaginative play, small world play, using as a tunnel or building component, gross motor play (climbing, rocking), and more.
Wavee Board - $110, This is another great add to your home for gross motor play. Slide, bridge, stool, balance beam, or just about anything else you can dream up. Similar to the original Rocker Board that is slightly more expensive, but entirely made in the US.
Climbing Triangle - $285, Often called a Pikler Triangle in the Montessori world, this climbing frame is great for climbing, but also for draping a silk over top and using as a fort, or tunnel, it is super versatile for gross motor play. This one is handmade in the US.
Nugget - $229, Do your kids love to play with the couch cushions, pillows, and more? If so, the Nugget configurable play couch is perfect. I was hesitant to buy this thing, but we got it for Christmas a couple years ago and it is truly the most played with thing in our house. The possibilities for using this are endless. In our house it is most often a slide, jumping contraption when set up between the ottoman and couch, walls of a construction zone, seat for reading, a ship, a train, and more. Seriously, this one is so worth it. They’re doing a lotto system with selling holiday nuggets right now, based on high demand. Read more about it on the site!
Wishbone Balance bike - $250, Skip the training wheels and get this beautifully made balance bike for your little one instead! Converts from a trike to a balance bike, so it’ll get years of use. Then, pass it down to your next kiddo!
Magic Tree house - $199, A beautifully handcrafted, wooden fairy tree house with 5 platforms, a pulley, ladder, and hammocks. Plus, a few pieces included for furniture!
Wishbone Flip - $159, Another from Wishbone, I can’t say enough about this amazing little ride-on toy. It gets used daily in our home. In just a second, you can turn it from a rocker to a ride-on toy. If you have two kids under 5, it will be a hit for pushing younger sibling around in, or both riding together!
Of note: Grimm’s Large Pyramid is a stunning addition to your building collection, and truly worth the price tag in the value it brings to play. It is currently sold out everywhere but keep an eye out for restocks!
Arts and Crafts Supplies: Sharing a few favorite basics to stock up your art supplies this Christmas!
Play Dough Stampers - $28
Eco Play Dough - $8
Watercolor Painting Set - $50+
Beeswax crayons - $20
Stockmar Crayon Holder - $15+
Modeling Beeswax - $21
Kite Paper - $12
Kitpas Window Crayons - $19
Flower Press - $49
Board Games and Puzzles Sharing some favorite board games and puzzle for the early years:
Monopoly Jr. - $11 (recommended for 4+)
Outfoxed - $18 (recommended for 4+)
Apple Orchard - $30 (recommended for 2+) The 3+ version that I have is this one and there’s a full-sized one here.
Sneaky, Snacky, Squirrel - $13 (recommended for 3+)
Roll & Play - $21 (recommended for 18m+)
Hoot Owl Hoot - $16 (recommended for 3+)
Puzzles - We love the Ravensberger puzzles for 3+, range of pricing, and sizes from 15 piece puzzles on up. Here’s a garbage truck one: Check your local toy and puzzle stores, too for more varieties!
Melissa & Doug Floor Puzzles - $13+ These giant floor puzzles are a big hit. Over the years we’ve collected construction sites, underwater life, US map, solar system, and more. Here’s a favorite barnyard scene.
Educational:
Sand Tray with flashcard holder - $37, We use this one all the time, with sand, for a gentle introduction to letter practice.
Wooden Perpetual Calendar - $135
Wooden Weather Chart - $65
Wooden Tracing Board - $54
Alphabet Letter Cards - $19
Wooden Weather Station - $58
Wooden Number Line - $35
Play Kitchen Food: Take a look at my favorite places to shop for play food; range of pricing: Palumba, Why and Whale, Bella Luna Toys .
Clothes and shoes: another topic worthy of its own (upcoming) blog post. We do clothes the way we do toys - minimal, high-quality, consciously-made. Stay tuned for the upcoming guide on winter clothes and shoes picks (including high quality, durable, non-toxic rain gear!) to stay warm and dry this winter!
Whew! That’s a wrap! Happy Christmas to you all! None of these items are sponsored; they are truly some favorite things unearthed and curated from lots of research. If you could help me by sharing this guide in your stories, pinterest, and facebook, and with your friends, I’d be so grateful!
Remember to check out Part I of this guide, which includes lots of info on open-ended play, plus my picks in the under $25 category, and the $25-50 category.
If you found this guide helpful, would you do me a favor and share it with your friends and on social media?
