…that you never got tired of - or took a long time to
get tied of.
I have a couple of grandchildren who’ll be 1 year old
towards the end of next month and want to get them
something they’ll love for a long, long time
I suggest a set of wooden blocks. I remember using them in all kinds of ways to supplement my other toys…building extra buildings, a fence for a barnyard, etc. LOVED them, and they probably got more use in the long run than any toy I ever had.
A sturdy wooden train set that’s suitable for children of that age, if one can be found.
Lego! Start them with the Duplo version, then transition to Lego when they’re age-appropriate. Even my adult husband loves Lego!
Great ideas. Keep 'em coming—if you don’t mind!
Thank you very much!!!
A hand crank music box with a clear view of the innards. My dad got me one similar to this, but with a wooden handled box and a clear view of the mechanism, when I was a toddler. At first, I loved just the music, of course. Then I loved to watch the little pins get bumped by the bumps. I’d play it very quickly, to see how fast I could make it go, and then as slowly as humanly possible, trying to “catch” the pins on the bumps without plucking them all the way. When I got older, I’d sneak it into bed with me and play it half-smothered by the pillow and it’d remind me of my dad. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was my most prized and favorite toy until I was 10 years old and it got damaged and lost in a house fire.
Teaches cause ‘n’ effect, music appreciation, mechanics of gears, fine motor control, and costs less than $5.
Damn, I got so excited by your post that I went to eBay and was going to order one, but the seller only ships to the US (I’m in Canada). I’m going to search further. Thanks for the tip WhyNot - you always have lots of GREAT baby ideas.
Supoib. But I bogged down in Registration. Waiting for an email with a temp Pword. It might not come until tomorrow. Are you the Seller, WhyNot?
Really at that age a Teddy can be good for 8+ years (if it survives). Real lego is perhapse dangerously small for such an age, but Duplo is made for babies upward.
If you are thinking allong the lines of something to become an heirloom, it is unlikely that it could be used by the babies very much. Maybe a good wooden zylaphone (is that a glochenspeil?) would be good for two+ year olds.
( Or maybe one of those alphabet charts that tells you zylaphone starts with an ‘x’ ) :smack:
Unfortunately, they are still just a teensy bit young for it… but do keep in mind classic Tinker Toys. I got a set for Christmas when I was 3.5 years old, and played with them for nearly a decade.
But if I’d gotten to the thread earlier, I would have said Legos, too. 
No, I’m not (and I’d never use the SDMB to link to my own sale without being very clear in the post - that’s too “conflict of interest” feeling for me to be comfortable with.) I linked to that because they’re surprisingly difficult to find good pictures of!
My 8 yo boy still plays with the wooden blocks sets he got when he was around a year old.
We just recently gave away the last of the Duplo bocks and he’s in the front room playing with Lego right now.
I wasn’t asking that accusingly. I tried to buy it and got hung up on registering, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to finish the deal - if the toy is still there.
I was hoping you were the seller so we cut a corner.
The forest. 
of course paying to have your grandchildren and their parents move to the forest would probably be a bit over-expensive
A rope swing works good too though if they have any trees on their yard.
I’m no cheapskate. I’ll buy them a park - with swings. How about Yellowstone?
reminiscence hijack: I sometimes thought I dreamed them, but my mother assured me that my brother and I did in fact have giant-sized tinker toys when we were little. The sticks were huge and the join “nodes” small dinner plate sized. We could build a whole little hut out of them and throw a blanket over it for a playhouse.
Let me see…yep, here they are!
/reminiscence
In googling for hand cranked music boxes, I fopund this site:
http://www.coverpop.com/whitney/index.php?var=v17
Give it a look and a try.
I started my daughter on leapad at around one and she is now 7. We’ve upgraded several times but it goes everywhere with us. Car, trips, bed time. They have interesting entertaining books so the kids don’t even notice how brilliant they are becoming! I swear by it and got the first one from my sister who is a principal of a public middle school who swears by it as well.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2266031&cp=2255956.2257823.2276201&pg=2&clickid=leftnav_stores_txt&parentPage=family
(Hope this links. I am a techy moron. I should steal my daughter’s leap pad. :rolleyes: