My Top Ten Stuffed Animals and Plush Toys
Christmas is coming soon and since grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, etc. are shopping for little ones, I figured a top ten list could come in handy as a guide.
It took a bit for me to narrow this down but here they are: my children’s top ten favorite stuffed animals and plush toys.
1. My Pal Scout (or Violet)
My 22 month old absolutely LOVES this puppy. I have seen her play with this for over 30 minutes at a time. One of the neat features of this stuffed animal is you can plug it into your computer and program to say your child’s name, favorite animal, color and food. You also get to pick from a list of songs for it to play…so you not only select your child’s favorite songs but can switch them when you get tired of hearing the same 5 songs over and over.
One of the best things about this is that she can push any paw or the tummy and it starts playing. We have several musical toys she loves but can’t manage the on/off switches yet so I am constantly being brought toys to turn them on. Then my 3 year old turns them off and the cycle constantly repeats itself. It’s very inconvenient to have a child pulling at your legs while cutting meat or other such tasks every 30 seconds so a toy that minimizes that happening is wonderful.
I first saw this toy when my oldest was a baby and thought it looked wonderful. We recently got it through using the Huggies diapers reward points program. My 7 month old really enjoys it. His face lit up when I first showed to him and it makes tummy time so much more fun. It only plays one tune but it hasn’t grown annoying yet, especially as it plays rather quietly.
This fun bird is my youngest’s Christmas present this year so I can’t report on his reaction yet. However, it is well-made, the colors are vibrant (the picture doesn’t do it justice) and it has crinkly parts, a rattle, mirror, various textures and a clip to attach it to something. I can’t wait to see his face on Christmas morning.
This toy was a Christmas present my kids got last year and it was an instant hit, particularly with my 2.5 year old. He’s a year older now and it is still a big hit. My 22 month old has become more interested in it the last couple of months. There are two of each animal and the bottom of the ark has a zippered door where all the animals can be stored. The little animals are also the perfect size for my 7 month old to play with.
5. Large Stuffed Animal
It doesn’t really matter what animal it is; ours is Winnie the Pooh. I had a giant stuffed animal as a child and I loved it. All 3 of my kids love our Winnie the Pooh. There is just something so delightful about seeing my little girl hug and carry around an toy as big as she is or my youngest boy try and wrestle this massive animal as he rolls around on the floor. We also have a large duck; commonly used as a pillow by my 3 year old and a sea turtle that my kids have taken many a ride on.
Go get your kids a big stuffed animal. Look at garage sales, they sell cheap, and can be cleaned by throwing them in the washing machine.
6. Puppets
Again, it doesn’t matter what kind. Puppets provide hours of entertainment. Get creative if you need to and hot glue eyes and yarn for hair to socks.
7. Soft rattle ball
This is a great toy to have, especially for little ones learning to sit up. If they fall- and they will- there is at least a chance of having something soft to land on. Plus if your exuberant toddler decides to throw it across the room, at the glass door of your entertainment cabinet, or at his younger sibling, there is a significantly less chance of anything breaking or anyone getting hurt.
8. Lovey/Security blanket
We have quite the assortment of these. They have been a favorite of each kid at one point or another. Even at a month or two old, my daughter had several months where she wouldn’t sleep without hers tucked under her arm.
This comes with 3 wooden shaped blocks, a square, triangle and circle. We haven’t played much with the wooden blocks yet. Each side has a different texture and I highly recommend it, even for a 3-4 month old. They can grasp at the different sides and when they start teething the plastic bar has nice rounded edges to gnaw on without danger of them hurting their mouth.
10. Baby Einstein Stack and Discover Blocks
We apparently own the old version of these so I decided not to upload my picture. These soft, plush blocks are good for learning to stack and if they fall you don’t have to worry about head bonks and tears. Each side has different textures and are easy to manipulate and grasp for young children.
So there you have it; my kid’s plush favorite toys.
