Where are the 'good' toys?

momofeveryone

ok, so can someone tell me what the hell happend to all the simple girl toys? why do all the babydolls have to make tons of noise? dd is 9 months, shes too big for the 'my first baby dolls' but not big enough for the 'move and freak out my mom when she sets it off at night' dolls. i remember being a kid and you got one doll with a brush and bottle. maybe a stroller. they didnt cry, crawl or shit.

and boy toys! why does everything ahve to take batteries?!!?!? im gonna go broke giving mymoney to energizer!

why cant i find simple toys!!!!!!

ok rant over. i know lots of moms on here cant even afford day to day stuff, but this is my first year buying actuall gifts since ds is old enough to know. i have saved my ass of and couponed like it was going out of style.

tothemoonandback

LOL.. all the boy toys Jameson has mysteriously lose their batteries.. he can make his own truck and construction sounds, I hate all that noise! I have seen some babydolls at Walmart with plastic heads/hands/feet, and plush rest of the body, maybe she'd like one of those?

eapple

Cabbage patch still makes great dolls. Last Xmas my dd 1 got a completely soft one, even the face and my dd2 got one of the real ones with the soft body and hard face. The older one wasn't crazy about hers but my youngest still loves and sleeps with her "baby"

Melissa and Doug is a little pricey buy IMO worth the cost. They make good toys that are educational and fun. Their stuff is quality, I don't think I own one of their toys that is made of plastic. They use wood for almost everything.

SaraMommy

I saw this little doll posted on facebook and I thought it was the cutest thing!!! It would be great for a "first" doll but it would last until they were older too!! Plus you can customize it and pick the fabric you like! http://www.littledemouradesigns.com/item_41/Snuggle-Babies.htm

Snuggle Babies

shate98

Mom and Pop toy shops. We have 2 down the street from work and they both carry awesome no battery toys. But you pay more, which I think is ridiculous to get the good toys for more. We also get a lot of M&D, like @eapple.

morewithlessmom

This site has some great toys: http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toys/toy_categories/dolls_dollhouses/index.cfm I look on this site and then scour Amazon and eBay.

They say you shouldn't get the specialized dolls because they stifle creative play. I just saw a commercial for a sick dolly that your kid nurses back to health. What if that doll wants to play wonder woman the next day? Or baker? Her head lights up red and feverish, which is not good for either of those things.

I agree with @shate98, if you go to WalMart you're doomed, but little local shops will have some more classic toys.

tothemoonandback

Oh yeah, we do love Melissa and Doug stuff around here. There's also a brand at Target with 'muted' colors and more adult friendly 'sounds', the brand is "B." (with the period).

http://www.justb-byou.com/

MorganD

I worship everything Melissa and Doug. I found a dollhouse I would have bought my niece, if I hadn't tapped out my account buying for my boys.lol

BellaBefana

try some mom and pop stores, they tend to stress "low tech" toys w/o batteries. here are a couple with mail order that I love:

Gheppeto's (not sure if I spelled that correctly, but its in San Diego and they do have a website)

The Doll House and Toy Store in Scottsdale, again they have a website...great dolls there!

There's another online one, and I thought I'd bookmarked it, but I'll see if I can find it.

also, google something like "colorforms" which is a very low tech toy and you'll generally find some great websites.

shate98

I'll pimp my local store.

www.amusetoys.com

We have another awesome store called Shenanigans (MD mommies I can tell you where it is) but they don't sell online.

katz_meow

I thought this was going to be a thread about good toys for 'us' damn it.

S.w. randall is my favorite toy store here in pgh. They have an amazon store. Lots of educational toys, dolls, games. I love going there. But I hate the downtown traffic.

Melissa and doug toys were favorites when mine were younger. Good quality, reasonably priced. Mega blox were big for mine too. If you don't mind them all over the place. But at least you can see them, before you step. Unlike legos

momofeveryone

thank you ladies!!!!! and to think last Nov i was so upset i was having a girl and had no idea what to do with her lol. now im obsessing over the perfect doll!

undercoverbanana

Think out of the box. What else does she like? does it have to be a doll? Can it be something else? is she interested in other stuff? Science...experiments....art supplies...artists....authors.....books....ators......would she like an easel, or community theater, or plants, or a particular scientist, or fashion? my niece was into Justin beiber and clothes. I got her a subscription to a fashion magazine. When my dd got into fashion, she wanted a sewing machine. I'm not saying get her that stuff, I am just saying think out of the box.

undercoverbanana

Oh...and boy toys.....build it yourself robots, transformers, there are build it yourself robot kits. Something you can do with him.

BellaBefana

DD4 just got Magformers for her birthday...she LOVES them so much, and has such a blast with them, I took a gift card and put some $$ with it and got her another set with different shapes.

They're better than Lego's, cause they don't freaking hurt if you step on them!!!

StillTrying

Melissa and Doug all the way here too. I love the natural wood toddler toys they have. Nostalgic for me and my childhood and less plastic, less noise in my house.

Good luck and Happy Holiday shopping!