Best Open Ended Play Toys for Your Kids

Some days, I get sick and tired of picking up random toys that belong to some set, or ones that seemed to just come into the house all by themselves.

They seem to have no place, seldom get played with, and are ALWAYS laying about, cluttering up the floor.

I have tried very hard not to accumulate those types of toys, and once I identified them and that they were a nuisance and weren’t really needed for my children to be happy, but that the absence of them might make ME very happy, I moved them on.

Despite my determination though, there are those few that certain ones of my children just couldn’t let go.

They are encouraged to keep those particular toys in their rooms in a dedicated box of their stuff, so that they don’t end up laying around the house so often.

With my realization that there was such a thing as random toys that didn’t belong to any particular sets and nobody necessarily played with them, I realized there must be ideal toys for kids to actually have!

I was made aware of this by Dawn, the minimal mom and she helped me realize that there were such a thing as “open ended play toys.”

A light bulb went on in my head like yes I can have these toys, or sets of toys, that my kids really enjoyed playing with, and then when a birthday or holiday comes along that I want to give them something, it’s more affective and easier to just add to the sets of open ended play toys that they already have. 

The kids have always been really excited, when they get more toys to add to their favorite sets. 

And then for storing each set, I simply have a bin or a large box that the entire set gets put into and it’s easy for the kids to clean them up because everything goes in the same spot.

And let me tell you! When the kids get out one of the open ended play sets, they play and play and play and play……….and it’s really hard to get them to do other things!

This has it’s pros and cons, such as keeping them really occupied when I need them to be, but also making it hard to pull them away when I need them to do their chores or school work.

The following list of my favorite open ended play toys, actually works for both boys and girls

Legos or Duplos- All of my children play with duplos, from my toddler up to my my 11 year old. We got a bunch of Duplo platforms a few Christmas’s back so that they could each have a platform to build on and create their creations on. Those were an awesome addition and they love using them. We could probably add Duplos and platforms endlessly, and they would just keep building! Since then, we have added many times to the collection that they can all play from, by purchasing sets of blocks through Ebay, or Amazon.

We try to get lots of the standard building blocks because for some reason they all think they need to have huge houses and gardens and a garage etc., so we keep running out of the standard blocks, but we also try to get some more interesting blocks to help spark their imagination and creativity. Duplos are also very fun for adults who want to get down on the floor and play with their kids!

Train sets-Ever since someone gave us a bunch of wooden tracks and Thomas the train characters, our children have loved building and designing tracks and playing on them.

We’ve added to the tracks and the characters over the years and they all still love playing with them and even get Daddy down on the floor with them to play.

Once again…this will last them for days, until I need them to pick it up so that we can walk through the living room again without tripping.

Matchbox Cars and trucks and tractors or farm and heavy equipment and a play mat-it’s easy to accumulate matchbox cars and trucks. We have worn out at least one play mat, with all the kids enjoying time on them. Here is a neat one that would work really well!

Dolls and doll clothing- We have a few dolls for each of our girls and one bin to hold all the clothes and accessories. They can play for hours with them and on occasion, even the boys get involved in the playing of house and make use of these things too. A new outfit for a doll, given as a gift, is really exciting for our girls! This is my favorite doll by far. Her hair stayed untangled for years, even with 5-7 year old girl play!!! I can’t say enough good things about it! I would buy another one of these or a different doll from the same company in a heartbeat! Plus, it was way more affordable than some other brands for sure.

Toy dishes- Kids the world over have loved pretending to cook and bake and play restaurant. A box full of random dishes, and plastic food is great for little ones and big ones.

Growing up, I have some great memories with using a table and chairs that my parents got us for tea parties and picnics and pretend play of the funnest kind.

Real pans, dishes and utensils for cooking and baking-The possibilities are endless with this one! Every time I bake or cook, I have at least if not more than one of my kids begging to help.

I have created a tradition with making pies and pizzas with the little ones. I have tiny real pie plates and pizza pans for them to use, a mini whisk, small spatulas, small bowls. They love it!

Play dough– Never have I ever found a kid who’s gotten tired of playing with playdough as long as I have utensils and small pans or dishes, a rolling pin, cookie cutters and other creative items for them to use in the pretend play.

Art and craft supplies- Though this one definitely makes a bigger mess than some of the others, it does provide endless opportunities for the imagination to play!

Basically, any toy that can be added to, that gives endless ways of imagining and creating, is a good one for this list.

I’d love to hear from you! What are the best toys that you have found your children, that have kept them engaged and happy for long periods of time?

I know there’s got to be more than I’ve listed here!