Toddler Playroom Must-Haves

Hello! I mentioned on my Instagram earlier today that I was working on a blog post talking about Nathan’s latest favorite toys & books - as well as a few toys that he doesn’t have but that I know he’d love! There are SO many different toys and products out there, it’s so easy to waste your money on a toy that your toddler doesn’t even like! Which is why I wanted to compile a list of what he’s been loving lately! Nathan is two, so some of these toys/books are more geared towards younger kids.

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FURNITURE:
1 ) Nugget Couch: Nugget was kind enough to gift us this product last year- but I wanted from the first moment I saw it!! It is seriously the coolest piece of furniture/toy ever. It comes with four pieces: one thick base cushion, one thin base cushion, and two triangle cushions. I love that it gives kids a chance to use their imagination and build whatever they dream up! We’ve also been using it in the corner of our playroom as a little reading nook! The color we have is sold out, but if I was going to get a second one I would definitely get Peachtree or Bamboo- and I LOVE the Stardust color for a little girl!

2 ) Kids Table & Chairs: I got this set of table and chairs not too long ago from Amazon and I love the simple, modern look. Nathan mostly uses it when he colors or is doing a puzzle. I think it’s something that will get more use as he gets older.

3 ) Nesting Table & Stools: We don’t have this set, but how genius is it?? The stools tuck neatly under the table and out of the way, PLUS they have storage!! In a playroom, storage is everything!

BOOKS:
1 ) How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?: This was a random hand-me-down book that Nathan ended up LOVING! There aren’t many books that he actually has the patience to let us read, but this is one of them! He thinks it’s so funny!

2 ) The Wonderful Things You Will Be: This is one that I picked out for him when he was still an infant. The message is so sweet and the illustrations are beautiful! He loves reading it with me now and pointing out all of the pictures!

3 ) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: He’s had this book for about a year now, and just recently started loving it. He’s been really into learning the alphabet lately, so that’s probably why. It’s so adorable when he asks for “chicka chicka boom”!

4 ) Be Brave Little One: Another one with super cute illustrations! It also has just the right amount of words on each page to keep his attention!

5 ) Sing With Me: This isn’t a book you read - it has 5 or 6 nursery rhymes and a button on each page to play them. The illustrations are very cute, and Nathan loves dancing to all of the songs!

6 ) The Pout-Pout Fish Hide & Seek: He’s had this book for a long time, and it’s still a favorite! Each page has two or so lift up flaps and he loves them!

EDUCATIONAL / PUZZLES:
1 ) Alphabet Puzzle: Nathan doesn’t have this puzzle but I know he’d love it. It combines two of his favorite things: the ABC’s and wooden puzzles!

2 ) Chunky Wood Puzzle: Melissa & Doug makes these wooden puzzles in so many different themes! We have this one and an animal one. Nathan LOVES dumping the pieces out and pretending that he doesn’t know where each one goes- he will ask us “it goes hereee?” and we say “nooooo" then he laughs and puts it in the right spot.

3 ) Alphabet Wall Decals: Like I mentioned before- Nathan has been really into learning his ABCs; so when I saw some alphabet decals at Target, I knew I had to get them! I couldn’t find the exact ones I bought at Target online, but I found another set on Etsy.

OUTDOOR:
These obviously don’t go in a playroom, but since it’s summer I thought I’d share the outdoor activities he’s been liking!
1 ) Water Table: There’s just something about a big container of water and being able to splash it everywhere that Nathan loves! I also feel pretty confident saying that all kids will love playing with a water table! I just wish they made them in more neutral colors!

2 ) Sprinkler: This thing is SO cute! You just screw your hose into it and the water shoots out of the little worms! Nathan loves running through the water, we’ve even put it in his inflatable pool so it’s like a little fountain!

3 ) Inflatable Pool: How CUTE is this inflatable pool?! I saw them at Target and it was so hard to choose just one design! We’ve been using it pretty much all summer and it’s been great!

ELECTRONICS:
1 ) CINEMOOD: This is something that we don’t have but I would LOVE- it’s a mini projector! It gives you the option to play shows and movies that are downloaded on it (so no WIFI necessary) or if you’re home and on WIFI, you can stream shows and movies. This would be awesome for our playroom or even for travel!

2 ) Leapfrog Laptop: This is definitely not the cutest toy out there, but I do have to say that Nathan loves it PLUS it’s pretty adorable to hear him say he’s going to get his laptop lol! This little toy is perfect for toddlers who are learning the alphabet and it’s super easy to use. It didn’t take Nathan long at all to figure out how to navigate through the three different settings.

3 ) Fire Kids Edition: This is another thing that Nathan doesn’t currently have, but I could definitely see us getting it for him when he’s a little older. He doesn’t quite understand touch screens- and how if one finger is down on it, you can’t use your other hand to move around etc.

TRUCKS / CARS:
1 ) Melissa & Doug Truck + Cars: Nathan hasn’t found a truck or car that he doesn’t like! I prefer buying him cute wooden ones like this set from Melissa & Doug. He loves pushing the smaller cars up onto the truck!

2 ) Firetruck: This is made by a brand called Green Toys - I actually discovered them at HomeGoods and fell in love with the simple style of all of their toys! Plus they’re made from 100% recycled plastic, so they’re also good for the environment! Nathan loves pushing this firetruck all around our house while making his firetruck noise haha!

3 ) Ferry Boat: This is another toy made by Green Toys. I love how this one is like three toys in one! Sometimes Nathan will play with all three together, and other times he just loves to push either the cars or boat around. And as a bonus - it was made to go in water!

STUFFED ANIMALS:
1 ) Melissa & Doug Pug: This was a gift Nathan received and it’s been one of his fave animals since he got it! He named him “Bart” after my parent’s real life dog lol. It’s definitely not a “plush” stuffed animal - it has wiring in the legs to make sure it can sit up straight, but it’s also still plenty soft enough!

2 ) Sloth: I couldn’t find our exact stuffed sloth, but this one looks pretty close! Nathan’s sloth is also one of his favorites— he’s part of Nathan’s bedtime crew! :)

3 ) Bunny: I also couldn’t find Nathan’s exact bunny (it was a gift) but I thought this one was so cute! Am I crazy for wanting him to only have neutral colored animals— probably… but at least I don’t have to worry about some crazy looking neon stuffed animal ruining any photos of him!!

ARTS + CRAFTS:
1 ) Crayola Mess Free Markers + Paper: We are still at the stage where I can only trust Nathan with “mess free” markers… these are markers that only show up on special paper. I would love for him to be able to color with regular markers and crayons… but actually just this morning I let him and he got blue crayon on the couch! UGH. Sooo mess free it is! The only complaint I have about these is that it takes a few seconds for the color to actually show up, but he doesn’t seem to care.

2 ) Crayola Mess Finger Paints: This is something we don’t have… yet! I actually just saw it for the first time when I was putting this list together. It looks like something he would like and I’m definitely interested in seeing what the finger paint looks like!

3 ) Water Wow: Nathan has not tried this yet but I always see them at the grocery store and want to get one! You put water in the paintbrush/ pen, and the water activates the color on the pictures. Then when it dries, the color goes away so you can use it again. I love this idea because I’m getting tired of wasting so much paper!

So that’s my big round up!! I hope I was able to introduce you to some things that you didn’t know about! One thing I didn’t include is our big chalkboard wall that I painted a while ago - Nathan LOVES it and I really think it’s something he’ll love for a while! Click here to check out the post I did on it!