Favorite Toys and Games

With Christmas right around the corner I've been thinking about the toys and games that are winners. These are the toys that are still loved weeks and months after Christmas Day. Hopefully this gives you ideas for your family's wish list!

Games

Whenever we tell someone about Qwirkle they have usually not heard of it. I love the square wooden pieces of this game. You match the color or the shape and make new lines. You score points for using your pieces. You earn a Qwirkle-12 points-when you finish a line of a color or shape. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins. It's easy to see why this is an award winning game.

We play Rummikub with a speedy twist. We allow everyone to pick their tiles and then we say Go! Everyone plays as fast as they can! There are no turns or waiting for someone to strategize. We've played this way with two people on a team and arms are flying all over the place to grab a needed tile! It's fast, fun and everyone 5 and up can play it.

Hoot Owl Hoot is a unique game. The players work together to get all the owls back to the nest before the sun comes up. It's a great way to play as a team where you win or lose as a team. This game is appropriate for ages 3 and up.

King of Tokyo is a really interesting game. You pick a monster and try to be the King of Tokyo by earning 20 victory points or being the last monster standing. This game is different every time. Several different strategies can be tried. We bought it for our six-year-old, who can play it if we read the cards to him, but our 9-13 year-olds want to play it as often, if not more. 

Big Picture Apples to Apples is a great game for everyone. I love the concept of choosing a picture to match a word. The younger players learn new vocabulary. It's funny to see what pictures are chosen. It's also funny to see what the judge chooses each round. One word of caution: I did remove about 20 of the cards that I didn't think were family friendly. I'm probably overly cautious but it's a good idea to go through the cards and make sure you feel good about all of them before you start game play.

Spot It! is a fast-paced game of matching that only takes a couple of minutes to play. And once the round is over the kids will be asking to play again! I still don't know how they make every card have one match with every other card. It's amazing!

We forgot to bring Word on the Street to a family reunion once and we were in big trouble! My husband's competitive siblings enjoy this game. There are two teams. Each team is given a topic and has to come up with a word that will pull letters to their side of the street (the game board) before the time runs out. Once a team captures six letters that team wins. It's a fast-paced fun game.

Toys

Legos! You can't go wrong with Legos. Our boys play longest with the castle sets. We have one castle set and one dragon set and they have battles. They love the mini figures that come with the sets. The imaginative play with the figures is great. Once the boys take apart a set they keep the pieces all in a large bucket and go to that on rainy afternoons to make new creations. My nieces like the sets with the cityscapes such as a fair ground with rides.

Every remote control anything we've bought has broken! I had decided to never buy a remote control toy again until we went to visit family and saw our nephew's helicopter. It crashed over and over (he was still learning how to fly it) and kept flying! Three of our boys used their money to buy this Syma S107G 3.5 Channel RC Helicopter with Gyro and all three still work. For about $20 you can't go wrong with this toy.

For the little ones these non-toxic foam Wonder Blocks are the perfect gift. I know they will leave you with blocks all over your floor, but at least they are soft! They can go in the bath, they can go in the mouth (doesn't everything a one-year-old touches?!), they can become a castle for your favorite animals or a garage for your Hot Wheels. 

I did not buy this for our boys! What parent wants to bring sand in the house?! This was a gift and it was a hit! As long as we kept the sand on a cookie sheet we were able to contain most of it. And it really is fun to play with.

Of all the indoor hoops we've tried this is the best one. We attached this SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop X-Large to my sons wall. He and his father, his brothers, his friends and even I have played basketball in his room. This hoop has held up to all that play. This hoop has provided hours of enjoyment.

Magformers are expensive! But they are fun. We've had ours for years and none have broken. We've made everything from crowns to balls to rockets. Magformers are great for girls or boys.

What little boy doesn't love nerf guns? But then you have nerf darts all over your house! And the darts break. We bought two of these Lazer Tag packs. This way we can have teams of two playing against each other. When friends come over they love this active game. 

Note: I have not been paid by anyone or been given these games or toys for a review. I'm sharing what our family likes. If you have a family favorite game or toy please share it in the comments!