10 Must Have Open-Ended Toys For The Play Space
plus our 2022 Holiday Gift Guide
All of the toys featured in this list are ones which my children play with on a daily basis – they are always on rotation because there are just so many ways for them to play with.
I do not have affiliate links with any companies and I don't have any brand partnerships either. All of the present ideas that are listed are items that we own. And it's not just items we own in order to fill out this list, they are all items that my children love.
If you haven’t had the opportunity yet, take a look at the This Playful Home Holiday Gift Guide for 2022.
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1. Wooden Blocks
Wooden blocks are the absolute play heroes of our play space – they can be absolutely anything my daughter puts her mind to. From a more traditional ‘wall’ to a person, the beauty of blocks is that they don’t just have to be a block.
One of the major benefits of buying a set of good quality blocks is the fact that they can also grow with your child. We bought our set from Grimm’s Wooden Toys for my daughter’s first birthday and as she has grown, so has the play potential.
Starting out with a simple ‘knock the tower down’ game to more elaborate houses and towns now, wooden blocks are really a toy that lasts for years AND can be passed down.
Recommended age: 1 year + (also check manufacturers recommendations)
2. Magnetic Tiles
We love magnetic tiles so much that we have three sets – we also have three children so that is necessary! Similar to wooden blocks, magnetic tiles also grow with your child and the play potential explodes the older your child gets.
My recommendation is to buy the best you can afford. The super cheap sets have in the past been linked to breakages and magnets can be extremely harmful is swallowed.
We have both the Connetix tiles and Children’s Hub brands.
Recommended age: 2.5 years + (also check manufacturers recommendations)
3. Animal Figurines
The animal figurines at our house get played with on a daily basis. For my 5 year-old daughter, they are a way to re-enact a day of ‘school’ whereas my 2 year-old son loves to match animals and make the sounds.
Our favourite brands are CollectA and Schleich. Whilst they are a little more pricey than other brands, the animals also look much more realistic and they last ages too – ours are years old and haven’t shown any wear and tear despite being roughed around by an exuberant toddler!
Recommended age: 2.5 years + (also check manufacturers recommendations)
4. Gluckskafer Building Slats
These Gluckskafer building slats are our most recent play room purchase which I bought for the children at Christmas time. They have been a massive hit with Miss 5 who uses them to create towns, slides and balancing structures.
They also work well for colour matching activities and early math activities too.
Recommended age: 2.5 years + (also check manufacturers recommendations)
5. Play Silks
Play silks are a brilliant additional to the play space – we have them in several colours. For Christmas and birthdays, we even use them to wrap the presents in an effort to be just a little bit more sustainable!
My children mainly use them as a small world landscape, a baby doll blanket or as a cape/dress for dramatic play, but the larger silks also make great dens too.
Our play silks are by Sarah’s Silks but you can also buy alternative brands on Amazon.
6. Grimm’s Wooden Rainbow
There’s so much hype around the Grimm’s wooden rainbow – yes it does look pretty displayed on a shelf but it is also a really awesome open-ended toy. From tunnels to bridges, ‘cakes’ to animal pens, the rainbow is a great functional toy.
My children love to use ours with the Grimm’s semicircles which does add extra play possibilities.
7. Miniland Dolls
Spanish brand, Miniland is our go-to for dolls. Not only are they anatomically correct but they also help to promote diversity awareness too.
Miss 5 loves using her dolls for dramatic play scenarios – they go on shopping trips, drink tea and cake, take visits to the doctors and often sleep in her bed too.
We have the dolls in both ‘toddler’ and ‘baby’ sizes. I’d recommend the baby size for very young children (12 months plus) and the toddler dolls from around 3. The toddler dolls are quite large so can be a little trickier for small hands.
8. Grapat Carla Set
If you want to get started with loose parts play, I really recommend the Grapat Carla brand. Grapat is another Spanish brand and it specialises in loose parts play.
The Grapat Carla set includes rings, coins and ‘nins’ (peg people) that can be used for a whole range of early learning activities from posting activities for toddlers aged 12 months plus to colour sorting and counting for pre-schoolers.
We have combined our with the Grimm’s trees – another great option for loose parts play.
9. Wobbel Board
During the last three lockdowns, the Wobbel board has been an absolute godsend! With parks closed and limited garden space here (we live in a Viennese apartment), the Wobbel board has really come into its own.
The wobbel is a great open-ended toy for gross motor skills – mine use it to rock, jump, slide and even do yoga but it’s also great as part of play too. Mr 2 loves to use it as a car ramp and my eldest tends to use it as bridge in small world play.
We have combined ours with the IKEA gym mat to prevent fingers getting trapped underneath.
10. Cars And Trains
We’ve been collecting cars and trains since my eldest (now 11) was a toddler. I’ll be forever thankful that we kept the huge collection because we still use them every single day in play.
Whilst my daughter (5) prefers to use them as part of a small world town, my youngest son loves to drive along roads and push them down the wobbel board or tubes.
Now we’ve reached the tenth and final must-have open-ended toy, I’m sure you can see how well they all fit together for play. That is the real beauty of open-ended toys – you can use them in multiple ways and with a range of different age groups. The play just expands and develops as your children get older.
Next Steps
If you found the guide helpful, please consider joining my Substack page as a subscriber. I currently have two options available (free and paid) which you can read about here.
And if you need more help understanding toy choices, join my paid membership because this month is my Toys 101 Workshop. You can read more about it below:
An introduction to loose parts play - November 22nd
Toy Declutter challenge - running throughout November
What do you receive as a paid subscriber?
Access to the Toys 101 Workshop series
Printable resources
Journal prompts and reflection questions
Access to the Playful Prompts library
Seasonal Rhythms Guide and Printable resources
New masterclass topics every month - plus access to previous masterclasses
Access to community discussion boards
Bonus video workshops
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