guest who? Modern Kiddo

Mmm, the best part about my little blog vacation is seeing all the gloriousness from some of my favorite bloggers. Today we have Dottie, one of the Amazing Wonder Duo a.k.a. as Modern Kiddo. Dottie and Alix have this magical ability to combine the best of two often separate worlds: Vintage and Modern. They have to be two of my favorite things ever, so every post from them makes me squeal a little inside (and sometimes on the outside too). Today Dottie is sharing her little girl’s current favorite toys – and since she and Birdie are almost the same age, I’m paying extra-special close attention. Either way, isn’t Peach the perfect little peach? A-Dor-Able. Please help me welcome Dottie (and Peach!)!

Hi hi everyone!

I’m Dottie from ModernKiddo.com and a huge fan of SmallforBig and of course its little star, Miss Birdie!  I kills me that we aren’t driving distance because Miss Birdie and my little girl, the Peach we be fast friends, indeed.  I must say that I often get a great deal of toy inspiration from Mari, and she is so good at finding fabulous toys, so I thought I would share the Peach’s top five favorite “don’t break the bank” toys with you all—all under $20, which makes them my favorite toys as well!

So, here they are in no order at all and I hope they inspire some of you!

1.)     Toy shopping cart

(image way up there!) Hoo boy, what a workout this little friend has gotten since Santa brought it a few months ago!  I knew this was going to be a big hit since it was the most popular toy in the Peach’s daycare for both boys and girls.  This glamorous version was a bit of a splurge because I couldn’t find this version anywhere in December.

2.)     Fisher Price clock

I’m sure everyone reading this blog had one of these gems. It is the toy version of Proust’s Madeline.  And there is a reason it is still around. Winding that clock and hearing the song and playing with the clock arms can keep the Peach busy for nice long chunks of time. And I love the images on the back—like 1:00PM where the little boy is having a story read to him by a sweet little white haired grandma. So sweet!

3.)     Kid O Puzzles

I bought a few these kid-o puzzles before I even gave birth hoping Miss Peach would enjoy them. And all of a sudden these have become on her favorite things to do!  Plus they are great at helping her learn shapes and sizes and most importantly sticking with a problem until you solve it.  And let’s be honest, they are not too horrible on the eyes, eh?

4.)     Cheap plastic necklaces

I recently had a birthday party for my little girl and the most popular toys were the cheap Mardi Gras plastic bead necklaces I bought for the goody bags.  The Peach has put these tacky necklaces on every baby, every animal, every adult she can coerce into sitting still long enough and even our cat.  She likes to drop them into a jar and even run the beads over her leg. Who knew that cheap plastic beads would charm my child for more than a half hour at time.  Of course there are wonderful and prettier options than these cheap plastic necklaces

5.)     Thomas the Tank Engine (rails not necessary)

OK—to be honest, this is not my favorite toy, but Thomas the Tank Enging sure is loved by the Peach. Even before she saw a single episode of this show, she knew about Thomas and can now spend hours crawling on the floor with Thomas in her had blessed out of her mind.  I ran into a friend whose daughter is graduating a year early with a grade average of a 4.2 (!?!) and her daughter LOVED Thomas. So I can’t be that bad, right?

Now, what are your favorite toys for toddlers and why? I love to hear other opinions?  And what toys were so NOT worth it?

And thanks Mari for letting me chat with your friends here at SmallforBig!

Dottie is right – share with us your faves and least faves – it’s always good to pool our resources. Make sure to stop by Modern Kiddo for more goodness, and follow Modern Kiddo on Twitter and Facebook!