Our children, the Adventure Kids, have personally spent hours playing with all of the toys and games on this list. We highly recommend all of these!
The toys and games we recommend here have been broken into 3 groups: indoor, outdoor, and board games.
Additionally, we’ve included their 5 favorite books that are perfect for any child in this age group.
*This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, you will not pay a penny more for the item. However, we are Amazon Associates, so we earn money from qualifying purchases. Thanks!*
Indoor Toys
1. Melissa & Doug Wooden Thirst Quencher Drink Dispenser
This is the cutest toy! This drink dispenser comes with 2 cups, 4 juice inserts, 2 ice cubes, and a reusable menu card.
The Adventure Kids love this toy so much (and fight over it so often) that we have 2 of them. They spend hours pretending they are serving us drinks in their restaurant, so roleplaying and creativity are definitely sparked with this toy.
Dispensing the drinks, removing the juice inserts, and working with the ice cubes helps kids develop their fine motor skills as well. And, all parts are extremely durable.
We’ve purchased this toy for several family and friends, and they’ve all loved it!
2. Stanley Jr. Chainsaw
The Adventure Kids love this chainsaw. It moves and make noise (not too loud!) to make the child feel like he/she’s a real lumberjack.
The kids keep these (they each have one) on their tool benches and pull them out whenever there is a need to “cut down” anything, which happens more than one might think.
3. Build Me Take Apart Construction Toys
This set of take apart toys comes with a dump truck, cement truck, excavator, and battery-powered drill.
The Adventure Kids love using the drill to take apart and build their construction vehicles over and over again.
This is a great STEM toy that will last a long time under rigorous play.
4. Step2 Handyman Workbench
Kids need a place to practice their workshop skills, right? This workbench has a working vice, a peg board, storage drawers, and 32 accessories and tools including power tools and work light.
The Adventure Kids love working with tools and pretending to build, so this workbench is perfect for them.
We love that all of the tools can fit on the bench so we’re not stepping over them on the floor.
5. Little Tikes Cook ‘n Grow BBQ Grill
This grill is another great role playing toy that lets the Adventure Kids’ imaginations run wild with new recipes and dishes.
The clicking knobs were a big hit when they were younger.
We also like that all of the pretend food and BBQ tools can fit inside of the grill for storage.
This grill comes with 1 pair of tongs, 1 spatula, 1 hamburger and bun, 1 hot dog and bun, and 1 bottle of ketchup.
Outdoor Toys
6. Step2 Up & Down Roller Coaster
This is a 10-foot long ride-on roller coaster that keeps the Adventure Kids busy for hours!
It’s extremely durable and very easy to put together and pull apart. The only problem with this toy is trying to get the kids to take turns riding it.
We typically use this roller coaster outside, but we also have set it up inside when the kids need to let out energy but it’s not nice enough to play outside. This toy is a winner!
7. Best Choice Products 12V Ride On Jeep with Remote Control
Our youngest Adventure Kid loves this Jeep!
When he first received the vehicle, he was too young to drive it by himself. But that was not a problem because this thing comes with a remote control for the parents!
He didn’t feel left out cruising around the yard with his brother, and we didn’t have to chase him around. It’s a win, win for everybody!
Now that he’s older, he just drives it by himself, so the remote is no longer needed.
There are 3 speed options for the Jeep and also a “lock out” function through the remote control. This cool Jeep also has a radio (plays from 3.5mm audio jack or short preset tunes) and working headlights.
It comes in pink, red, black, and white.
8. Little Tikes Cozy Coupe First Swing
The Cozy Coupe is a very popular toy for babies to toddlers. This swing is an extension of that.
The Adventure Kids love this swing because it combines two of their favorites: driving and swinging.
We love it because It is easy to attach to a swingset, it has an adjustable seatbelt, and it holds up to 50 lbs. It also has a moveable steering wheel with a horn that beeps (quietly). It is so cute!
9. Step2 2-in-1 Ford F150 Raptor
This Step2 ride-in truck is another toy that grows with the child.
When kids are younger, the parent can push the truck with a convenient and comfortable handle. As the child grows, the floor can be removed so that he/she can walk the truck down the sidewalk or across the lawn.
This truck has some other cool features too: working doors with latches, cupholders, under-seat storage space, and electronic sounds.
It’s very well-built and lots of fun!
10. Fisher-Price Bubble Mower
We like to put ‘em to work early in our house. This bubble mower helps the Adventure Kids have fun while “mowing” the yard.
They love the spinning motor that sounds like a real lawn mower.
Of course, the bubbles all over the yard make it even more fun!
Books
11. Boynton’s Books
Sandra Boynton’s books are read in our house on an almost daily basis. We love the rhymes, the characters, and the shenanigans that come in every story.
We also love that these are durable board books. To our dismay, the Adventure Kids often enjoy jumping on books like they are lily pads and stacking them like blocks, and these books stand up to all of that.
This greatest hits box set comes with 4 best-selling books. You really cannot go wrong with a Boynton book. We have them all!
12. I’d Know You Anywhere, My Love
Nancy Tillman’s I’d Know You Anywhere, My Love is my absolute favorite book to read to the Adventure Kids.
It is so heartwarming and cute. The boys love the “audience participation” pages, and we all giggle at the illustrations.
All of Tillman’s books are adorable, but this one really steals our hearts every time.
13. Little Blue Truck
The Little Blue Truck book and its sequels are another set of books that have been and still remain a favorite of the Adventure Kids.
Start with the classic Little Blue Truck by Alice Shertle. You can purchase the other 5 (including one for Christmas) by the same author when you get a chance.
The animal and horn sounds along with the lessons about friendship will keep you coming back for more.
14. All Better!
The All Better! book by Kane Miller is such a creative book.
Within the book, there are five removable bandaids that the child uses to help make each animal “all better” after an ouchie.
If the bandaids get too scuzzy, they can be rinsed off under water and used over and over again.
The Adventure Kids have removed and repositioned these bandaids hundreds of time without any problems.
They constantly ask to read this book. If you have a little one who is obsessed with band aids or likes to pretend to be a doctor, this is the one for you!
15. Giraffes Can’t Dance
Giles Andreae’s Giraffes Can’t Dance book is a cute story that teaches about believing in oneself despite what others think.
We keep this one in the minivan, and we’ve read it about 1,000 times.
It rhymes, it’s beautiful, and it’s inexpensive. Definitely check this one out.
Board Games
16. Pengoloo
Pengoloo is an award-winning memory game that uses adorable wooden penguins, wooden dice, and wooden colored eggs.
This game helps teach color recognition, strategy, and memory skills. It is made for 2 to 4 players.
As a bonus for Mother Nature, Blue Orange Games, the company that makes Pengoloo, plants two trees for every tree used to produce their games.
17. Uno Moo
The Uno Moo game is a preschool version of the game we all grew up playing.
Rather than cards, there is a large plastic barn that contains cows, pigs, skunks, chickens, dogs, and sheep. The object is to get all of your animals in the barn.
This is a great game for making sound effects and teaching colors.
It’s also ideal for teaching the basics of board game playing like taking turns with others and not being a “sore loser.”
18. Where’s Bear?
This Where’s Bear? game is always the first game the Adventure Kids ask to play when we tell them we’re going to play a game.
I’m going to be honest, I really do not know why they love this game so much, but something about this game must make the toddler/preschool brain really “light up!”
The game consists of beautifully decorated nesting boxes and a little wooden bear. You take turns hiding the bear in one of the boxes and everyone guesses where he is.
There are also variation and extension activities in a handbook included for the parents, so there are different social skills and cognitive skills that can be taught using these boxes as well.
19. Marvel Matching Game
The Adventure Kids love superheroes, so they absolutely love this Marvel Matching Game.
This game is the traditional matching game with tiles that are turned face down to play. There are 72 tiles, but we usually take some of those out so that we are playing with a more manageable number.
Every superhero or villain character that you know is most likely included in this game.
We love that it helps our kids practice focus, memory, and matching skills.
20. Hisss
The Hisss game is a fun and easy game that teaches colors and strategy.
The Adventure Kids love this game because they love putting together puzzles, and it has much of the same feel as puzzles.
We love the game because it’s durable and made in the USA.
There you have it! The Adventure Kids hope the kids in your life enjoy these toys, games, and books as much as they do. Happy shopping!
LOts of fun ideas for the children!
Thank you so much! Our kids really do love all of these!