My favorite toys for little toddler boys! Best toys for imaginative play, art supplies, electronics, outdoor play and bath time. All would make great gifts for boys ages 18 months – 5+ years old.

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We’re about to have 3 boys (5 yrs, 2.5 yrs and due in January with boy #3). I have gone through a LOT of toys. We live in a very small 700 sq ft house, so any toy we have and bring into our tiny home has to be one that the boys love and use constantly.

Here is my criteria for a very good little toddler boy toy:

  • not overly loud (my house is loud enough)
  • uses their imagination
  • not a ton of little parts that can get lost or swallowed (I’m looking at your marbles)
  • doesn’t easily turn in to a weapon that they’ll hit each other with (I’m looking at your fishing rod bath toy)
  • isn’t gigantic so can easily fit in our toy storage dressers
  • doesn’t require a ton of help from momma so they can play with it by themselves
  • won’t create too big of a mess (I’m looking at you most art supplies)
  • reasonably priced
  • doesn’t break instantly

Every single toy I am sharing is one that we have, the boys use constantly, and has survived any toy purging trips to the Goodwill. I went through all our toy drawers and compiled a list of everything that we have and I whole heartedly love for my boys to play with. All great for little boys and toddler boys.

Favorite Imaginative Play Toys for Little Toddler Boys

 

  1. Magnatiles – My highest recommended toy! Expensive, but my kids play with these a ton. Love that they can use their creativity. For a cheaper version, these work as well!
  2. Magformers – These are really similar to magnatiles, but are hollow inside. The boys loving them to be the “windows” when building.
  3. Magz-Bricks – These are little magnetic builders they use to build all sorts of things along with the magnatiles.
  4. Wooden Train Track Set – My kids 2nd most played with toy. These tracks are extremely affordable. We have these toy trains as well.
  5. Toy Food Set – My boys are constantly watching me cook, so they love to pretend to cook as well. They love cutting the velcro food with the toy knife!
  6. Duplo Legos – These larger lego pieces are easier for little hands. Plus, no tiny pieces to choke on!
  7. Hot Wheels Track Builder – I love that this breaks down relatively small. The box can even be part of the race track! We have an endless amount of hot wheels cars.
  8. Hot Wheels Monster Truck Track – We also have this loop track, which is much easier for the kids to “load and launch” themselves. It races a monster truck hot wheels and a regular hot wheels. It doesn’t break down very small, but they love it so much I keep it around.
  9. Castle Stacker – These are stacking cups AND a shape sorting puzzle that nestles down and stores really small.
  10. Play Pop Up Tent + Ball Pit – Always busting this out on rainy days! Highly recommend getting a big bag of these balls to throw in there too. Even though this is a big toy when set up (it takes up our whole tiny living room), the tents fold down very small when put away.
  11. Fort Building Kit – My boys are obsessed with forts. This is a fun way to build them. I throw sheets and blankets on top. A bit of effort, but worth busting out on rainy days!
  12. Wooden Building Blocks – These are super cheap, and the boys love building with them.
  13. Doctor Kit – They love pretending to play doctor. I do this especially before a doctors appointment where they’ll have to get shots. We make it seem fun to get a shot using the toy. I think it’s helped a ton!
  14. Construction Tools Kit – We have lots of toy tools, but I especially love this one because it comes with its own case to carry it all in and keep it together. The battery powered pretend drill is the biggest hit.
  15. Shark Bite Game – we have a few games, but this one is my favorite. Great fine motor skills pulling out the fish, game goes fast before they get bored, my 2 year old can play it just fine!
  16. Crocodile Bite Game – This game is another win. No parts that can get lost! And doesn’t need batteries. They loe the thrill of it biting their finger, haha!
  17. Toy Dinosaurs – They love playing with these. They’re a great size, and durable so don’t easily break.
  18. Toy Safari Animals – These are the same size as the dinosaur ones. Great size and durable.
  19. Toy Farm Animals – A little smaller than the dinosaur and safari animals, but also very durable.

Favorite Art Supplies for Little Toddler Boys

  1. Playdoh Tools – We have this set and this set for the boys to use to play with playdoh.
  2. Kinetic Sand Set – I refuse to do any slime (way too messy), but for a fun changeup from playdoh the boys love kinetic sand too!
  3. Water WOW Books – These are amazing! The pages turn color when you put on water. No mess! And when they dry, you can “paint” them again. The pages are super thick like cardboard so lasts and lasts.
  4. I Spy Learn And Go activity book – This book is so cute, has tons of stickers, and keeps my boys entertained over and over whenever they come back to it.
  5. Doodle Pad – You draw on it with the attached pen, and then click a button to erase it. No mess! Kids love it!

Favorite Electronic Toys for Little Toddler Boys

  1. Remote Control Car – Any remote control car is always a hit! This one is relatively small, only has a “forward” and “turn” button so simple enough for an 18 month old to use, but my 5 year old still loves it too!
  2. Walkie Talkies – My boys have endless fun with these. Really simple for them to use. There’s only 2 buttons on the side (the ones on the front don’t do anything.) 1 button is to push and talk, the other is to change the channel. There’s only 2 channels. A red and a green. So SUPER simple for them to stay on the same channel. Easy on-off knob on the top too. We’ve done a lot of walkie talkies. These have been my fav. And actually work! Have a 16 mile range!
  3. Microphone – This microphone plays music, but mostly my kids love it because it records their voice and they can play it back. Cracks them up!
  4. Mini Flashlights – Never underestimate the fun of a flashlight! These make a great stocking stuffer too!
  5. Nintendo Switch – I was hesitant to get a Nintendo for the boys so young, but when Josh had his surgery in January and was in full leg casts for 3 weeks, this was a lifesaver! He was just barely 4, and I was shocked at how quickly he was able to learn it and use it. His favorite game to start off with was Mario Odyssey. He also loves Links Awakening, Breath of the Wild, Untitled Goose Game, Luigis Haunted Mansion and Mario Kart. We used it a lot during 2020 because we were home a LOT with playgrounds closed. Now we just save it for special occasions, usually when Ryan is napping and Josh has been a very good boy that day. Or road trips.
  6. iPad with Child’s Case – We rarely use iPads, I save them for roadtrips or extremely cooped up days. But I love a good old iPad over the kindle fire kids edition. I can’t figure those out myself. I feel like apple is way more intuitive, and easier to download and use app games. I look for open box iPad deals on amazon, way cheaper.

Favorite Outdoor Play Toys for Little Toddler Boys

  1. Strider Bike – My boys start riding this bike at about 18 months old, and keep using until 5 years old. They LOVE them! These bikes don’t have pedals, so the kids push with their feet and learn to balance before learning to pedal. I love these helmets for them.
  2. Micro Scooter – We have 1 of these scooters and the boys love it. Bike is their first pick, but they’ll still play with the scooter outside on occasion too.
  3. Construction Sand Toys – They love playing with these in the dirt in our backyard, or we take them to the playground to play in the sandbox.
  4. John Deere Dump Truck – This dump truck is really big. They love running around and pushing it and filling it with other toys.
  5. Kids Roller Coaster – I found this roller coaster on Nextdoor used and for so cheap. The boys LOVE it! It’s in our backyard and they play with it constantly.
  6. Outdoor Play House – I found a playhouse similar to this used on Nextdoor for free! The boys love playing in it. Linked a similar one. But any outdoor playhouse is great!
  7. Water Table – In the summer they play with this constantly!
  8. Sit and Spin – Nothing funner than getting dizzy!
  9. Slide – Perfect size slide for little kids. On rainy or cold days, I’ve even brought this in the house to let them play.
  10. Bubble Lawn Mower – They love bubbles and love pretending to mow the lawn! Such an easy way to do bubbles.
  11. Muddy Buddy Coveralls – I fully believe kids should be allowed to get as dirty as they want. To save my laundry, I got them these muck suits. Fully waterproof. I tuck them in to these rain boots. Perfect for rainy days and playing in the mud.

Favorite Bath Toys for Little Toddler Boys

  1. Floating Octopus Ring Toss – They love throwing the rings and trying to make it on the arms!
  2. Swimming Penguin – We’ve had this one for years, and they still love winding up the arms and watching it swim.
  3. Curious George Submarine – This one is easy enough for even a 1 year old. Just pull the string and it zooms around.
  4. Bath Building Pipes and Cogs – They love building elaborate water flow systems that turn the cogs when the water comes out.
  5. Shark Grabber – The love opening and closing the mouth to watch the shark chomp the little fish. Great for fine motor skills. I have 2 of these so they never fight over sharing, haha!
  6. Boat Train – You can connect all these boats together and pull them around like a big boat train.
  7. Color Fizzing Bath Tablets – The boys LOVE when I bust these out. They’re mini tablets, about the size of a Tums. They fizz when you put them in the bath and change the bath water color. Non-toxic. Also a fun way to teach them about secondary colors when mixing 2 primary colors and seeing what color it changes the water. Doesn’t stain your bathtub at all, and if it gets on your towels it washes right out. Also doesn’t stain your kids, haha!
  8. Bath Rinsing Cup – This is the big cup we use to rinse off soap and shampoo. Love that it holds a lot of water so I can do a big pour. Soft and flexible too.
  9. Bath Toy Holder Mesh Bag – These is what we store all of our bath toys in. I’ll unsuction it and scoop all the floating toys right off the top of the bath, then suction it right back to the wall. Never had mold issues.
  10. Hooded Bathrobe – Both boys have this bathrobe. They call it their “fuzzy coat”. Easiest way to get them out of the bath is telling them it’s fuzzy coat time. It’s one-size, Josh just turned 5 and he is just about grow out of it. So perfect for about 18 months-5 years.

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