DS is 28 months and the favorite toys here are:
-Trains (he has a HUGE set of wooden tracks and trains and accessories that were mine, then my brother's, and now are his.)
-Stackers (Rainbow, rainbow blocks, and bowls- all of these are Spiel and Holz wooden stackers. He uses them for a million different things.)
-Art Supplies (Block crayons, watercolor paints, playdough)
-Balls of any type
-Babies, especially in playsilk slings or in the cheapy doll umbrella stroller
DD will be 3 this month, and this year her favorites have been:
-dollhouse and wooden animals
-baby dolls and stuffed animals
-toy kitchen
-stick horse
-gardening tools/sand toys
-blocks
-playsilks
-play-doh
-toy train
-any and all art supplies
our dd is 23 months. she loves trucks, anything that gets her outdoors and digging in the dirt, anything painting or drawing related, pretend play with dolls, practical life stuff like sweeping, chopping food (we have a wooden food set from for her to practice with), watering the plants, she loves building and knocking things down, riding in wagons, books, music, puzzles, drums, pianos, and all kinds of things around the house like pots, pans, clothes, magazines.
My daughter is just now 3. Her favorite toys right now:
but most of all, helping me. She folds washclothes, kitchen towels, and napkins and puts them away for me. She can take her folded clothes to her room and put them in baskets. She likes to "help" sweep, but she does hold the sweep-pan for me. She can throw trash away. She helps set the table and clear it.
I find the the Michael Olaf catalog is great, but I never buy stuff there. Usually I find similar stuff (of not as good quality) elsewhere.
When my DD was that age, she loved dress up! She still does (she is 4 now). She also loves her kitchen, babies, books and art. Oh, and she is also playing with her dollhouse now. My DS is 2 1/2 and he really enjoys cars/trucks, carrying little things around in his hands, and deconstructing anything he can get his hands on. Dumping and pouring are also very satisfying at the toddler age.
My girl is only 14 mos but she has loads of fun playing with household items- boxes, baskets, empty clean food containers, spatulas, spoons, pots, pans- her actual toys aren't too fancy- some play silks, lots of books, balls of every shape and size, a mish mash of child-sized instruments (bongos, maracas, finger cymbals, a small baby keyboard (plays a couple tones and a series of songs) etc), wooden puzzles, a small collection of plush animals and babies, basic blocks, nesting cups... Mostly right now, and yours may be past this, she loves to sort, stack, put items in and take items out of containers. Music and reading are big parts of our days- we play games, sing songs- make up things to do with her playsilks- I can't wait until she gets older and the more imaginitive play kicks in and we can start collecting items for dress up!
They LOVE some of these old fisher price toys. But, the new version of the record player is a disappointment. I think I will try to Ebay an old one after christmas. We have the old piano, and the radio, and the clock. They are all very popular.
My DS (26 months) absolutely LOVED putting stickers on construction paper to the point where our sticker bill almost matched our cable bill. Then my husband pulled out his old matchbox cars, bought a few new ones, but some more tracks, and set up a track in our family room. No batteries, no annoying beeps, and Khristopher is learning colours, names of some cars, "ready, set, go!" (English and German), and also uses his soft building blocks to build towers over the track (often with help from me, hubby, or a friend who lives with us). He still does stickers, but not as much :)
DD is 2.5
Favorite toys:
toy kitchen with play food and dishes, etc.
baby dolls - changes their diaper, puts them to sleep, pushes in stroller, etc.
wooden interlocking train tracks with magnetic trains.
little figures with dollhouse or barn.
playdough.
Non-toys:
she loves to take a wet washcloth and clean the table, floors, etc.
Stands on a chair and "washes dishes" in the sink.
Takes clothes out of her drawer and tries them on.
My DD is almost 13 months and she likes her rocking horse. Our huge rocking chair (even though she has her own) and this little cart from ikea. But she sits in it and wants to be pushed around the house. I am getting her a wheely bug for Christmas. She'll love it! She also plays with her doll but right now she mostly carries it around and kisses her head. Anything else she just explores and manipulates. .. Taking things in and out, opening things if she can and of course chewing on everything.
I have a 4 yr old daughter and a 4m old son.
I don't really remember the moment when my daughter became a big kid so there is a blurred line between those categories for my list. She continues to play with the transition toys as well as some of the younger toys.
Baby- Sophie, soft books, ball (safe for chewing on, blanket (for tummy time,peekaboo and cuddling), big kid tooth brush for chewing on, spoon, chime garden, simple car to chew on and play with, piano/key board, Music cd's, a few cuddly toys (implore relatives to leave these choices to you or you will have a giant collection.), mirror, mesh basket for foods like apple pieces,
Toddler-board books, something to ride on, something to push, something to pull (wagon, dog on wheels, a backpack on wheels), silky scarves from thrift store (being cautious about strangulation), a box with a lid for putting things in, a box big enough to crawl into, one or two baby dolls, tunnel, something to pound on, shape sorter, stacking ring and cups, jack in the box, wagon to be pulled in, simple wooden puzzles, purse, toy phone, wallet, toy keys, drinking cup, a spiral tower that a ball rolls down,
Transition- kitchen set, table with chairs, baby cradle, baby stroller, "Hi Ho Cheerio", "The Lady Bug Game", "Memory", guess who, crayons, play dough, paint, a toy broom, drum, piano/keyboard, shakers, harmonica, kazoo, the mechanism from a wind-up music box, Blocks, 24 piece puzzles to play with mom and dad, view finder, bean bag for sport and pretend play, Journal to doodle in while mommy writes in her journal, play food, toy lap top (my baby boy Loves this too), tap shoes from a garage sale (use caution as these can be slippery), spinning top,
"Big Kid"- balance bike(we actually had a tricycle that she loved but I wish we had gotten a balance bike instead or as well), small mugs, plates and other great finds from the thrift store, books, craft making kits to play with an adult, "Go Fish" with regular playing cards (great for learning numbers), Play Mobile toys and figures, flash light, bag or purse, jewelry box with play jewelry, dress up clothes from the Halloween sales at "Once Upon a Child", A plant that she choose and takes care of, beads and string or pipe cleaners, a cooking apron for helping in the kitchen, a bicycle, a basket for her bicycle, cars, off brand Thomas train tracks and trains, a face watch, more complex puzzles, slinky, Plan Toys Balancing Cactus (2 of them makes this more fun and challenging), silk flowers for play kitchen and dress up games, wand and crown, kid scissors, mom's old digital camera, , easel,
Starting to be interested in- yo-yo, remote control car, Legos,
My daughter is nearly 34 months old and loves two things above all others
--her baby, and anything that goes with it (baby bathtub, diapers, crib, stroller, bottle 
)
--her kitchen, pots, pans, food, dishes, etc
So, I guess she's falling firmly into feminine gender roles. It depresses me a little until I realize she's just doing what I do. We cook and bake a lot, and she has a baby sister, so she's just mimicking me. At least that's what I tell myself :)
Another thing they play with is the Leapfrog Scribble and Write. Teaches how to write letters and shapes, and I believe it retails for around $20. Great for car rides too!
At 16 months, DS plays with :
recycling: makes towers and knows them over, puts containers one inside the other, looks at flyers, put lids on, etc
mirrors: he LOVES to make faces at himself
balls: He throws them, but mainly likes to have them thrown at him ;)
stacking toys (blocks, rings, recycling): mainly for stacking, but also for lining up, dropping into/out of things
books: He will sit and look at books on his own for 15 minutes, or he will point at pictures and ask me to name it
Zany zoo: He just loves to move those beads around
puzzles: he's *just* starting to get what puzzles are all about
shape sorter
I have a 4 yr old daughter and a 4m old son.
I don't really remember the moment when my daughter became a big kid so there is a blurred line between those categories for my list. She continues to play with the transition toys as well as some of the younger toys.
Baby- Sophie, soft books, ball (safe for chewing on, blanket (for tummy time,peekaboo and cuddling), big kid tooth brush for chewing on, spoon, chime garden, simple car to chew on and play with, piano/key board, Music cd's, a few cuddly toys (implore relatives to leave these choices to you or you will have a giant collection.), mirror, mesh basket for foods like apple pieces,
Toddler-board books, something to ride on, something to push, something to pull (wagon, dog on wheels, a backpack on wheels), silky scarves from thrift store (being cautious about strangulation), a box with a lid for putting things in, a box big enough to crawl into, one or two baby dolls, tunnel, something to pound on, shape sorter, stacking ring and cups, jack in the box, wagon to be pulled in, simple wooden puzzles, purse, toy phone, wallet, toy keys, drinking cup, a spiral tower that a ball rolls down,
Transition- kitchen set, table with chairs, baby cradle, baby stroller, "Hi Ho Cheerio", "The Lady Bug Game", "Memory", guess who, crayons, play dough, paint, a toy broom, drum, piano/keyboard, shakers, harmonica, kazoo, the mechanism from a wind-up music box, Blocks, 24 piece puzzles to play with mom and dad, view finder, bean bag for sport and pretend play, Journal to doodle in while mommy writes in her journal, play food, toy lap top (my baby boy Loves this too), tap shoes from a garage sale (use caution as these can be slippery), spinning top,
"Big Kid"- balance bike(we actually had a tricycle that she loved but I wish we had gotten a balance bike instead or as well), small mugs, plates and other great finds from the thrift store, books, craft making kits to play with an adult, "Go Fish" with regular playing cards (great for learning numbers), Play Mobile toys and figures, flash light, bag or purse, jewelry box with play jewelry, dress up clothes from the Halloween sales at "Once Upon a Child", A plant that she choose and takes care of, beads and string or pipe cleaners, a cooking apron for helping in the kitchen, a bicycle, a basket for her bicycle, cars, off brand Thomas train tracks and trains, a face watch, more complex puzzles, slinky, Plan Toys Balancing Cactus (2 of them makes this more fun and challenging), silk flowers for play kitchen and dress up games, wand and crown, kid scissors, mom's old digital camera, , easel,
Starting to be interested in- yo-yo, remote control car, Legos,
THIS, this has been so helpful to me in doing shopping today! I'm trying to stay away from making this holiday too materialistic, but at the same time DD was really due for some new toys. She's in the toddler stage, but I think she gets a kick out of some of the transitional stuff as well. Thank you! I'm getting her some more blocks, a broom/dust pan set, a blue baby stroller, lacing cards, and maybe a harmonica or a drum.
27.5 months old, but I'll think back to before she turned 2:
dressing up (really took off when we bought a couple of hats)
memory cards (likes looking through them and naming the pictures)
stacking ring with rainbow rings
backgammon (rolling dice stacking pieces)
shape sorter (likes stacking the blocks)
blocks
"pinching game" which is sugar tongs and rolled up bits of foil
oh! and the fishing game was her favorite at that age and she still likes it. Found the idea on a blog, you print out pictures of fish and tape paper clips to the back, then you put a magnet on a string and the string on a stick to be a fishing pole. We catch the fish and put them in our "aquarium" (the little bowl that stores them when the game is put away)
We finally (FINALLY!) got this bouncy dog thing for her birthday. Should've bought it as soon as she showed an interest (~20months) because she loves loves loves bouncing and this dog thing http://www.amazon.com/Wahoo-Marky-Sprarky-Colors-Vary/dp/B002OU02TI
at that age she also liked to have me take the spices out of the cupboard and let her smell them. I've made her her own set since.
dd is 13 months old. of all the toys and whatnot around the house, she is obsessed.. obsessed! with a little tiny toy broom. she plays with it every single day for several hours. she 'helps' us clean and then she does some batting balls around hockey style. i can't overemphasize how much she loves that little broom.
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