Anyone who knows me knows full well I’m a little bit of an Amazon addict. Especially when it comes to toys. Ask me where I got anything from… 9 times out of 10 I’ll say Amazon. I just love the simplicity of the site and the free shipping (if you’re a Prime member, try a 30-day free trial of Prime here). Even if you shop around online I’ve always found Amazon still to come up cheapest especially when other websites charge for delivery.
We love nothing more than a wooden toy here, that’s why you’ll find the majority of toys on this post to be wooden. They are so durable and just last a lifetime. They are so easy to sell on too after you’re done with them! I am always putting our old outgrown toys on Facebook Marketplace and the wooden bits sell twice as quick.
On my Amazon Page, I have a list section specifically for wooden toys if you’d like to look deeper into that, it includes a range of brands to suit all budgets. There’s also a list specifically made for two-year-old gifts too.
The main reason I opt for purchasing wooden toys is because of the quality. Most of these toys have lasted us years, are timeless and get played with over and over again. And once the boys finally do outgrow them I can pass them on to friends. Even though plastic alternatives to these toys may be cheaper I find the quality is lower, the interest my children have in them is lower and I find that they’re not as suitable for open-ended play which I hold as the highest quality in a toy.
1. Melissa and Doug Wooden Ice Cream Counter
Priced between £30-£45 depending on the season
We’ve had this for over 2 years now and it’s standing the test of time, the parts are so solid that nothing would ever break them. The ice cream ‘toppings’ are plastic but of such high quality. The endless roll play sessions we have with this, add in a cash machine and you’ve got yourself a whole shop. This toy is a must-add to any toy kitchen set you have.
2. Geomag Building Set
Priced between £16-£40 depending on pack size
Magnetic building blocks. Something that you don’t come across often in the toy market. Pictured in the main image on this post, you can create all sorts of towers and buildings! Everyone who comes round for a playdate loves this toy.
3. Hot Wheels Storage Case
Priced £15-£25
You’d be surprised how much my kids enjoy playing with a case for cars. Has slots for 50 cars but we’ve found depending on the size of cars you can fit 2 in each gap.
4. Melissa and Doug Cleaning Set
Priced £30-£40
Another brilliant Melissa and Doug item (one of the best wooden affordable toy brands in my opinion), we’ve had ours for over 3 years now and both of my boys love it. Best aged for 2 and up (both my 2 and 4-year-old use it). Perfect for helping teach little ones the importance of tidying up, caring for their environment and working as a team.
5. Desire Deluxe Magnetic Tiles
Priced £25-£35 depending on pack size
A more affordable magnetic tile compared to other brands out there, we’ve got 2 of these sets and the quality is fabulous. Ours have had over 2 years of play now and are still as great as day one. They’re an excellent addition to your construction toys. These magnets are a wonderful open-ended toy with many possibilities for play!
6. Little Dutch Wooden Coffee Machine
Priced £20-£25
Our eldest was gifted this as an addition to his wooden kitchen for his third birthday, and I have had many lovely pretend coffees ever since. Just like a real coffee machine, you pop in your pod, twist the handle and the pod pops down into the back. High-quality wood and paint make this toy look gorgeous in your home too!
7. Melissa and Doug Stack and Count Car Park
Priced £15-£20
We bought Zach this for Christmas when he was 18 months because of his love of cars and to develop his fine motor skills further. It’s such a therapeutic toy, I even enjoy using it. Watching the pieces drop into place is a satisfying feeling. Older children like to try colour matching too.
8. Melissa and Doug Vroom & Zoom Wooden Dashboard
Priced £40-£50
Do you remember those plastic little car dashboards you used to play with as kids? You took them in the car or you could clip them onto your buggy? This has almost the same concept and is beautifully made, with lots of buttons, levers, realistic noises and even a little roller screen it’s perfect for a car-loving toddler. Zach received this for his second birthday and loves playing with it.
9. SOKA Wooden Post Box
Priced £15-£20
This was Zach’s first-ever slotting toy, we bought him it when he started sitting up around 6 months old but to this day at 2 years old, he still enjoys slotting and retrieving the letters. Slotting games are such an important developmental tool in your baby/toddler’s growth as they support fine motor skills. It comes with 5 chunky wooden letters/postcards perfect for smaller hands. The post box itself is easy to open by placing your finger into the hole and pulling it out.
10. Petit Collage Drawing Board
Priced £30-£50 (shop around for this as the price differs a lot on different websites!)
A toy we’ve had for almost 4 years now, one our eldest got for his first birthday and is still loved now. You can buy cheaper versions of these drawing boards but they’re usually plastic and flimsy. This gorgeous elephant one by Petit Collage is a favourite because it has a 4-coloured backing of red blue yellow and green, and also comes with four magnetic shapes. Perfect for any little one who is keen to draw but isn’t too trusted to be left to their own devices with pen and paper quite yet!
11. Bigjigs Bronto Riser Train Bridge
Priced £15-£20
My two are train track enthusiasts and have tonnes of wooden track accessories in their huge collection. This bridge is one of our favourites by far. They love how fast it speeds trains up, and how there is room for another track to go under the bridge. I love how stable it is and that I don’t have to keep rebuilding it because of clumsy hands (if your children have train tracks you’ll know what I mean!).
12. Melissa and Doug Fold and Go Barn
Priced £30-£40
This lovely little wooden set comes with multiple farm animals, a wooden foldable pen and a wooden ladder. This two-story barn is so sweet and is an excellent addition to any animal lover’s toy collection. The barn doors slide open and shut making for realistic pretend play. We’ve had ours for many years and it gets included in many different pretend play scenarios including dinosaurs, farms, cars, and people.
13. Melissa and Doug Stack and Sort Board
Priced £8-£12
Stacking and sorting is a huge development stage in any child’s life. This toy has so many learning possibilities as your child grows. From the simple use of fine motor skills stacking to colour matching and then to counting this truly is a toy you’ll be using for years. At such an affordable price too this is always my go-to for a birthday gift for many 1-year-olds, it’s something they will enjoy sitting and playing with and also one parent/carers will appreciate too.
14. Melissa and Doug Self Correcting Letter Puzzle
Priced £10-£15
Here is a wonderful toy for your preschool-aged child. I bought this for Theodore for his 3rd birthday to welcome him into the world of learning and recognising letters. Each piece only fits with its corresponding letter meaning your child cannot fit two wrong pieces together, a clever idea as this encourages them to try again. If you’re interested in counting there is also a Number Self-Correcting Puzzle by Melissa and Doug made in the same way which I have been thinking of buying Theodore as he has recently taken an interest in maths.
15. Petit Collage Multi-Language Alphabet Tray Puzzle
Priced £30-£40
A beautifully made wooden toy to begin introducing your child to uppercase letters and also some simple French, German and Italian. You can lift the wooden cover and change the backing of the letters between the four languages. Theodore is only 4 so so far I have only been using this on the English side as I try to teach him to recognise letters and words in the English language. But I know this will be a great tool to use over the next few years of school as he starts to branch into learning about other languages.
16. Little Dutch Garage
Priced £45-£55
We had a cheap supermarket wooden garage before replacing it with this one, it got so much use and wasn’t very practical because the ramps were not designed well which resulted in cars nose-diving. I then did a lot of research into which wooden garage to purchase to replace our first one and this Littel Dutch one ended up being a solid winner. With usable ramps/slides for cars, a lift which is simple for a toddler to use AND a built-in train track which meant it could also be an addition to our train collection meant this was the perfect garage for us. It’s a fabulous toy which also looks so stunning in our playroom too.
