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With our guide to the essential toys to keep at your house you’ll never have to worry about making sure your grandchildren have something to do when they visit. And the good news is that all the items on our list are relatively inexpensive and you can probably pick them up from a carboot sale or at a charity shop for very little.

Our list of essential toys contains everyday items and simple toys but they will keep your grandchildren amused for hours and ensure you and they have many memories to treasure from their visits. And even though they may not be expensive or part of the latest craze these toys will always be special to your grandchildren because they are at your house.

Toys for the garden

• A small football and a ball for throwing and catching – no matter what their age children will play with a ball for ages.



• A wheeled cart or trolley for pushing/pulling about – all children love to fill a trolley with items from the garden or house and wheel them about, loading and unloading at regular intervals. And if the trolley is big enough they will give each other rides (or you can!)



• A dolls buggy or pram – both boys and girls will enjoy playing with this. The younger ones will quite happily push a buggy around with a little dolly in it. As the boys get a little older they will use to transport things like cars! You can buy a toy buggy from a supermarket for as little as £5.



• A ride-on toy of some sort – even the bigger children enjoy buzzing round the garden (or the house of you are feeling brave!) on one of these.



• A washing up bowl, bucket, plastic containers or cups for water play – kids just love playing with water. Keep an old paintbrush so that they can ‘paint’ with water on the patio or wall.



• A small pop-up tent – hours of fun and lots of potential for playing games and make believe. Pop-up tents take seconds to put up and you can buy for £10-20 at toy shops and supermarkets.

Toys for the house

• Small cars or wheeled toys for pushing/pulling about and a ramp of some kind for sliding them down. Keep hold of cardboard tubes from wrapping paper as they make great tunnels.



• Crayons, pencils, paper, glue, scissors and old toy catalogues or magazines for creating works of art!



• Play dough and cutters – you can make your own play dough with your grandchildren and the masterpieces they create can be left to dry and then painted.



• A selection of books and comics – if your grandchildren visit regularly you’ll need to add to or change these on a regular basis.



• Dolls and teddies and small blankets and covers for make believe play.



• Puzzles and games – just a set of simple snap cards can be used for lots of different games.



• Construction toy of some kind depending on the age of the children- wooden bricks are always fun as are Stickle bricks, Lego and Knex.

If you have some good ideas of your own that you want share with your fellow Grandparents you can by add a comment to this article using the form below. You have to be member to add comments. Not a member of SoGrand? Click here to join now.

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