Here's our list of favourite toys and games that are sure to become favourite toys for your kids too.   You can spend a lot of money on toys that just don't engage your kids or that all their friends already have.  What's special about this list is that it combines classic favourites along with toys that are special, different and a real surprise!  The response and reward you get from giving something that's a bit unique is fabulous and makes every dollar worthwhile.  For the kids they have something their friends probably don't have without necessarily being an expensive item. 
All of these favourite toys are available to buy online and many are items you won't find in your average toy store. 

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Babies & Pre-Schoolers

Pound-A-Peg a  classic wooden toy

A Domino Train sets the dominos up so you can knock them down.

When a real pet is not an option then these toys are Fur Real!

Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends are still as popular as ever.

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Ready Beds are an inflatable bed, pillow and sleeping bag all in one!  Available in a range of Disney designs - ideal for sleep-overs.

A Marbalous Marble Run with 65 brightly coloured pieces.  Kids love watching the marbles race and drop.  Creative challenge for older kids to assemble too.

Give your children their own little buddy to let them sleep comfortably in their car seat.  Available in a boy, girl or dog design.

 A Kiwi Christmas classic with a book and CD.

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For generations kids have been making cups of tea for themselves, their dolls and their friends

Yummy dough is the play dough that you can also bake and eat.

Soft, cute and glow in the dark.

Most of Tonka toys current range is now plastic but you can still get these classic steel dump trucks.

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Rub-a-Dub-Dub let's draw in the tub!

Create stories using the images on the dice.

The Weebles are still wobbling and not falling down.

A simple game to spin for beetle body parts and assemble a colourful critter.

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5-13 Year Olds

Pass the Pigs.  Roll them like dice, score based on how they land. Fun and easy.

A Barbie version of the Dickens classic story.

Hyper Dash Extreme is fun, electronic and gets the kids up and running about.

Barbie is still around in many forms but Ken seems to be mainly available online.

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Play Monopoly in a fraction of the time with this fast, fun card game.  Warning it's addictive!

Kids have great fun folding these pre-printed double-sided paper planes. 

 Lots of fun creating patterns on paper.

Charades made easy for younger children with cards that have both picture and word options.

Choose your career carefully and see what fate blows your way.

Great value Lego buckets that encourage creativity. LEGO 5560, above left, has a range of houses, horses etc or LEGO Basic 5508, above right, is a good uni-sex set.  Click on images for more information.

Teenagers

One of the latest Glee CDs

Air Hogs Vectron Wave Flies without a Remote Control

The amazing Air Swimmers. RC helium filled balloons

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Click here for 40 Gifts under $10

These are great, affordable gift ideas for less than $10.

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Barbie "I Can Be" Dolls and Playsets

Barbie is a classic favourite toys for generations and now Barbie have a range of dolls that play to the aspirations of little girls be that as a ballarina, doctor, pet or zoo vet, a snow boarder, babysitter, chef, rock star, dentist, rally driver or life guard.
It's great to move little girls out of the princess syndrome and into more realistic role playing.  There are a number of dolls available as well as some more complex play-sets with accessories.

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Beware of the Echobot!

This one is as much a toy for adults as children and has raised lots of giggles since its arrived in our house.
The Echobot is a little one-eyed monster that can record a ten second voice message that plays whenever someone passes within a metre of it.  With three suction cups can be stuck to walls, doors, fridges and can be used for trick messages or can be a handy message centre.
"Boo! What are you up to?!!"  "Leave the chocolate alone!"  "Honey I've gone shopping with the kids."
As far as I can tell you can only buy the Echobot from www.iwantthat.co.nz although occasionally they also pop up on Trade Me.

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Get Chatting!

If you could have any round object in the world, what would you choose?
Which musical instrument would best describe your personality?
If you could be one inch tall for a day, what specific place would you most like to explore?

Never before has it been so much fun for kids to put on their thinking caps! Chat Pack for Kids contains 156 cards, each one featuring a question guaranteed to get creative juices flowing and great conversations going. Simply pull out any card from the small plastic box and let the big-time fun begin!   Ideal for trips, mealtime, bedtime/sleepovers, family gatherings, classroom activities, or just having fun with friends! Hinged plastic box measures 3.5"W x 2.5"Lx1"H; box contains 156 stylised cards.

click on the image for more details or to buy this game online.

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Magnetic Dress-Ups

The cardboard dolls with their paper dresses have becme more resilient with these wooden, magnetic dolls.  There is quite a selection available including ballerinas, princesses and every day friends like "Abby & Emma" shown right.  There are also magnetic dress-ups for boys with firemen and superheroes.

Click on the images to see more detail or to buy this cute activity for kids online.

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Newton's Cradle

A classic item developed in the 1960's and named after Isaac Newton because it demonstrates one of his laws.  Considered by most an executive toy but kids love Newton's Cradle as well.

Not widely available in shops, you can buy it on-line at www.fishpond.co.nz, at www.houseoftoys.co.nz and at www.raptonline.co.nz
 

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Go Bananas

This is a bit like speed scrabble without the board.
 The aim is build your own personal scrabble structure using your letters.  As soon as one person has fitted all their letters into connecting words they shout "Peel" and all the players have to grab two more letters and find a way to fit them in too.   Sometime the only way to progress is to break down big sections of your existing structure to make the new letters fit.  Great fun for all the family since the size of the words doesn't matter.

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