As a small family farm, our children are often by our side as we do our daily chores. You will often find them pushing tractors through the grain piles, riding heifer calves, or hanging a halter from something high up for them to swing on. When it comes to gifts, they are pretty easy to shop for as they enjoy anything that expands their carpet farming operation.
Here are some of our favorite brands along with some suggestions of toys that have held up to our house full of little farmers and an aspiring veterinarian:
Peg Perego John Deere Gator XUV | Our John Deere toys are currently being played with and ready to hand down to child number four. One thing I love about them is their quality. While the small tractors get their fair share of play time, the most used and loved it toys are certainly the gator and wheel barrow.
Breyer dolls and figures | Breyer is by far our daughter’s most favorite brand. They have such a wide variety of books, collectables and toys. There is always something new to add to her collection. Her favorites are “Breyer Stablemates Horse Crazy Truck & Trailer Vehicle” and “Breyer Misty & Stormy Model & Book Set.” She loves all the Breyer books but this is her favorite.
Melissa & Doug | Our family is huge fans of this brand. Excellent quality — and who doesn’t love wood toys?! You can find just about anything farm related, from plush toys for babies to wood horse stables. Some of our family’s favorites are their puzzles.
Barbie | You might have already seen the craze over “Farm Barbie,” but did you know they also have a veterinarian as well?! Our daughter who normally isn’t into Barbies was over the moon when she saw the farmer and the vet!
LEGO | The LEGO brand obviously speaks for itself with quality products. Our kids play with LEGOs for hours. We love that we are able to add in pieces such as the LEGO Creator Mini Tractor and LEGO City Farmer.
LEGO Duplo | LEGO Duplo is great for younger kids and the “LEGO Duplo LEGO Ville Farm Tractor” is a fun piece our 5-year-old enjoys.
LEGO Friends | If you have a little girl who loves all things horses, then LEGO Friends is perfect for her. Our daughter loves LEGO Friends Sunshine Harvest and LEGO Friends Heartlake Riding Club.
I hope that you find this list useful. As a farm mom, I want my children to enjoy their toys that we purchase with our hard-earned money, so quality is my number one concern. I can guarantee from experience with the list above that you will get your money’s worth, and your kiddos will get plenty of play time out of them.
Krista Stauffer is a wife, mother of three, and first-generation millennial dairy farmer. Krista works side by side with her husband and kids on their 140-cow dairy.
