10 Toys to Restore Your Faith in Simple Pleasures

I'm sure many adults feel (as I do sometimes) that with each passing year we seem to lose touch with the simple pleasures we used to have when we were little. Having kids of your own can certainly bring those pleasures back in many ways, but as technology advances and toys get more sophisticated, those simple pleasures can often seem but a distant memory.

Maybe it's just the age we live in, maybe I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic, maybe in the future our kids will wonder what simple pleasures we were actually reminiscing about - them always having played with high-tech toys and games.

But, while the mood takes me, I say NO! I'm going to enjoy my old simple pleasures and absolutely insist that every parent take their boys and girls back to that bygone era (at least once in a while) when SIMPLE TOYS WERE JUST THE BEST.

Enjoy...

#10 BBucket and Spade

Bucket and Spade Set Whether it's the beach (or the sand pit) for sand, the garden for soil or just lots and lots of water, there's nothing quite like a good ol' bucket 'n' spade. It's a simple idea really. You scoop up stuff to fill the bucket in one place, and then empty it out somewhere else. Endless fun for kids creating castles, mounds, holes and getting parents wet!

#9 RRubber Band Gun

Rubber Band Shooter When we were young boys, my brother and I used to make toy bows and arrows from thick wire coat hangers, rubber bands and drinking straws. In retrospect, our handiwork was actually a little dangerous. But, the rubber band shooter shown here is far more civilized, it has a nice wooden construction and won't take your eye out! I've actually given this as a gift myself, and couldn't stop playing with it.

#8 PPair of Stilts

Stilts For all those boys and girls that wish they were taller, there's a simple solution - stilts! It's only temporary, but the amount of fun to be had really does scale new heights. Amaze family, friends and neighbors with your increased stature, hold stilt races in the yard or even wear them non-stop for a charity event. The possibilities for a pair of stilts really are sky high ("okay, enough of the puns already", I hear you cry). Hee hee...

#7 AA Costume

Astronaut Costume I think it's probably fair to say that all boys would like to be just like their heroes. Whether it's firefighters, police officers, doctors or astronauts. This is a great astronaut suit that comes highly-rated. I think it's a great picture too - this kid looks like he's just come back from a mission to the International Space Station. What a little hero!

#6 SSet of Cars

Hot Wheels Gift Pack You don't need track, you don't need fancy loops, you just need the floor. Oh, and maybe some furniture, books, bits of old wood from the garage, in fact anything your imagination can use to create some hot-wheeling stunt car action. A simple set of cars can keep kids amused for hours. Just be ready to hear lots of vroom vroom coming from the room room!

#5 RRubik's Cube

3x3 Puzzle Cube This is one game I could never quite crack. I remember when  the Rubik's cube was first popular (showing my age here) and it was big. Amazingly, it's still a phenomenon, with many different variations on the original version and competitions held all around the world where young kids pit their puzzle-solving skills against the clock. I've still got my old cube in the attic... hmmm... maybe I'll give the TV a miss tonight.

#4 SSlinky

Metal Slinky in Collectible Retro Box Slinky is a toy that's a bit of a one-trick-pony, in that it only really does one thing - and that's to slink from a higher surface to a lower one. But, when you watch a slinky 'walk' down the stairs, it never fails to amaze. Metal versions like the one shown here work best (as opposed to the plastic ones) because they have a little more weight to them. For such a simple toy, this spring's got hours of entertainment, and is an absolute retro classic.

#3 TTool Kit

Durable Kids Tool Set There's nothing boys like more than to be just like their dads - especially when dad is doing some DIY. So, a simple solution to this is their very own tool kit. The kit shown here contains everything your boy will need to help out, and it'll also develop skills in manual dexterity, safety, practical problem solving... the list goes on.

#2 SSet of Animals

Learning Resources Forest Animals This picture shows a set of toy animals. But, it could equally be soldiers, cowboys and indians, or every kid's favorite - dinosaurs. Sets of toy figures make things from the real world accessible, and with that accessibility comes the imagination to make anything happen. Lots of the figure sets nowadays are far more detailed than in my childhood, which also makes them great collectibles.

#1 BBucket of Lego

LEGO Medium Brick Box Forgive me if this choice of simple toy is a little predictable, but it'd be wrong to leave it off my list. Lego - consistently voted one of the world's best toys, is pretty much that. It's one of the world's best toys. I've never heard of any boy or girl (and plenty of adults) that don't like to play with Lego. It's got to be one of the most creative ideas for inspiring the imagination of kids ever. I think I've praised it enough for now!