Handicrafts for children, treasured fairies, looms, imaginative playthings, natural wood toys—these toys of wonder and joy are part of our home landscape. And if there are going to be toys played with and scattered on our floor to step over (and there will when children are at play); let them be as beautiful, as well loved, and as creatively played with as these.
The toys the children receive for celebrations are carefully chosen here. We choose toys that offer open-ended play, so they may be played with in many ways. Toys get so much more use out of them, if this flexibility is considered when choosing toys for children. We also like to select well-crafted, sturdy playthings that will last through all of their love and play, and the next youngest's love and play, and the next—toys they will want to pass on to their own children. Because with toys, it really isn't how many they have. It's how much they will love, and play, and imagine, and learn with the ones they have—the carefully chosen ones they have.
first photo: Our children's weaving loom is just like the one I wove on as a child—and enjoyed just as joyfully. above: our sweet season fairies
from Nana, tenderly covered by our child's hands with a blanket that was sewn by my mother when I was a little girl, a bracelet our daughter has begun on her seed bead loom
, our woodland animals
and natural wood furniture from a tree fort set.
Because the fairies (above left) have been our children's tag-alongs for so long, because the children have gifted me so many of their handwoven potholders (top), and because I have co-constructed so many wooden homes furnished with our little natural wood block playset (bottom right)—I know that the toys our children have are cherished as much, or more, as any.
This year think about giving less, while choosing more well-made, crafted-for-creativity playthings. Many of our most loved, most endeared playthings are handmade from independent craftspeople. Some, like those we treasure shared here, are from magic cabin
and hearthsong toys & games
. And closest to my heart are the special ones that are pre-loved—some my own childhood playthings—or the hand-me-downs of other young pretenders and imaginers—
—Like the little treasured doll blanket, lovingly wrapping the fairies above, my mother tenderly sewed for me for one of my birthdays. Once-upon-a-childhood.
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We share how we organize our children's toys, with ideas for your own home organization, in our post a pot is a perfect spot. ©heather cahoon • wordplayhouse®
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