Recommend your toys PLEASE, we have nothing!

[lovebebes]

Yes, the title pretty much says it-I feel like my girls don't really have toys to play with. Either that or they just don't like to play and instead want to follow mommy/nurse (little dd),run around,etc etc
I need something to engage them!
I need to make a plan and get a few toys for them as presents that will engage them and ugh, me! I want to be able to play with them and I feel what we do have is old and boring.
For example: we have a PBK kitchen that I got for them just a couple of months ago (good deal on a floor model) but- the play food we have is hand me down from DD2 and well when parts of Melissa and Doug food are missing they are just not fun to play with! Baby dd likes to "cut" the food but the knife is gone and velcro is messed up so there goes that. I do think the kitchen can be such a good thing to play with but at the same time I don't want to re-buy the same darn melissa and doug food sets that we have had laying around forever-no one will be excited. So should I get some kind of different food, maybe plastic? And maybe a set of pots and pans? I just don't know if they will play with it and if it will feel exciting to them at all (though I know it will be up to me as well, to play and engage with them, and I am more likely to do that if I actually have cool stuff to play with).
Also, all of a sudden they are into dollhouses. My oldest who is 10 wants one of those kits to build, which is perfect for her. Now the 2 and 5 year old are going to want to play dollhouse too-and older DD's house will be off limits. I am thinking Calico critters? We have never had them, but I strongly feel DDs would love them. If you can rec for/against Calico, please I would love feedback.
A few other things we have are: musical instruments, legos, blocks. Stuffed animals (darn them). Thats about it.
So if there anything you can recommend for 3 girls ages 2, 5 and 10 I would LOVE to know about it!
Sorry this turned out kind of long.

[lizzywednesday]

My 2 y/o likes things that "go" - trains, cars, airplanes - and has just gotten into playsilks in the last few months.

I bought her this LP/DC SuperFriends Wonder Woman toy over the summer:

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-L...+super+friends

She's also big on the building toys - blocks, DUPLO bricks, etc.

What we've started to work on with her is puzzles. She's just patient enough to do 24-piece puzzles with us, though I don't think she's quite up to doing one on her own yet.

She also likes to play with lacing beads; we have these sets by M&D (I store them in mesh lingerie bags from IKEA):

http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-D...lissa+and+doug

AND

http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-P...lissa+and+doug

I also just put a set of child-sized garden tools, snow shovel and push broom on her WishList; I saw them in a Montessori catalog because they had some promising reviews. (I figure that she will want to "help" a bit more now that she's a "big girl" so I might as well give her the tools to do it.)

Sorry I'm no help for your 5 & 10 y/os ... I'm terrible at shopping for girls.

[AnnieW625]

I totally thought I would not like them, but the Fisher Price Little People have been a huge hit with DD2, she has the airplane, the Nativity scene, and the Noah's Ark. She also loves her Lego Duplo blocks. She also likes to play with dolls, she has a FP soft doll, and a Corelle doll, they get about equal play. My girls go to daycare or school for 40 hrs. a week so I have never thought it was hugely necessarily to have a lot of toys, plus our house is really small so I don't want too many toys in the house. If it can't fit in the Trofast storage system (from Ikea) we don't have room for it. She also likes basic puzzles.

We also have had this in our back yard since DD1 was a year old and it has been a huge hit with us.
http://www.littletikes.com/kids-toys...ngalong-castle

I bought ours for $50 from a playgroup mom. I would check Craigslist. I kind of wish we had a play house as well, but we haven't gotten one yet.

We also love the Plasma Car and DD1 loves her razor scooter and bike.

[emily]

I have an almost 3 yo DS and 4.5 yo DD. We've had our play kitchen since DD was 1, and it still gets lots of love. We have this set plus a lot of Ikea play food.
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-Coo...rds=green+toys

I found one of these at Goodwill for $4. http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-S...=shopping+cart They check out their play food and whatever else they can find.
We also have one of these cash registers, http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resou...h+register+toy

We got one of these recently, http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10206883/. They both go in there and "read" stories to each other or just "hide" from mommy.

Art supplies. Give them some paper and crayons/markers (washable) and they're good for at least 20 - 30 minutes on their own.

[MamaMolly]

My 2 y/o likes things that "go" - trains, cars, airplanes - and has just gotten into playsilks in the last few months.

I bought her this LP/DC SuperFriends Wonder Woman toy over the summer:

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-L...+super+friends

Just FYI I just bought this for myself.

[cvanbrunt]

Dress up clothes! My 5 and 7 year old can go for hours putting on princess dresses, then leotards and tutus, cheap halloween costumes, etc.

[soon2b4]

Little People are a great idea - we have the house, airport, Noah's Ark, and garage. The house and garage get(/got for DD1) the most use. They should be of interest to your 2 and 5 yr. old and your 10 yr. old can help them learn to play with them, too. Might help with the dollhouse scenario.
I bought the airport and house off ebay, I believe. You just need to look over the pictures and descriptions carefully and decide what you are looking for.
I will think about other things...

[KDsMommy]

The Ikea play food is great.

Some other things:

Plasma car
scooter
bikes
Magnatiles
Imaginext sets
baby dolls and accessories - cradle, stroller, diaper bag, etc.
dress up clothes and shoes

[lovebebes]

thanks so much everyone, i will check out everything that has be rec'd.

i should also add that we had plasma car and got rid of it (no one wanted it-but also its been here forever so the kids are just over it, and baby DD is just not into it), also, ikea play food-we have it all and i swear the kids act like they are allergic to it, they just dont like it! Which is why i was thinking maybe of getting plastic food (would have not been my first choice!).

Magnatiles-I bought them and no one wanted to touch them. at all.

Art supplies- those i always want more of but wasnt really counting them in the "toys and play with" category...but we do love them!

Little People sound interesting, i will check them out first.

Oh, and dress up-middle DD LOVES to dress up so i am definitely getting her a couple of things, and now little dd has started asking to be a princess so i will get her her own little princess dress

keep the suggestions coming if you have them please!

[lovebebes]

oh yes, and puzzles sound like a great idea. we have one puzzle baby dd likes, which is charlie and lola. any specific puzzle recs for 2-3 year olds?