Children's toys. My kids' picks and essentials. Toddler to elementary school age.
I don't like junky children's toys but don't mind used ones. Anything with a battery and dynamic is subject to strict censorship. I don't insist on using only one children toy at a time. My children tend to pull out everything at once, which leads to great mess and very imaginative play. They clean their room and put all toys back once a week.
Lego: a great children's toy. I have got our first basket of Duplo (large, baby-safe Lego blocks compatible with small original ones) when my daughter was fifteen month. It is still around (Lego is virtually undestructible), as well as several hundred of small pieces. When we moved, I collected a handful of Lego pieces left on the floor and put it in my pocket. It kept kids happy and occupied while their other toys were in transit. Original Lego is not baby safe. Lego-like children toys, like Building Bricks, are compatible with Lego. They are made of softer plastic and are frustratingly inferior.
Unit blocks: these are large wooden blocks shaped like bricks, cylinders, arches, and wedges. Obviously, unit block are compatible with other wooden blocks, as well as crate lids and spare shelves. My kids built towers taller than me in ever changing patterns.
Dolls and stuffed toys: all children seem to love baby dolls and cuddly animals between ages one and four. My daughter liked more girly dolls between four and six: one was an American Girl Hopscotch School doll and another a porcelain doll from the thrift shop. The porcelain hands broke off, but plastic joints are still OK. Dolls, animals, plastic action figures and small Lego men are used in endless and very complex role-play that typically includes building of a wooden block towers and Lego machines. I can mention cars as well: my little boys prefer metal cars, which fit in a fist.
Trains: a staple children's toy. All wooden railroads are compatible, some snap together better than others, and some have small beads glued on for joints. Watch for beads coming off. Wooden and plastic railroad by Thomas and Friends don't snap together, but have about the same track width. Children do use both toys together. They use wooden rails in building as well.
Magnets: decidedly not baby- or computer-safe children's toys. Fascinating, entrancing and absolutely magical. Magnet stones and strong ceramic magnets are as good as Magna sticks and balls. Bendo figurines are overpriced, but cool. My son found his Bendo man on a pavement! Rare-earth magnets are really strong: I have trouble pulling one off a fridge door. Not a good toy, but kids love them anyway.