Anonymous wrote:

The Melissa and Doug ice cream set. Both of my kids (4 and 2) love this thing. And when other kids come over to the house, it's like moths to a flame. It has subsequently been licked by every child in the DMV area, but hey, that's what lysol wipes are for.

I wouldn't characterize these toys as something I wouldn't have thought to buy, but our collection of various Melissa and Doug food sets (cookies, veggies and bread, ice cream, cup cakes), were probably the most played with toys my 3 kids ever had.

Elsa and Anna figures that are similar to Barbies for my 3 year old. She sleeps with them and they have whole conversations. DS loves his Woody stuffed doll. He sleeps with it and snuggles.

Randomly a minion blanket. My kids don’t even know what minions are. But the blanket is their favorite and it goes everywhere.

Anonymous wrote:DS got a stomp rocket as a birthday present when he turned 4. Looked like cheap peace of junk to my untrained eye , but he loves/loved it. Two year later and he still likes to pull it out the garage several times a year to play with - and I ended up buying more rockets for him. Does go surprisingly high.

+1 DS LOVED them and it even brought the teenagers from across the street over to join in. He was thrilled that the "big kids" wanted to play with his toys.

My mom got my 10 month old DD an assortment of large stuffed sports balls from the dollar store - a stuffed basketball, football, baseball, and soccer ball. I don't buy stuffed toys, they just seem useless, and they're kind of bulky and I don't fully get why she needs four of them. But she *loves* each one. First she just liked hugging them, now we play catch and she's super into throwing them and squealing. The most random things seem to stick.

Anonymous wrote:A light that you clip on to the toilet that turns on when you walk into the bathroom at night. #3 boys love it and has helped the aim problems at night. Who knew the disco potty as the boys call it would mean less cleaning for me!

I need to get this for DH

The Melissa and Doug ice cream set. Both of my kids (4 and 2) love this thing. And when other kids come over to the house, it's like moths to a flame. It has subsequently been licked by every child in the DMV area, but hey, that's what lysol wipes are for.

SKLZ Pro Mini Basketball Hoop

Whoonu (my college age kids still want to play it)

portable charger for phone

yet another charger (you never have too many actually)

really, really, really soft throw blanket (but please nothing ugly, go with neutral color)

Walkie talkies -they lend them to neighborhood friends and talk to each other

Some neighbors got my kid an octopus blanket, and now she sleeps with it every night. We ended up buying a second one so we can alternate and wash them.

These have also been big hits:

https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-15949-Mozart-Magic-Cube/dp/B00HQ0WAJG/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=kids+music+cube&qid=1576852485&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Hape-Pound-Bench-Slide-Xylophone/dp/B00712O2D6/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3LCL6GHAXE34U&keywords=hape+xylophone+with+balls&qid=1576852510&sprefix=hape+xylo%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-2

DS got a stomp rocket as a birthday present when he turned 4. Looked like cheap peace of junk to my untrained eye , but he loves/loved it. Two year later and he still likes to pull it out the garage several times a year to play with - and I ended up buying more rockets for him. Does go surprisingly high.

A light that you clip on to the toilet that turns on when you walk into the bathroom at night. #3 boys love it and has helped the aim problems at night. Who knew the disco potty as the boys call it would mean less cleaning for me!

A fuzzy Doc McStuffins blanket. She likes it so much that it's replaced her bedspread. She carries it around the house all the time.

My mother got my kid a huge marshmallow soft stuffed lion. My kid is five, and he’s never even really like stuffed animals, so I never would have bought it. But the two of them, my kid and the lion, have totally bonded.

a microphone shaped like a giraffe -- she loves it! (2 yrs old)
A kids tent/sleeping bag combo

With all the negativity about unwanted presents, let's have a positive thread.

What's a present that someone else bought your kid that you would never have bought (either because you wouldn't have expected your kid to like it or because you wouldn't have wanted it in your house) but that your kid turned out to LOVE!

Mine:

Small inflatable bounce house. Not as much of a PITA as I expected. Very fast to inflate and deflate. Easy to put away. A huge hit with both our kids and others.

A big rubber octopus. I have no idea why, but our kids and other kids love it. It doesn't do anything, it doesn't seem that cool. But it's very popular.

A small soft foldout couch (about the length of a three or four year old). Used in many ways for various games and, occasionally, for actual resting.