favorites in my house are lego, play kitchen, toy cars with car ramp, little people ( i have multiple sets and they use them for everything!) and i recently bought a whole doll set: stroller, high chair and play pen for dolls and my little dcg love them i try and steer clear of brand name things ie. thomas, spiderman, dora etc. and just stick to basic things. their imaginations will do the rest! i dont keep everything out at once....i rotate monthly and base it on my age group and what theme we are going with at that time...for example november was animals so play animals, farm houses, certain kitchen items, books and puzzles about animals, and lego