Thrifty toys

There are really a plethora of toys available for children nowadays, from colourful Lamaze stuff toys to all sorts of plasticky stuff that pop-up, make noises, and basically help to empty parents' wallets of their money. Some are nice, some are really good learning tools, but most of the good stuff usually is expensive. However, with a tight budget thanks to us being a single income family, I guess we are forced to be more creative in the toys we get for baby J.   So far, thrifty finds we've managed to glean were from places like Salvation army, various pasar malams (night markets), Daiso, as well as Ikea.  My mum has gotten very nice board books from Salvation army, and we got this colourful windmill (which we can use to teach colours) and ball from a pasar malam. The hubby says the ball looks like a virus, but I like the little nobs on it cos it makes it easier for tiny hands to grasp it. Then of course Ikea sells various interesting toys at reasonable prices, like the stacking cups at S$2.50, and Daiso is a treasure trove of stuff waiting to be discovered.

Just the other day, a 15 min jaunt into Daiso yielded these alphabet and number magnets, as well as various art and craft material, and everything costs just $2! Needless to say, I'll be headed to Daiso again for some more bargain hunting soon...