I’ve been trying to be more intentional about going deep, not wide, with toys.
Instead of having a million completely different toys that each do one thing, I’d rather find something my daughter genuinely loves and build onto it. Fewer toy systems, more ways to play with what we already have.
And if there’s one toy collection that has completely sold me on this idea, it’s Fisher-Price Little People.
I started buying Little People when my daughter was just over six months old. At that point, “playing” mostly meant holding them, examining them, and of course chewing on their heads.
Money well spent.
Now, as she gets closer to a year and a half, I’m starting to see those very first signs of imaginative play. It’s still incredibly simple. She throws her Little People into a pool. She moves them from one basket to another. She brings them to the front door and has them knock.
But watching those tiny little stories start to happen is SO fun.
And that’s why I love this collection so much. These were toys she could enjoy at six months old, she’s finding completely new ways to use them now, and I can easily picture them still being a huge driver of imaginative play when she’s four or five.
So, if you’re also trying to buy fewer toys and invest more deeply in the ones your child actually plays with, these are the Little People sets we currently own and love.
Fisher-Price Little People Caring for Animals Farm
The Little People farm was our very first Little People purchase, and I would buy it a hundred times over. It’s just perfect.
The animals are great for practicing animal names and sounds, and all the little stalls give her plenty of opportunities to practice putting things in and taking them back out.
When we first got it, my daughter’s favorite activity was pulling every single animal out of the farm I had so nicely organized for her.
Thanks, girl.
Now she’s starting to put them back into the stalls herself, and it’s so fun seeing how her play with the exact same toy has already changed.
And then there’s the chute.
Little People can go down it. Balls can go down it. Random objects from around our house can go down it. If she discovers that something fits, down the chute it goes.
And somehow, the excitement when those doors pop open at the bottom never ceases to amaze us.
This is the set that really made me realize how much life we could get out of Little People. Right now we’re learning animals, filling stalls, and sending everything we own down a chute. A few years from now, I can picture her running an entire imaginary farm.
If you’re starting with one Little People set, make it this one.
Shop the Fisher-Price Little People Caring for Animals Farm (Amazon)
Fisher-Price Little People Barbie Little DreamHouse
The Barbie Little DreamHouse was one of her big first birthday gifts, and when she came downstairs and saw it, her eyes got HUGE.
Immediately, I was like, okay, nailed it.
There is so much to look at and explore. There’s a slide that goes straight into the pool, an oven and fridge that open, and even a bathroom with a toilet that actually makes flushing sounds.
And possibly most importantly for the parents: it has just the right amount of noise.
It plays a little song here and there, but it’s not one of those toys where you’re sitting on the couch five minutes later thinking, Wow. You’re still singing. Great.
Right now, she mostly throws people into the pool, sends them down the slide, and brings them over to the front door.
Everyone is apparently just coming over to go swimming.
But this is one where I can REALLY see the imaginative play that’s coming. Putting people to bed, cooking dinner, having people visit each other, making up entire little stories. I think this house is only going to get better as she gets older.
Trust me, this little house is worth making room for.
Shop the Fisher-Price Little People Barbie Little DreamHouse (Amazon)
Fisher-Price Little People Barbie Convertible
As a Barbie girl myself, obviously Barbie needed a car to go with her house.
The Barbie Convertible is much simpler than the DreamHouse, but honestly, that’s what I like about it.
Throw two Little People in, press the button for a cute little tune, and off they go.
It’s also PERFECT for the stage we’re in right now because she loves crawling around while pushing toys across the floor. It’s simple enough that she can completely control the play herself.
Right now, she’s pushing it around the house. Eventually, Barbie will be driving to the farm, picking up friends, going to the DreamHouse, and probably getting involved in whatever elaborate storyline my daughter comes up with that day.
Because obviously Barbie needs a car to go with her house.
Shop the Barbie Convertible (Amazon)
Fisher-Price Little People Forest Friends
I originally bought this set because I wanted more animals for us to practice naming.
We already had all the classic farm animals, but how many opportunities do you really get to casually teach your baby what a fox or a raccoon is?
This set gives us a little more variety, while still fitting perfectly into the Little People collection we already have.
My personal favorite is the raccoon.
My daughter, however, seems equally committed to the mole.
To each their own.
I especially like that buying these doesn’t feel like adding another completely separate toy to our house. They immediately work with everything else. They can visit the farm, ride in the car, go to the DreamHouse, or get shoved onto the school bus with everyone else.
Exactly what I want when we’re trying to go deep instead of wide.
A few more adorable little faces to add to your collection.
Shop the Fisher-Price Little People Forest Friends (Amazon)
Fisher-Price Little People School Bus
Just like the Barbie Convertible, the Little People School Bus is perfect for the crawling-and-pushing stage.
But this one comes with an additional challenge:
How many Little People can we fit on this bus?
We take this challenge very seriously in our house.
Sometimes the bus is so full that we’re stacking Little People one on top of another because apparently everyone needs a ride. Personal space does not exist here.
I also love that the door actually opens, so she can load everyone in, take everyone back out, and repeat the process approximately 700 times.
And then there’s the big red button.
It makes noise. It’s huge. It’s red. You basically HAVE to push it.
Right now, she’s loading people in, opening and closing the door, pushing the button, and driving everyone around the house. Eventually, I can see this turning into school drop-offs, field trips, trips to the farm, and whatever else she decides her tiny passengers need to do that day.
Again, we didn’t have to introduce an entirely new toy. We just found another way for her to play with all the Little People she already owns.
Go ahead, push the big red button. You know you want to.
Shop the Fisher-Price Little People School Bus (Amazon)
Fisher-Price Little People Super Mario Figure Set
Full disclosure: this one was more for me.
I love Nintendo, and the old Mario games are the real key to my heart. So when I saw Mario characters as Little People, obviously they were coming home with us.
Luckily, my daughter loves them too.
Toad’s perfectly round mushroom head is apparently the ideal shape to get licked all over.
Mario and Luigi are both favorites, but please don’t tell Mario this: I’m pretty sure Luigi is the main character to my daughter.
And Bowser might technically be the scary bad guy, but in our house he’s just a dangerous-looking-but-actually-nice-and-cuddly friend.
I also genuinely enjoy playing with these. I get to act out ridiculous little scenes with characters I grew up loving, while my daughter joins in with her own interpretation of events which currently involves a lot more licking than the original Mario storyline.
As she gets older, I think this set is only going to become more fun for both of us.
This one’s technically for the kids, but I won’t judge if it’s for you.
Shop the Fisher-Price Little People Super Mario Figure Set (Amazon)
Why I’d Rather Go Deep Than Wide With Toys
This is exactly why I’m becoming such a fan of building onto toy collections instead of constantly buying something completely new.
- The farm animals can ride the school bus.
- Mario can live in the Barbie DreamHouse.
- The woodland animals can go down the farm chute.
- Luigi can take Barbie’s car.
There are no rules and that’s kind of the point.
Every Little People set we add gives her more ways to play with everything she already owns instead of becoming another toy that serves one purpose and eventually gets forgotten at the bottom of a bin.
At six months, she chewed on their heads.
At a year and a half, they’re knocking on doors and going swimming.
And at four or five? I have a feeling the stories are going to get very interesting.
If going deep instead of wide means fewer toys in my house and more imaginative play out of the ones we own, I’m sold.
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