Baby Toys That Aren’t Ugly: Activity Centers, Exersaucers, Playmats, Swings

I have a severe distaste for obnoxiously colored baby toys. I mean not ALL baby toys, just the ones that have become furniture pieces in my home. They are so painful to look at and it’s not as if you need 1 piece in your house. You need 17 entertainers of some kind scattered about for you tiny baby who you’d do anything (or buy anything) for. From the moment I started designing our nursery and registering I have been looking for the most subtle options available. I’m on a mission to find baby toys that aren’t ugly.

I know babies like high contrast, and the colorful toys are good for their development. I’m not opposed to the actual toys being colorful but why does everything around them have to be so hideous?! Over the last year or so I’ve found several options that blend into our home (and don’t give me a headache looking at them) and I thought there HAD to be someone else out there who felt the same. So I’m helping you out. You absolutely can find beautiful baby toys… for the cost of your net family vacation. These are not those. These are the least hideous baby toys for a reasonable price.

Baby Gear That Isn’t Ugly: Activity Centers, Exersaucers, Jumpers, Playmats, and Swings:

I’m sticking with the big items here because those are what you really notice when you walk into the room. They might be a bit more expensive but I’m talking $15, not $150. Plus neutral colored baby items are also generally unisex so you don’t have to worry about buying multiple items in different colors if you have a girl and a boy. Most of these big items also come in matching colors and themes so you can coordinate the toys around the room so you don’t have 12 different characters and colors happening. One of my favorite brands for baby gear is Skip Hop. They have a happy medium between looking nice and still having color for baby’s development. Plus the characters and colors match our house so it works for us. Here are the ones we choose for our house (I mean baby) and a few other options that are neutral as well.

Activity Centers That Aren’t Ugly

There are so many options for activity centers; exersaucers, jumpers, walkers, etc., etc.. We went with this Skip Hop Activity Center because it combined all of those actions into one and it wasn’t massive and hideous. The bottom acts as the “jumper” because it isn’t stationary and they can wobble it and push off on it. It doesn’t bounce like your typical jumper but he still LOVES it. From the moment we put him in it, he can’t get enough. It also has a cute little keyboard on the bottom for when they are older to play with their feet and a viewing window so they can see the colors. Since our guy is too little to play that portion I added our Sassy suction cup toys to the activity center and he loves playing with everything. He just turned 4 months and spins to play with all the toys. This one also turns into an activity table when they outgrow the seat, which extends the life and better justifies a slightly higher cost!

Other exersaucers, jumpers, and activity centers that aren’t ugly:

 

Activity Gyms and Playmats That Aren’t Ugly

This is our Skip Hop playmat (I swear I don’t own stock in the company, though maybe I should!). There are definitely more neutral options below that are a bit more expensive but I like this one because it fits our house and was in our budget. Our living room is a cozy, lodge sort of look in dark brown, orange-red, sky blue, and green. This woodland theme mat fits the design and colors of our house and the nursery so I’m okay with a bit more color. It’s still incredible calm compared to most they carry in stores.

 

Here are some other more neutral activity gyms and playmats that aren’t ugly:

Baby Swings that aren’t ugly

This is our baby swing. It’s neutral in color and blends in nicely with our gray walls and white trim. I specifically chose it because it also doubles as a rocker. I wanted something I could move around the house while babe was sleeping and not wake him up. You can also get this same swing in a bouncer combo if your baby prefers a bouncer over a rocker. Ours wasn’t fond of the bouncer and that really wouldn’t serve the purpose we were after since you can’t carry a bouncer around with a baby in it. The toys on this swing are solid cream so not a lot of contrast but we use it for relax and nap time so I’d rather the toys not be overly colorful and attention grabbing. He still likes to look at them but doesn’t get crazy excited like he does in his activity center or on his playmat.

Here are a few other neutral baby swings that aren’t ugly:

You’re a parent, you know how it is. I love my baby more than anything in the world, I just don’t want to give up my entire grown-up home to toys that make my eyes bleed if I don’t have to. Tell me I’m not the only parent out there that just hates these hideous million color monstrosities. Seriously, baby companies expect us to lovingly display them in our home for years! At least a couple designers have figured out there is a market for baby gear that isn’t ugly. And a big THANK YOU to them!

Have any other suggestions on baby toys that aren’t ugly?

Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time,

XO,

Meg