I think this gets said a lot around here, but I have long since stopped trying to make my child play with toys that please my aesthetic sensibilities. In fact the more garish the toy, the more he seems to enjoy it. Bath time toys, right now, are some tub crayons and an empty yogurt container that he LOVES.

Very cute toys but this did make me laugh - my bigger concern is hoping the bathroom itself looks clean rather than the design of my kids bath toys. Though maybe if I had these, it would offer a distraction from the toothpaste in the sink and the grungy shower curtain!

Those boon toys are crazy adorable!

Super cute. My mother just gave us kitchen utensils from the dollar store to play with in the tub. Measuring cups, turkey basters, colanders, ladles, etc.

HA! I hope I don't sound like I would prevent my kids from playing with "ugly" bath toys. I'm not that much of a tyrant. :-D

I learned my lesson when it comes to toys that let water inside! Eventually, stuff starts growing in them, and there's nothing you can do about it. My favorite bath toys are:

1) Really kitchen tools like spoons & measuring cups. A colander lets them drain and keeps them contained between baths. Your kid can practice measuring and pouring, and you don't have to worry about spills!

2) Schleich animals. They're not hollow, so you never have to worry about mold, and there are a number of aquatic themed ones like sharks, whales, seals, and penguins.

3) Foam shapes that stick to the tub when they're wet. They're like Colorforms for the tub!

Bonus: It's not really a toy, but shaving cream with a couple of drops of food color makes a fun finger paint. Spray one or two globs onto the wall, add a drop or two of color to each, and let your child smear it all around. When bath time is over, give the wall a quick wipe down with an already damp washcloth, and you get clean walls and a clean kid!

We have this tug boat and my nearly 2 year old loves it. Other toys that are hits and good for pre-literacy skills are the foam letters. And the biggest hit are those big chunky blocks for building while bathing and easy to clean.

Totally with Ulrikedg- foam shapes ROCK in the tub. Dump a thing of them in and watch kids go nuts sticking them to the walls. Tub crayons were my favorite growing up. Also, kid meal toys. They're cheap, usually ok to dump in water and no big deal if it breaks/ wears out.

To think- my favorite thing in the tub was my mom's old original Barbie dolls! She must have bit her lip so hard watching her little girl splish splash with what surely would be worth a pretty penny had I not gone for a few dips with them!

These ones are our favourite: http://www.booninc.com/products/Scrubble

Foam letters!

We have the Turtle Island set from Skip Hop. We don't get a lot of use out of the little floating foam "island", but my 16 month-old loves to fill the turtles up with water and squirt us with them.

We also have the ALEX toys Rub-a-dub Dirty dog set. The idea is for the bath water to wash off the "dirty" spots, but they don't really wash all the way off. Nevertheless, my daughter loves squirting the water out of their mouth, and they're made of a soft enough plastic that it's pretty easy to get all of it out.

Ulrikedg - I like the shaving foam idea, but wouldn't the food coloring stain grout? I have a hard enough time washing it from my hands, having dyed grout (in our all-white bathroom) sounds like an absolute nightmare.
I agree with you that a lot of bath toys can harbor yucky bacteria, but that's why you should have them soak in hot, soapy water once a week or run them through the dishwasher.

I have the octopus and it's one of my biggest toy regrets! It's an adorable toy that is completely useless, except for dumping water on the floor. The suction cup doesn't work at all (we've tried it on 3 different tub/tile combinations, forget it), two of the arms have no drainage so you can never completely empty the water, and it the water flows out of the other arms so fast you can't keep up! It's so cute, but mostly my kids like to fill it up with water and toss it out of the tub. Big toy fail!!!

We have the green toys tugboat and my kids love it. It's a nice multipurpose bath toy and it's held up really well. We also have some playmobil people and boats in the tub, but they're from the 123 toddler playmobil sets and not the ones for older kids. I can see all those tiny little hats and swim fins going right down the drain (and then getting stuck). Sad kids and plumbing issues, no thanks!