Gift Ideas and Toy Recommendations for Two-year-olds
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This list is based on my personal opinion and experience and is not medical advise in any form. If you have any question or concerns regarding your child’s development, reach out to your primary care provider.
It is that time of the year again, where everyone is starting to think about what to get their kids for Christmas. With the magnitude of toys that are out there it can be very overwhelming to figure out what toys to get for your kids.
I have put together a list with some of the best gift and toy ideas for toddlers to make it easier for you to find fun and engaging toys for your kids. All of the toys and gifts listed below, we either own ourselves or I have used them with kids during my time as a nanny and preschool teacher. Everything you will find here are gifts I can genuinely recommend for your toddler.
The Development of 2-year-olds
This gift guide is generally targeted towards two-year-olds. Because every child is different and develops at their own speed, some of the items listed may also be great for kids 3-years and older. Some toddlers may also already enjoy these gifts at a younger age. All toys are picked to foster your kids development through play.
A few things children (not all, remember every child’s development is unique!)at the age of two are developmentally working on:
Social emotional: At 2 years old, toddler start to learn how to interact with the people around them. You will often find them imitating and coping other children and adults. They also love to explore their independence and are learning empathy.
Language: You will notice your toddler is starting to form short sentences and learning multiple words each day. They can follow and understand simple instructions (if they chose to! You moms out there know what I am talking about).
Physical development: 2-year-olds are working on improving their running, climbing and jumping. They can throw and roll a ball and are getting better with their gross and fine motor skills.
A few thoughts about toys for kids
1. Longevity
I prefer getting my children toys that will last for a while and are suitable for a wider age range. This is not always possible of course, my 4-year-old has no interest in doing her brothers 5 piece puzzle. But generally, I try to stick with items that will last for a while.
2. Battery operated toys
For me personally, I cannot stand noisy light up toys. They drive me insane and I find them too overstimulating for my children (and myself). I also think they really take the creativity out of play and don’t engage children as much as open-ended ‘old school’ and simpler toys do.
This doesn’t mean we do not own any battery operated toys, but I really try limiting them. If you love battery powered toys for your kids, that is absolutely fine.
3. Toys are for everyone, no matter the gender
This is a point I am very passionate about. Toys are for everyone! Boys are allowed to love dolls and barbies, girls are allowed to like playing with cars and diggers and superheroes.
Assigning toys to a specific gender takes away so many learning opportunities from children. Toys are tools which help children learn through play. A wide range and variety of toys means more learning and development opportunities.
Baby dolls are a great way to practice empathy and taking care of others, why would we want to take that away from boys!?
So long story short, you will never see me post a gender specific gift and toy guide for many reasons (this deserves its own post some day).
Toys & Gifts for TOddlers
Board Games and Puzzles
HABA Building Site
This is the perfect game to introduce your toddler to board games. It is very easy to understand and provides the opportunity for children to learn taking turns and the basics of board games.
The sneaky, snacky squirrel game
The sneaky, snacky squirrel game is a fun game for toddlers that can pay attention to a game for a bit longer.
It is also a great game for learning colors.
Monkey around
Monkey around is the perfect first game for active toddlers on a rainy day.
Children draw cards and copy the action pictured, either alone or together with a parent or friend.
4 in a box, animals of the world puzzle
Puzzles offer many benefits to children and promote the development of a wide range of skills, such as problem-solving, hand-eye coordination, concentration, fine-motor skills, confidence and more.
I love puzzle sets that contain puzzles at different difficulty levels. This makes them long lasting and your toddler can try the next difficulty as soon as they have mastered a puzzle.
Pretend Play
Pretend play is a crucial part of toddler development. Using their imagination they re-create and copy familiar routines, like cooking dinner, and re-create scenarios they see frequently, such as talking on the phone.
Children learn a variety of important skills from pretend play, including thinking skills, social skills, language development, regulating their emotions, self-control and more.
Below are some great toys to support your toddler in their imaginative play.
Le Toy Van - Wooden Doctor Set
Manhattan Toy Company - Hairstyling and Barber Set
Hape - Wooden Tool Set
Learning Resources - Play Cash Register
Melissa & Doug - Toddler Cleaning Set
KidKraft - Wooden Play kitchen
Magnetic Wooden Cutting Fruit Set
This fruit cutting set is awesome. Instead of velcro holding the pieces together, the fruit pieces are held together by magnets. That makes it so much easier for little kids to actually ‘cut’ the fruits and vegetables.
Manhattan Toy Co - Baby Doll Stella
Vehicles and accessories
Melissa & Doug - Car Carrier With Cars
Melissa & Doug - Service Station Parking Garage
Green Toys - Construction Vehicle Set
Building and Constructing
Playing with blocks and other toys for constructing and building offers so many learning opportunities for toddlers. Besides the obvious training of their motor skills, they learn important problem-solving skills, math skills, foster imagination and creativity, improve self-expression and more.
Lego Duplo
Lego Duplo may not be the most affordable option for building blocks. But I guarantee you it is SO worth it. They provide endless hours of open ended play, last forever and are enjoyed by a wide age range of children.
There are so many sets out there, I linked a few of our favorites below: Town Truck and Excavator, Starter set with box, Wild animals of the ocean, Fire station, Dinosaur nursery, Daycare center.
Melissa & Doug - Wooden Block Set
Magna Tiles
Tomy John Deere - Build a Tractor
Play-Doh - Starter Set and 10 Pack
Doll houses, Animals and CO
Doll houses and little people and animal figures are an amazing tool in fostering imaginative and open-ended play. They are also great for developing fine-motor skills, spatial reasoning and supporting emotional and social development.
Playmobil 1.2.3 - Family House
My two year old as well as almost 5 year old love this doll house. It is very simple, with large pieces and figures, which makes it perfect for small toddler hands. Kids love re-enacting little scenarios out of their everyday life. I cannot recommend this enough!
There are also a variety of add-ons like this playground.
Safari Animal Figures
Learning Resources - Farm Animals
Perfect toys for calming down & Quiet time
Tonie Box
If you haven’t heard of Tonie boxes yet, you HAVE TO check it out. We have two of them in our house and we use them every single day! Children love the little Tonie characters and that they are able to change audio books and songs independently. It makes them feel in charge and control, which toddlers love.
HABA - Magnetic Maze
The HABA magnetic maze is the perfect toy for practicing patience, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and focus. It’s also a great activity to take to restaurants so your kids are occupied and you can enjoy your meal in (semi-) peace.
Books
You cannot go wrong with books. The benefits of reading books with and to your child are endless. For our favorite seasonal books take a look at my book recommendations.
Hello World! books
A book series my kids and I absolutely love are the Hello World! books. Beautiful illustrations printed on sturdy board book pages with easy to understand information about a certain topic.
My kids not only enjoy reading these over and over they have also learned a ton of facts about dinosaurs, the weather, rainforests, the arctic and more.
Here are our current favorites: Weather, Ocean Life, Solar System, My Body, Planet Earth
Little People, Big Dreams
The Little People, Big Dreams series is another all-time favorite in our house. The kids love the illustrations and learning about different important people. The board books are perfect for young toddlers, paperback are great for older toddlers, as they contain more information and a longer story.
A few of our favorite books out of this series: Charles Darwin, Amelia Earhart.
Gifts for active toddlers
Toddlers are generally very energetic and love to practice their gross motor skills.
I am so glad to have some toys that get all the toddler energy out, because there is not enough coffee in this world to keep up with that! So having a few toys to get them tired is crucial.
Balance Board
Micro Mini -Scooter
Strider - Balance Bike
Little Tikes -Trampolin
Green Toys - Pull Wagon
I’d love to hear some of your toy recommendations for 2-year-olds in the comments.
Have fun shopping and gifting :)
xx
References
100 Toys (2023): Doll’s house play and why it matters. URL: https://www.onehundredtoys.com/dolls-houses-guide/ (last visited: 10/16/2023).
Aussie Childcare Network (2022): The importance of puzzles in early childhood. URL: https://aussiechildcarenetwork.com.au/articles/teaching-children/importance-of-puzzles-in-early-childhood (last visited: 10/15/2023).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023): Important Milestones: Your Child By Two Years. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-2yr.html (last visited: 10/16/2023).
GenderTrust.org.uk, Gina (2020): Should toys be gender specific? URL: http://www.gendertrust.org.uk/should-toys-be-gender-specific/ (last visited: 10/16/2023).
National Association for the Education of Young Children (2015): Ten things children learn from block play. URL: https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/mar2015/ten-things-children-learn-block-play (last visited 10/16/2023).
Stanford Health Parenting Services (2021): ‘Pretend play’ is important to kids’ development. URL: https://news.sanfordhealth.org/parenting/pretend-play-is-important-to-kids-development/ (last visited: 10/15/2023).
UNICEF Parenting: Your toddler's developmental milestones at 2 years. URL: https://www.unicef.org/parenting/child-development/your-toddlers-developmental-milestones-2-years#social-and-emotional (last visited: 10/16/2023).
