Toddler Gift Guide

Toddlers have always been my favorite age group – there are so many wonderful things about this age, BUT they’re so hard to shop for. Let’s be honest, most toddlers would much rather play with the box the gift is wrapped in! Here are some ideas that just might be winners for the toddler on your list this year. Just a reminder, these are affiliate links so I may receive a percentage of the sale, but I really do love and endorse these products.

I still find this rainmaker fascinating as an adult, so it makes perfect sense to me that toddlers love it too. The noise is soothing, but little ones can shake it to make it a little louder too. There are so many different pieces and parts to watch that you could stare at it forever, totally mesmerized – and they will too!

I am so impressed with the toys that Skip Hop has released over the last year. These are fun for little ones and their grown-ups! The play food in this waffle set is high quality, and the monkey face is a great touch too. The price point on these sets is perfect for gifting two or three – there’s also a smoothie maker, pizza set, and ice cream stand.

Toddlers LOVE to shove random things into bags and carry them around – it makes them feel grown up and important. These plush backpacks are so cute, and sized just right for a toddler. They come in 26 different designs, so there’s an option for every little one on your list!

Soft dolls will always be on my list of things to buy for toddlers, and these are top-notch. Playtime by Eimmie Rag Dolls come in 9 different varieties – both boys and girls, and a number of different ethnicities. These dolls look just like the little ones who’ll be playing with them, and that makes it easy for toddlers to think of these dolls as friends.

Rosie Greening is a literary genius. You’re welcome to fight me on this! Seriously though, all of her books in this series have cute little rhymes and they BEG children to touch the pages and be involved in the stories. Every single one is cute and they’re sure to be favorites – plush they’re really durable!

A letter puzzle is a classic gift, and Sesame Street is still universally loved, but my favorite thing about this puzzle is that these wonderful people have solved the number one problem with kids’ puzzles. They put it in a carrying case that can be snapped closed. All of the pieces snap into place, making it really easy for a child to tell if they’ve got the letter in the right place, and there’s a picture associated with each letter so that parents can help children start to make connections with beginning sounds. There’s even an opening in the case to spell words with the pieces. Excellent design and fun product.

Melissa and Doug dress up sets are both high quality and affordable – which is really hard to find! They have so many different options available, but the doctor is my first choice because it comes with the extra tools that little ones need to play pretend. Toddlers learn about their world by acting out what the adults around them are doing, and to a toddler, going to the doctor is a BIG deal. Being able to take on that role themselves is really powerful!

This is such a creative take on a remote control vehicle! The alien is adorable, the spaceship lights up, AND the blue ring around the outside acts as a bumper, so there’s no damage to cabinets and furniture when little ones inevitably drive it right into them. While remote controls can be really hard for this age, younger ones will be just as entertained chasing the spaceship around while an adult navigates the controls, and this remote is designed to be as simple as possible.

If there’s one thing that toddlers have plenty of, it’s energy. Finding ways to burn some of that energy, especially in the winter, is every parent’s goal. The best thing about these hopper balls is that they’re low to the ground, so when a toddler bounces themselves right off of it, there won’t be any significant damage (as long as they’re supervised and in a safe environment of course)! This version comes in 5 colors, but this same brand also offers a number of different character versions too.

There’s something about dot markers that little ones just can’t resist! This set comes with 8 colors of marker, 3 activity books to use them with, and most importantly – a paint smock. When an art set comes with a smock you know it’s been designed well!

The most important thing to remember when it comes to holiday gifts for toddlers is that their attention spans are not long – even if they don’t appreciate the gift when they open it, it just might become their favorite thing ever over the next month or so. Parents of toddlers LOVE to have plenty of options available, so anything that you choose will be helpful!