This post includes my favorite Holiday Gifts for Toddlers. My holiday gift guide is perfect for 18-month to 3-year-old children.
My little boy turned 2 years old over the weekend. He is incredibly sweet, gentle and observant. I never want to forget his personality and things that he loves at this exact stage so I thought this would be the perfect time to share a post with my suggested holiday gifts for toddlers.
Since C’s birthday and Christmas are close together, this is the time of year when I spend the most effort thinking about what C likes. It helps that this is an epic time of year for sales too. Most of the items on this list are toys that C loves playing with or was recently gifted. There are a few items I am waiting to give him for Christmas that I think he is going to love.
This post includes affiliate links for your convenience. Images via Amazon.
Betty Crocker Play Food
My son’s grandparents gifted him this Betty Crocker Play Food Set for his birthday, and he couldn’t get it out of the package fast enough. C loves his play kitchen and pretending to make/eat food. This play food set comes with 85 small food items. I think it’s so funny that it comes with packaged food, like a box of yellow cake mix. I know my son is going to love playing with this food set and pushing vegetables around the house in his grocery cart.
Wooden Advent Calendar
I actually bought this Melissa & Doug Wooden Advent Calendar for C last year and enjoyed helping him add the ornaments to his tree. As a brand new one year old, I was concerned about the size of the ornaments being a choking hazard so I kept the calendar on a high shelf. This year I think C is going to love playing with the magnetic ornaments.
Sesame Street Sticker Book
We are obsessed with stickers in our house, but I have a hard time finding them in large enough packages. Stickers are silly expensive too, for what you get in a small package {I’m looking at you Target}. This Sesame Street Sticker Book for Kids includes 350 stickers. I’m planning to add this to C’s stocking and I know he will love it, since Sesame Street is one of his favorite things.
Wooden Alphabet Magnets
Earlier this fall our refrigerator unexpectedly quit working properly so we replaced it. It’s a stainless steel refrigerator so I assumed it wasn’t magnetic – until a few weeks ago! Apparently stainless steel can vary in how magnetic it is. Our last fridge wasn’t, but this one holds a magnet well. Once I realized this I ordered C the Melissa & Doug Wooden Alphabet Magnets in a Box. I appreciate that these magnets are made of wood instead of plastic, and the back of each letter/number is a full magnet so I don’t need to worry about tiny magnetic pieces breaking off. The best part is the magnets come in a reusable box, which I hope means we can avoid losing them/me finding them all over the house. This is probably wishful thinking.
Learning Tablet
C’s grandparents gifted him the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Tablet for his birthday. He is obsessed. As soon as I finished helping him open the present, he was trying to pull the tablet out of the box and pushing the buttons. I love that this tablet has three stages, for different levels of development. It includes the alphabet, plays music, etc. C immediately started dancing when pushing the “music” button. We don’t give C independent access to our iPad or much screen time so I think this tablet is going to be a savior for long car trips this holiday season.
Santa’s Sleigh with Reindeer
C’s auntie Sarah gifted him the PLAYMOBIL Santa’s Sleigh with Reindeer set for his birthday. It includes Santa, a Christmas tree, Santa’s sleigh, a few reindeer and presents. This is super cute and would be a really fun pre-Christmas gift. Sarah knows how much I love Christmas and the holiday season… I’m excited that my son is going to begin to understand this year.
Pete the Cat Stories
We have had the Pete the Cat: 5 Minute Pete Stories book since C was a young baby. He has recently been really excited about Pete the Cat and takes a stuffed Pete to bed with him. This book is great because it includes 12 stores in one hardcover book.
Kitchen Helper Stool
The birthday gift I was most excited to give C was a Kitchen Helper Stool. I ordered it from Target because the shipping was faster, but it’s also available on Amazon. The Kitchen Helper has four sides for safety and is very sturdy. Within one day C figured out how to climb onto and off the stool by himself. I’m excited for him to “help” in the kitchen and make cookies this Christmas.
Musical Instrument Set
The childcare C goes to offers weekly music glasses. He LOVES music. His childcare teachers tell us that he’s the best participant in class, knows all of the moves to songs, etc. To help him play music at home I ordered this 16 Piece Musical Instrument Set for Kids. I am impressed with the quality of these little kid instruments! There are many wood pieces, and everything seems very sturdy. So far, the bells have been the biggest hit. This instrument set also comes with a high-quality clear plastic suitcase to pack up your music for the night.
I’m Celia. I live in the Chicago area. I'm a mama of two, runner, business owner and former Iowan. My blog includes recipes, fitness and travel posts, and stories about Chicago.
