It’s already mid-November, which means that it’s time to start thinking about Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and Christmas shopping for your family. You don’t want to wait until Christmas Eve to start looking for gifts for all of your loved ones (trust me!) The earlier you find gifts, the better! If you have a 2-year-old, have a 2-year-old niece, nephew, grandchild, or godchild, or simply know a 2-year-old, this is the list for you! Every toy on this list has been used and approved by my 2-year-old son! This is not a list of the newest, hottest toys of 2018, but a list of high quality, tried-and-true toys that will last for years to come. Here is a list of my son’s favorite toys of 2018:
VTech Touch and Learn Activity Desk Deluxe
My son got this as a gift from his grandmother (she loves anything VTech and educational) and he loves it! This is a great educational toy for under $50 for toddlers and preschoolers to learn about numbers, letters, play music, and use pages that have colors, animals, parts of the body, fruits, and more! My son loves to sit on his stool and play with this toy. It can even be flipped up and turned into an easel so that your toddler or preschooler can practice their writing, drawing, or scribbling abilities! This gift is best from 2 to 5 years old and if you love this toy or own one already, it can be supplemented with additional materials here
Fisher-Price Harley-Davidson Tough Trike
My son got this as a 2nd birthday present from his godmother. He loves it already even though he has a fall birthday, so it’s been too cold in Brooklyn to go outside with it and his feet cannot pedal the bike as yet. However, when Spring comes along, guess who’s going to be the cool boy strolling in the park with his bike? It is a bit of a pain to set up, but it’s worth it in the end when your toddler sits down on it and tries to peddle. This is best suited for ages 2 to 5 years old. A version for girls can be found here
Green Toys Mini Vehicle, 4-Pack
I bought these mini vehicles for my son because one day I saw him using one of his puzzle cars as a car! I wanted to buy him cars that were great for toddlers and did not come with any small parts. This exceeded my expectations because it also came from an ethical company that makes their toys in the United States from 100% recycled plastic milk jugs, with no BPA, phthalates, or PVC. Because of their light material, they also double as bath toys, so my son can have a fun bath every day!
Paw Patrol IONIX Jr. – Paw Patroller
My son got this present as a Christmas gift from a relative. He likes to roll the truck around the house and he also likes to stack the Lego blocks on top of each other. He likes to play with the dog as well. This toy is for children between ages one to five, so it would last a long time for toddlers and preschoolers. If your toddler or preschooler likes Paw Patrol, this is the toy for them.
Nickelodeon Fisher-Price Team Umizoomi Umirrific Umi Car
I bought the Fisher-Price Team Umizoomi Umi Car for my son for one of his 2nd birthday presents, because he loves the show, Team Umizoomi. When he opened his birthday present, he was very excited to see Millie, Geo, and Bot riding in Umi Car. He plays with Umi Car every day. This toy is best suited for ages 2 to 5 years old. Even though it’s a small car for the price since this is a discontinued item, if your child loves Team Umizoomi as much as mine, it is more than worth it to see how happy their face looks when they see their new toy.
Melissa & Doug Vehicles Wooden Peg Puzzle (8 pcs)
My son got three sets of puzzles from his grandmother, the shapes puzzle, a jungle animals puzzle, and the vehicles puzzle listed above. He really likes playing with his puzzles. Every day he asks for me to bring them out so that he can play with the puzzle pieces and scatter some of them around the room. Two things: first of all, it is pretty easy for kids to solve the puzzle because they have the image both on the puzzle piece and in the shape that the puzzle piece fits into and second of all, if your kid has not grown out of the mouthing phase, it’s not best to gift it as yet. My son got this at less than a year old and he tried to mouth some of the puzzle pieces! Otherwise, it’s a classic, durable gift.
Melissa & Doug 52 Wooden Alphabet Magnets in a Box – Uppercase and Lowercase Letters
I got these magnets for my son and he loves them. He is constantly playing with them on the fridge and singing the alphabet song. The only problem is that he loses them and now some of the letters are all over the house. Otherwise, they are great! You can get the alphabet set with numbers too here
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden ABC/123 Blocks Set With Storage Pouch (50 pcs; colors may vary)
I got these blocks for my son because he enjoyed playing with them at Toddler Time in the library. I love to watch him stack these blocks in towers of four and five until the blocks fall down. These are a classic toy that will last for years.
Kindle Fire 8 Kids Tablet
My son received the Kindle Fire 7 as a gift from his grandfather for Christmas. He really enjoyed using this to watch Little Baby Bum, Chu Chu TV, Bob the Train, and Dave and Ava on YouTube Kids. Then he graduated to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, where he is able to watch Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi, Blippi, and other preschool television shows. Recently, I downloaded Khan Academy Kids to his Kindle Fire recently, and he loves it. The Kindle Fire Kids is a great tablet for toddlers and preschoolers and if something happened to the Kindle Fire 7, I would definitely upgrade to the Kindle Fire 8 Kids.
LeapFrog AlphaPup
My son received this toy from a relative for Christmas. He really enjoys pressing the letters on the dog and dragging him all around the house to hear him sing the alphabet song and other songs. This toy is best fit for 1 to 3-year-olds, since the string is too short for kids older than that to pull around. You can get the girls version here.
Runner Up- Fisher-Price Think & Learn Spell & Speak Sea Turtle
I wasn’t sure whether to include this toy or not because it is better suited for ages 3 to 6. But this was a gift from his grandmother and he really enjoys listening to the turtle spell out the words on its shell and hears the sounds it makes. He also enjoys playing the games, even though he does not understand how to play them. When he gets a bit older, I think that it would be perfect for him to learn how to identify and spell words.
I hope that this helped your search for gifts for your 2-year-old for the holiday season!
Talk to you soon!
-CurlyBoyMama
Curly Boy Mama 