Toddler Gift Guide

Adorable Toddler Tree from Pottery Barn Kids

You know what's better than baby's first Christmas? Baby's second Christmas! Christmas with toddlers is so much fun! Their amazement and excitement at everything is just so magical.  While we try to focus on experiences and family traditions, of course they need a few gifts. These recommendations are 100% tried and true things our family loves. 

This first gift is a fan favorite in our house, we gifted it to our youngest for his first birthday, and all three kids love it! We are big fans of Tegu magnetic blocks, and this train and peg people are so much fun - magnets + cars + people + building blocks - how could you not love it?

This Boogie Board is an amazing "quiet" toy. The chunky "pens" are perfect for little hands. My babe started scribbling on ours around 10 months, the bigs also love them.

The Tomy Hide & Squeak eggs are fun,  and bonus they teach color and shape matching. They also make an excellent addition to a play kitchen. 

Hape makes excellent toys. They are unique, heirloom quality, and educational. We've had this one for over 6 years, and it's still well loved.

I know, I know, another fat brain toys pick - listen, they just make amazing toys. The squigz make excellent bath toys (for more of our favorite bath toys check out the baby gift guide),  great travel toys, and really are fun just about everywhere. I love open ended toys like this. 

The Lalaboom beads are another great find. My kids are always making different things with them.

We are huge fans of Grimms Toys as well, another beautiful heirloom quality, open-ended toy line, that spans a huge age range when it comes to play.

Grimms Cars from Pi Baby Boutique 

Grimm's Rainbow Friends From Pi Baby Boutique

Full disclosure - we do not own this, but have purchased it for our youngest who will be 17 months at Christmas, I know he will love it because he is always trying to play with the marble run at his grandparent's house. This way he can build and play without the choking hazards.

Lego Duplos are another amazing STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) toy. All of my kids love building.

Brain quest stacks are another of our favorite things, they start at age 2 and have pictures with simple questions to help kids identify objects, sizes, colors, and sequences. 

Every little needs a cuddly buddy! We love JellyCat - no matter what your child's favorite animal, JellyCat has a stuffy to fit the bill. I'm currently obsessing over this new JellyCat Tiger which comes in classic Bangle orange & this adorable white, both of which you can also buy at Pi Baby.

We also adore this Lion

Now for the big gifts. In our house Santa only brings stockings, we do this for 2 reasons; first we want our kids to appreciate the value of things, and that we work hard to give them the things they want. The second reason is more pure, when my first was just a baby I read a post by a teacher talking about how sad it was when kids would get embarrassed after Christmas hearing what Santa brought other kids, and then admitting they got necessities. So we told our son, and now all of our littles, that we told Santa to just bring them stockings, and use his money and workshop to bring toys to other children. They still see Santa, and can ask him for a small gift. This is something anyone can do, at any time, just give Santa a call and tell him the new rules of the house.

I think a Rocking Horse is a classic Christmas gift. One every child loves. This adorable horse from Pottery Barn Kids is currently in my garage waiting for Christmas so we can give it to our babe. All of my kids have loved this horse, and I finally decided it was time to bring him home. 

Pottery Barn Rocking Horse 

The Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair is another amazing gift. We gifted them to our first two kids for their first Christmases. These chairs are so durable! Our oldest played with his non-stop for the first five years, it was always some type of vehicle or house in one of his adventures. After almost eight years of  rough and tumble play, other than the handle being ripped, it is still in excellent condition. My daughter is a little milder, so her's still looks brand new, even though she uses it daily.

Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair

A classic wagon is a childhood must-have! Our first got his for his second Christmas and it has been well loved. I particularly love this model with the "all terrain tires" it's much easier to pull than a standard wagon. 

Strider Bikes are a must these days. I'm pretty sure I was 6, maybe 7 years old when I learned to ride a bike without training wheels. Our oldest was 3!!! Yes, 3! I credit the combo of having a strider bike and a traditional tricycle.

Speaking of tricycles, we love this Kettler one. I love that it has a handle and the wheels can be locked to use it as a stroller as well, so when your little gets tired on a ride, you can push them home. This trike is legit, three kids and it is still going strong - the paint hasn't even faded!

Play tables are another must have for childhood. We bought a kidkraft one 7 years ago and I cannot believe how well it has held up! Other than a few marker marks, it's good as new. 

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