Gift Ideas for 2-Year-Olds
Is it approaching a special occasion for that certain, little person in your life? Are you out of ideas? Let our guide full of gift ideas for 2-year-olds help you!
When you’re considering buying a gift for a 2-year-old, it can perhaps feel like you’re buying a lot of plastic rubbish that will be thrown away after a short time. Maybe you struggle with not wanting to buy something that the parents don’t want. If you’re looking for gift ideas for a 2-year-old, a great place to start is to consider gifts where they aren’t just used once and discard kind of toy. You can easily find things for this age group that double as learning and development tools too! Which is a great tip to keep in mind.
Read on for our guide of gift ideas for those 2 year olds in your life.
Bath Toys
I never met a 2-year-old who didn’t LOVE bath time, so bath toys would be a great place to start as far as a great gift idea for a 2-year-old whatever your budget! Yes, some bath toys may have a bigger price tag, but simple bath toys like this bath basketball set, this bumper bath toy pack and these floating turtles are all bright and entertaining for little ones while also being at the cheaper end of the budget!
But if you want to splash (pardon the pun) the cash a little, you can also find some super fancy bath toy options like this magical duck race fountain which I’m sure would have any 2-year-old giggling with delight. Also, this multifunctional, elephant, bath toy would be amazing to keep them entertained for longer periods of time!
Building and Balancing Gifts
Gifts that fit into the building and balancing category are not only great for gifting, but they’re amazing for developing a toddler’s hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Win, win! So what are some great build or balance gifts for a 2-year-old?
This pack of bright, rainbow coloured, building blocks are a fantastic place to start when it comes to building blocks. They’re simple, easy and have extra pieces for a 2 year old to explore creating even more shapes and testing which surfaces will balance or not.
Another great option will always be Lego’s younger kid version, Duplo. They’re bigger, chunkier, and easier for little hands to grab hold of and click together.
And on the balance front, some simple, chunky, wooden, balance stones can be a great option for 2-year-olds, because they’re eye-catching, but also very simple to work with.
Another balance option that toddlers also love are these wooden, balance games. They often include balancing a bunch of animals on a base point, which always makes for a giggle when they fall! It also opens up the discussion around animal names and sounds too!
Sensory Play
Sensory play is vital for a child’s development. They can learn so much from touch, smell, taste, hearing, and seeing how all of these things interact. This is why sensory play gifts are an amazing idea for a 2-year-old.
If you haven’t already heard of the treasure basket, you need to learn right now! These baskets/boxes/collections of ‘bits and bobs’ that are different textures, materials and make different sounds are perfect for sensory development in our little ones. Made up of simple items like wooden spoons, pieces of fabric, pine cones, coconut shells, and other differently shaped and textured items, they really are a treasure trove of entertainment and development.
Another winner in the sensory play department is a tuff tray. Seemingly simple, it’s a tray that is almost flat, but has small sides. It can be mounted onto legs so it can be stood at. Once you have a tuff tray, you can create a whole world of messy play and tuff tray set ups. From dirty, dinosaur sensory play to Ooblek. A tuff tray is a hard one to beat for endless play options.
Open-Ended Play
You may or may not have heard of the open-ended play movement. Simply put, it’s buying toys without faces/characters/electric sounds and without too much of a pre-written character or context.
Companies like Grimms wooden toys and Grapat create very basic, but stunning, wooden shapes that can be used in any story or world a child imagines in their head. The idea is that by not limiting your child to the story already in motion by the toy they receive, they’re then able to use their imagination and adapt their toys to whatever story they’re creating at that moment.
This is a really good way to develop imagination, thinking and creativity.
While prices for these toys are often more, due to the high quality of the wood and workmanship, you can find pieces at each end of the budget, if you look well! At the lower end of the budget, you could buy a little set such as these Grapat Rainbow Tomtens, or you could really splash the cash on one of the very popular Grimms Wooden Rainbows.
The wooden rainbows are an incredible piece of equipment for open-ended play, as they can be a rainbow, a house, a hotel, a mountain, a burrow… whatever your child imagines! If your 2-year-old has older siblings, they will enjoy the balance challenges you can do with the Grimms rainbow too.
Active Play Gifts
Something that’s great for kids of any age, is of course gifts that keep them active and moving. At 2 years old that’s pretty much what they do all day anyway, so why not buy something for them to have some active fun with?
At the higher end of the budget, you could buy one of these Pikler triangle setups that are made for use indoors. It’s easy to get active toys for outside, but we often feel restricted by indoor options. This one is great, and you can often find the individual pieces for sale, so. You can keep it as small or big as you want.
Another indoor option for keeping your 2-year-old active is a Wobbel board. These boards of curved in shape, and can be used to keep super active little ones entertained, and working on their balance while indoors.
At the lower end of the budget, we have some options like an indoor football net-type game, where they can have a mini-game and be rewarded with bright lights and sounds.
Outdoor Toys
An oldie, but a goodie. And for good reason!
Outdoor toys are not just great gifts, but they are also a good way to encourage our little ones to play outside. Fresh air and nature are fantastic for health and development, as well as teaching children to appreciate the Earth. So let’s talk about some great, outdoor toy gifts.
If you have a big budget, you may want to consider a mud kitchen! These days you can get some absolutely stunning ones, but if you’re lacking the budget, you can do your own DIY one with bits and bobs you have hanging around. Children will love making mud pies, and flower potions to their heart’s content.
More great outdoor toy options are a trampoline for both keeping active and keeping them entertained for hours, or a little playhouse for some sweet games of make-believe.
If you want to invest in some outdoor toys, but you’re lacking the budget, you can find great toys like the classic Little Tikes Coze Coupe, a see-saw, a scuttle bug or maybe even a paddling pool if it’s the right time of year!
An Extra Tip for gift buying on a Budget
If you’re looking for a gift and you’re struggling to come up with the budget, consider checking Facebook Marketplace for the toys you’re looking for. Not only will you likely find the toy you want, but you’re also likely to find it at a fraction of the cost, and with local collection.
So there is are some great gift ideas for 2-year-olds. Hopefully, there’s something in there that fits the bill for a gift for the toddler in your life.