Holiday Gift Guide for Toddlers

In the past year, I have really tried to be mindful about moving to more open ended toys that will promote imaginative play and work on different age-appropriate developmental skills. As a family we are trying to move towards toys and activities that enhance these developmental skills. This year’s Holiday Gift Guide for Toddlers Highlights some of our favorite open ended toys and activities.

Below are my 2019 Holiday Picks for Toddlers:

• Any piece from Grimms is going to be a gorgeous investment. Consider the Rainbow or The Building Blocks or a knock off if you are not looking to spend on the brand name.
• We love Fat Brain Toys and you can’t go wrong with almost any toy from this company. Consider LaLaBoom or the Dimpl Duo
• Any outdoor toys that will take you into spring/summer like a Cozy Coupe or a bike. Have you read the Twinsie Tips article on Trike Vs. Balance Bike? One of these could make a great holiday gift!
• A personalized Anytime Chair that grows with your child always makes an awesome holiday gift!
• Name Puzzles – these are great to help your child with fine motor as well as learn letters and start thinking about spelling their name!
• A teepee to promote open ended imaginary play is also a fun idea!
• Kitchen + gear – kitchen toys are our absolute favorite! They last forever and promote open ended play! So much more kitchen gear linked on my easy to shop amazon page!
• Balance board – helps with balance and I just love the way it looks! Hot toy of the season!
• Kwik Stix – these are like oily crayons (almost paint-like, but less messy) and we love them! Consider using in conjunction with craft paper taped to a table and let your kids draw directly on the craft paper!
• This gorgeous dollhouse has been on my wish list and we decided to snag it this year for the girls. Great for pretend play! 
• Lacing beads
• Magnetic tiles
• Color sorting bears
• Our favorite item has been our learning tower to help in the kitchen. We built our own, but this learning tower is popular.
• Puzzles that work on letters and matching letters to words
• Echo Dot Kids Edition
• Consider a kids friendly tablet like the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition. Although we don’t use ours that often, there are definitely some apps that promote learning. I usually let the girls use their tablets on trips (airplane or car). Try to limit screen time to 1 hour per day. I like the Amazon tablet because there are a lot of parental controls, plus it is a good value.
• Baby doll and baby stroller for doll.
• Train tracks (fine motor)
• Mini Trampoline (gross motor – jumping)
• Button art – great for fine motor and hand eye coordination as well as color recognition

Experiences

If you are trying to eliminate clutter and maybe gift something to use as a family, experiences make great gifts. They can also be great gifts from grandparents, and many of these places run Holiday Specials. Here are some ideas of experience gifts (many of these are Atlanta based, but can give you ideas of things to look at locally):

1. Museum memberships. Most big cities have some sort of children museum and other museums that have toddler exhibits and a membership to one of these makes a great gift that lasts all year! In Atlanta, we love the:
   • Children’s Museum
   • Chatahoochee Nature Center
   • Center for Puppetry Arts (museum/puppet shows)
   • Zoo
2. Classes. Classes are a great way to keep your children active, but can be pricey. Instead of gifting tons of toys, why not gift or ask relatives to contribute to some of the awesome activities.
   • Swim classes are great for safety and to keep  your child active. We like Goldfish Swim School which has locations all over the country.
   • Gymnastics
   • Ballet
   • Soccer
   • Gymboree
   • Music class
   • Bunny Hive
3. Indoor Play Spaces. Many urban cities are moving to indoor play spaces which are amazing places for kids to go to release energy. And a play pack or membership makes an awesome Holiday gift. In Atlanta, we love:
   • Ready. Set. Fun.
   • Kefi

Want an easier way to shop pictures? Check out my Amazon page here for an easy way to shop most of these items and more!