Best Gifts for Toddlers (That Aren’t All Toys!)

Hey guys! If you saw my last post, you’ll know that my son just had his 2nd birthday party! Since we just went through setting up his wish list, I figured I would talk about some of the ideas for gifts that we added to it. That being said, in this post, I’ll talk about some great gift options for 2-year-olds or older toddlers that won’t absolutely drive parents insane.

Gift Guide: Types of Gifts

Before I get started, I wanted to give you guys a break down. This guide will be broken down into a few different sections based on different types of gifts we parents truly appreciate. I’ll touch bases on all of the following:

• Books
• Bath Toys
• Meal Time Gifts
• Arts and Crafts Gifts
• Experience Gifts
• Favorite Toys in General

I’ll also discuss the gifts we absolutely DON’T want in each section. Many parents will tell you: please just stick to the list. There is usually a reason why something hasn’t been added. If you think a toy is loud and annoying, I’m telling you now, it likely will end up being given away or returned. If something you want to get isn’t on the list for the kiddo, it’s always a better idea to ask the parents how they feel about it.

Now, with all that in mind, hopefully you’re able to find some great ideas! Here we go!

Books

Ever since our kiddo was little, he has loved looking at books. He will seriously carry them around all day and flip through them. Since he loves them so much, I wanted to make sure we had a lot on his list for family to choose from. For his 2nd birthday, these were some of the books we had on his wishlist and just some of our favorite books in general:

• Never Touch a Shark by Make Believe Ideas and Rosie Greening – This is a super fun sensory, touch and feel book!
• 8 Little Planets by Chris Ferrie – This book teaches little ones about the solar system and discusses each planet!
• Every Little Thing by Cedella Marley – This is a super cute book based on the popular song by Bob Marley
• Color Me Happy, Color Me Sad by Agnes Green – This book helps kiddos learn to express their feelings and what each one looks and feels like.
• Think Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison – This book helps teach about trailblazing women in power doing amazing things!
• Evolution for Babies by Chris Ferrie – This book is part of the Baby University series to introduce different STEM topics to young kids.
• Germ Theory for Babies by Chris Ferrie – Another book in the Baby University series, this book helps teach about how germs work. This is a super critical topic right now that may help kids understand what we’re going through with covid.
• Mixed by Arree Chung – This book teaches about acceptance, tolerance and unity through color theory. It’s an amazing book that we love!
• Pride Colors by Robin Stevenson – This is one of our favorite books right now. This book is a wonderful way to introduce your young kiddos to LGBTQ+ pride. Highly recommend!!

Why These Books?

These books have a lot to teach and books are usually pretty inexpensive for children. In our house we actively practice acceptance and inclusion, so we love the messages that these books send. We also really want to present books that feature main characters that are different from us. This is so important!

We also feel that teaching STEM concepts early on helps to foster a love for learning. The Baby University series helps teach young kids about different studies of STEM programs. It’s my hope that these books will help open our son’s eyes to the world around him and get him interested in math and science.

Main Gift: Leapfrog 3D Interactive Learning System

One of the main gifts we bought for our two year old was actually the LeapFrog 3D Interactive Learning System. What I love about it is that the books vary in difficulty and it can be used up until 1st grade! Additionally, it plays games with kids and really just aims to make reading fun. In addition to the system itself, we bought the Mickey and the Roadster Racers book to go with it. Some of the other books you can find for this system are:

• Baby Animals
• Paw Patrol
• The Lion King
• Daily Routines
• And so many more!

We actually prefer books to toys a lot of the time. It’s so easy to find room for a new book. It’s not always easy to store giant, noisy toys. Our kiddo gets so excited about books anyway. They help him expand his imagination and on top of that, he has a million toys already. Books are ALWAYS a safe bet for kiddos, especially those who have just about every toy imaginable.

Bath Toys

One area we DON’T have a lot of toys is the bath. One reason for this though is because we did get rid of bath squirters. Please don’t buy these! They can harbor so much bacteria because they’re impossible to properly clean. Here’s an article from Good Morning America showing what can happen!

That being said, here is a great list of safe toys and bath supplies that would make for an awesome gift for a 2 year old:

• Bath books, such as The Rainbow Fish or Disney Baby Tub Time – These are great because they give your kids more experience with reading while also being fun for the bath.
• Baby Bum Bubble Bath solution – This bubble bath smells amazing and is a once in a while surprise that kids really like.
• Crayola Bath Dropz color tablets – These color drops are a lot of fun! My son loves watching them dissolve.
• Swimways Paw Patrol Paddlin’ Pups – My son loves Paw Patrol, so this is a fun swimming bath toy that isn’t super noisy.
• Swimways Gobble Gobble Guppies – This shark toy is super cute and helps your little one learn how to count!
• Baby Shark Hooded Towel – This towel is super cute and the perfect size for a 2 year old. We definitely needed bigger hooded towels now that our big boy has outgrown his baby ones.

One toy that I highly recommend NOT getting is the Baby Shark bath toy that sings the Baby Shark song and swims in the water. Omg. It doesn’t shut up. Parents, you’ve been warned.

Meal Time Gifts

The items in this section are every day necessity items that make for great toddler presents. These are great for kids that don’t really need more toys.

• Open cups – These cups are great because they can be a straw cup, training sippy cup or an open cup!
• Plates and bowls – This set is super inexpensive and comes with 2 plates and 2 bowls. We really like them because they also match the cups.
• Toddler utensils – This take and toss set is great for beginners. It’s also really inexpensive!
• Insulated sippies – We love these insulated 360 cups because they really do help keep drinks cold or hot when we go out and about.
• Silicone placemats – These are great to have at restaurants where they likely won’t have a high chair with a tray. They’re also great for kiddos who no longer use a high chair. The placemats wipe off easily and fold up for compact storage.
• New bibs – We love these bumkins bibs. They come in a ton of different popular patterns like Mickey Mouse, Super Mario, etc. We also like that they make long sleeved ones too!
• A small table and chair set – For kids who want a bit more independence from their high chair, a small table and chair set is great. This wooden one from Delta is sturdy and super cute.
• Snack catchers – We use these snack catchers every single day. They’re great for when you’re on the go or even just preventing messes at home.
• A popsicle making set – This would be a super fun activity to do with your kiddos during the summer.
• Toddler sized kitchen tools – Letting your kids help you in the kitchen helps teach valuable life skills that all kids will need to know in the future.
• A kitchen helper stand – These are super handy for keeping kids safe while helping. I love that they have the support bar to make sure kids can’t fall off.

Why Meal Time Gifts?

We really like the Munchkin line in our house. The small cups are easy to hold and really helped my kiddo figure out drinking from an open cup, which is one of the skills they’re supposed to develop at this age. I also love that the cup can fit inside the corner section of the Splash plate. This is great especially for breakfast when I’ll often give a Danimal smoothie with our son’s food.

If you have an independent kiddo who is tired of sitting in a high chair or booster, getting them their own small table is a great idea too. You can also include them in small kitchen tasks too if you buy them a kitchen helper or toddler sized kitchen tools. Meal time and kitchen gifts are super helpful!

Arts and Crafts Gifts

These types of presents are great for providing toddlers with quiet time as well as a creative outlet. They’re also great for fine motor skills and fostering your child’s imagination. Here are some of our favorites that we added to our list:

• Crayola Color Wonder Supplies – This kit comes with a travel case which is great, but we also like their Baby Shark and Paw Patrol supplies. These are awesome because they prevent your kid from coloring outside of the special paper!
• Crayola Finger Paint Kit – These help your child have a different sensory experience while letting them have a way to express creativity.
• Playdoh Sets – There are some awesome Playdoh sets out there like this playdoh Kitchen set, but we simply got a variety pack of colors and use our Wilton Cookie Cutters with them!
• Coloring Books – I’m serious, just grab a pack of crayons and some coloring books from your local Dollar Tree. This is a great quiet-time gift for those toddlers that have stopped napping.
• Melissa and Doug Tabletop Easel – This is a creative option for parents like me who don’t have a ton of floor space for a full blown easel. I love that this is magnetic, dry erase and that it has a paper roller!

Experience Gifts

Experiences are my favorite kind of gifts. I prefer these ANY day over a toy. I think making memories is more important than material items. These are some of my favorite ideas for experience gifts that are fun for toddlers too!

• Going to the zoo
• A trip to Build a Bear
• Getting ice cream at Cold Stone or Baskin Robbins
• Going to the movie theater
• Bowling games at the bowling alley
• Exploring the children’s museum
• Taking a small family vacation
• Enrolling your child in a class like music class or swimming lessons

To me, these experiences are so much more valuable for family time than a toy. They help families bond and make memories that they’ll be able to look back on for years to come.

Favorite Toys from Our 2-Year-Old’s List

In this section, now that I’ve talked about all of the cool things you can buy for toddlers that AREN’T toys, I want to take a second and talk about my favorite toys that were on our list. These gifts are ones that our little man plays with all the time and that also incorporate developmental skill building.

• Blocks – We love this set of Mega Bloks. Kiddo uses them all the time for building, counting, color sorting, etc.
• Fisher Price Little People Sets – We got the zoo train set and our kid loves it, but we also would love to get the firetruck and more!
• ABC Water Writing Cards – These cards are so cool. You fill the pen with water and then use the water to practice writing letters and drawing the objects listed on each card. When the water dries, you can reuse the card!
• Paw Patrol Treat Time Marshall – This toy is super cute. You feed it letters in the shape of dog bones so it helps with fine motor skills and identifying letters of the alphabet.
• Vtech Drill and Learn Toolbox – I loved this because my husband is always out working with tools. It helps teach different skills with realistic looking tools.
• Vtech KidiBeats Drum Set – Our toddler has a lot of fun with this and it’s surprisingly not as noisy as you’d think.
• Ride On Toys – We got the Little Tikes Little Baby Bum Scoot and Push Buster, but other ideas we had were a Cozy Coupe, this Harley Davidson Trike and more!

Lastly, just as a warning, please save yourself or the parents of the kid you’re buying a gift for from having a splitting headache. We. Do. Not. Want. The. Popper. Thing. You know the one. The one that looks like a long dome with colored balls on a pole that goes POP POP POP as it rolls along the floor. It WILL become part of the neighborhood bonfire. Same with harmonicas, recorders, train whistles, etc. Just don’t do it.

In Conclusion

I hope you were able to get some fun ideas for gifts for the toddler in your life! There are so many ideas out there that aren’t toys. We have so many that I’m always glad when we get something different. I know there are so many other parents out there that feel the same way too.

Which idea is your favorite? Or do you have another idea that I didn’t mention? Make sure you leave a comment down below to let me know! If you liked what you saw in this week’s post, be sure to check out my other posts on my Parenting Ideas or Fun and More pages or any of the posts down below. Lastly, if you want to get weekly updates for all of the fun things going on here at Growing Up Garlicky, make sure you subscribe! Thanks everyone for reading!

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