29 of the Best Gifts Every Toddler Will Love and Cherish (Updated November 2020)
Before I became a mom, I remember the discomfort I felt whenever I had to come up with good toddler gift ideas to attend a child’s birthday party or get my nieces or nephews a present for a special occasion. I always wanted to select good toddler gift ideas that were unique and would be useful, especially for those toddlers who have everything.
The truth was that I had no clue what would be good toddler gift ideas for children, who were 18 months, 1 year old, 2 years old or 3 years old wanted for gifts. in many cases their likes changed so fast I’d always just end up asking their parents and then feeling bad I had to ask the parent to give me a hint about good toddler gift ideas for their child.
Now that I have my own child and am a part of the secret society, I've realized that there are some staple good toddler gift ideas that all toddlers love and will cherish on their birthday, Christmas and any other gift giving occasion.
Where to Buy Toddler Gifts?
Below, I’m letting you in on those good toddler gift ideas, so you don’t have to feel gifting anxiety about the toddlers in your life. Best of all, all the toys/non toys on this list can be easily found and ordered on Amazon. An added bonus is that most of the good toddler gift ideas on this list are under $50, with a few exceptions that are well worth the extra cost.
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Toddler Gift Ideas
1. Kidkraft 2-in-1 Activity Table Espresso
I came across the first item on my good toddler gift ideas list, a train set phenomenon, at a Barnes and Noble story time that my son and I used to attend each Saturday. He was obsessed with it. No, I mean it, obsessed, as in tearful tantrums when it was time to leave the train set. I decided early on that this multifunction table and one of the prime items on this good toddler gift ideas would be purchased quickly.
I went home one Saturday after fighting my 2 year old to the car, listening to him wail all the way home, and began searching immediately for a train set we could house in our home. The one at Barnes and Noble was bigger and only had the train side, but when I came across this option that had the train side and the Lego side, I knew it was the one.
We presented this good toddler gift idea to my son at Christmas and it was love at first sight. It’s been over 2 years and he still plays with it, almost daily. He loves showing it off when people are over and it has come in handy as we’ve started working on colors, shapes and counting (Lego side). Hence, it makes the list as the first entry in my good toddler gift ideas.
The train side has been great for introducing problem solving because the train tracks have to be arranged just so, for it to work (it makes a lazy eight or infinity symbol). Initially, an adult would assemble the train track for my son, but now, my son (at 4) insists on doing it himself and is usually able to figure it out unassisted. Another plus is that this first item on my list of good toddler gift ideas fits neatly in a corner of our living room.
2. Little Tikes 3’ Trampoline
I was introduced to my second recommendation on this list of good toddler gift ideas at a close friend’s house when we visited one weekend. My son was in awe that their daughter got to play on a trampoline, inside her house, whenever she wanted. Before this, he had only seen one at our fundamentals of movement gymnastics class.
My friends and I had huge belly laughs watching our 3 and 4 year old try to figure out jumping on a trampoline (I still chuckle at the memory). After the visit, the trampoline was added to my son's Christmas list, became a fast favorite after Christmas day and is a gift idea I highly recommend to anyone wanted to asking about good toddler gift ideas.
It especially comes in handy on rainy days or very cold days to help my son blow off some steam and play, when we are restricted to being inside. It also is a hit when we have other children over. Do yourself a favor and add this reasonably priced trampoline to your list if you're looking for good toddler gift ideas.
3. Step2 Play and Fold Jr. Kids Slide
This next pick from my list of good toddler gift ideas was another big hit in my household. My son, like all toddlers, loves going to the park to play. Like all parents and family of toddlers, we know that this is not always possible. What's the solution? Enter my third good toddler gift idea, your child's own personal slide. I looked into this item when we were trying to decide on outdoor play equipment that could be easily transported.
We’ve moved this good toddler gift idea, a slide, into our garage, into our living room and have also used it outside, in the summer, to slide down into an inflatable pool. It is definitely one of the best items I’ve purchased and was under $50, even though it has so many uses. My son also loves to race his cars and anything else he can get his hands on down this good toddler gift idea.