Toddler Gift Guide (mom approved too)

If you have little kids you’re shopping for this Christmas season, these gift ideas are toddler (and mom) approved. They’re fun and not annoying. 🙂

I’m sharing this guide early into the fall season to give you plenty of time to do your shopping, if you are a planner like me. Since I spend a lot of time working on holiday content as the season gets closer, I like to do my own Christmas shopping wayyyy early, so that I don’t forget.

We’ll have two kids for the first time this Christmas, and I’m so excited. Charles will be almost a year old around the holidays, and Thomas will have just turned 4. Since I’m in a toddler season in my own life, that’s what I focused this gift guide on. I hope it’s helpful for those of you in the same season!

Gifts for Toddlers

Retrospec Walker Balance Bike

This little balance bike/scooter was one of Thomas’ favorite toys, and Charles is almost big enough to start using it too. It’s made for one-year-olds and up. I love the color options and how sturdy and well-made it is. We use it inside most often, but it’s sturdy enough to go outside too. It is $50 and comes in 10 colors. Gifts like this are always a big hit on Christmas because they can sit right under the tree unwrapped and ready to play with.

Pop Up Ball Pit

This pop-up ball pit is another super fun gift to leave unwrapped and ready to play with on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, the balls don’t come with this pit, so you’ll want to buy this ball set at the same time. But for $40 together, you’ve already got your “big gift” for Christmas covered. Thomas still loves getting in here and playing with us in the basement. I do have to say, the balls get EVERYWHERE, so just be warned. (When he throws them all out, we make a game of throwing them back in to clean it up.)

Magnatiles Magnetic Building Tiles

These magnetic building tiles are a huge hit in the Adams household. Not only are they fun to use with Thomas, I also love seeing his little mind world while he builds with these. (And I love building with it too!) This set has 70 pieces, so you will have plenty to play with. He’s had his set for two years and still plays with it almost daily.

Kindle Fire Tablet

I really love having a Kindle Fire on hand when Thomas needs a little distraction/downtime. While I try not to let him have much screen time, I do think the Kindle Fire is a great option for when he is using a screen. Amazon Kids has parental controls, and you can subscribe to Amazon Kids+ for tons of books, games, songs, etc. It has about 10 hours of charge, so I rarely need to charge it, which is also nice. It’s twice as durable as the iPad mini, so that should be the #1 reason you do this instead of an iPad. And it’s way cheaper. It isn’t as intuitive as the iPad, but you’ll quickly learn how to navigate it.

Christmas Pajamas

While holiday pajamas aren’t likely going under the tree (since you’ll want them to have them all season!), they’re such a fun way to get in the spirit with your littles. Thomas started caring which PJs he wears last year and usually picks them out each night, which is super cute. I always thought it was so cute that my sister-in-law gave my nieces and nephews new PJs on Christmas Eve—I want to implement that tradition!

We specifically love the brands Hanna Anderson and LAKE Pajamas. Hanna Anderson has a bunch of cute, festive prints. They use a flatlock seam on all of their PJs, which makes them super cozy for kids, since some seams can irritate little ones.

LAKE is actually my favorite brand for my own pajamas, and there’s just nothing like them! The quality is unmatched and they use the softest Pima cotton. I splurged and bought Thomas and I matching sets last year, and it made me so happy. His set ran a little small, so size up if you’re on the fence. Their PJs do shrink just a little so I always hang them to dry to make them last longer.

Another brand we fell in love with this year was Joy Street Kids. They haven’t launched their holiday prints yet, but keep your eyes peeled. Their fabric is the softest of all 3 brands.

Montessori Toddler Tower

This is the exact tower we have in our kitchen for Thomas! He likes standing in this to eat his meals, help me cook, or play at the counter. It’s nice that he can get in it himself now, and he’s less likely to fall since the back rail is at a safe height.

Personalized Kid’s Chair

Thomas loves sitting in his own chair. I love that it’s soft and easy to move from room to room.

The Nugget

The Nugget is a REALLY great investment for your playroom. It’s part furniture, part toy. It’s basically a play couch that’s made of 4 foam pieces that can be configured in a ton of different ways. Also, it’s super soft and squishy, so it makes a great place to plop down in our playroom, but Thomas also loves to climb all over it.

Little Tikes Trampoline

It’s hard to beat a little trampoline. Kids love them, and honestly, I love them too. This Little Tikes Trampoline is under $100 and fits easily in a playroom. I love that it has a handle so that they are less likely to accidentally jump off.

Play sink

Thomas LOVED his Amazon play sink for two straight years, with or without the water! We used it outside when it was warm out, and we put it in the bathtub in the winter. The dials are all turnable, so it encourages kinesthetic development, and he actually started drinking out of a cup better after playing with the cups in this set, even empty! This was a huge hit around 1 year-old, so if you have a little one around that age, snag this for Christmas.

Lovevery Play Kits

Thomas (and I) love these. Lovevery Play Kits are designed to be a subscription, and you get a new kit delivered every 3 months. What a great gift – new toys every three months that are catered to your child’s age! You can also purchase the playkits individually rather than the subscription, but we LOVE the subscription.

The play kits have age-appropriate, adorable toys in each box (but not too many toys, thank goodness), and their quality is really nice. It’s convenient and fun to get toys that are made for your child’s age and to be surprised when the boxes come each month. This is a great gift suggestion for grandparents if they’re asking what to get their favorite grandkid! 😉

Play-Doh

What can I say? Kids are obsessed with Play-Doh. Since Thomas is inevitably going to smash every color together in one giant ball anyway (every.time.), I don’t get anything fancy.

Wooden Train Set

This train table set is the cutest EVER! I want to get this for Thomas this year. I don’t expect the train tracks to stay on the table for long, but maybe he’ll like playing with them on the table as he gets older.

Kid’s Plastic Golf Set

Thomas hasn’t been into golf recently, but this golf set was a huge hit in our house for a few years. If your little one loves sports and playing with balls, this is a really fun toy.

Books

We loveee books in our house! Our favorites right now are from the website PaperPie. I love the books they sell and after buying a few from Amazon that were just so weird and poorly written, I will stick to this company!

This website is another good resource for grandparents. My friend Tracey Markland can help you shop.

We also started getting our family photos printed with Chatbooks this year and we look at those books each night. Thomas calls them “Thomas books” since he’s in every photo, ha! Feel free to use code TERILYN for 20% off your Chatbooks order.

FoxPrint Rocket Ship Tent

This is such a fun spaceship tent or fort for little boys or girls. I love the idea of reading Thomas books in one of these. And the price is unbeatable. It would be cute to have it set up as a surprise from Santa on Christmas morning. I think I’ll put this in Thomas’ room or playroom, since those are the biggest rooms in our house!! (Spoiled much, kiddo?)

Keyboard Playmat

Even I want this keyboard mat! It’s huge so your kids use their feet to play each key. You can roll it up and store it easily too.

Children’s Museum Membership

Younger toddlers won’t understand this on Christmas morning, but it’s the gift that keeps on giving! We have memberships at both Kaleideum Children’s Museum in Winston-Salem and The Children’s Playhouse in Boone and we ALL love going!! This is another great option for grandparents to give!

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Please drop any other ideas you have below!