The holidays are right around the corner (can you even believe it?!) and it’s just about time we all start thinking about the gifts we’re giving this year, especially to our kids. I try to catch as many things on sale as I possibly can so knowing what I’m going after early is a game changer for me.
Below, I’ll share my top gift ideas for ages 0-2, 2-3, and 4-5. As a mom blogger who has the opportunity to test a lot of toys and product throughout the year, I’m excited to share these with you!
Toys are tools for play so instead just picking random things, I like to be intentional about the gifts we pick for our kids. Of course, we also get them some things they are just interested in (Paw Patrol, anyone?!), for fun. Happy Holidays and happy shopping!
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Gift Ideas for Ages 0-2:
This age can feel hard to buy for but as a baby, your little one doesn’t need much! I carefully reviewed our toys and past purchases to narrow this guide down to the toys we got the absolute most use out of.
Lovevery's Play Kits are some of the most thoughtfully curated toys for babies and toddlers that your little one will love! Their toys are Montessori-inspired and backed by expert research to support your child's developing brain. Lovevery has Play Kits for ages 0-60 months, and I promise your kids will love them for months after. Some of their favorite toys are from the Lovevery Play Kits. Plus they are currently on sale through 12/3.
We have had this cube for over 4 years. My oldest is almost 5 and he still plays with it! It is so beautifully made and not bulky for an activity cute. There are 5 activities that allow for endless fun!
This cube is so much fun for young babies! They love the different textures, shapes, and colors while also developing their fine motor skills!
These spinning tops might seem basic but they are actually great tools for sticking onto a window or door and helping your little one stand up and strengthen their muscles! They are also great fun for travel, too.
We had the hedgehog version of this but this little dinosaur is SO CUTE! Both of my kids loved taking the pegs in and out.
This offers HOURS and HOURS and fun for your baby. Plus, it's extremely portable for car trips, stroller rides, and eating out!
Babies (and toddlers) LOVE bubbles. I don't know what it is specifically but it's a love that extends through childhood! A bubble machine will last you many, many season and is hours of fun.
Gifts For Ages 2-3
These gift ideas are great for ages 2-3 and are great to grow with your little ones too!
We LOVE HABA games for our toddlers. First Orchard is especially fun. It's a cooperative game, meaning everyone works together to reach a goal. It's very easy to understand and the pieces are beautifully made. We've had this game for years and still play it!
Over 10,000 of these were bought in the past month alone! It is a high quality toy at a great price that offers hours of play options!
This Montessori-style toy is great because it offers so many learning opportunities in a fun and colorful package! My youngest loves threading and beading and this is a great way to introduce sequencing!
My kids LOVE these magnetic mazes and puzzles. It's an easy way to encourage fine motor skill development, counting, and problem solving while keeping it all contained!
We are huge fans of the Yoto player! We take ours on road trips and my kids listen to stories while they play. It's a great screen-free alternative and you'll get use out of it for many, many years!
These magnetic maze puzzles are everything!! We keep some in the car for my boys to play with instead of watching their tablets. They both love them!
These stepping stones are PERFECT for balance and coordination. We create obstacle courses with them and especially get a ton of use out of them during rainy days and cold weather!
These puffy sticker books are so much for kids, probably about ages 2.5 and up. It's fun for them to make their own scenes (scree-free!) and to play with the stickers. There is a lot of opportunity for language development and fine motor skills.
This might seem like an incredibly basic gift but it's one thing my kids play with almost daily! We play catch, talk about colors, use them for matching, tossing, and other gross motor activities. We throw them quite frequently and have never even broken one of them.
This puzzle is one of my two year-olds FAVORITE toys. He loves the colors, shapes, and matching up the numbers.
If your kids love forts, an air tent is a must-have. You need a box fan (sold separately) but this air fort will bring hours and hours of play!
This was one of my oldest son's favorite toys. He even slept with it for a year! It's great for matching and fine motor skills. We were surprised that at 24 months he was able to match up the keys and open all of the doors!
Gifts For Ages 4-5
This is such a fun age to buy for because your toddler is really becoming a kid with their own strong interests! These are gifts we have gotten a ton of use and play out of and are a few things we’re gifting this year!
You would not believe how much fun this track is! It's a little bulky so I definitely consider it a bigger gift but the controls are great for fine motor skills. Both of my boys played with this for hours!
This age is the perfect age to introduce a balance bike! The 14x can be converted with the pedal conversion kit into a bike as your child advances! We have this for both of my kids (my youngest is getting it for Christmas) and we love the quality of them!
If your kids love "I Spy" or Seek and Find books they will LOVE this personalized version. We're gifting this to our kids this Christmas.
Is it a little extra? Yes.... but! This claw machine offers hours and hours of fun. Plus it's great for logic, reasoning, and fine motor skills.
This is a fun interactive game to play with your preschooler, we're excited to gift this to our 4 year old this Christmas! It has so many options in one to play together.
We prefer Connetix tiles because they have bigger magnets to hold your creations together. Plus, the mega pack offers a ton of building options for a decent price! This year we are getting our oldest the ball run pack (a great alternative to marble run for those of us with other littles at home).
My oldest is OBSESSED with outer space and the planets. This was the perfect gift for him in so many ways. It's really high quality and a great price. It is a great starter toy for your young astronomer!
We've have a couple of these over the years and they are so much fun. Their sensory bins come in different sizes and price points and they have a huge selection of themes. There is something for every kid!!
We introduced this at age 4.5 and my son LOVED it! We play pretty regularly and he picked up all of the concepts really quickly. We also got him Clue Junior but haven't broken that out yet!
My oldest son LOVES these types of types. He loves taking everything apart and putting it back together. It works well with his analytical mind and personality and incorporates something he loves - cars and transformers!
I hope this guide gave you some inspiration for this holiday season! Remember, the best toys are ones that keep on giving and also appeal to your little one’s interested. Happy Holidays!
About the Author
Nicole Booz is the founder of GenTwenty and GenThirty. She is an entrepreneur, author of The Kidult Handbook, and most importantly, Mama to three beautiful little boys. She loves homemade meals, road trips, reading fiction, organizing her home, and living a simple, less toxic lifestyle. You've seen her in The New York Times, TIME, Insider, Inside Edition, New York Post, NextAdvisor, Forbes, Yahoo, HuffPost, and U.S. News & World Report.
Website: www.genthirty.com