With six kids and ten nieces and nephews, we’ve bought our fair share of toys for toddlers. Some were awesome (like Thomas the Train, for instance) and some not so much.
One of the things that makes a great toddler toy is its capacity for pretend play. Can your child use this toy to pretend? If you can answer that question with a yes – you’ve probably made a good choice.
For the most part, we like to avoid toys popularized by television or Disney movies since those tend to have less longevity and usefulness. We also like to avoid noise-makers – although aunts, uncles and grandparents have not always given us a choice. It is hard to take away a noise-making toy once your toddler has just unwrapped the gift with great fanfare!
Keeping House Toys for Toddlers
Melissa & Doug Let’s Play House! Dust, Sweep and Mop
Step2 Little Helper’s Shopping Cart
Dyson Ball Vacuum With Real Suction and Sounds – when our kids were toddling all over the house, there was almost nothing they liked more than the pretend vacuum!
Brilliant Basics Vacuum Popper – a classic favorite all my kids have loved.
Little Tikes Kitchen Playset – another toy my kids played with for hours!
Music Toys for Toddlers
Gross Motor Skills for Toddlers
3-Piece Kids Play Tent Tunnel and Ball Pit
Little Tikes EasyScore Basketball Set
Playskool Giraffalaff Sit n Spin
Little Tikes TotSports T-Ball Set
Playsets for Toddlers
Schleich Animals – plastic animal sets of which Schleich are the best and most realistic. They don’t break and they get played with for a very long time!
VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels Spinning Spiral Tower Playset
Fisher-Price Little People Surprise & Sounds Home – my kids all loved Little People, just like I did growing up.
Manhattan Toy Tree Top Adventure Activity Center
Power Wheels Thomas the Train Thomas with Track [Amazon Exclusive]
Durable Kids Tool Set with Electronic Cordless Drill & 20 Pretend Play Construction Accessories
Electronics for Toddlers
Outdoor Toys for Toddlers
Play Tent Princess Castle by Pockos
Little Tikes First Slide – Papaw (my dad) got this for my twins for their first birthday and it became a fast favorite!
Little Tikes Deluxe 2-in-1 Cozy Roadster
Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Scooter
Stuffed Animal Friends for Toddlers
Folkmanis Puppets like this Jack Russell Terrior have always been a family favorite!
Pillow Pets – I have three boys who still love their pillow pets from several Christmases ago.
Fine Motor Skills for Toddlers
Jumbo Primary Stringing Bead Set
Cartoon R/C Race Car Radio Control Toy for Toddlers
[…] Best Gifts for Toddlers After raising six kids past the toddler years, I have a pretty good handle on what works and what doesn’t, so I chose the best gifts and the things we loved for toddlers. […]