I need a gift idea(s) for a 2 year old....(FOUND IT! Awesome light table on sale!)

[AllyRae]

Poor third child. I'm trying to come up with gift ideas for her, but all of the really good ideas I can think of, we already have because we got them for our other children when they were younger (a trike, play kitchen, playsilks out the wazoo, learning tower, easle, instruments, you name it). She's getting a plan toys eco dollhouse for her birthday, but I'm at a loss for Christmas. It's her "big" gift that I'm stuck on...

Does anyone have any ideas for something that's:

-Eco-friendly or at least not noisy/has bpa in it/etc. Also prefer no batteries, but for the "right" thing, batteries aren't a deal breaker.

-Something that can be used for quite a while...something she can enjoy as a toddler but she will get more than a year's use out of it.

-No more than $150ish (but we'd love to stay under that...her older siblings are getting razor scooters, so that's kind of our price range--we definitely don't want to go too far over that)

What she really loves most in this world is swinging, but a swing set is way too pricey. She also loves nature, exploring tiny things like pebbles & bugs, getting messy, helping to cook, and playing with dolls.

Thank you!!

[carmel23]

they make a toddler razor scooter with 3 wheels that my dd received when she just turned 2 and still uses. Edit to add: she is 3.5

Another thought: how about a skuut balancing bike?

[JudiAU]

I assume you already have train sets up the wazoo but what about a plan toys road set? Or the grim spiel Four elements. Ds played with those every day at two and still play with them every other day. Fancy blocks like those from haba? Our baby got them as a newborn because I was at a loss as to what to get. 3 year old plays with them every day.

Are you getting the big Eco dollhouse or the little one scaled for plan city people?

[Pavlovs]

Originally Posted by AllyRae

What she really loves most in this world is swinging, but a swing set is way too pricey. She also loves nature, exploring tiny things like pebbles & bugs, getting messy, helping to cook, and playing with dolls.

Thank you!!

How about a sand/water table? She might be a bit young, but perhaps a sturdy microscope to observe her pebbles and other treasures she finds out in nature. You could make up a nice kit of a butterfly net, one of those bug boxes for captured bugs (if you can tolerate that!), an explorer's hat, and a book about nature.

[AllyRae]

Originally Posted by JudiAU

Are you getting the big Eco dollhouse or the little one scaled for plan city people?

Jocelyn has he small one (because she has the Melissa & Doug victorian dollhouse) and Amelia's getting the big one. Clearly we have a dollhouse obsession here. :

I like the nature kit idea--the big kids have all of that stuff, down to the bug houses (we don't mind bugs here...Mia picks them up with her bare hands... : ) but she'd love one that's a bit sturdier than her older siblings have.

And the balance bike is a good idea too...I like that idea. She can't pedal a trike, so she doesn't get much use out of the one in our garage (we've had it since Brandon was a year or so old. : )

[AllyRae]

I've never seen the road set...I have to look that one up--she might like that too!

Yay, now I have a bunch of places to start--thank you ladies!!

[AllyRae]

I also love the idea of a light table, but good heavens, they're like $400!

http://www.allschoolsupplies.com/lighttable.html

Does anyone know anything that they make like this that would be sturdy enough for a toddler but maybe not wallet emptying? LOL!

[AllyRae]

SCORE!!!! I just found this light table--originally $350, on sale for $150.

http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Toys-Port...d=2X2EEMPLYO03

She will *love* it!