Looking for Christmas gift idea for 2-year-old girl

[corrieoseal]

I'm sorry that there are so many conditions on this request for ideas!

I am basically looking for a couple more ideas for family members who want to get her gifts and expect suggestions. My sister spends about $50-$60 and my parents are looking to spend about $200.

We already have memberships to things covered. (Because we are military, lots of places in our area are already free or discounted to us.) We are also all set with classes as I mostly take DD to free offerings through the library or to play outside.

She already has a play kitchen and a small train set. She also has one of my old 1980's dollhouses (Strawberry Shortcake) that she enjoys and lots of Duplos. While she is very into arts and crafts, we don't have room for an easel at this point with all of the hand me down furniture in the playroom from my sister. Apparently, my parents also got her a doll and some accessories already. (Please don't flame, my folks go all out once a year for Christmas and don't spoil the rest of the year. DH and I keep it fairly minimal to balance it out.)

I was considering another simpler and less commercial dollhouse that we could keep in the living room since she loves dollhouses. (But is it excessive for a child to have more than one?) Or maybe a travel dollhouse for all of our trips. Any brand suggestions? Maybe a farmhouse? Basically, I am at a loss in regards to larger gifts for her. She'll be 2.5 at Christmastime.

Thanks for reading through all of this. Hopefully someone has more ideas than I do.

[junipervt]

does she have a bike?

does she like dolls? maybe a nice Corelle doll or even a Waldorf style one. (oops just read that they already got her one)

Nova Naturals has some great stuff. I'd look at their website for ideas.


My DD is 2.5 & is into cars, so she is getting the Plan Toys parking garage w/ a bunch of accessories as her big Christmas gift.

[physmom]

Either a bike or lots of books. We could easily spend that much on books on DD! We also often ask for clothes in a size up if you have the space.

[Oceanone]

Many two year old girls love dress up clothes, playsilks, accessories. My six year old still does. She has a ball with her two year old cousin, dressing up from her toybox. Other idea is a musical instrument, maybe a little xylophone or piano?

[apple o' my eye]

We are in the same boat and asked some friends with older girls. Suggestions were puzzles, like melissa and doug 20+ piece puzzles, musical instruments and save the money :-) They said now it is optional to get them stuff and in a few years they will be asking for bigger more expensive things and clothes, etc.
Books are always great! if you have any friends in school or preschool we have been ordering books thru scholastic for so cheap. they often don't have hard covers so they stack really small, which is nice.

We love our swingset (craigslist find for a fraction of the price) & our Rohdy too. Can't wait to see other suggestions!

[Marissamom]

DD will only be 19 months at Christmas, but I though I would share our wishlist (some is stuff you already have):

toy kitchen
food and dishes for the toy kitchen
duplos (you can never have too many. I played with ours until I was like 13 because we always had a baby/toddler in the house, so the little legos never got played with)
crayons and markers
books
clothes
dolls
a shopping cart or stroller to push the doll around in (she has a sling, but it's still too big for her and she likes pushing better
a doll bed or cradle
a toddler sized rocking chair
toybox
a toddler-sized table and chairs
bath toys (especially rubber ducks, she loves her ducks)
musical toys, like a toy piano or xylophone

obviously she won't be getting everything, but it gives plenty of ideas for my family to pick and choose from

[nerdymom]

Honestly we are in the same boat with our DS. I did look through the Magic Cabin catalogue and saw some cool stuff that is way out of our price range, maybe you could send one to your parents? Musical toys would be a hit with our musical child.

[crunchy_mommy]

Oooo this is fun lol, here are some things I think are cool:

$50-$60 range:
Workbench
lincoln-log-type building set
cool blocks
mini piano
castle
balance bike

$200 range:
Learning tower or if you have one already, accessories for it (puppet theater, easel etc.)
wagon
bigger piano


Then there's furniture (does she already have a bed, dresser, desk, etc?) or kid-sized furniture (DS LOVES his kid-sized rocking chair & table/chairs & outdoor picnic table)

You could also expand on things she already has, like more food/pots/etc. for the kitchen, more dolls/furniture for the dollhouse, etc.

[corrieoseal]

Thank you so much for your replies!

I like the doll stroller idea. Any suggestions for one that you really like? I was looking at the PBK ones and they seem pretty awesome.

Also love the idea of more dress-up stuff. DD LOVES putting on tutus and costumes and we got her a couple of playsilks in her favorite colors for her stocking.(Orange and purple.) I was thinking of an orange fairy outfit after this suggestion.

How about a table easel? Do any of you have these and do they get much use? Or is the novelty of a standing easel the real draw? (No pun intended )

DD doesn't have any wooden animals. Anyone have a favorite set or preference between Holtziger or Ostheimer? I seem to remember being at a store recently that was carrying a newer line that were a little bigger and brighter than both of these but can't remember the name now.

Marissamom- Do you really think they can never have too many Duplos? We have several sets that get lots of play, but I hate to overdo it....I have been eying the zoo and the train set though. I don't suppose you have either and care to review?

Thank you again, so much for all of the thoughtful suggestions!!

[Mal85]

I agree with the bike idea.. My ILs are getting DD (she'll be 22 months at Christmas) a balance bike.

Our list for DD includes:
-the bike
-play tent
-duplos
-Bitty Baby (from my parents)
-Little People sets (she loooves these)
-child size table and chairs

You could also get some things for outdoor play. They may not get much use yet if it's cold where you are, but it'll be great to have when summer comes.

There are also table top easels that could work great if she already has a table and chairs. It wouldn't take up as much space as a full size easel.

[weezix]

I didn't read all the responses so I apologize if this was mentioned.

The Fisher Price Little Mommy set is nice. Way better quality than Graco and comes in a few different sets. My kids loved it...and it lasted quite a while considering one of my dd's is very destructive. I actually wouldn't mind getting this again now that they are a *little* older and probably would actually PLAY with it.

Here is a link: http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-L.../dp/B0009ETF58

[quantumleap]

Originally Posted by corrieoseal

Thank you so much for your replies!

I like the doll stroller idea. Any suggestions for one that you really like? I was looking at the PBK ones and they seem pretty awesome.


DD doesn't have any wooden animals. Anyone have a favorite set or preference between Holtziger or Ostheimer? I seem to remember being at a store recently that was carrying a newer line that were a little bigger and brighter than both of these but can't remember the name now.

I've heard good things about the Nova Naturals stroller too. We had one on our wish list, and then someone gave us a grocery cart for dd, and it seems a bit overkill to have both in our small space!

Were the wooden animals "Animalz"? We have several, and they have been loved from the time she was old enough to hold on to them. They have all sorts of creatures, from kangaroos to lions and pigs and emus. A wooden barn would be a fun addition...