What are some good birthday presents for a 2 year old

[briannas auntie]

My neice, Brianna is going to be 2 years old late next month and I am trying to figure out what to get her for her birthday.  It has to be inexpensive, yet fun. 

The only thing I have bought so far is a girls potty training book on amazon.com called "Don't Tee-Tee in your TuTu", because she is potty training right now.  I want to get her more than this, but am stumped.  Help!

Jessie

[Kim919]

Containers. 2 year olds love containers. Purses, tool boxes, fishing tackle boxes, back packs, wagons, boxes, Tupperware. Anything they can put other things into and lug around with them.

[lactatinggirl]

DD just turned 2 and we got her a nice metal tea set that sings when you tip the pot up and money into her college fund. Grandparents mostly got her Dr. Seuss books. She's pretty happy about all of it. 

[amaayeh]

A plasma car!  My daughter absolutely LOVES hers.  She scoots on it, but is quite fast and it helps with the energy.  :)

[sarahmsquared]

When my oldest turned two we got him four gifts.

Something to wear -- socks
Something to read -- an Eric Carle book
Something he wants -- a soccer ball
Something he needs -- a potty seat

We use the poem for all birthdays.

[honeybunmom]

My son turned 2 on Saturday and we got him a book about Spring.  It's just a picture book and he has been absorbed in flipping through it.  We also bought him a wooden puzzle and a paint brush.  We have an older child and she paints.  Our little guy has participated several times, but we only had 1 large brush.  When he opened it, it wanted to paint immediately, so I set him up and off he went!

[lifeguard]

Ds LOVES little matchbox cars. They're cheap, take up no room & brings them EVERYWHERE with him.

[les_oiseau]

My dd turned 2 in Feb, we got her a melissa and doug dollhouse. It was $40 on amazon and came with furniture and 2 dolls. We also got her another package of dolls, I think there were 6 in there. She loves it. (however it stunk like chemical filled glue when we got it. I thought m and d was a "natural" company, but I guess not)

Alot of the other things she got she is not interested in, like the purse, dress up shoes, stuffed characters.

[MandaSea]

ds turns two on May 1st and we bought him two bath toys from yookidoo and "funny face beakers" for the tub also. Bath time seems to be one of his favorites so I figured we might as well buy him some new toys since his Boon bath toys are starting to mold

[aHikaru]

kangarooboo.com

[mommy212]

Originally Posted by sarahmsquared 

When my oldest turned two we got him four gifts.

Something to wear -- socks
Something to read -- an Eric Carle book
Something he wants -- a soccer ball
Something he needs -- a potty seat

We use the poem for all birthdays.

This is a good idea for b-days 

[Bird Girl]

Playsilks! You can get white silks at Dharma trading company and dye them yourself with food coloring and vinegar, or you can buy them on Etsy or at Atoygarden.com. I am always recommending playsilks for birthdays; my DD got her first set for her first birthday, and they are the only toy that gets played with every week--and she'll turn 9 this summer! Seriously--they make dress-ups, superhero capes, rivers and farms for block cities, fires for your pretend camp-outs--they are the perfect toy.

[Kedrosami]

Art supplies. Washable crayons, markers & paints with paper.

[kavamamakava]

What does she like to play with? Thinking of my girls at 2, my older one got a little box filled with toy lizards and that was her favorite thing ever! She carried it around telling everyone about her "wizards."  My younger one got a dress up box with princess dresses and she loved it so much and still plays with it. I gave this to my nephew for his 2nd birthday and he has found a million uses for it and thinks it's the greatest thing ever and he sits in it or fills it with toys or rolls cars down the side or sits on top of it or spins in it. http://www.bilibo.com/en/enter/default.aspx (I bought at my local toy store, not online)

[maptome]

As a mom, I like receiving books and puzzles.  We can always have more of those, and they are easy to store with the others.  DD loves them as well. Also, they are easy to purchase at almost any store, a plus for you.

[BellyBean]

I agree with maptome, I like receiveing puzzle, books, or almost anything Melissa and Doug.  I prefer to give/get "learning" type toys.  Although I don't like licensed character stuff, I am going to a party in a few weeks where disney things were requested (so it really depends on the family).

I just bought my DD 17 months a Rody (her bff - 2 year old) has one that she has LOVED for months!!  I found mine on amazon for $35, but it didn't come with a pump.  It does come with an adapter so I was able to use our bike pump :)  Oh, and I ordered on a Sunday and got it Wednesday!

You can check out at www.rodytoy.com

[Fnord]

Originally Posted by sarahmsquared 

When my oldest turned two we got him four gifts.

Something to wear -- socks
Something to read -- an Eric Carle book
Something he wants -- a soccer ball
Something he needs -- a potty seat

We use the poem for all birthdays.

I love this! I'm going to try to remember it.

[kcparker]

Magnadoodle. That thing is hands down my kids' favorite toy. It's my favorite to. It's quiet, doesn't make clutter, can be used for drawing without wasting paper, the pen is attached and can't get lost, the older one can play tic tac toe and practice writing on it as well as drawing, it's small and fits easily in a diaper bag or my purse...

[Comtessa]

My DD will be 2 in a couple of weeks.  Here are the things she really loves to play with:

- funny hats (she has one with a duck head on it that she wears Every. Single. Day.) and socks (again, animal faces are a favorite)

- boxes that stack inside of each other (these are worth their weight in gold at our house)

- books of all kinds (though we have too many so I hope people don't get any for her birthday)

- wooden puzzles

- crayons, markers and drawing paper

I particularly want to second the PP's recommendation about containers.  DD's most beloved toys at the moment are an empty pepper shaker, an empty oatmeal box, and a toy shopping cart in which she pushes them around.  In general, anything that can hold other things is good. 

Playsilks are also great, but if they're outside of your budget (they are for us), you can just go to a local thrift store and buy a handful of small scarves or handkerchiefs and put them in a special backpack, box, or basket.  I have done this for birthdays and they just love it.  Any sort of bright-colored fabric that is the right size for small hands to hold, fold, play with, drape, etc. is just fantastic for 2-year-olds.  DD loves to play with my scarves, and my niece loves a tiny doll blanket that I made for her. 

When my niece turned 2 a few months ago, I couldn't think of any toy she didn't already have (and didn't want to fill my brother's house with more stuff that he'd have to store).  So I filled a small basket with little single-serving snacks that she loves: fruit snacks, granola bars, dried fruit, nuts, etc.  That might be an option too. 

ETA: I nearly forgot!  DD also adores those "my first words" flash cards -- just simple ones with a picture on one side and the word on the other.  She has a set with Sesame Street characters on them and can't get enough of them. 

[Fnord]

Posting again to add:

My two year old goddaughter absolutely loves plastic dinosaurs. Most places that sell toys have them and she always finds the bin and pulls them all out and makes them play with each other and talk to each other and chase each other.

She also really loves to jump and bounce on the furniture so I'd suggest a small trampoline, I think they have some with bars on them especially made for toddlers so they can hold on while they jump. I've found those for around $30 or $40 on craigslist before.