2yo birthday gift ideas

[sunnygir1]

My ds will be 2 in a couple weeks.  My grandparents would like to give him a gift.  He needs clothes, but I'd like it to be something more fun than that.

I don't want any electronic, talking, light-up kind of toys.

We have a couple wooden puzzles (one or both Melissa and Doug) that are bears that you can dress up, change the head, shirt, and pants.  He loves them.  I am thinking of getting him something along those lines.  Any absolute favorite toddler puzzles?  He seems pretty advanced (more so than dd was at that age) but it still has to be something he can get a hold of the pieces easily or he will get frustrated and scream -- which I seriously dislike.

Other, non-puzzle ideas welcome too.

[lifeguard]

My ds' favourite thing for the past year (he'll be 3 in Oct) has been the carmat. He absolutely adores it & spends many hours playing on it.

[mamacolleen]

Our DD just turned 2 in July. We got her big wooden beads that come with shoelace strings. She loves them and it has been helping build fine motor skills.

We also go her a magnetic board and magnetic alphabets that she loves. She is into fridge magnets,

She is getting more and more into her wooden blocks.

[jlsmama]

my 27 mo old DS *loves* the BabyBug magazine/book. A friend got it for him and he wants to read these fun books, which include short stories, kid's rhymes/poems, and action rhymes, nearly every day! Also, it's exciting for him to get something in the mail once a month.

http://www.amazon.com/Babybug/dp/B00006FXOQ

[sunnygir1]

Thanks for all your ideas!

Hmm.  We had a car mat and got rid of it because they didn't use it.  It might now be something he'd be interested in.  I wonder if I could get it together to make one.

We have lacing beads, but he doesn't do them yet.  He is totally into refrigerator magnets and dd's fairy dress-up magnet box.  We were looking at some magnet boards the other day -- that might be a really good idea for him.

I'll look at the magazine, he's not really into reading yet, so maybe that would be a good way to get him more into it?  Not sure if he's ready yet.

[lifeguard]

I will admit ds was not super into the carmat right away when he was 2 but within a couple months he became VERY interested in it & it is still one of his favourite items. Definitely lots of play value for a long time for us. I also made a small carmat that had pockets along one edge to hold cars that could be rolled up for travel. He insists it comes with us anytime we bring toys somewhere now - definitely a favourite - but again it wasn't immediate upon his 2nd birthday.

[maptome]

DD is almost 26 months, and she really likes puzzles.  She likes the wooden 12 piece melissa and doug puzzles.  They're wooden, so the pieces stay together better than the cardboard puzzles.  She also really likes wooden train tracks.  They are kind of puzzle-like.

[Faither]

I feel very ignorant. But what's a "carmat?" DD will be 2 in December so this thread is very helpful. The grandparents are already asking what to get her.

[mommy212]

DS loves number puzzles (almost the same age as yours). We are thinking of getting him a tricycle since he is a very active kid for his second birthday. Other ideas are a play kitchen or cooking/food set, tool/work bench, blocks, coloring or art supplies, big floor puzzle or baby doll, if he likes dolls or stuffed animals.

[voca]

My 2 year old's favourite indoor toys are puzzles, play food/kitchen stuff, and her dollhouse. I cringed when my husband's cousins bought her plastic disney princess cups and plates, some plastic pots and pans, and a tub of cheap play food for her birthday, but we took all the disney stickers off the cups and plates, filtered out the best of the food and replaced the worst with some better quality stuff and she really really loves playing with them.

My in-laws got her a Plan toys dollhouse with some furniture (not enough to fill the house) and a doll family and she identifies the dolls as us and plays out our daily routines with them all the time. The extra to our family boy doll has become the next door neighbours little boy and she sends him home a lot, saying D can't play with H's toys (that's her). 

[Adaline'sMama]

My DD still has 6 months to go, but here is out list:

Tricycle or balance bike
Playhouse (my parents have already bought this, its a wooden Amish made playhouse with real windows that open and shut)
Play kitchen with felted food, real cooking utensils (mini whisk, bowl, wooden spoons, ect)
blocks, blocks, blocks
moby wrap for her baby doll (cause Ill be wearing her brother a lot)

[foxsmama]

DS is 19 months and loves toy cars. Doesn't matter if it is a handmade wooden one or a 1$ hotwheels, if it rolls, he's into it.

[sunnygir1]

Awesome ideas.  I think part of my problem is that we already have a lot of toys (imo) and I rotate them out in groups in tubs in the garage so things are "new" to them when I bring them back out.

We have a wooden train set, and he does like that.  I think more kinds of wooden puzzles (maybe the ones with little handles on the pieces?) would be a good step for him.

What I thought of for the car mat is something I had before that was a mat, like a little rug, with roads and green areas on it that they can drive on.  I thought my kids would use it for cars and set up animals in the greenspace, etc, but they didn't take to it so I got rid of it.

Tool bench is a good idea.  I had thought of getting him a new baby of his very own -- he loves babies.  We already have a tricycle (from when dd was his size) that he can almost reach the pedals of.  We also have a play kitchen with food; he loves to play with it, so new play food, especially wood and felt instead of plastic might be a nice investment (from my grandparents ; ) )

I think he might like a doll house, but I don't know where we'd put it -- we really don't have space for that.

We have nice blocks and a pretty good car collection, but new cars would probably be a hit.

I think a nice play house would be great -- both my kids love the plastic one a neighbor handed down to us.  I just don't know about spending that much money or taking up the space.  Maybe a tree house would be fun.

[Xavismom]

I will be getting DS a new doll, probably this blonde one: http://www.novanatural.com/toys/boy-little-friend and a set of wooden construction type trucks at a local toy store that he wants SOOO badly.

I might get him a stroller for his new doll if I can find a non-plastic one that doesnt cost a fortune. He is really into dolls right now, and every time we go on a playdate, and another child has a stroller, he is ALL over it.

I gotta admit, I love that his two favorite things are dolls and trucks!

[coldandsleepy]

My son's about to turn 2 and is going to get some more felt play food for his play kitchen and a tricycle.  I found a pretty big variety of felt foods on Etsy (of varying quality and pricing, as it always goes with Etsy) and ended up settling on a lovely set of fruits & veggies for him.

It's nice to hear about other people's 2 yr old boys loving their babies too.  :)  I've thought about getting my son another baby doll but he is SO attached to the one he already has that I'm not sure he'd be interested.  Maybe for Christmas... 

[sunnygir1]

Originally Posted by Xavismom 

I will be getting DS a new doll, probably this blonde one: http://www.novanatural.com/toys/boy-little-friend and a set of wooden construction type trucks at a local toy store that he wants SOOO badly.

I might get him a stroller for his new doll if I can find a non-plastic one that doesnt cost a fortune. He is really into dolls right now, and every time we go on a playdate, and another child has a stroller, he is ALL over it.

I gotta admit, I love that his two favorite things are dolls and trucks!

Yeah, my kids both love those babies -- we have one at home and one at grandma's house, and I've considered getting him his very own.  We have a plastic stroller someone gave dd for Christmas, and ds loves to play with that too.

[crunchy_mommy]

As far as puzzle-type toys...

2yo DS likes this magnetic dress up doll: http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Joey-Magnetic-Dress-Up/dp/B000VO3HC8

We also have some of the Melissa & Doug giant floor puzzles like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Dinosaurs-Floor-Puzzle/dp/B00004R8LX/ref=sr_1_11?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1316182097&sr=1-11 DS loves to make them & then use them as playmats!

And here's another fun one: http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-10-Piece-Magnetic-Catching/dp/B000LFUKCM/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1316182230&sr=1-2

If he likes playhouses but you want something cheaper & not so big -- what about a play tent? My sister gave DS one with a detachable (collapsible) tunnel & DS isn't too into it but every other kid who's been here LOVES it.