If you have ever visited the toy store, it can be very overwhelming especially if you are searching for the perfect gift for your toddler. If fact, I feel that some of the toys available on the market are geared either for babies or older children. I decided to create a list of my favorite toys for toddlers this Holiday season and take some of the guess work out of your holiday shopping. Check out these great ideas to make finding that perfect gift easier for toddlers.
Disclosure: I wasn’t compensated for this post and all opinions are my own. I do receive a small commission if you buy products from the affiliates links in this post.
V-Tech Innotab 3S – The Wi-Fi Learning Tablet
If you are tired of your toddler playing with your smart phone, the V-Tech Innotab tablet that offers a large variety of age appropriate learning games on their very own tablet. It is recommended for children ages 3 through 9 years old. There are over 350 educational games, e-books, music, and videos that are developed for your child’s unique stage of development from V-Tech’s learning library. The Innotab 3S also comes with Wi-Fi so that children can send and receive text messages. Don’t worry parents you can set up an allowed list so that your child can only send messages to certain people. It comes with parental controls that require a password so that your kids can’t easily change the parental control settings. The Innotab 3S is also capable of connecting to another Innotab 3S so that your child can communicate with their siblings or friends who have an Innotab 3S. The tablet can be purchased in Blue, Pink, or Mickey Mouse Club House (Amazon Exlusive). The Innotab 3s comes with a the following accessories: Rechargeable Battery Pack and AC Adaptor (a $34.99 value) and 2 styluses.
Fisher Price Little People Happy Sounds Home
The Little People Happy Sounds Home is a realistic version of a home that is filled with vibrant colors and realistic sounds. This home gives your child the opportunity to be in charge of their own home and enhance their creativity through learning. The playhouse is three stories and filled with plenty of action to keep your child entertained. As your child is moving the play people between floors they are improving their fine motor skills while they are having fun.
Features:
- Includes colorful house, Mom, Dad and Baby figures
- Includes table, high chair, SUV and much more!
- Three levels of fun
- Taller design invites sitting or standing play
- Includes lots of realistic sounds and 12 different songs
- Includes 2 fence pieces that connect to other toys making it easy to extend the play! Each sold separately and subject to availability.
- Everything stores neatly inside!
- On/off switch lets parents control the play!
- For ages 1-4 years old
Fisher Price Little People Wheelies Loops n Swoops Amusement Park
The Fisher Price Wheelies Loops n Swoops Amusement park looks like so much fun. The amusement park is over 2 feet tall so that the cars go zooming down the ramp which includes a 360 degree loop. The cars fit easily into your toddler’s hands so that they can easily grip them and place them on the tracks. It features two tracks for added entertainment. It has a push button for easy release to start the roller coaster ride. The amusement park also has realistic sounds, lights, and songs to keep your child entertained for hours. This set is perfect for children ages 18 months to 5 years old. It does require assembly and 3 triple AAA batteries (not included). Buy Fisher-Price Wheelies Loops ‘n Swoops Amusement Park here.
At a Glance:
- Park set amuses children with sounds, lights, and songs
- Two ramps for double the play and roller coaster fun
- Two feet of gravity-defying loop-the-loop action
- Push-button easy-release starts the roller-coaster ride
- Two all-new Wheelies vehicles included
Blocks
Playing with blocks is a great way to help your child build their motor skills and help teach them how to anticipate where the next block will go. While you child is busy building, they have to determine if the next block has to go on top of or below the previous block. They also have to determine whether the block is going to face perpendicular or whether it needs to be parallel to the previous blog. All of the concepts to help your child when they are older. You can use the blocks to model certain patterns or have your child duplicate what you have built. Many occupational and therapists use blocks to help develop motor skills while they are playing.
Musical Instruments
Music is an important and natural part of your child’s life. Not only can you use music to entertain your child but it can kickstart learning. Your child has to use their senses and listening skills to learn the words, beat, and rhythm. Music is a sensory rich environment and helps force more pathways between their brain cells. Your child might enjoy listening to music in the car or listening to their parents sing them bedtime songs. However, you should get your child actively involved and moving to the beat of the music. You can add musical instruments, motions to nursery rhymes, get them to tap their feet, dance to the music, or clapping. There are so many cool musical instruments that are geared for toddlers that help them learn through music.
Plasma Car
The Plasma car is a color outdoor car that requires no batteries, gears, or pedals. Children just hop on the Plasma car and turn the steering wheel to get the car moving. Once your child figures out how to operate this car, they will be cruising all over the house in no time. This bike is perfect for children ages 3 years and up and is durable enough to hold older children or adults up to 220 lbs. The car does work best on hard and flat surfaces like tile and concrete. The Plasma car is not only a great outdoor toy but it helps your child develop their hand eye coordination skills while getting exercise. It comes in several different colors for children to choose from.
At a Glance:
- Requires no batteries; moves via mechanical operation
- Develops motor skills and provides exercise
- Well-built design supports kids up to 220 pounds
- Quiet operation for indoor and outdoor use
- Simple to put together with few tools required
Play-Doh
There are some many fun activities that you and your toddler can enjoy while playing with Play-Doh. In fact, I remember when I was growing up I would spend hours playing with my Play-Doh set. They have a wide variety of play-doh sets available for your child to create cookies, ice cream, food, tools, shapes, numbers, dentist, princess castles, and so much more. They even have some super cool Play-Doh Plus that is softer so that little hands can make swirls and other great creations. It is a bit harder to clean up but it is easier for younger kids to be able to push the play-doh through the tools in some of the kits, ie Ice Cream Twist Playset. Play-Doh is a great rainy day or quite time activity that most children enjoy. It helps them improve their motor skills and it enhances creativity.
Sensory Tables
Sensory tables are a great way to entertain your child and help them develop their 5 senses using playtime. The term sensory table is a fairly new term that I have seen other people describing water, sand, and other types of play tables. If you plan on getting a sensory table for your child, I would highly recommend that you store and use it outdoors where cleanup is a breeze. Water tables are a great way for children to cool off during the summer time while the are learning. A sand table can be used to bury objects, create sand castles, or use their own creativity while playing. There are tons of activities that you and your child can do to help improve their senses. If you don’t like your children playing in sand, rice is a great alternative and you can even find recipe to make colored rice for you children to play in.
As a mom, I know how important it is to choose toys that are both fun and educational. I created this list of toys to try and take the guess work out of finding the perfect gift for a toddler. They can be difficult to shop for because most of the toys on the market are made for smaller babies or older children.
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