A wooden balance bike
Skips the training-wheel years entirely. Lives outside, has no batteries, and is still being ridden two birthdays later.
Have a look →Gifts for toddlers that their parents will not resent
You are buying two gifts here. One for a two-year-old, who will be delighted by nearly anything, and one for their parents, who have to keep it in their house.
The rule: nothing with a speaker, nothing with two hundred pieces, nothing that only works on carpet.
Stacking cups
The highest ratio of hours played to dollars spent of anything in this list. Also work in the bath, the sandpit, and eventually the kitchen.
Have a look →A board book with a single repeated joke
You are buying something a parent will read four hundred times. Pick one that is funny on the fortieth reading, not the first.
Have a look →A child-sized broom or dustpan
Toddlers want to do what the adults are doing far more than they want toys. This is the whole Montessori aisle in one cheap object.
Have a look →A set of chunky crayons and a large roll of paper
Paper by the roll changes the activity — it becomes something spread on the floor for an hour rather than a page filled in four minutes.
Have a look →When in doubt, ask the parents what has broken. Toddler equipment has a brutal failure rate and replacing something is genuinely welcome.
Stop guessing next year
Holiday Registry is a private gift list for your family. Everyone writes down what they’d actually like, anyone can claim something to buy, and the person it belongs to never finds out. It is free.
Start your family