Good Gifts for a 2 Year Old?

Kid sized cooking sets, or gardening sets are real fun. My kids love them!

Or, a "boy" doll. There ARE some nice selections.

Also, www.kodakgallery.com has some cute things too, to personalize and put his photo on!

Good luck!
Susan

a flashlight. Not one of those baby ones though. A real flashlight. Get one that isn't big. And one that can not be opened easily. And lots of batteries

Something I love doing is getting a book and writing a little message in the front cover. Something like "Happy 2nd Birthday Hunter! Have a great day! Love Aunt L." Also I get a little toy to go with it, like a book about tractors or dump trucks and then a little tractor or dump truck to go with it, or a shirt with a tractor on it.

Hi K.,
If you are interested in the personalized book idea, you may want to visit www.iseeme.com They sell beautifully illustrated personalized books. One is My Very Own Name where the child's name is spelled out letter by letter, page by page. The letters are brought by animals that start with the same letter (Giraffe brings the G, Frog brings the F, etc.) They are hard cover professional books and there is a dedication page for your personal message. These books help kids to spell their name when they are older. There is also an ABCs personalized board book for toddlers, but my favorites are the My Very Own Name for boys & girls. And for girls My Very Own Fairy Tale (Fairies bring the letters and crown the princess at the end with your child's name) because these two books will never be outgrown. I have the fairy tale books for both of my girls and we love them. If you do decide to order anything, be sure to use FREE Shipping code FSD12725. This lets them know I referred you and it gives you free US standard shipping on your entire order. The items can be mailed directly to the child if you prefer. They have matching personalized plates, puzzles, t-shirts, etc. Enjoy! Let us know what you decide to get :)

A few people have asked me if they can use the code too and the answer is Absolutely! Anyone can use it, there is no expiration and it gives you FREE shipping on your entire order - US standard shipping only.

I have a 21 month old son, and we just went to his friend's 2nd birthday party. I found a really cool spiderman and spiderman car for his buddy(although my son REALLY wanted it). Of course both boys are really into superheros right now..... For something practical, clothing is always a good gift. Maybe a nice jacket for winter? One other thing, is a subscription to Highlights magazine's "High Five" magazine for 2-6 year olds... Hope this helps!

Hi K.!

Have you ever checked out Discovery Toys? They have awesome toys, books, games & music... and BEST of all, they're all educational, and the toys come with a LIFETIME guarantee. You can place an order to be shipped to the address of you choice, so it could be shipped directly to your "honorary nephew", eliminating the need for you to get it packaged up and shipped out. I don't think you could go wrong with anything you choose, but some of the faves at that age are:

Hammer Away, Castle Marbleworks, Place & Trace, Roll & Play, Countdown Racer, Working Trio, Sounds Like Fun CD, Measure Up Cups... among countless others

Another things that is great about these products is that they grow with the child, so kids don't outgrow them so quickly. We have all the ones I mentioned, and many others, and my almost 6-year-old still plays with them too

You can check them all out at:

www.discoverytoyslink.com/julieteutschman

Please let me know if I can be of assistance! My email is:

____@____.com

Good Luck finding the perfect gift,

J. Teutschman

"Play with your children... it's the BEST investment you'll ever make!!"

Hi K.,
SAVINGS BONDS!!!!! He is only 2, he will never know the difference and his parents will appreciate it. So will he when he gets older. All that you need is his social security # and it will be sent in his name directly to him. You buy them usually at any bank. Toys are nice, but this will be a great gift while he is young enough not to know the difference. Good luck~~Christi

The type of gifts I know I like to get for my son are books or even stuff from Leap Frog. The type of books I try to get my son are the counting, ABC's, sharing and whatever else I can find.

For my cousins first birthday we made a ABC book using a photo album and pictures of her and her fave activites, the family, local places, etc. It turned out great and will last longer and mean more than toys.
When my daughter turned one, she received the cutest place setting that she used for quite a few years. it even came with kid sized silver ware. She also loved back packs when she was two. You can get personalized ones online at lillianvernon.com or disney does it too.
Someone mentioned a membership or annual pass to a local museum, zoo, etc. Look into what's in their area. My kid's favorite present from their grandparents every Christmas are Disneyland passes.
Another idea is a gift certificate to a portrait studio or savings bonds.

What about the "Lego of the Month" Club offered on Lego's website. They send a new Lego toy each month and it's affordable.

You've got some great responses so far (i love the personalized book the best). one thing i want to add is that you can avoid dealing with having to pack and ship the toy yourself if you order from the stores website and have it shipped to your friend. gift wrapping is usually available.

I just saw another request from a mom on how to down size the amount of toys that her children have and I couldn't agree more!!! I have 2 kids and we got to the point that we can't find room for all the gifts they get (we belong to a large playgroup that most of the families have 2 kids or more! Plus my DH and I both come from large families). What about starting a savings account for him...my mom did this and I love it. She started it with $25 and every time she goes to the bank she puts in a couple bucks here and there. It has now grown to over $500. She has also bought them both savings bonds that will mature when they are older and can use it for cars/college or whatever they choose. At this age kids don't know they aren't receiving an actual gift. My mom usually buys them something small that they can open then tells me that she has made a deposit!! Just food for thought!

Melissa and Doug's Band in A Box (you can order from Amazon and have it shipped to them) music CD's. Our favorites are Dan Zanes and Hulabaloo.

Music, books, puzzles always get used! Or pens/crayons and paper.

M.

As a mother of three, I've learned that the best gift is one the main caregiver won't mind having around. So, I would just ask the mother what she would like him to have--general categories or a specific toy.
He will still be surprised and you will have given him a gift with which everyone is happy.
good luck

My son received a "book Club" subscription this year on his 2nd. bday and it is the best thing ever... We get two books a month and it is so fun when they come in the mail, it is like his birthday once a month!! The benefit to it is that you just subscribe and you don't ship anything. You can purchase a book and mail it to him so he can open something and then add in the card the fact that you have signed him up for the book club for a year and he will receive them each month!
W. :)

Books Books and more books easy to ship and what better way to start his education is by giving him books, talking ones, fuzzy ones, you name it they have the most cutest books out there for kids.

Happy B-day

Hi K.,
My son is 3 and his all time favortie toy is his lawn mower!! He got his first when he was 1.5 years old and he now has 3!! All of his friends have them too and boys just LOVE these lawn mowers. I have ordered them through amazon and had them shipped for birthday gifts. It was not too expensive and it will ship right to him. They are not too big either so it can even be an inside toy if you get one without the bubbles. The talking one is really cute too. It's called something like, talking muchin mike mower....something like that:)
Good luck...and He would LOVE a lawn mower:)

OMGoodness. Please don't get the kid Play-duh if you love his parents like I think you do! Play-duh is a mess and it can ruin the carpet and furniture. When my kids were about that age, they loved this activity/toy, I think it was called the Magic Bus. It allowed them to draw and scribble, trace, etc., then erase . . . I've seen it around still at Target and Toys R Us. Good luck

Hi K., I have a couple things, that my kids received, betwen the ages of 2 and 3, one of the most special gits were for my first born, it think it was for his 3rd birthday (he's 24 now) thats why I don't remeber,but he was little, anyway a friend of mine that I went to High School had a book made especially for him, with his name in the book, it was about a little boy, and she had his name used, and then On the back cover, she wrote Dear Edwin, although you are to small to read this yourself, just wanted you to know this book was writtin for you with love. and then she dated it and signed it
it was the most talked about gift at my sons birthday party, this same friend had a quilt made for my daughter's 2nd birthday, it's beautiful and packed away so some day she can give it to a daughter she may have, one more, a friend of our family had a picture of our family and had it made into a puzzle, for one of my kids. Hope this helps. J.

With regard to the response from "Keri M" below as to the personalized story books from iseeme.com, I have to agree that they are great. We received one soon after the birth of my now 9 month old son and, although he may not appreciate it yet, the book is really beautiful and educational. I just checked the website (which I have been intending to do for a long time now) and realized that it really isn't all that expensive either...

K.,
We really like giving balls and punch balloons for two year olds. They are always well received (especially the balloons.)
I don't know anyone else that has caught on to this fun and unique idea.
Hope that helped.
P.

Hi K.-
I always like to give museum memberships. Most cities have some sort of children's museum, aquarium etc that is good for all ages. Then the family can get out and enjoy it together. Most have toddler programs for kids that young. You can do it online- and they will send to the family. So you really just send a card with a note of your gift.
(Most are also a tax deduction as well)

Our most memorable and highly used 2 yr old gift was a wooden step stool with his name cut into letter puzzle pieces on top. My cousin gave it to my son, had it made at a toy shop in San Diego (I think the shop was in Seaport Village), we love it, so personal to him, just in time for potty training, reaching the sink, whatever he needed a little step up to do. He is nine now and still uses it to get into cupboards etc... That is one gift we've never forgotton. Another is an engraved silver tooth fairy box. (Check out Tiffany's or Nordstrom's) We have used that many times over! Good luck!

My son just turned two a month ago. Here are the gifts he plays with the most:

"Parents" Bee Bop Band
*Leap Frog Fridge Phonics
*RhythMix Bongo Drums
*Animal books
*GeoTrax® Chop ’n Haul Sawmill with Miter™, Chopper™ & Stumpy™ — The Hardest Working Team

And, he loves to play with all of his little cars and Mega Bloks that he already had.

Boys really like to work with their hands, so vehicles they could push, or blocks they could build with, musical instruments, art supplies, puzzles...those are all great choices.

Best wishes to you!
M.

The previous posters have all given great ideas, I especially would like to 2nd the museum membership (zoo is another good one if they live somewhere with a good zoo). Also wanted to add in Bath Crayons, if you're thinking smaller scale. My 2 year old twins love them, they clean up easy and dont add to the toy clutter.

try amazon.com or other online sites like toysrus.com they have in the toy section an age and even boy or girl. I think toysrus is much better though from personal experience but check all reviews first before buying a toy.

Good luck, I would say Melisa and Doug are my favorites for brand and fisher price. I also love anything that doesn't have lots of pieces or goes into its self like stacking cups for example. :)

I am a grandmother of a three year old boy and an 11 month old girl and I found Kiddie Kangaroos to be a perfect gift. They are easily mailed. This soft pocket travel system provides saddlebag pockets on car seats allowing the little ones to store and retreive their own bottles, sippy cups, toys, snack packs etc. while traveling or on errands thus mom or grandma can safely keep their focus on traffic and not have to try to retrieve dropped items for the precious ones in their carseats. You can go to www.kiddiekangaroo.com for a list of local stores that carry this unique new gift item.

I love anything made by Leap Frog. There is Fridge Phonics - tons of fun for learning your ABCs and my kids favorite is the Fridge Farm. Both play fun music and help you learn. They are relatively small and would be easy to ship.

a personalized step stool with the child's name on it is also great and useful. Like many of the other moms suggested you can order it online and have it shipped there. Just look onlne for personalized gift websites.

I also love memberships. Or even pay for a class.

Thank you for asking such a great question. I got lots of gift ideas too. Good luck

My kids love to watch a dvd series by HBO called Classical Baby. Baby Einstein is okay for them.

When people ask what they can give my kids, I always tell them either a educational savings bond or contribute to their savings accounts. We are planning to set up a 529 Plan account for them since my kids grandparents and a few aunts and uncles would rather contribute directly into their accounts than send them money. You could also set up one of these accounts for your nephew and contribute a small amount monthly as a long term gift to him.

OTher than that, I really appreciate clothes that are about a year bigger than what they are wearing right now.

I really dislike toys or games that come with a lot pieces that I have to pick up everyday.

You could also ask his Mom what things he is interested in right now. At age 2 though, there probably isn't a whole lot that he is really into. Even at age 3.5, there aren't a lot of things that my son is REALLY into, that's why I always tell people to contribute to their savings or get them clothes and a small toy.

Just my two cents worth...

Puzzles are great for 2 year olds and they're flat so they're easy to ship. Plus they're cheap so you can buy a few of them.

When in doubt, send a book. He will have it for years and you can write him a little note in it and trace the hand of your daughter in it too.

we liked the Parents toy- it is a toy with 4 balls and a hammer the balls go through a "maze" and come out the bottom. both my kids loved it. there is another toy (I don't remember who it is made by) but it is a ball popper game. kids love that thing. both cost around $20. the other one i like is the leap frog frige letter game. all great for 2 yr olds. good luck/
also the book "the caboose that got loose" Bill Peet.

There is a picture book out there called Gallop. It has several different animals in it, and as you turn each page it looks as though the animal is running. It's one of those optical illusion type of things. You could look it up on Amazon and just have it shipped to him. I've given it to about 7-8 people so far. It's great.

Hi K.,

My 2 year old loves Play-Duh and we have many "tools" to play with. It is the hit at our play dates and also great for Grandparents to play with!!!!

I say go for Play-Duh- Target carries a duffle bag and you could get a few extra colors.

Have fun shopping,
H.