2019 gift guides: toddlers

Welcome to the first 2019 holiday gift guide here on AF Blog!

It seems like every year I let the holidays creep up on me and never seem to have my ish together when it comes to buying gifts – but not this year! Not only am I already gathering thoughts and ideas for my own gift-giving, but I thought I’d do what I can to help you all out too! Starting today, I’ll be posting a gift guide for 2 different groups or categories of people each Wednesday until the week before Christmas. Today’s gift guide is for toddlers, but here is a list of the ones I have planned for the next six weeks:

• His + Hers
• The Traveler + Homebody
• Coffee + Tech Lover
• The Entertainer + Homemaker
• The Cook + Outdoorsmen
• Last Minute Amazon Finds under $50

Now, these are all subject to change (especially if I get feedback from you all about a category you’d like specifically), but be sure to check back here each Wednesday for new ideas! I hope you’ll let me help you stay on top of gift giving this year! I also have a slew of other exciting holiday content planned for the rest of the year – stay tuned!

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Fischer’s Current Interests

I thought it might be helpful to know what Fischer is currently in to. If you’re a family member or friend trying to find a gift for someone else’s kid, it can be difficult to know exactly what toys go with what age. With that in mind, I thought it might help you to know what my son is currently into as a 21 month old (he’ll be 2 in January).

• Animals – He’s very into any type of animals right now and learning the sounds they make. Has a particular interest/love for barnyard animals!
• Cars – In true boy fashion, Fischer LOVES any sort of car, truck, tractor, etc. – it doesn’t have to be fancy.
• Shapes and colors – we’re currently working on shapes and colors, although most every color is currently “blue” but we’ll get there 😉
• Blocks – Loves to stack blocks.. and knock them over.
• KITCHEN – One way or another, Fischer is getting some sort of kitchen for Christmas. He LOVES watching me cook breakfast, lunch and dinner and gets so excited when I let him help with the smallest task. I’m even planning to get him one of these so he can be more involved in the real thing. Anything I can do to encourage his love of cooking is a major win for this mama.
• Cleaning – I love this. Fischer loves to help me with whatever cleaning task I’m doing. From vacuuming to dusting or simply wiping up spills or spots and I plan to nurture this as much as I can!
• Dollhouses – It may or may not surprise you that even a boy could really enjoy a dollhouse but every time we go over to our friend’s house who has a girl his age, Fischer takes to the dollhouse they have!
• Books – you can never go wrong with books for obvious reasons and there are so many cool sensory books out there these days!
• Stickers, Play-Doh & Drawing – Fischer loves all three of these things. The stickers are so good for his motor skills and I love watching him explore and create with play-doh and crayons.

Toddler Gift Guide 2019

Alright, let’s get down to business. I thought I’d start with toddler gift ideas because I think they have the potential to be the trickiest! If you’re like me, you might struggle with the balance between finding toys that are age appropriate, fun and, let’s face it, won’t cost you an arm and a leg. This year is only Fischer’s second Christmas, but what we try to do is limit his gifts to one “big (expensive) item” and then make sure the rest are educational and will aid in his development. Things like books, imaginative toys, etc. I also plan to replace all of his current bath toys with something new because I feel like those have a shelf life before they get nasty and water damaged lol! And, yes, he’s pretty much had the same ones in there for the past year – don’t judge!

So, what I’m going to do is break this gift guide up into three sections:

Big Items:

The ones I provide here Fischer either has and loves or we are actually contemplating getting him this year. There are a few things I’m debating hard between, so maybe you guys can help!

Developmental & Educational Items:

Like I said, these are aimed at helping him developmentally, and I tried to choose things that would grow with him over the next year at the least. Buying for babies/toddlers can be so hard because you never know what they’re going to be interested in (or not!) but these are curated to the best of my mind-reading abilities 😉

Bath Toys:

I know these aren’t big ticket items, but bath time in our house is so important! All three of us are usually playing together – or at least hanging out – and baths are usually when Fischer is most focused/interested in toys for the longest amount of time.. if that makes sense!

Now that we’ve got explanations out of the way, let’s get to it!

Big Items: Toddler Gift Ideas Under $200

Kitchens + Accessories

Y’all, in searching for a kitchen for Fischer, I was sooo impressed by the huge selection of beautiful wooden kitchens at fairly affordable prices! We’re going to have such a hard time choosing one. I’m dying to know – which one’s your favorite?!

Dollhouses + Barns

Same with the dollhouse category. In looking for one Fischer might like, I found SO MANY beautiful options. Some come with small pieces that could potentially be considered a choking hazard so, as with anything, just be mindful of that when looking for toys in general! These items range anywhere from around $40 – $200 for the more extravagant items!

Toddler Rides

When it comes to Christmas toys, I think bikes – or something they can ride on – are some of the first things that come to a parent’s mind. Last year we got Fischer the wagon! In keeping with that tradition, I thought I’d gather some of them here. Fischer has something VERY similar to the white jeep I linked below and I can’t tell you how many times a day he asks to go ride his “beep beep” outside. It’s SO COOL, y’all. Complete with a remote control for parents!

Play Tables

I really want to get Fischer one (more like ALL) of these play tables! Maybe for his birthday or we’ll put it on his wish list for family members. At some point I plan to have a table and chairs either downstairs next to his play kitchen or upstairs in his playroom for doing crafts, etc. We’ll see – but I thought you guys might appreciate a few options as gift ideas!

Play Mats + Systems

Fischer would love any of these play mats and block-building systems! I especially like the Melissa & Doug play rug that comes with accessories. The following items range in price from $20 – $100.

Educational Toys: Ideas Under $50

To be honest, most toddler toys could be considered ‘educational’. Anything that exposes them to new things, gets them to think about sorting/colors/numbers, encourages imaginative play and/or helps them work on their motor skills is a win in my book! With that in mind, here are a bunch of educational toy ideas under $50.

Toys

Books

Puzzles

Bath Toys for Toddlers

Phew! I think that covers all of my ideas for toddler gifts. I tried to keep these items gender neutral – or I chose things that offer multiple color choices. 🙂 I hope you found this guide useful – if you choose to purchase anything from this post for your little one (or someone else’s), I’d love to hear about/see it!

As always, thanks for reading friends!