The Best Christmas Gift Ideas for Toddlers

Mega Bloks are a great first building block for young toddlers.

They’re big enough to not worry about choking, and easier to keep track of since their larger.

Elijah had some of these when he was about 1 year old. They definitely helped him get the hang of building blocks early on.

Play food is a great way for toddlers to play and grow their imagination. There are so many skills they learn by playing this way!

Playing with pretend food can also help to expose them to various foods, which can help with picky eating.

Play food is great on it’s own, or can be a great addition to a play kitchen.

Elijah got these Melissa & Doug Pull-Back Vehicles for his first birthday and has a lot of fun with them! They’re very easy to use, and the cover can be taken off and washed.

These are definitely best suited for younger toddlers, and make great first cars.

One thing that surprised me about the pull-back vehicles was that they work very well on both carpet and hard floors.

While we like snapping blocks, Elijah has also put in a lot of play time with wooden blocks as well.

You really can’t go wrong with wooden blocks. There’s just so much that toddlers can dream up and build with them.

And so many different ways you can use wooden blocks to incorporate learning into play time. Work on colors, talk about shapes, line them up—endless possibilities!

While a lot of people think of Shape Sorters as baby toys, they’re actually designed to be toddler toys.

Shape sorters help toddlers learn their shapes. They’re also great for developing problem solving skills.

I do think these are better for younger toddlers (1-2 years old). It seems like after that age they start losing interest in favor of other toys and activities.

Elijah loved his stacker when he was a one year old! For a long time he would insist on stacking them every single time he saw them.

While this is another one of those Christmas gift ideas that is better suited for younger toddlers, it can still be good for older toddlers as well.

I like that the Melissa & Doug stacker has a lot more colors than simpler stackers, and it has other shapes. It’s a great toy to help with learning colors and shapes.

If you’re looking for an easy but incredibly fun toddler activity, Plah-Doh is the way to go.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a toddler that doesn’t like to play with Play-Doh. Whether they play with one color at a time, or you let them run wild with all the colors, it’s a lot of fun.

It’s a great sensory activity, without a ton of set up or even cleanup. Give it as a gift or use as a stocking stuffer.

Wooden train tracks are a great Christmas gift ideas for toddlers, especially little boys. I don’t know why, but little boys usually love trains.

We got these wooden train tracks for Elijah when he was two years old, and even a year later he still plays with them almost every single day.

Technically this particular set is an expansion set, but it can easily be used on its own, with any major brand of trains.

Of course, if you get your child a train track, or your child already has one, you’ll also want some trains to go with it.

We got the Melissa & Doug wooden train cars, and they’re great! They’re connected by magnets, which make them super easy for toddlers to connect.

They get used pretty much on a daily basis in our house!

This one is a bit of an inside and an outside toy. We got Elijah a Tonka Truck for Christmas one year, and it’s been used in so many ways.

Elijah loves to push toys around in it, and also use it to gather his stick collection outside.

I remember having a Tonka Truck as a kid, and it lasted forever! Be sure to get the metal version for long lasting durability.

These are the building bricks that Elijah currently uses (at 3 years old).

They’re pretty much just like Legos, just a lot bigger. This makes them safe for toddlers, and easier for little hands to build with.

In our house, these building bricks make an appearance every single day. He’s always building something with them!

By now you can probably tell we like old school toys. But there’s a reason for that—they’re really good toys!

Fisher Price Little People are another toddler toy that we love.

Elijah loves to play with them and make the people talk to each other. And the Little People collection has a ton of different vehicles and buildings to go with the people.

Elijah got some Marvel action figures for his birthday, and he absolutely loves them.

I think it’s safe to say these have been some of his favorite toys that he’s ever gotten. He’s always got his Iron Man and Spiderman figures with him.

I like that these action figures don’t have a ton of moving parts, or pieces that could get broken off or lost. Very toddler friendly, as long as your toddler is past the chewing stage!

Normally I don’t recommend whistles or loud toys, but this is the exception.

Elijah is in love with his train whistle that he got for his birthday. And it actually sounds like a train!

The look of pure joy on his face was absolutely priceless.

It takes a pretty good puff of air, so don’t worry about it being used nonstop all day.

Got a toddler that likes animals? Animal figurines are the perfect gift!

We got a tub of these toys a while back, and they still get used frequently.

I also love that animal figurines can be used for sensory bins and bottles, as well as independent play.

Does your toddler have a ton of toys you don’t have room for? I love that this carpet playmat serves multiple functions!

Matchbox cars work best with this playmat, but you can also use larger cars on it as well.

I love that it gives Elijah somewhere to drive his cars, but also doesn’t take up any storage space.

Now that he’s well past the chewing stage, Elijah has been enjoying his growing cars collections!

Matchbox or Hot Wheels style cars are great for older toddlers.

These pair well with carpet playmats as well.

Lately we’ve been really getting into sensory bins and bottles. Sensory activities are so good for toddler learning and development.

Recently we put together our first autumn sensory bottle, and it was a hit!

You can buy a premade sensory kit, or make your own from scratch.

In full disclosure, we currently rent an apartment, and don’t have a backyard. For that reason alone, we don’t personally own this particular toy.

However, I am 100% sure that Elijah would absolutely love a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.

In fact, he actually got to play with one when we visited a children’s museum. He had a ton of fun with it!

Swings are fantastic Christmas gift ideas for toddlers if you have a backyard to put them in.

The great thing about swings is you can use them pretty much all year round. As long as you don’t get so much snow it covers it, of course.

There’s just something about toddlers and swings—most just love to be pushed on a swing.

If you’re stumped on great Christmas gift ideas for toddlers, try a Radio Flyer wagon!

We have one of these, and Elijah absolutely loves it. He loves riding in it, pulling it, filling it up with sticks and rocks and other toddler “treasures.”

Radio Flyer wagons are well known to being sturdy and solid wagons.

It may be cold out now, but Christmas time is still a great time to invest in a Little Tikes slide. Put it in your backyard, or in a playroom for your toddler to enjoy all year round.

Honestly, anything that gets your little one outside and/or moving and active is a good investment, in my book.

And a Little Tikes slide will definitely do that.

Sometimes, the best toys are just simple outdoor balls.

Toddlers love to learn to catch and throw balls—especially little boys.

Whenever we play outside, Elijah’s ball often ends up outside with us.