Gift Guide
The 25 Best Toys for 2-Year-Olds Right Now
- Written By
- Elizabeth Mitchell Kadar
The Best Wooden Toys for Toddlers
Haba Basic Starter Blocks Set
The building blocks of every playroom. This simple 26-piece set includes an assortment of different shapes and sizes for endless construction opportunities (castles, towers, garages!) and lessons in basic math. All blocks are made of solid natural, reforested and untreated beech wood.
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Bigjig Toys Figure Eight Train Set
Choo choo! Toddlers and parents will get on board with this classic wooden train set equipped with a little engine, three carriages and more tiny signs and figures. Help them set it up and see where their imagination takes them.
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Manhattan Toy Celestial Star Explorer Wooden Toddler Activity Center
Your little astronaut will be over the moon with this epic activity center, ideal for mastering those motor skills. It features three levels and four fun quadrants to explore: wire bead runs, clacking doors, mini spinners, springy crescent moons and more. It’s big enough to enjoy with friends, helping foster cooperative play.
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Sabo Wooden Rainbow
Pure gold. Brighten their day with this iconic rainbow stacker toy in muted mustard hues parents will appreciate. There’s literally no end to the ways kiddos can play–seriously, it’s magic! Put it together like a puzzle, try to balance the arches on top of each other, or practice color recognition, counting and spatial awareness.
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The Best Educational Toys for 2-Year-Olds
M is for Me! Personalized Book
Develop a love for reading and learning letters and numbers with this priceless keepsake book set, monogrammed with your child’s name.
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Tender Leaf Toys Color Me Happy
You can’t go wrong with this snazzy snake puzzle for 2-year-olds. Practice both colors and (3D!) shapes as–through trial and error–they learn to piece it together themselves. With a chic modern design, it also doubles as decor.
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HABA My Very First Games - Here Fishy, Fishy!
This adorable first fishing game is sure to reel them right in. Kiddos can play with the sea creatures and fishing rods, creating their own underwater scenarios, or sit down with family and learn how to follow the rules (of the game). Fishing with magnetic rods is especially helpful in fostering hand-eye coordination and improving toddlers’ concentration.
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The Best Toys for Water Play
Honeysticks Bath Crayons
Whatever it takes to get them in the bath, right? Jumbo-sized for little hands, these non-toxic crayons are made with clean, 100% food-grade ingredients. They are built to last, unlike other comparable options. Just be sure to dry them out after each use.
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Nothing But Fun Toys Spinning Turtle Sprinkler
Better than your basic sprinkler, this spinning turtle is great for cooling down (and burning some energy!) on a hot day. For more cautious toddlers, turn the water on low to create a gentle spray. Or crank up the action, and turn it on high to spray up to eight feet in all directions. Best 25 bucks you’ll ever spend.
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The Best Toys to Burn Their Energy
Lily & River Little Rocker Rainbow
The indoor playground that does it all, literally. Designed to boost balance, fine-tune gross motor skills and encourage creativity, this elevated, 2-in-1 Rocker and Climber is great for hours of entertainment – one minute, it’s a fort, the next it’s a boat! Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it looks good in the playroom.
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Bunny Hopkins Stepping Stones Diversity
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Wonder & Wise by Asweets Hip Hopscotch Playmat
No chalk necessary. Complete the playroom with this parent-approved playmat featuring a fun hopscotch print for getting the wiggles out. Toddlers can jump from square to square, toss the three included bean bags around and even work on counting and mastering numbers as they get bigger.
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The Best Arts & Crafts for 2-Year-Olds
OOLY Chunkies Paint Sticks, $15.50
If you’re the kind of parent that loathes arts and crafts, get these…now! They’re fast drying, smudge-free and don’t require all the clean-up of traditional paint. A thick barrel casing makes ‘em easy for little hands to grip and use too.
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Worldwide Buddies The Sticker Book
Two-year-olds can never get enough stickers – just ask any parent! This book is full of 120+ diverse stickers to teach them about people, places and animals from around the world. A wonderful way to introduce and talk to your toddler about different cultures!
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The Best Toys for Pretend Play
Teamson Kids Little Helper Cleaning Set
Make actual messes disappear with one of our fave role-play toys for 2-year-olds: their very own wooden cleaning set. Um, genius! Don’t be surprised if you find yourself reaching for it too.
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Manhattan Toy Baby Stella
The perfect first baby doll. Stella is soft, snuggly and has the cutest little baby belly. Your toddler will love playing parent, changing diapers and clothes, and popping the tiny magnetic pacifier back in when baby gets “fussy.”
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Teamson Kids Little Chef Chelsea Modern Play Kitchen
Another kitchen to clean, but hey, at least it’s a feast for the eyes. Toddlers love to imitate all the ordinary things their parents do, like spending hours in the kitchen cooking dinners their 2-year-olds refuse to eat – fun! The good news is, your toddler will use this on the daily so it’s worth the splurge.
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The Best Ride-On Toys for 2-Year-Olds
Micro Kickboard Micro Mini Deluxe
New whip, who this? Micro’s award-winning scooter has all the bells and whistles. Featuring a thick 3-wheel design and flexible fiberglass reinforced deck for an ultra-smooth ride, plus a height-adjustable T-bar that grows with them, you’ll get years of use out of this bad boy. And when they’re too big? Give it to a sibling.
Iimo USA 3-in-1 Folding Tricycle
A luxury, lightweight ride for you and them too! This cool, contemporary trike can be used as their first bike or a chic stroller for daily walks to the park. We love the easy, one-handed steering, shock absorption wheels and the fact that it folds up to fit modern families’ on-the-go lifestyles.
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Rody Horse With Pump
Hop on it! A new favorite way to get around the house, Rody helps toddlers develop balance, movement skills and work on coordination. Purchase the removable base to turn him into a rocking or ride-on horse!
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The Best Sensory Toys for Toddlers
Dough Parlour Dinosaur Playbox
The smarter way to do play dough. Made with 100% food grade, non-toxic ingredients, you’ll feel safe letting them squish, squeeze and sculpt, as they use their imagination to create dinosaurs (in delicious scents!) and all sorts of cool stuff.
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Wonder & Wise by Asweets Sand and Water Table
The ultimate, all-in-one sensory table for toddlers! Fill the three removable and collapsible bins with water, sand or whatever activity of the day you can dream up: water beads exploration, a mini Jurassic Park or a beans and rice sensory search. Made of sustainable bamboo, it comes with two reversible covers – a train track on one side and a chalkboard on the other.
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Our Fave Toddler Toys Under $50
KidKraft Lil’ Symphony Wooden Play Guitar
The perfect gift for your little rockstar. Foster a love for music from an early age with this sleek wooden acoustic guitar with realistic-looking strings and tuning pegs for impromptu jam seshes.
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Jack Rabbit Creations Pull Back Mini Around Town Cars
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Bubble Maker
Best gift ever! Treat your tot to this super cute, battery-powered bubble maker, and then take a much-needed seat as they run around popping bubble after bubble. No mess or dumped solution to deal with is a major parent win.
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Elizabeth Mitchell Kadar
Elizabeth Mitchell Kadar is a seasoned freelance fashion, beauty and lifestyle writer and also a mom of three littles living in sunny California. She’s written for Brides, YouBeauty, She Knows, The Fashion Spot and many more.