Along with the holidays, comes the desire to give just the right gifts. I just tripped over a truck on my way over to this laptop. I can feel two balls at my feet, my eyes are cast on piles of puzzles. My brain is spinning, trying to figure out just how I will outlive these toys and how I can ever buy just the right gifts for my sons, nieces, nephews and friends’ children. Desperate for answers that are not pulled out my carol-ringing brain in a toy store, I dug into my piles of research notes on what toys, and not just toys, but what play, is most meaningful at each stage of a young child’s development. Here’s what I am using to pick out the right toys for the many little ones I adore:
1-year-olds
One year olds are on the go! Many toddlers start walking right before or after the first birthday. As explorers they not only motor about, they also enjoy stories, say their first words and love to experiment. They are engrossed in figuring out how the world works. For the sake of ease, the toy list for one year-olds is split into two stages.1-year-olds
12–18 months
- Toy keys or a padlock and its keys
- Water and bath play toys: bucket, spray bottle
- Balls: Inflatable ball 5–6” in diameter, sensory balls
- Board books: Real pictures of people and animals in the child’s life
- Play telephone or old discarded phone
- Child size broom, mop and dustpan
- Scarves for peek-a-boo
- Large size hand mirror
- Stuffed toys
- Pound-a-Peg
- DIY: Collection of different shaped blocks or objects to sort into piles
18–24 months
- Ping pong balls to bounce around, especially down stairs
- Small wagons, four-wheeled toys
- Slides and climbing equipment
- Shape sorter
- First building blocks
- Toys to explore concepts of “cause and effect” like this Miracle Pounder
- Toddler-size table and chair
- Early puzzles with 2-3-4-5-6 pieces, geometric shape puzzles, puzzles with knobs
- Picture books that tell a story ideally with 1–3 sentences per page. My toddler loves the Gossie and Friends series.
- Musical instruments including drums, shakers or a Kalimba
- Large sketch book, easy-to-hold pencils, chubby paint brushes and other toddler-friendly art materials
- Animals, plastic or wooden
- Plastic or wooden vehicles
- DIY: No-cook or cooked play dough, tools
- DIY: Dollhouse
2-year-olds
By the second birthday, a toddler starts to put phrases together and graduates to simple sentences. Language learning is a highlight of this age. Two year-olds engage new physical activities: jumping from heights, climbing, hanging by their arms, rolling and rough-and-tumble play. They have good control of their hands and like to do things with small objects. As a toddler nears preschool age, she grows a vivid imagination and dives into dramatic play.
- Dramatic play with costumes, scarves, cardboard boxes, umbrellas
- A doll that is realistic and culturally relevant to your values
- Early board games like Roll and Play
- Foster an eye for details with books: I Spy followed by Where is Waldo, 1001 Things to Spot at Christmas
- Bowling set, Basketball hoop
- A wagon to fill up with toys, sand, groceries and more
- Gardening toys
- Sand play toys
- Counting games or toys
- A range of early alphabet recognition toys
- Graduate the musical instruments with a Ukulele
- Easel, large drawing paper, brushes and tempera paints or watercolors. For an eco-friendly and Zen doodling experience check out the Buddha board
- A tricycle or scooter – something with three or more wheels
- A whole range of building blocks including magnetic blocks, Dado cubes, Kapla blocks
3- to 5-year-olds
Age three marks the start of preschool. Preschoolers have longer attention spans, they ask a lot of questions, love to play with their friends and hate to lose! Make believe, explorations with increasingly sophisticated fine motor skills including visual arts, construction and an interest in problem solving are the highlights of this stage.
- Puzzles with 12–20+ pieces
- Card games like Pile It, Go Fish, Uno for 4–5 year olds
- Board games like Chutes and Ladders, Plot Four, Blokus and Scrabble Junior
- Construction sets like Legos, Domino Race Set
- Transportation toys
- Art supplies can now be extended to include scissors and modeling clay
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (Yes, STEM toys for preschoolers!): Bedtime Math, Tangoes, Hexbug Playset (an introduction to robotics)
- Picture books with stories that explore anti-bias around gender, race, disability, culture
- Rhythm instruments and keyboards
- Workbench with tools
- Balls and bats, a baseball mitt
- DIY Puppets: Make puppets with photographs of family members
- DIY: A homemade tinkering kit that includes masking tape, straws, popsicle sticks, twine, buttons, corks, takeout Tupperware and silverware, skewers, rubber bands, discarded business cards, old CDs, old magazines and fabric scraps for collage
After all my research, when my husband recently embarked on a last minute business trip, I couldn’t recommend an apt toy for our nephew. As I sweated the fact that his beloved uncle would walk into the house without a gift, I paused and realized that the little fellow would probably be most happy with many hours of his uncle’s time. I kissed my husband bye with a whisper, “Don’t sweat the gift, and spend a whole morning with him, just you and him. Arrange your work so you can do just that!” And he did. I wish you much leisurely time with the little ones that you will be taking gifts to.
