56 Best Gifts for Toddlers, Since 1- and 2-Year-Olds Get the Most Fun Toys
There are so many great ideas under $20.
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It's possible the toddler years are the ones filled with the best toys — the dolls, the play food, the block sets! — but there's also a lot to keep in mind when shopping for gifts for kids this age. Kids under the age of 3 shouldn't be allowed to play with anything that's a choking hazard for starters. That includes toys with small items (either inside the toy or as eyes or buttons that might be pulled off), as well as toys with long strings. There shouldn't be places where little fingers could get pinched, and the toys shouldn't shatter if they fall to the ground. And, of course, they have to be simple enough to be used by toddlers — and still entertaining enough to keep their attention.
With all that in mind, though, there's still a world of fun options for the toddlers in your life. The Good Housekeeping Institute has evaluated toys, building blocks, board books, sensory items, educational toys, snuggly soft friends and STEM toys to find the best toys and gifts for toddlers in 2024. Lab experts investigates toys all year, keeping track of trend and new releases, calling in favorites and handing them over for real toddlers to test. Many go on to be Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award winners. When playtime was over, these rose to the top.
From shape sorters that get thing exploring cause-and-effect to role-play items that get them into imaginative play, there are so many ways for them to have fun while they're learning.
Melissa & Doug Wooden Work & Play Desktop Activity Board
If the adults in their lives work from home, kids want to get in on the action. Instead of allowing them to take over a real workspace, hand them this one, which has tons of fun features like a mouse that slides, a keyboard with buttons to push, a cup that turns from cocoa to orange juice and a mirrored laptop. Testers report that kids loved being able to interact with all the different features, but parents loved how they were attached to the lap desk so there weren't pieces to lose. Ages 1+
LeapFrog 4-in-1 Learning Hamburger
Kids used the pieces of this hamburger to stack, count, practice colors, use like a puzzle and even play like ring toss. “My son was entertained with this, and I love that it helped develop his fine motor skills and shape recognition," one parent said. Ages 1+
Playmobil Mickey's & Minnie's Cloud Ride
Toddlers will get to practice their fine-motor coordination when they add these Mickey and Minnie figures into their dream vehicles and link them up into a train. There are other Playmobil Mickey and friends sets, including a larger cloud home and a smaller Mikey Sun Rattle, in addition to new Winnie the Pooh sets. Ages 1+
'Hey! Look at You!' Mirrored Board Book
There are seven different mirrors throughout this book, which made it a hit with the Good Housekeeping Institute's littlest testers. On each page, kids are invited to look at themselves as they make different animal sounds, so they can see the different shapes their mouths make for each noise. Ages 1–4
Little People 'Friends' Set
Could these Little People be any cuter? It comes with Little People figures of all of the main Friends characters, along with Easter eggs for fans (like Joey wearing all of Chandler's clothes). If you're not a Ted Lasso family, there are collector sets for Barbie, Drag Race, Ted Lasso, Seinfeld, The Office, The Golden Girls, Run DMC, N'SYNC, and other parent faves. Ages 1+
The five percussion instruments in this set help kids with their motor skills and let them explore cause-and-effect through different sounds. It comes with a drum, maracas, a rattle, a clip clap, a bell shaker and a rainbow shaker that makes sounds like the ocean. Good Housekeeping Institute testers reported their kids stayed engaged with this set because of the different ways each piece made different noises. "I felt that it taught her a lot from a sensory and developmental perspective, seeing how the beads move back and forth and make sounds," one parent said.
Kids will love caring for and watching over this baby doll, which builds nurturing and empathy skills. Adults will love that it's made from 100% recycled materials. Ages 0+
This toy is a stacker and a train all rolled into one, with a Very Hungry Caterpillar twist. There are 12 pieces in total, and kids can stack the wooden animal blocks on to the train, link them together and drive them around. Ages 1+
Bath toys are usually hard and not for snuggling, but if you have a kid who wants to take their stuffed animals everywhere — even into the tub — then this is the toy for them. Not only can these stuffies go into the bath, but they can also be used like washcloths. You can even throw them in the washing machine. Ages 0+
This made Amazon's list of "Toys We Love" for 2023 because there's just so many ways to play with it. Toy phone? Got one. Piano keys? Of course. Shape sorters? Why not? And, best of all, new walkers can push it around with wheels that can be adjusted to two different speed settings. Ages 9 months+
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When it comes to shape sorting, this toy offers more of a mind-boosting challenge. The top of the sorter swivels around, which affects the shape of each hole. Instead of grabbing a shape and finding the correct hole, kids now have to grab a shape and create the correct hole. Ages 2+
Peaceable Kingdom Where's Bear? Game
This takes the idea of stacking/nesting and turns it into a fun game for family game night. Players take turns hiding the wooden bear in the different stacking boxes that represent different rooms in a house, and then trying to find it. It lets kids practice patience and turn-taking in a fun way. Ages 2+
Sereed Balance Bike
Get them on a path toward bike-riding with this sweet ride on. It has four wheels for stability and comes in half a dozen color combos — it's no wonder users have given it more than 4,500 five-star reviews on Amazon. Ages 1+
Roar! I'm a Dinosaur
It's a board book of dinosaurs meets peekaboo: Once you open the book, there are two die-cut holes that you can hold up to your eyes to make each page into a dino mask! Our kid testers loved transforming into the different dinosaurs in this previous Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award winner. Ages 0+
This one will have everyone on their feet and dancing to the "Elmo Slide." He has two modes of play: With one, he dances — waving hands, swiveling hips and more — and kids have to copy him. The other is a modified version of "Simon says." Testers reported that even older siblings who weren't as into Sesame Street loved dancing along with Elmo. Ages 2+
Step2 Waterfall Discovery Wall
The old water table gets even more dynamic when it's set up vertically, with lots of ways to watch the water cascade down. Parents like the space-saving design, and kids like seeing the water go through chutes and spinners. Ages 18 months+
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Toddlers wil be so excited to see their actual names in a book. With different versions for little boys and little girls, this book uses each of the letters in a kid's name to shape its story. There are also personalized seek-and-find books, birthday books, Christmas books and more. Ages 0+
RELATED: The Best Personalized Books for Kids
Bring the playspace experience to your playroom with these fun foam blocks. Parent testers say these blocks kept kids active and engaged as they rearranged the pieces to make slides and ramps to climb up. Ages 9 months+
This book reads animal facts aloud in both English and Spanish. Kids can use it to learn about names, sounds and habitats while playing independently. Ages 18 months+
What tea party is complete without these sweets? This set of four donuts, which are perfect for imaginary play, will fit right in any kitchen set. Each donut is frosted with a different design and they come in a bakery-like box. Ages 2+
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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