November 17, 2010

Ten Time Tested Toys for Two Year Olds!

I don't know about you guys, but I think that two year olds are a tricky bunch of monkey beans to shop for. It's hard to find REALLY GOOD toys out there that your two-ish year old will enjoy. I thought I'd put together a post of our time-tested favorites before the Holidays are upon us, just in case any of you were as stumped as I was the first time around!

one.Train boards. There is nothing better in my opinion! Both Ezra and Myer play with this still every single day. My husband actually made this one (stud muffin), but any kind of train board is guaranteed to bring hours of fun to your house!



two.Okay, pretty much any kind of train toy is a hit with two year old boys, I think. We have a couple of these 'Take Along Thomas' sets and Myer loves them!



three.Richard Scary. Enough said.



four.Once he figured out it was gross to eat, playdough became a staple item for my two year old! He loves to smoosh it and make snakes and cut it with plastic utensils.



five.This toy is INCREDIBLE. The boys play with it all the time-- you can build and create different space ships. It's not available anymore, but it has been replaced by this year's model which looks equally as fun!



six.Legos. My five year old plays with legos non-stop all day everyday, but my two year old can also join in the fun! He loves to play with the lego guys- putting different hats and pants and shirts on them and setting them up everywhere. Myer has never been the kind of kid that puts little toys or things in his mouth, but if your little one still does that, this option might be better for later on!



seven.Any of the Imaginext toys are awesome!! We have the dragon castle and the pirate ship, and these get played with ALL THE TIME by both my kids. I love it when you can find toys that older kids and younger kids can play with. Priceless.



eight.Little cars. We have a whole bucket of these things and I find them all over the house because the boys are always finding creative places to play with them. You can never have too many! :)



nine.This Little Einstein's Pat Pat Rocket toy was purchased by my parents for Ezra when he was two. It is a GREAT toy and is always zooming around the house somewhere. They don't sell them new anymore, but you can find a whole bunch of gently used ones on ebay!



ten.
The Cozy Coupe. I'm convinced Myer would live in this if we let him. This is also a time-tested favorite... both Ezra and Myer have gotten a lot of miles out of this little car! :)


Other favorites: Blocks, Coloring Books, Tricycles, Little People Playsets, Sticker Books, Puzzles, Magnetic Fridge Toys, Dump Trucks, and Bubbles!



I hope this gives you guys some ideas for your two-ish year olds out there! All these toys have been great for us because they have lasted for more than just one short season in our kid's lives- they've been played with for ages!

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Okay-- so now it's your turn. Do you guys have any other ideas for the two-year-olds of the world? I need some fresh ideas for this year as well. What does/did your two year old love best?

14 comments:

leslie said...

I bought all my niece and nephews this year a Cloud B constellation twilight night light. It is a turtle or sea turtle or lady bug that is stuffed on the bottom with a hard shell that displays lots of stars and moons covering the entire wall and ceiling. I have one in my 3 month old's room, I just gave one to my 3 year old nephew LOVED it.. I am giving one to the 2 year old (lady bug version) 4 and 6 year old. I then had to buy 2 for our Adult friend....you sit them in the center of the room they are awesome... has an auto 45 min shut off and cycles 3 colors..

I bought mine off ebay from a US dealer for 10.00 a piece.

http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Twilight-Constellation-Night-Turtle/dp/B000BNQC58/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1290016606&sr=8-2

ebay seller: high-etech
it was about 25 for both or you can negotiate but I just buy.

Mrs. Blimes said...

Oh so happy to read this! My son turns two a couple days after Christmas so I neeeeeeded Christmas AND birthday ideas! Trains are DEF going on the list!

Thanks!!!!

Lisa said...

I've been contemplating a train set!

Both my kids really love our play kitchen and accessories. My friend found our kitchen at Tuesday morning for $40, which was quite a steal!

One of those magnetic drawing boards, crayons and paper are used a ton.

Blocks, LittlePeople, any Melissa and Doug toys (especially their musical instrument sets), are popular too.

Zimms Zoo said...

because I also have older kids and have developed an intense dislike for most toys I have about the same list. Most of the toys purchased fall apat, out of vogue, boring after 2 weeks.

Trampoline has gotten so much use for 3 years. Nearly everyday! Even the little one loves it. Legos are also huge here. We are always on the look out at garage sales to add to them. Wooden blocks and hard plastic animals are more favorites. Barbies for our girls have been favorites forever. Again the baby loves this too.

Good list! I love toys that require imagination.

Anonymous said...

This play food: http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-487-Cutting-Food/dp/B001POAOBU

I don't know what it is with little ones and their desire to play with knives, but a play set with cuttable food gives them the chance.

Also... balloons. Yesterday I blew up four balloons, and my kids played with them all day. It kind of made me feel like an idiot. How have I been a mother for four years without thinking of entertaining my stinkers with balloons?

Two Cent Sparrow said...

THANK YOU SO MUCH! Landon nearing two and I haven't been able to figure out what to get him that he will play with for awhile. These are great ideas!

Landon is also obsessed with Noah's Ark (the story) so I was going to buy him one of those big arks with plastic animals inside. And anything he can push is fun. Amazon has a great kid sized grocery cart that he likes putting things into and pushing around the house.

Amy @ AGirlCalledBeloved said...

my brother used to have a castle a lot like that when we were both little.
We both had so much fun playing with it.
Can't wait to have a little one and buy neat toys!

Em-Jae said...

Great list! Train tracks and legos were a staple in my house growing up... I have a few nieces and nephews around 2 who I've been contemplating gifts for -- this list is so helpful!

We also played outside a LOT when I was little, so sand boxes, swings, and dirt-digging tools (etc.) were all dearly loved.

Marianne Elixir said...

This is a great list. I second the wooden velcro foods (we have some from Melissa and Doug, and also from Plan Toys).

The HUGE relief I had when my boys were two was water. Either in a water table (which even in the winter we could put out on the porch with warm tap water) or simply in the kitchen sink. For a gift idea, if you don't purchase a water table (we found a used "Little Tikes" water and sand table on craigslist, though we just put water on each side), you can create a water play set. Collect things like funnels, old spice jars, measuring spoons, make or buy bubble solution, cars, boats, animals, etc. Playing at the sink has bought me many a sane hour when a 2-year-old was in the house (and the younger kids like it from earlier and earlier ages).

Lil Muse Lily said...

WOW!!!! that's a LOT of toys. Lily is totally deprived. do they like art? how about an easel and some paints?

Anonymous said...

such a cute little boy and toys!

XOXO,

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Anonymous said...

I agonized over whether to buy a train table and I can honestly say I am so glad I didn't - its so fun to see my boys come up with crazy tracks that wind in and out of the chairs, piano bench, all sorts of configurations!
the wooden food is huge hit too - we don't have a play kitchen (too much bulk) but they use anything as their pretend stove! you can buy cheap tin pans at goodwill or thrift even and just buy the wooden food. the matchbox sets do well here - my now 4 yr old uses his "shock ramp" set ALL the time and I bought extra tracks and he will set the thing up in crazy directions and play forever.
with a newborn coming, I would stay away from anything magnetic!!

Olivia said...

Great list! We have a lot of those here and they get a lot of play time. I would add some girly things to the list--anything you can push like shopping carts or doll strollers and DRESS UP. My 2yo is very serious about princess high heels and loves to try on as many pairs as possible a day.

Rebekah said...

I just showed this post to my two year old, and he exclaimed "My play dough! My play dough! (we use the same place mat underneath!) Ohhh...my cars! My cars! My plane!"
So, he definetely loved your list! Thanks for this -- it inspired us to get him a train table for Christmas - he loves trains!