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The first of my holiday gift guide series is here! This guide is full of Nori and Rio-approved items, and as parents we love that many of them help develop motor skills, coordination, and thoughtful self-play. I’ve also included a few favorites from the past years that are used almost daily in our home! For age reference, my kids are 2 and 4 years old and they both enjoy almost everything in this guide.
Experience Gifts:
- Local indoor game gym pass
- Zoo or children’s museum card
- trampoline parking card
- “Coupon” for a trip to a favorite ice cream / treat shop
For families with “too much stuff”. Here in New England, we’re always hungry for indoor/winter weekend activities. So this type of experience gifts that get kids active AND provide a good nap, it’s a win-win situation.
Magnetic Tiles
Available Walmart & Amazon. We love a good toy that is mentally stimulating! My 4-year-old sits alone for a good amount of time creating creations with these tiles, while my 2-year-old mostly enjoys stacking them.
There are lots of brands to choose from, but I have linked to a trusted brand that is of great value. Even if you receive another set from a different brand as a gift, you can often add on to expand your existing set.
Mini Dyson Vacuum Cleaner
I wish this was really cleared! This toy mini version of our real vacuum cleaner is a household favorite for both kids as soon as they’re toddlers, and even though it has a voooom sound effect, you can always “lose its batteries”.
Even though the product page falsely claims this thing actually sucks (it doesn’t), we’re still totally happy with it, and the kids enjoy removing the vacuum head and opening the trash, just like on our real Dyson.
Personalized Puzzle
- To make DIY family photo puzzles for babies 6 months to 1.5 years old: use wooden shapes puzzle or Melissa and Doug puzzle for a puzzle base. Just print out photos of family members’ faces, draw shapes on the photos, cut them out and paste the shapes on the clipboard.
- For children 2 years and older: 12 or 60 piece photo puzzle. This is very good quality and comes in a keepsake box. We bought the 12-piece puzzle last year, but the kids are now ready to graduate to the 60-piece puzzle! We took pictures of kids with their favorite toys and stuffed animals that they LOVE to assemble. A tip when choosing a photo is that it doesn’t have too many spaces or solid-colored backgrounds, so it’s visually easier for kids to put the puzzle together.
Gymnastics Jumping Horse
Nori’s school has these unicorns, and they’re her FAVORITE EVER to fidget. When I pick him up in the afternoons, he’s mostly jumping merrily in one of these, and Rio is clamoring for a spin. I would say these are the ideal size for kids ages 2 to 3.
For a lower budget, these jumping animals It’s under $35 and has great reviews. Still, the Gymnic ones are of excellent quality, and from the review videos of the budget option it seems to me that the Gymnic ones have more “jumps”.
Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Shop
Available Walmart & Amazon. It’s under $35 and it’s a great gift for that price. It’s a solid quality and kids absolutely love it. They can spend a solid amount of time taking orders and making imitation cones while developing their fine motor skills. The scoop functionally clicks and releases and the ice cream stays securely in place when stacked.
Clothes they actually WANT to wear
These bright, fun favorites are super practical and comfortable at the same time. Nori wears her princess sweater dress to school once a week, and New Balances are the most comfortable kids’ sneakers we’ve ever bought! She wants to wear them every day and it’s so easy for little ones to put them on and off.
Socks Fillers
Small but useful items that decorate a little bit of what interests your kids. For us, that means unicorns, unicorns and more unicorns for Nori, and everything with trucks for Rio.
The kids first got these mismatched Pals socks when they were babies and I’ve started buying larger sizes. They’re just as comfortable and warm as slippers, they’re much better on foot than regular slippers, the non-slip bottom really works, and it’s fun to mix and match their favorite animals every day!
Little Tikes 3 Ft Indoor Trampoline
Under $50. We’ve used this model at a few of our friends’ homes, and while we don’t have room for it, it’s definitely worth it if you need to burn a lot of toddler energy indoors during the cold winter months or extremely hot summer days. Our children aged 2 and above enjoyed it.
Personalized Cardboard Book
This one pops up again, as children still love storybooks “a day in the life”. Take pictures while doing your favorite activity or family tradition and turn it into a durable storybook that’s the perfect size for little hands.
Scooter
This brand is extremely popular in our neighborhood and many young children (including my daughter) use it as a means of transportation to and from school. The handlebar gets longer to adjust as it gets bigger. Our kids started using the Mini at age 2 and it will work well until age 5/6. See how they are different scooters for all ages; also available at: Walmart.
kitchenette
Our kitchenette is played daily and doubles as a small toy storage cabinet! This is available in full at: alimony or two storey apartment for the lowest prices (currently on sale for under $100!), or view all Teamson Kids kitchenettes at: Walmart. A few more selections with good reviews:
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