My little one turned 2 years old last week. How the time has flown!! As I'm sure most mothers do, I want to ensure she has the right balance of learning about the modern world in combination with stimulating her creativitity and encouraging her physicality. I also wanted to avoid being gender biased.
When deciding on gift ideas, I therefore selected the following mix of top gifts for a 2 year old's birthday, whether boy or girl!
If you are buying gifts for your own, or someone else's 2 year old or toddler, give these a look.
I looked into other tablets but the ipad still has the most apps for kids, and the user experience for them is much simpler. Great for 'learning' apps such as shape sorting, counting etc, and generally helping a toddler to learn their way around a touch screen- an essential skill in today's world.
My daughter loves her ipad mini already, and we have found some great learning apps such as Little Hands shape/number sorting, and various Peppa Pig apps. There are also beautiful story book apps, where the animated story is read. (Back in the day we listened to stories on tapes or records!).
I suggest buying a hardwearing cover as it will be dropped!! My daughter often drops things without realising they could break (terrible twos!). Try one of these:
Griffin Survivor Case
£40
Cuddledry Cuddlemoo Dress-up Toddler Towel
Another of the wonderful Gro Company's innovative products, the Gro-Clock, teaches children when it's time to sleep or get up using pictures of the moon and sun. It also comes with a beautifully illustrated book which helps to encourage children to stay in bed longer. During the night, the display screen shows stars disappearing one by one to show the passing time. It has adjustable screen brightness, a silent option, optional digital clock and alarm feature. The clock is mains powered and suitable for children from 2 years.
My daughter is intrigued by the day/night feature and I think this will really help her to tell the time as she grows, and hopefully keep her in bed once she is out of the cot.
Toys
They also have many great toys at a reasonable price. My top picks were:
Wooden Clock Puzzle
£4
Introducing telling the time- if they know their numbers already as mine does- or if not, then number learning can start here. Also a puzzle, great for pushing toddlers to work things out for themselves.
My daughter played with this, fitting the puzzle numbers in the correct slots, for hours after it arrived, and I'm sure will help her to learn the time as she gets a little older.
Peppa Pig 20 Piece Mini Jigsaw Puzzles
£3
Puzzles are still one of the greatest ways to get a toddler's cogs turning! Most kids love Peppa, my daughter certainly does. Recognising the characters seems to help my daughter complete them.
Lego Duplo Number Train Set
£12
Large lego pieces to get your toddler started with lego, one of the greatest toys ever invented for the imagination. Also helps with learning numbers.
My daughter played with this all day when it arrived, creating number trains, towers and pulling the train around. She also loved the little dog character! Here she is:
Little Tikes Play Kitchen
£15
Includes shape sorting and other activities to keep little one busy.
Little Tikes Activity Garden Plant n Play
£39.99
Interactive and engaging, Plant 'n Play combines essential infant play patterns with fun and whimsy, helping a child to grow and develop. Toddlers will have hours of fun maintaining their garden, "planting" vegetables, "watering" flowers and listening to the garden sounds.
Little Tikes Junior Activity Gym
When deciding on gift ideas, I therefore selected the following mix of top gifts for a 2 year old's birthday, whether boy or girl!
If you are buying gifts for your own, or someone else's 2 year old or toddler, give these a look.
Buy from John Lewis to get
3 year guarantee included at no extra cost
My daughter loves her ipad mini already, and we have found some great learning apps such as Little Hands shape/number sorting, and various Peppa Pig apps. There are also beautiful story book apps, where the animated story is read. (Back in the day we listened to stories on tapes or records!).
I suggest buying a hardwearing cover as it will be dropped!! My daughter often drops things without realising they could break (terrible twos!). Try one of these:
Griffin Survivor Case
£40
This has to be the softest towel I have ever felt! It is also really thick with its double layer. My daughter loves running around the house using it as a cape, and looking in the mirror at the cute and funny ears on the hood!
Bonus features:
Bonus features:
- Made from Eco fibre Bamboo mixed with pure cotton - silky soft, 60% more absorbent than pure cotton, with a natural antibacterial quality
- Fun cowprint design in fawn and natural ecru white- encourages imaginative play
- Snugly buggly double layers
- From walking age to 3 years, this towel is really big and cosy
Another of the wonderful Gro Company's innovative products, the Gro-Clock, teaches children when it's time to sleep or get up using pictures of the moon and sun. It also comes with a beautifully illustrated book which helps to encourage children to stay in bed longer. During the night, the display screen shows stars disappearing one by one to show the passing time. It has adjustable screen brightness, a silent option, optional digital clock and alarm feature. The clock is mains powered and suitable for children from 2 years.
My daughter is intrigued by the day/night feature and I think this will really help her to tell the time as she grows, and hopefully keep her in bed once she is out of the cot.
She also loves the book that accompanied the clock, with a cute farmyard story about time keeping!
Gro Clock Face
£9.99 from www.gro-store.co.uk
For extra fun, why not add a Gro Clock face. (There is also matching alien bed linen available).
Winter Warmer Gro bag
£39.99 from www.gro-store.co.uk
Save on heating bills at night with the Winter Warmer 3.5 tog Grobag, designed for particularly cold winter nights, or rooms under 16°C, made from cotton rich velour. Safer than duvets and pillows, this is available in an 18-36 months size. Your little one will love having their own snuggly new sleeping bag with cute pattern. My daughter loves the little penguins. This one has a Zip-click® feature on all sizes.
Gro egg cover
£4.50 from John Lewis
If like me you still want to monitor your little one's room temperature, you can make it fun for them by getting one of these cute little covers. This is Orla the owl!
Melissa and Doug Art Easel
Available here from www.amazon.co.uk
Gro Clock Face
£9.99 from www.gro-store.co.uk
For extra fun, why not add a Gro Clock face. (There is also matching alien bed linen available).
Winter Warmer Gro bag
£39.99 from www.gro-store.co.uk
Save on heating bills at night with the Winter Warmer 3.5 tog Grobag, designed for particularly cold winter nights, or rooms under 16°C, made from cotton rich velour. Safer than duvets and pillows, this is available in an 18-36 months size. Your little one will love having their own snuggly new sleeping bag with cute pattern. My daughter loves the little penguins. This one has a Zip-click® feature on all sizes.
Gro egg cover
£4.50 from John Lewis
If like me you still want to monitor your little one's room temperature, you can make it fun for them by getting one of these cute little covers. This is Orla the owl!
Melissa and Doug Art Easel
Available here from www.amazon.co.uk
My daughter loves to draw and paint, and being able to stand up and draw makes it a lot easier for her. Her drawing has really advanced since she got this easel.
The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Easel is height adjustable so as your child grows, so does the easel, therefore making it a toy which will last them a number of years! On one side is a magnetic white board where kids can use dry marker pens to squiggle and draw. This side also has a locking paper roll which can be drawn down as and when required and cut with a child-friendly paper cutter. The other side is a classic chalk board which can be easily cleaned. There are plastic trays either side for storage of paints, chalks and pens and the easel folds flat so it can be easily stored when not in use. melissa and Doug is a great quality brand that makes wooden toys (more eco). Accessories such as the easel pads also available from Amazon.
The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Easel is height adjustable so as your child grows, so does the easel, therefore making it a toy which will last them a number of years! On one side is a magnetic white board where kids can use dry marker pens to squiggle and draw. This side also has a locking paper roll which can be drawn down as and when required and cut with a child-friendly paper cutter. The other side is a classic chalk board which can be easily cleaned. There are plastic trays either side for storage of paints, chalks and pens and the easel folds flat so it can be easily stored when not in use. melissa and Doug is a great quality brand that makes wooden toys (more eco). Accessories such as the easel pads also available from Amazon.
Dimensions: H121.9 x W67.3 x D70.5 cm
Toys
Asda are great value for toys, and currently have some special offers on so worth a look.
There is a 2 for £10 offer on selected toys until August.
There is a 2 for £10 offer on selected toys until August.
They also have many great toys at a reasonable price. My top picks were:
Wooden Clock Puzzle
£4
My daughter played with this, fitting the puzzle numbers in the correct slots, for hours after it arrived, and I'm sure will help her to learn the time as she gets a little older.
Peppa Pig 20 Piece Mini Jigsaw Puzzles
£3
Puzzles are still one of the greatest ways to get a toddler's cogs turning! Most kids love Peppa, my daughter certainly does. Recognising the characters seems to help my daughter complete them.
Lego Duplo Number Train Set
£12
My daughter played with this all day when it arrived, creating number trains, towers and pulling the train around. She also loved the little dog character! Here she is:
Little Tikes Play Kitchen
£15
Little Tikes Activity Garden Plant n Play
£39.99
Interactive and engaging, Plant 'n Play combines essential infant play patterns with fun and whimsy, helping a child to grow and develop. Toddlers will have hours of fun maintaining their garden, "planting" vegetables, "watering" flowers and listening to the garden sounds.
Little Tikes Junior Activity Gym
