DISCLOSURE: AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES. THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. THESE ARE ALL PRODUCTS I HIGHLY RECCOMEND. I WOULD NOT PUT ANYTHING ON THIS PAGE THAT I HAVEN’T VERIFIED AND/OR PERSONALLY USED.

Our Toddler gift guide has both educational gifts and experience gift ideas and inspiration. We wanted to share some of our son Luka’s favorite educational toys that may be perfect for a little one in your life. In addition, we are a family that enjoys experiences and the staying present moment together. So we’ve included some experience gift ideas that a little one would love too.

Why Educational Toys & Experiences as a toddler gift guide?

I tend to lean towards the more educational toys or toys that will grow with baby/toddler. In our blog post about 11 activities to do with Toddlers & Babies, we talked about some fun activities that are engaging and educational. The former teacher in me loves a good educational toy vibe. I also love Montessori style toys that grow with your child and that are wooden and simple. I love sitting with my son and helping him learn and watching him try things out. It’s beautiful.

But let’s be real for a second, not everything is Montessori style in my house. My son loves Power Rangers, Pokémon, and Star Wars. So we enjoy all types of themes based on what my son shows interest towards. Where and when I can we focus on the educational side of things and being intentional on what we bring into our home for him. So as parents we stick to only purchasing the Lovevery play kits for him as well as books. On occasion we buy him something out of the educational toy realm. We are blessed with family that loves to give the sweetest gifts to Luka. When I am asked what he is liking or needs, I usually set up an amazon list of items that include books and Montessori or educational toys. Doing this or having it ready can help your loved ones gift more intentionally.

Being intentional is helpful to decrease clutter and to focus on educational toys or activities. I do acknowledge that my son also is a child and I love to allow him to be himself and enjoy what he truly likes too. So we are finding the balance on what works for our family. Every family is different and we love that!

The Educational Toys for Gifting Inspo:

QZMTOY Counting Shape Stacker (Amazon): Luka got this last year for Christmas. We have used this for counting, color matching, for free play, and to discuss shapes. It truly grows with your child and covers many educational subjects. Plus it’s super cute. We usually keep the rings in the middle away and bring out when we are sitting with him working on the puzzle. But the wooden numbers, shapes, and math signs stay out for him to play on his own. He has gotten really good with this puzzle, but it has definitely taken time.

ABCaptain Counting Dinosaurs Toy Matching Sorting Game (Amazon): This toy is cool to teach fine motor skills with the tweezers and of course color matching. Luka does enjoy sorting the dinosaurs into the little bowls. This toy can grow with your child too and start to teach early math concepts such as addition or subtraction as well as when they get older. They do have options other than dinosaurs, but my little guy loves dinosaurs so this was perfect for him.

The Lovevery Blockset (Amazon) – As I have mentioned I love a toy that grows with baby/toddler. The Lovevery block set has so many options to play and learn. This feels like the only block set you will ever have to buy because of the options it has. The Activity Booklet included shows some science and math ideas that are great for older children and then of course the colors and shape matching, math, creativity/imagination, and so much more. There is also endless free play to build and create, which is incredible. Luka got this last year for Christmas and we have played with it in so many ways so far. I am excited to see how he progresses and uses the blocks to build, create, and learn. The picture below does not display all the blocks that come in the kit see the link for full details.

Organic Lovevery Play Tunnel (Amazon) – Luka got this as a Christmas gift from us last year and this is still being used almost one year later. We liked this one because it’s organic cotton and super soft. Amazon has some amazing options that are definitely affordable with a similar concept. It’s fun for free play or building forts. It’s fun for hide and seek, peek a boo and imagination play.

Leapfrog 2 in 1 Leap Top Touch Green (Amazon) – Okay, I typically do not purchase or have many toys that light up or that make noise, but this little laptop was life changing on car rides. It teaches letters, sounds and numbers. It also has some fun interactive games. I swear that Luka started to pick up on letters and sounds while using this. I would like to explore the Leap Frog brand further, as it seems like their options are very educational.

Melissa & Doug Abacus (Amazon)- We are slowly getting into this one. But love the options here for younger children to identify colors and counting/beginning math concepts. Plus this toy will grow with the child into more math concepts later on. Melissa and Doug Brand have amazing options that are educational play toys that we have seen.

Lovevery Playkits – Lovevery play kits are by far one of the greatest things we have purchased for our son. His learning and our learning as parents has expanded in so many ways with these and we love how on point they are with his development. While the kits are a bit on the pricey side, we have found that buying toys can be expensive and we would be spending the same amount on other toys that may not be as developmentally aligned as Lovevery is. The great part is that you can send an e gift card ranging from $25 dollars up to higher amounts. This is nice if your budget for the gift is not as much as a single play kit. You can also gift full play kits to the child. We love the flexibility of options on this. Pictured below are many items from his current play kit and favorites from some previous one. The kit guides and their app also talk about different toys from the younger kits that grow with your baby and can be reintroduced for play in toddler years. Also, the books that come in the play kit are amazing!

DISCLOSURE: AS A LOVEVERY AFFILIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES. THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. THESE ARE ALL PRODUCTS I HIGHLY RECCOMEND. I WOULD NOT PUT ANYTHING ON THIS PAGE THAT I HAVEN’T VERIFIED AND/OR PERSONALLY USED.

Books – Books are amazing. You can never ever go wrong with a book! Books can be affordable and special. I love to write a note inside the book to my son or if we are gifting a book, we love to use them instead of cards. Books are one of the best things that we have used on Luka’s educational journey. We started reading to him when I was pregnant and when he was a baby in his crib. Now he loves to sit and read his books and look at all the pictures.

Experience Gift Inspiration

Gifting a toddler experiences is an amazing option that the toddler and parent will appreciate. As parents we are always trying to find activities to do outside of the house or we enjoy having something to look forward to. Plus supporting local is amazing. If you don’t live in Albuquerque, New Mexico do a quick google search in your area for similar establishments that are fun for kids. Hope you enjoy this experience gifting inspiration.

• Gift Cards to a play cafe like Liv & Mimi’s Play Cafe
• Gift Cards to play places like Jungle Jam
• Gift Cards to a favorite local donut shop like Bristol Donuts
• Gift Cards to go out for ice cream at places like Heidi’s Jam Factory
• Gift Card to a local toy store. We recently found Color Wheel toys and we are obsessed!
• Gift Card to local children’s museum like Explora
• Gift Card to local Natural History Museum
• Gift Card or membership to the zoo, aquarium, and botanical gardens
• Gift Card to a toddler friendly show coming to town
• Gift Card/Coupon to spend time with the toddler in your life, take to ice cream, the park, or somewhere special. Even just spending time playing with the toddler in your life is so sentimental and the most memorable and important gift there is!

Toddler Gift Guide Summary

I hope you take this inspiration when you consider gifting to the toddler in your life. I know that from when I was pregnant up until now, I utilized blogs to help me review a product or toy I wanted. So it’s always nice to have an idea of what works, even it is not exactly the same as what will work for you and the toddler in your life. Take this as inspiration and consider what your little toddler may love and enjoy! Sending you so much love this holiday season.