Holiday Gift Ideas for Toddlers 2 – 3 Years Old

Marisa

2 years ago

I had a lot of fun coming up with holiday gift ideas for toddlers 2 – 3 years old. This age is tons of fun as their imagination takes off, their curiosity grows, and it is always time to play. The most difficult part of coming up with this list was paring it down. We are not big on buying the “popular toys”, or holiday outfits you wear for a month, and knick knacks that won’t survive more than 24 hours. In our house less is more and I try my best to always practice that in the hopes our daughters will grow up with the same appreciation.

If you haven’t read last year’s post, Holiday Gift Ideas for Toddlers 18 – 24 Months Old, then I will share what we look for when purchasing an item. It helps me to stay focused on sustainability goals: will it be trashed in 2 months, can we recycle it, what does it’s end of life look like? Things we accumulate in life aren’t just for our satisfaction, they have an impact on the world around us (plastic in our oceans, global warming, child labor, etc… to name some of the big ones).

What Do We Look For When Purchasing an Item

We still want to celebrate the holidays and birthdays with as much flare as possible but want to do it responsibly. When putting together a wish list we do it with a couple things in mind:

It is ethically and sustainably made?
Is it non-toxic?
Will it stand the test of time?
Is it gender neutral?
Do we need it?

We don’t hit everything on the list all the time but we weigh out what the most important factors are and make a decision. It takes time and research to ensure we are making the best decisions and there are compromises. But at the end of the day we feel good about what we are bringing into our daughters’ lives.

So without further delay here is this year’s holiday gift ideas for toddlers 2 – 3 years old!

Toys

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This age group lives to play which is so much fun! Our daughter loves exploring through art. Learning the A, B, C’s and how to write. Asking tons of questions on the time of day and the numbers on a clock. Running, skipping, dancing and riding around on anything with wheels are all the rage. I feel as though this list could go on forever! We jotted down notes while we were playing on what she asked for or was interested in and viola we have our holiday wish list for this year!

One Toy to Push the Boundary

We always pick a toy that may be advanced to see if they would be open to it. We also know that if it isn’t a good toy for them at the moment it will be in the future and won’t go to waste. Our daughter loves riding a scooter while at a friend’s house so I went on the hunt for a scooter that could grow with her. While this Micro Kickboard Scooter says it is for 8 years and up I am hoping it will do the job for a 2 1/2 year old. The description says it is a low rider and reviews mention that it is a bit on the small side. When we checked out the dimensions it should be a fit. It might be a bit big initially but she will grow into it!

Use your best judgement if you are looking for a scooter. All the scooters I found didn’t look like they could grow with her and I am not into buying things over and over if I can help it. Crossing fingers!

Clothes

I don’t know about anyone else but our 2 1/2 year old went through a major growth spurt! We are trying our best to wait until the holidays to grab some much needed items. Moon and Back by Hannah Andersson and Burt’s Bees are a couple of our favorite sustainable brands with cute clothes. We just recently found Mightly and love everything they stand for; you can read more about their sustainability here.

Books

A wish list of holiday gift ideas is not complete without books. Not a day goes by where we don’t read at least three to five books. As we add more books we are looking to diversify the messages and little by little add books that share who we all are. Books that expose us to different languages and cultures are a main focus and we look forward to adding these to our home. I am always on the lookout for books that expand our understanding of the world.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

A gift doesn’t always have to be something tangible. We would like to give our daughters the gift and freedom to pursue anything in life that makes them happy. It is the gift of their future. One way to help them achieve that is to save and invest for college or a home or anything they want so they don’t end up in student loan debt, house poor, etc…. If you are interested in providing that for your special kiddo look into an investment account, savings account, or other money saving strategy to make that happen and ask family and friends to contribute to that goal.

While they are young the fun toys are great but honestly playing with you is the greatest gift you can give (thus allowing you to save for their future!).

What holiday gift ideas for toddlers 2 – 3 years old have you found bring joy? I’d love to hear; leave a comment below!