The Top 10 Toddler Gifts on the Most Gift Guides

I read ALL the momfluencer gift guides so you didn't have to.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone had a wonderful day filled with lots of family time, good food, and only a few toddler-overstimulation meltdowns. In case anyone is prepping holiday shopping lists or preparing for Black Friday shopping, I wanted to get this newsletter out tonight. Thank you as always for reading and subscribing. I am thankful for all of you!

Confession: I am addicted to reading holiday gift guides for kids. Much of my inspiration for starting this newsletter was to share the amazing products that other moms find online. Gift guides take that mindset and just turn up the intensity.

Starting in early November through now, it feels like I’ve combed through hundreds of gift guides, blog posts, Substack lists, and Amazon stores for every mommy blogger and momfluencer on the internet. From stocking stuffer lists to educational toys to book lists, I’ve overanalyzed, bookmarked and tracked lots of products to make the holiday list for Annie (who turned 2.5 in October).

After reading lots and lots of toddler specific gift guides, I realized the same products kept popping up over and over again and I thought it would be fun to share the top ten toddler gift products that moms online are recommending.

If you want to dive deeper into what I think are the most helpful gift guides - my favorites of all the many I read are ones from: Days with Grey, Busy Toddler (she has very creative ones like the best gift books), Everyday Best Buy (her stocking stuffer guide was very helpful), and Eat Play Say.

1. Melissa & Doug’s Toy Barn

Melissa & Doug make a majority of the toys on this list and seem to have a monopoly on the toddler toy market. This toy barn is super simple - a wooden toy barn that folds open revealing the stalls inside. It also comes with a few farm animals. It’s currently 50% off on Amazon making it pretty affordable at $33.

Busy Toddler said: “A wooden farm that opens, closes, and comes with little animals? It’s a solid yes. From toddlers to elementary schoolers, this little barn works for all levels of play and grows with a child so sweetly.”

2. Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Set

This ice cream set was on every single toddler gift list that I looked at. EVERY SINGLE ONE. The praise for it is near universal. I was skeptical at first - it is just a wooden box holding various ice cream play food. But everyone says their kids love handing you the menu of flavors and taking your order. I added this to Annie’s Christmas list partly just to see what the fuss is about. Apparently 20,000 of them have been bought on Amazon in the last month! It is currently on 50% off sale on Amazon making it just $31.

Everyday Best Buy said: “I bought this for my daughters 4th birthday and she is obsessed! Kids love this set, every time we are at someone’s house it is the most played with toy! It includes a wooden ice cream counter, eight ice cream scoops, six toppings, two cones, cup, scooper, tongs, wooden spoon, and six pretend dollar 1 bills.”

The other play food item that kept popping up was Melissa & Doug’s felt pizza set that would probably be an even better toy for younger toddlers.

3. Melissa & Doug Take Along Train

Possibly the perfect travel toy for train obsessed kids. This train set comes with three trains and track pieces that fold up into an easy carrying case so it can be easily played with in a car, airplane or on-the-go at a restaurant. And it’s very affordable - currently on sale on Amazon for $25.

Busy Toddler says “I absolutely love the set up for this train set: it’s small, it’s portable, and all the pieces fit inside the container. If you don’t feel ready for a full train set or have a child who would love a portable version for on-the-go, this is it.”

4. Little Tikes Basketball Hoop

This toddler-sized basketball hoop got lots of praise for it’s ability to entertain and tire kids out and it’s the perfect size for playrooms, basements or outdoor decks. At $50, it comes with three mini basketballs.

Everyday Best Buy said “We got this basketball hoop for my son when he was 18 months and it is easily one of the top used toys in my house. The adjustable height allows it to grow with your kids for years.”

5. Melissa & Doug Cleaning Set

For moms with toddlers in an “I need to help with everything phase”, Melissa & Doug’s cleaning set is very popular - like 50,000 Amazon reviews popular. It’s sized for little hands and is actually fairly functional if they do end up sweeping up messes. Per all Melissa & Doug toys, it’s on sale on Amazon for $21.

Busy Toddler says “There is a reason this toy has almost 50,000 reviews and a 5-star rating. It’s magical. My kids are 8, 9, and 11 and they still play with this set daily. It may not look like it, but this has longevity.”

6. TonieBox

We are a Tonie obsessed family and they are a great toddler toy. Place the mini Tonie figurines on top and hear songs and stories. It is simple enough to use that Annie can turn it on/off and adjust the volume on her own. My only complaint is that I wish the figurines were slightly cheaper and we had LOTS of issues with ours when we first bought it. The Reddit board for the Toniebox is a dark place full of frustrated parents complaining about all the tech issues. We had to return two before we got one that worked correctly, but we’ve had that one for over a year now with no issues. It is on sale on Amazon right now for $70.

Eat Play Say said “The perfect “no screen” option for little ones, Tonie boxes play your child’s favorite stories in an easy-to-operate audio player. Listening to stories read aloud strengthens your child’s attention, listening and comprehension skills! All the EPS team’s toddlers have Tonie boxes and LOVE them.”

7. Magna-Tiles

Magna-Tiles are the toy that gets played with the most in our house and I enjoy playing with them almost as much as Annie does. They have a million different sets with various accessories, but the starter set is key as you do need a decent amount of their squares to be able build anything large. Magna-Tiles are expensive and they do go on sale occasionally, but are a great grandparent or special occasion gift. Note - PicassoTiles are much, much cheaper and can be used with Magna-Tiles.

Everyday Best Buy said “Magnatiles are one of my favorite building toys that spark lots of independent play in our house. They are a safe and durable toy that will last you years!”

8. Green Toys Pull Wagon

This toy is proof that good toys don’t need to be expensive or fancy. This simple wagon is on sale for $16 and it’s small enough that toddlers can control and pull on their own.

Busy Toddler said “This is a treasure! Kids can load up their blocks, bears, babies, and anything else to travel around with. It’s just the right size for imaginary play and actual functionality.”

9. Hape Dollhouse

This is the toy that I most wish I had as a little kid — a three story dollhouse with scale furniture and movable stairs. It’s $126 on sale right now, but that honestly seems like a good deal for all that it comes with. It seems like a toy that kids could grow into for years.

Busy Toddler said “Doll houses are gender neutral. A doll house is the hub of imaginary play – a place to rescue animals from, to save from a fire, to intricate building skills and to make imaginary set ups. A basic doll house is like a watery hole: it’s where children gather and play happens. Tip: All the accessories for dollhouses are great for relatives looking for gift suggestions.”

10. Melissa & Doug Wooden Parking Garage

A very affordable (Amazon has it for $27) toy for car obsessed toddlers that can also be used for developmental learning by using it as a puzzle to stack the cars and matching them with the colors or numbers.

Busy Toddler said “These cars are the perfect size for little hands – juuuuust right. There’s colors, there’s numbers, there’s endless ways to play with these 10 cars. We’ve owned them for ten years and they’re beloved.”

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