GIFT GUIDE: For the Kids (+ the Best Toddler Gifts!)

One of the hottest requests in my inbox for gift ideas this year is for the KIDS – but categorized into a few age groups. I’ve got about 70 gift ideas for the kiddos here, ranging from age two-ish through ten-ish, depending on their interests, obviously. At first I had it broken down even MORE, but so many gifts really do span a few ages, and I wanted to keep things as clear as possible for you! The collage below is clickable, too, so you can click any gift and it will open in a new tab to add to cart directly!

AGE 0-2: Baby + toddler

Dreamland baby pajamas (discount code: THRIVE) – Great bamboo jammies, bedding, and other baby/toddler accessories. SO soft, and extra discount with code THRIVE. Bought my girlfriend their crib sheets and she was FLOORED, ended up buying more from them!
Bubble gun – Super fun for TONS OF BUBBLES…both of my kids are obsessed!
Duplux blocks – A childhood staple. Great for gross motor skills!
Musical instrument set – For the musically inclined babies among us. 😉
Lovevery kits – For a meaningful, lasting gift for ages 0-4, Lovevery kits are where it’s at. They’re without a doubt my FAVORITE subscription box we’ve tried and one I’ve gifted to multiple girlfriends’ toddlers already. Lovevery makes stage-based kits designed to complement their development. From the start I’ve been nothing but impresed at both the thoughtfulness and intentionality behind each box, as well as the quality; some other subscriptions we’ve tried were made with literal cardboard or just felt flimsy and didn’t keep interest, but Lovevery is actually heirloom quality pieces that are built sustainably AND last multiple kids. We can get weeks worth of new play + exploration from just one box, and Liv REPLAYS with all of the activities because they’re just that good. One of my favorite parts: each play kit comes with an activity book to help you get the most out of each thing inside, and they have *creative* ways to play with everything that always blow my mind. My top two Lovevery recommendations: an age-based play kit, or the blocks set. It’s an INCREDIBLE set – I’ve gifted to girlfriends’ kids for their first birthday, but we’ve had 8-year-olds playing with it at our house before. Truly stands the test of time!!! I cannot recommend Lovevery enough!
Jungle tails touch-and-feel book – With nearly 3,000 five-star reviews, this is such a cute touch-and-feel – we got it for Jonah man!
Slippers – These are SUCH cute #1 Amazon bestsellers – but the best part is having grippers on the bottom so little feet don’t slip!
Radio Flyer wagon – A timeless classic!
Crawling musical crab – #1 most gifted in musical toys on Amazon, with over 4,000 5-star reviews! It’s so fun and I swear helped Jonah walk earlier. It also automatically goes away from sensed walls, obstacles, etc, so no crashing. 😉
Build your name train set – This is just a precious personalized option to help with gross motor development, too!
Washable finger paint – Because washable is a must. 😉
Name bubble romper – I mean…freaking CUTE.
Petite Keep trunk – A pricier option, but one mom will appreciate for cutely keeping her kiddo’s memories forever!
Teddy hat – HOW FREAKING CUTE. Any little head in this would just be the most adorable.
Sensory tissue box – A great sensory toy – I lovelovelove that besides crinkling, they can take the tissues in and out of the box to model the actual movement, too.
Toddler busy board – I lovelovelove this idea for littles with a million and one neurons firing…it works on their fine motor and other developmental skills while keeping them (safely) occupied and being fun for quite awhile. Would be cute in a playroom or even in a nursery or bedroom!
Squishy soft pajamas – These jammies are absurdly soft + squishy – favorites of Olivia’s, with all sorts of colors, gender neutral, short sleeve AND long sleeve options, and a SOLID 5-star rating with 4,000+ reviews on Amazon!
Tummy time sensory fish – A great size for tummy time especially. Nice and big!
Monogrammed baby robe/slipper set – This set is just TOO DANG DARLING for any little ladies on your list!

AGE 2-5:

Personalized Night Before Christmas book – A sweet, sentimental keepsake they’ll bring out for years to come.
Color sorting sensory toy – A top toy on TikTok this year! I grabbed one for our house…Jonah’s age can squish and learn colors while Liv’s age can actually sort accordingly while calming down etc, so I think it’s surprisingly versatile.
Push peel sensory pad – Another top TikTok toy from our household – great for getting focused and calming big feelings. Olivia loveloveloves.
Magnetic people – These are SO fun and a favorite in our house, too! The people can stick to each other in different ways but also to any magnetic surface, so it’s fun play in the car, in restaurants, or just building huge people chains at home.
Light up princess tent – I mean, MAGICAL.
Hatchimals Crystal Flier – Santa brought this for the OG last Christmas! It senses things around it so it won’t crash. She flies HIGH!
Cookies Makery – One of the top toys of 2023. I do not understand how this scientifically works, so it’s FUN.
Tonie box – A Tonie box is a MUST for kiddos this age, in my humble mama opinion. 😉 Olivia is OBSESSED with hers and it helps her go to sleep every single night…which says something given this age is also known for a knack for leaving the room 32 times. 😉 Tonies are AWESOME. It’s a soft-sided box that can sing songs or read stories through their favorite characters; you just interchange the character figurine at the top of the Tonie box, and they’ll read your child a story, play music, etc. Great for listening skils and for keeping them entertained + engaged in a screen-free way!
Bluey playhouse – This sold out multiple times last year! We have it!
Magnatiles – Another CLASSIC that will get years of play! Great for their dexterity while building the next generation of engineers. But really, a good gift for a RANGE of ages, and a buildable collection!
Cleaning set – Liv loveloveLOVES this set. She’s had it for so long now and breaks it out to this day…lowkey helps them learn the importance of helping out around the house at an early age. Ha! The other day, Liv saw something on the floor and goes “WAIT I’LL GET MY DUST PAN” and goes to, I kid you not, clean up the floor with her broom set. And now Jonah sweeps too, bless his heart.
Balance beam – HOW COOL for their core strength, balance, and all that jazz?! And from a small shop!
Baby doll – Such a precious dolly!
Magic Doodle water mat – This is the GREATEST GIFT for little toddlers learning to draw – a water mat lets them explore their creativity but with ZERO mess or clean up required! Bless up! Just fill the pens with water and it “magically” creates the color on the mat (and goes back to a blank slate once dried for endless use)…and the mamas said amen.
Foam pogo stick – For ages 3+, this bugger is GREAT for getting out energy. 😉 Liv got one for her birthday three years ago…it takes some practice to coordinate but MAN, what a fun way to blow off steam!
Bubble bath bombs – These are fun bath bombs with surprises inside! The toys inside are little squishy friends that make cute tubby toys after.
Pretend kids makeup – For little girls like mine who so desperately want to break into your makeup bag. HA. After catching Liv doing a full contour/blush/highlight routine from one of my palettes, I think it’s soon time for some pretend makeup sets!
Large floor puzzle – Homegoods usually has a bunch of good ones, but a good BIG floor puzzles is so much fun to break out together on the kitchen floor!
Pip Squeaks washable marker set – Again, washable always. 😉
ABC What Can They Be book – We have a variation of this book and it’s a cute way to learn the alphabet as well as different “jobs” and roles out there!
Princess dresses – If your daughter is at all like my daughter, buy her princess dresses from the Costco or Sam’s Club Halloween clearances. Or ones like this or this from Amazon!
Bounce house – ALSO coming to the OG. A blessing for every parent with a kid who needs to blow off some steam…ha!
Highlights subscription – Another other fellow millennial mama remember reading Highlights as a kid?! My parents gifted OG a year subscription LAST year and she is still obsessed – looks forward to it every single month. It’s another gift that keeps on giving while encouraging good reading skills, etc!
Time teaching wristwatch – I lovelovelove that this little kid watch actually teaches how to tell time…Olivia might need the butterfly one!
Search & find adventure book – Always good to keep their attention locked for a hot second. 😉
Squishy soft pajamas – These jammies are absurdly soft + squishy – favorites of Olivia’s, with all sorts of colors, gender neutral, short sleeve AND long sleeve options, and a SOLID 5-star rating with 4,000+ reviews on Amazon!
Crocs – The OG *always* has Crocs in her shoe collection. They’re a truly great toddler shoe, from just being able to slip on and go to being waterproof. Get the sherpa-lined ones for Christmas!
Squishmallow – Squishies are always a good idea!

AGE 5-10:

Pie face game – We’re breaking this out for Thanksgiving, post-pie. 😉
Bible stories reader – A faith-based alternative to a Tonie box…it reads through multiple Bible stories and “dings” when it’s time to turn the page, so it helps them learn to follow along with the actual story beyong just listening, too! Olivia has remembered Bible stories SO well from this thing!
Disney Princess dress-up dollies – These remind me of Fashion Polly dolls from the early 2000’s, but with a Disney spin. Olivia LOVES hers!
The Book of Belonging – A BEAUTIFUL new keepsake book release.
Encanto window cling – A fun twist for puzzle lovers. Defintely more challenging and requiring better motor skills, so better for older kids (Olivia’s age and up!).
Crayola dry erase light up board – For the artsy, creative kiddos!
Despicable Me fart blaster – This is that gift that parents will all hate, but it’s a top gift for 2024 and selling out…you’ve been warned.
Air Pipe tubes – Liv’s “big” gift this year – don’t tell her! 😉 These look SO cool…and also STEM-friendly. You build up a tubes system and actual air flow pushes balls through the system you create. Fun for building and experimenting with engineering, but also collaboration-friendly for siblings or friends!
Flower garden – Liv received this for her birthday a few years ago and it’s SO CUTE – a nice little way to use gross motor skills and build your own flower garden any time of year. The best part? They won’t outgrow it quickly, and it allows for collaborative play, too.
Bluey Trouble – Olivia got this for her birthday this year and it’s SO fun. Our entire family loveloveloves playing it!
Bluey Keepy Uppy game – The other Bluey game…which Jonah loves now, too, so friendly for younger ones, as well!
Initial piggy bank – How cute would this be for kiddos who are in the tooth-losing stage?? They can start collecting coins from the Tooth Fairy in their own name bank!
You Are Special book – Perhaps my favorite children’s book of all time, and such a sweet, special, sentimenal gift. J + I EACH cried the first time we read it to Liv respectively. It’s actually probably best for kids older than Liv since it’s longer and not as simple a story, but we plan on reading it to her for years to come. A beautiful, heartfelt story with Christian undertones.
Waterproof camera – For older kiddos who’ve got adventurous spirits.
LEGO Harry Potter chess game – HOW COOL IS THIS?! For the older Muggles.
STEM electronic memory game – Another top-rated game this year – and one recommended for ages 6-12. It’s a 5-star memory + speed game that develops hand-eye coordination, and is apparently also fun for adults. 😉
Disney Princess pop up book – This was another thing we gifted Liv for #5 and I was SO pleasantly surprised with it – it’s simply stunning. It’s definitely more fit for ages 5+ because of how intricate the pop ups are…but they’re stunning.
Barbie Dreamhouse – Always a top gift recommendation!
Disney Princess Barbie castle – Seeing as the OG now has nearly every Disney Princess Barbie in her collection…I think they’re due for a proper house, don’tcha think? 😉 But a fun alternative to the traditional Barbie house!
Barbie makeup train case – I think most five-year-old girls would lose their ever-loving MIND over a Barbie makeup case.
KidPix clothing subscription – Such a cool gift that keeps on giving!
Natural lip balm – For all the girlies who grew up on Lipsmackers and now wish for slightly less chemicals for our kiddos – ha!
Roller skates – (+ pads set) – These are so great – we got them for Liv for her birthday and I lovelovelove that they’re adjustable to grow with her!
Bike – Such a cute option for learning to ride.