Toddler Gift Guide? + Random Shopping Finds

TODDLER GIFT GUIDE

The past year or so I’ve been flooded with so many questions regarding baby/toddler toys. I do a lot of IG stories of Luke playing with his toys and each time I do I get so many messages & e-mails inquiring about the toy. Just the past 3 weeks or so – as I have been posting weekly gift guides – I have had many requests for a toddler gift guide. A lot of you have asked what educational toys we like the best and a lot have asked what we are going to get Luke for Christmas so I thought I’d just do a quick gift idea post. First of all, we are fortunate that my entire family is in education – so I pretty much grew up in a classroom outside of my own classroom. My mom taught Montessori school for a large part of her career [she later got an additional masters in reading specialty so she did that towards the end of her career] and  growing up I would go to her classroom after school or during school if we had differing breaks. Her students [Kindergarteners] were learning the continents & countries and I was a 3rd grader who had yet to cover those! ? Anyway, Montessori schools teach in a very different way and I was fortunate to be around those methods growing up- a little. ☺️ We really like buying educational toys for Luke and he actually really likes them but don’t worry – he has lots of cars & other types of toys as well.

So for today’s post I’ll link some of the gift ideas for a toddler and I’ll write a little bit about what it is good for and what age Luke used it the most!

#1. PERSONALIZED PUZZLE | I ordered this for Luke for Christmas because I thought it would be a good way for him to not only learn how to spell his name, but also learn colors. This would make a really thoughtful gift idea for someone who is hard to shop for because these are custom-made and will likely get a lot of use!

#2. KIDS DYSON VACUUM | I had a ton of you writing me showing me this and I literally purchased it immediately for Luke. Luke LOVESSSS our vacuum cleaner and runs it by himself. We literally don’t use it seriously in front of him because he is obsessed with doing it himself!? I was so excited to see that they made a Dyson for kids – it makes noises, has some suction, and the colorful little balls inside of it bounce around. John got so excited about this toy that he put it together one night after Luke went to bed and never put it away so when we got up my Dad let Luke have it – not knowing it was a Christmas gift. He LOVES it. [Best for walkers.]

#3. COLORING BOOKS/PADS | Anytime I am at my desk working on my laptop and taking notes / writing in my planner Luke always hijacks my situation. He grabs the pen and immediately starts scribbling all over everything. We decided to get him oversized coloring books and markers & colors as well. He absolutely LOVES them and has the best time scribbling. We have also noticed that he switches from left to right when writing which is interesting. As a baby he always ate with his left hand but has been using his right hand more so lately. [I’m a lefty so I thought he may be too!] Anyway, this is a good way to develop fine motor skills and also can be a fun way to teach them their colors. [Best around 12mo and older]

#4. KIDS CAR | I picked this up for Luke when he was probably 8mos old and I honestly did not realize just how much we would use it. I am not kidding when I tell you we use this thing EVERY SINGLE DAY. People in our neighborhood have purchased them for their kids as well. My mom likes to walk so many miles per day so when she is at our house she will take him for a walk and he loves it. As a baby he just loved riding in it and as he got older he enjoys pushing it himself. He also likes to pretend he is ‘walking Fitz’ when he is in it which is really cute.

#5. SHAPE SORTER | This is one of the toys I get asked about quite a bit. I did an IG story showing how Luke sorts the colors and shapes into the right spot and SO many people asked about it and I was thrilled to see it is around $7. ?? This is a gift from one of my girlfriends who has a toddler who is crazy smart and advanced. We literally got this out one night and showed Luke what to do and he quickly picked up on it. This is such a good way to teach them colors and shapes- or just sorting it all out in general. I think after 12mos is a good time to start using this!

#6. COLOR SORTING BEARS | This is something I ordered for Luke for Christmas because we are working on learning and saying all of the colors. I can tell he knows some of them but he is not confident and doesn’t say all of the colors just yet. [I do wish I would have ordered this sooner!]

#7. ACTIVITY LEARNING PLAY CUBE | This is probably the second most asked about toy of Lukes! I posted when he was around 14mos old how he had figured out the shapes and colors and knew where to put them through [one side has a puzzle]. This was a gift from Papa Gemma [John’s grandfather] for Luke’s first birthday and BOY oh BOY! He has loved this thing and used it like CRAZY. When other kids come over – they all gather around this toy. Each side has a game or activity for learning!

#8. NUMBER / COLOR SORTER | This is something I ordered for Luke – it is a more advanced version of #5. This toy is less about shapes and more about counting the shapes and learning the colors. I felt like it was time to move up to this!

#9. COLOR MATCHING EGG SET | Another gift I got Luke for Christmas that is more of a learning tool. The eggs clasp together easily and can be pulled apart easily which is great for hand dexterity & fine motor skills. The idea is to match the right color eggs together so that kids can also learn colors.

#10. LAUNDRY PLAY SET | I didn’t order this for Luke but I do think in the next few months or year he will be more interesting in this type of stuff. This is also on sale and is just really cute and be a good way to use the imagination and pretend they do what us mamas do best… laundry. ?

#11. COLOR SHAPE MAGNETIC TRAIN | This is a really good toy for any kid around Luke’s age. First of all, Luke is obsessed with any thing with wheels but this is a way to learn colors, shapes, and also stack them. It is magnetic so they learn to pull them apart and put them together. If you have a toddler that loves cars or wheels – this is perfect!

#12. KITCHEN MIXER PLAY SET | I just realized this is on sale and it would be another great gift for a toddler who likes to pretend to cook or play! The mixer is so cute!

#13. MAGNETIC SHAPES | Luke has loved these since before he was one year old. These are a good way to learn colors and shapes and they can also play with them to build things. My parents keep this at their house and Luke will spend a LONG time on this one!

#14. CLEANING SET | I randomly picked this up for Luke when he was around 10mos old because he was so obsessed with sweeping. It is just like the vacuum – any time we get the broom or vacuum out – he wants it. It got so bad that we bought a second broom so that he can have one and we can have one. Once he started walking a lot he used these even more but even before he was walking he played with this a lot and still does!

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RANDOM SHOPPING FINDS!!

We made the road trip to Dallas last night and I went to Nordstrom and some other stores to do a little shopping. I purchased a few things and added a couple of things to my Christmas wish list so I thought I’d share!!?☺️

First of all, I purchased THIS in black because it is so crazy soft and I know I will wear it 24/7 while it is cold! I am all about really cozy, soft things that I can wear at home but also wear out to run to grab groceries or pick something up. I also got this striped mock neck tee because I love the neck & stripes – and it was around $35?! I also got this long sleeved, white ribbed top because it was so soft and I wear a lot of basics like this a lot! It ran small so I sized up! Okay, last thing – I got this black tunic for $39 – it is really soft and long and is a basic I know I will wear a LOT. The material is thinner than a sweater so its a good layering or wear alone type of top. These types of tops look good with leggings since they are longer and also look good with scarves! I love wearing THIS Burberry scarf with simple tops.

Next are a few photos I snapped while shopping the shoe section – I added these to my Christmas wish list! ?❤️ [Hi Johnny boy!]?

Dying over THESE wedged snow boots! ❤️ My sis got them and my mom and I were like WAIT we want them too! PS. They are on sale today!

How GORG are these tan, suede OTK Boots?!! I love the heel and the material – these are super good quality, too.

You guys know I love Nikes – I love these – they are lightweight and I love the golden swoosh.

OBSESSED with these UGG boots! They are still warm but not as chunky or heavy. Great for slipping on and going or cute with an oversized sweater and leggings!

LOL, Luke is pretending to use that shoe as a race car!! ?