The 50 Best Gifts for 2-Year-Olds in 2024

Gifting a 2-year-old this holiday season and not sure where to start? We’re here to help you find the best gifts to entertain any toddler. While they may have a “terrible” reputation, toddlers are also full of fun and curiosity. Sometimes, the most unique gifts for 2-year-old boys and girls aren’t the hottest toys, but everyday items like kitchen tools or dustpans and brooms.

“I always encourage families to buy everyday materials,” says Marie Conti, the head of The Wetherill School in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, and a board member of the American Montessori Society.

What should I look for in a gift for 2-year-olds?

Now that they’ve mastered walking, they love pulling wagons and other things behind them. And as they learn to speak in full sentences, 2-year-olds are also figuring out how to interact and engage with others.

“Two-year-olds are entering pretend play and figuring out who they are. Kitchen items, cars, trucks and baby dolls allow them to pretend to be in the adult world in their play,” says Tovah Klein, director of the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development and author of “How Toddlers Thrive.”

From hot holiday toys to must-haves on sale, our list has more than enough gift options to surprise your 2-year-old for birthdays, holidays such as Christmas and other occasions.

Be sure to check delivery dates to ensure your little one’s’ goodies get there in time for Christmas.

Best deals | Developmental toys | Dolls and stuffed animals | Cars, trucks and vehicles | Play sets | Blocks and building toys | Active toys | Books | Meet the experts

Holiday deals on gifts for 2-year-olds

Fisher-Price Little People Food Truck

Whether your toddler is a little gourmand or a budding business person, this food truck set will capture their imagination. As one of the more unique gifts for two-year-olds, this play set has earned a strong average on Target for its durability and value for money.

Melissa & Doug Coffee Maker Play Set

They can now mimic your mornings with their own coffee maker that comes with three different pretend pods, milk, ice cubes, mugs and more. Reviewers love the fact that this Melissa & Doug play set is made out of wood, helping it to remain durable no matter how many cups of coffee they make.

Green Toys Fire Truck

Wheeled toys are fun for 2-year-olds to push around. Older toddlers will start to create stories with them, too. This sturdy fire truck inspires imagination while being easy to grip and rounded for extra gentleness.

VTech Pop-a-Balls Push and Pop Bulldozer

Buzz around the living room with pop-a-balls or take a break with musical push buttons — this bestselling bulldozer will keep your toddler busy for hours. They can also pull the handle up and down to control where the “blade” is situated.

This set includes one front loader, one dump truck and one mixer, so they’ll have a whole fleet of construction vehicles! Included with each truck? A bulldog construction worker to man the vehicle.

Melissa & Doug Dust, Sweep & Mop Toy Set

At age two, toddlers love mimicking household chores. These pint-size versions of a mop and broom are perfect for playing house. They might even clean the floor.

Fisher-Price Meditation Mouse

Introduce mindfulness to your little one with this soothing meditation mouse that includes guided stretches, breathing exercises and a bedtime wind-down.

Little Tikes Toddler Slide

Even as a toddler, your little one may still have an appetite for thrill. Little Tikes’ toddler slide will be the perfect exposure to these thrills. At just three feet long, the slide is small enough to be placed in the backyard or living room. “Having a slide in the backyard has been great for those days when we can’t make it to the park but still want to spend time outside,” says Shop TODAY editor Rebecca Brown.

Toyk Water Doodle Mat

Encourage your little one to express their artistic side with this water doodle mat that has over 20,000 five-star ratings on Amazon. This educational toy features a reusable mat plus pens, drawing mold and drawing template for hours of fun.

Fisher-Price DJ Bouncin’ Beats

With three different buttons that teach children colors, numbers, the alphabet and opposites, this bouncing musical toy does so with over 75 songs and phrases, sure to keep them entertained for hours on end. One reviewer wrote, “Two year old loved this present. His sister will be one next month, and by the end of the day she was trying hard to play with it, too.”

Bubble Lawn Mower for Toddlers

Backyard play just got a whole lot more fun! Your 2-year-old will enjoy making bubbles with this bestselling pretend push mower that features realistic sounds.

Top Bright Wooden Race Track

You can take this wooden race track anywhere your toddler goes, and it features plenty of bright ramps and mini cars to play with. It’s mesmerizing to watch.

Fisher-Price Laugh Learn 4-in-1 Tractor Ride-on Toy

Landing on Geoffrey’s Hot Toy List in 2023, Fisher Price’s tractor isn’t just fun for toddlers to ride on — it’s also a fantastic learning tool for blossoming minds. It offers three Smart Stages as they develop their fine motor skills and foster their imagination.

Playmobil School Bus

Klein loves little buses and car toys that kids can take figures in and out of, like this classic school bus from Playmobil. The detachable roof makes it easy to do so, fitting up to seven figurines inside.

Radio Flyer Little Red Roadster

This ride-on toy promotes coordination as they motor along, and the beginnings of pretend play as they imitate cars and other vehicles. According to the brand, the ergonomic seat helps them remain comfortable while riding and a working steering wheel makes navigation easier.

Best developmental and educational gifts for 2-year-olds

VTech Turn and Learn Driver

Even though your toddler is more than a decade away from taking the wheel, this turn and learn drive toy from VTech will allow them to channel their imagination and learn the rules of the road.

Learning Resources Growing Greenhouse Color & Number Playset

They may be too young to tend to an actual garden, but they can hone their budding green thumb while learning about numbers and colors with this greenhouse-inspired playset. For the sustainably-minded parent, each element is made with recycled materials and it comes with a fully functioning watering can that can be used long-term!

Play-Doh Fun Factory Deluxe Set

Play-Doh is an excellent source for developing the skills of imagination and play through touch and feel, according to child development experts. This gift set comes with classic necessities they’ll need to make all kinds of fun shapes and designs.

LeapFrog Yum-2-3 Toaster

Their imagination will be put to work as they whip up all kinds of tasty combinations with this bestselling pretend toaster. They can play with the levers and settings to learn about numbers, counting and colors.

Crayola Mess-Free Touch Lights

“Due to a heightened sense of curiosity, imagination and discovery, 2-year-olds will appreciate drawing tools and chalkboards,” says educational toys expert Lauren Leisk. This gel tablet from Crayola — currently one of the most gifted musical toys on Amazon — is a fun, multisensory option that features bright colors and songs perfect for bopping along to.

Art 2 the Extreme Personalized Crayons

Teach them letter as they color with these beautiful, personalized crayons that could double as art. Two-year-olds will appreciate the larger size of these crayons that makes them easy to grip.

“I loved these much more than traditional crayons,” says Brown. “My daughter kept these intact and wasn’t compelled to break them apart the way she did with her Crayolas.”

Mudpuppy Forest School 25-Piece Floor Puzzle

Child development experts agree that puzzle-solving is integral for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. This adorable option from Mudpuppy features sweet woodland critters and extra-large pieces perfect for growing hands.

Esjay Busy Sensory Board

Hitting the road, rails or skies anytime soon? They’ll be kept plenty busy with this bestselling, Montessori-inspired portable sensory board that’s equally fun and educational.

Learn With Me Count and Learn Cookie Jar

Help your child improve their motor skills and counting abilities as they try to stick each cookie correctly into the jar. Each cookie is numbered, so they can practice counting from 1 to 10 as they go.

Blockaroo Magnetic Foam Builders

Made by teachers, these building blocks use magnetic foam that’s easy for little hands to grasp and put together. It even floats in the tub! Plus, the brand says these pieces are even dishwasher-safe, making them easy to clean.

Best dolls and stuffed animals for 2-year-olds

Fisher-Price Soothe & Glow Crib Toy

If you’re looking for a multifaceted stuffie, grab this soothe and glow seahorse, which can play music and light up whenever your toddler squeezes it. It’s also machine-washable if you take out its electronics.

Cocomelon JJ Light-Up Interactive Plush

If their days are filled with Cocomelon, yet they can’t seem to get enough, gift them with this interactive doll that brings the show to life right in front of them. With plush bandages, this plush doll helps children say “bye bye” to JJ’s boo-boos.

Educational Insights Plush Mixaroo Stuffed Animal

Why get one stuffed animal when you can get several in one? The Mixaroo lets toddlers remix one body with accessories to make all different configurations. Mixaroo comes with a plush body, dragon wings, an elephant trunk and more.

Little People “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” Collection

It’s never too early to introduce them to the Wizarding World, especially when it means purchasing pint-sized toys they can play with. This set includes everyone’s favorite trio as they’re being placed into their houses, as well as Dumbledore dressed in his dinner robes.

Best cars, trucks and vehicles for 2-year-olds

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” Wooden Train Set

This wooden train set is perfect for pushing, pulling and taking apart — all favorite things for 2-year-olds. This set includes classic characters from the iconic Eric Carle book including a bear, caterpillar and a lion.

Little Tikes Lil’ Wagon

Whether they want to wheel around their stuffed animal crew or transport their toys around the backyard, they can do it with this little wagon. The brand says it is gentle on indoor floors but is rugged enough for outdoor use.

Green Toys RV Camper Set

This three-in-one playset includes a pick-up truck, camper and boat that comes off its own trailer for bath time fun. Reviewers love this “durable” and sturdy set, with many of them complimenting the packaging it arrives in: recycled cardboard.

Best play set gifts for 2-year-olds

LeapFrog Touch and Learn Wooden Activity Cube

If they always seem to cling towards the wooden activity cube at the doctor’s office, gift them with one of their own. This LeapFrog one (toted as one of The Toy Insider’s hottest holiday toys back in 2023) includes four sides and a top that feature interactive toys to slide, push, pull and flip. They also help to introduce infants to shapes, colors, animals, music and more.

Lego Duplo Classic Brick Box

Let the Lego-mania begin. Kids will be enthralled by Legos for years to come. Conti suggests sticking with a big bucket of them, not a specific kit. This one comes with 65 rainbow-colored pieces in a variety of shapes and a step-by-step booklet with ideas they can pull inspiration from.

Wooden Kids Safe Baking Set 

If they’ve shown interest in helping in the kitchen, consider getting them a child-safe cooking set. Brown introduced her 2-year-old to simple baking tools and found it was a great way to spend time with her daughter. “Around the age of two my daughter was ready to use the whisk. I gave her a plastic mixing bowl and the whisk and let her be in charge of mixing up easy things like cookie batter. I held onto the knife until she was older and ready.”

Calico Critters Baby Amusement Park Playset

Dollhouses with a little more room to play are a great way to fuel a 2-year-old’s imagination. The three included Calico Critter baby figures can travel around and ride a variety of theme park attractions in this highly-rated playset.

KiwiCo Doctor’s Kit

Is there a doctor in the house? This adorable play kit has everything your little one needs to explore the world of medicine, from a stethoscope to a thermometer and even a cold pack. Brown loved pretending to be the patient with her daughter: “I’d tell her that I didn’t feel well and watch as my then-two-year-old would mimic things she’d seen her pediatrician use to try and help me feel better. It’s a toy we went back as she got older.”

Haba Kullerbu Kringel Domino Playset

A wooden ball run gets even more exciting with the addition of dominoes that the ball can knock over on its journey. Follow instructions to set up the track or create your own system for free play. It comes with two sets of rainbow-colored dominoes, some of which can fit on the track to get knocked over, releasing another ball to continue the roll downward.

Lovevery Play Kits

These expert-designed play kits come in three-month increments to find the just-right toy for your toddler. Buy a subscription for $120 per box, or shop a la carte from their Montessori-inspired offerings.

Nugget Play Couch

These rearrangeable foam pieces can be a couch, a slide, a ramp, a fort or whatever your growing 2-year-old imagines. It comes with two triangle pieces, a cushion and a base with covers that can be removed and thrown in the washing machine for easy cleaning.

Best blocks and building toy gifts for 2-year-olds

Mega Bloks 80-Piece Building Blocks Set

This bag of blocks is one of the best toys on the market. With 80 pieces in different shapes, colors and sizes, the set will give your two-year-old the tools to create without boundaries. It even comes in a large storage bag for easy cleanup.

Associate editor Kamari Stewart gifted this to her nephew and he was immediately enthralled with the set. “I was surprised that something actually managed to capture his attention for more than five minutes,” she says.

Lolo Toys Jumbo Foam Building Blocks

These soft-to-the-touch foam building blocks are perfect to ensure they’ll be safe during playtime and save you the pain from accidentally stepping on a hard block (it’s truly a pain like no other).

Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks

These magnetized blocks make for frustration-free building for little hands. Conti is a big fan of wooden magnetic blocks for easy manipulation with less frustration. Brown loves tossing a handful in her purse. “It’s always a good idea to have Tegu magnetic blocks at the ready. You never know when your 2-year-old needs to be entertained; the blocks are incredibly useful at restaurants.”

Best active toys and gifts for 2-year-olds

bilibo by MOLUK

Currently Fat Brain Toys’ second bestselling toys for two-year-olds, your toddler can pretty much play with this versatile toy however they’d like. They can ride it, wear it, spin in it, scoop with it, step on it — this toy can pretty much handle it all with its shock-resistant, highly-dense construction.

iPlay, iLearn Unicorn Bouncy Pals

This bouncy toy is an eye-catching invitation to active play indoors and out. They’ll use their strength and balance to bounce around and coordinate their movement. According to the brand, its sturdy legs and short stature help protects against falls and promote muscle strengthening.

Micro Kickboard Mini 3-Wheeled Scooter

Scooters, tricycles and balance bikes all encourage coordination. According to the brand, this one has a two-year warranty and can hold kids up to 110 pounds, meaning it will stay with them as they grow.

Strider Balance Bike

Balance bikes are a great way to learn to ride without training wheels. Two-year-olds can touch the ground while learning to balance, building the skill they can use once it’s time for pedals.

Best books for 2-year-olds

“Press Here,” by Herve Tullet

Nina Lindsay, president of the Association for Library Service to Children, loves Herve Tullet’s classic “Press Here” for 2-year-olds who are learning about the excitement of turning pages and making things happen: “The idea that you can interact with a book in that way is really exciting,” she says.

“Two Dogs on a Trike: Count to Ten and Back Again,” by Gabi Snyder and Robin Rosenthal

This counting book features nine hilarious dancing dogs, one very grumpy cat and all manners of transportation — including jet packs. It’s newly available as a board book, too.

“Lou,” by Breanna Carzoo

Lou is a fire hydrant who also happens to be the toilet for neighborhood dogs. But deep down, he knows he’s meant for greater things.

“The Blur,” by Minh Lê and Dan Santat

A child enters the world with superpowers, including the one parents seemingly know all too well — the power to speed up time. This may leave grown-ups blurry-eyed, too.

“If You Were a City,” by Kyo Maclear and Sanna Francesca

“If you were a city, how would you be?” This exploration of different types of cities features rhyming text, lush illustrations and plenty of room for imagination to take flight.

“The Rainbow Fish,” by Marcus Pfister

If you’re looking to teach your two-year-old about the value of inner beauty and friendship, stop right here. “The Rainbow Fish,” by Marcus Pfister centers around “the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean” who learns how to share his beauty with the rest of the sea.

Literati Kids Book Club

Get a curated box of essentials that grow with age and discovery. Developed with literacy experts, these books are designed to target developmental skills while leaving room for a child’s interests.

Meet the experts

• Marie Conti is Director of Regional Community Relations for American Montessori Society. She was the former head of The Wetherill School in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania.
• Tovah P. Klein, Ph.D., is Director of the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development in New York, as well as the author of “How Toddlers Thrive.” She focuses on young children’s social and emotional development, as well as parents’ experiences raising them.

Don’t forget to check out Shop TODAY’s other gift guides to find the perfect present for every kid on your list including babies, 1-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds, 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds and 10-year-olds.