Christmas gifts for toddlers have a short shelf life. The wrapping comes off, the toy gets one serious look, and by lunch your two-year-old is wearing the box as a hat. Fair enough. Toddlers are busy people with strong opinions.
So this list skips the flashing, beeping stuff and uses a simpler test. Will it still be in use after lunch? After a week? Below are six gifts sorted by what toddlers actually love to do, each with an honest catch. One of them is a memory game made from family photos, which we make.
The past lunch test for Christmas gifts for toddlers
Watch a toddler for an hour and you see the same few moves on repeat. They stack things and knock them down. They put things inside other things. They push anything with wheels. They point at faces and name them. They copy whatever you are doing.
The gifts that last feed one of those moves. The ones that fade do the playing for the child. A toy that sings when you press it is fun twice. A set of blocks is fun for years.
Three quick filters help.
- Open ended. It can be used ten ways, and your toddler will find an eleventh.
- Sturdy. It survives being thrown, sat on and tasted.
- Grows with them. A one-year-old and a three-year-old both get something out of it.
Six gifts, sorted by what toddlers love to do
1. For the stacker: chunky wooden blocks
A big set of plain blocks. Towers, roads, garages for toy cars, walls to knock down with great joy.
Good for: ages one and up, and every grown-up who secretly wants to build too.
The catch: you will step on one in the dark. Get a bin with a lid.
2. For the pusher: a sturdy push walker
Something with wheels they can push, lean on or steer across the kitchen floor.
Good for: new walkers and toddlers with a lot of energy before nap time.
The catch: it takes up floor space, and it will find your ankles.
3. For the face namer: a memory game of family photos
Toddlers love faces, and their favorite faces belong to people they know. Matchy Matchy Memory turns family photos into matching cards, from $19.99. Start with 12 cards. Mom, Dad, Grandma, the dog, the big cousin, the baby.
Good for: roughly two and a half and up, with a grown-up at the table.
The catch: younger toddlers mostly want to hold the cards and shout names. The real matching game tends to click a little later, so think of it as a gift they grow into.
4. For the copycat: a pretend kitchen set
Pots, a wooden spoon, a few pretend vegetables. Toddlers want to do what you do, and you cook every day.
Good for: ages two and up, especially kids who follow you around the real kitchen.
The catch: you will be served many bowls of imaginary soup. Act impressed.
5. For the filler: a set of nesting cups
Stack them, nest them, fill them with water in the bath, pour them out again.
Good for: younger toddlers, and bath time.
The catch: they look so simple that relatives might raise an eyebrow. Your toddler will ignore the eyebrow.
6. For the listener: board books with flaps
Thick pages, flaps to lift, one picture per page. You will read the same one forty times. That is the point.
Good for: bedtime, car rides and waiting rooms.
The catch: flaps get torn off. Pick the book with the sturdiest flaps you can find.
How to play a photo memory game with a two-year-old
Toddlers rarely play by the rules on the box, and that is fine. Here is a gentler way in.
- Start face up. Lay out 12 cards with the photos showing. Ask your toddler to find the two Grandmas.
- Then flip one. Turn a card over and ask where its partner is hiding.
- Keep it short. Three or four matches might be the whole game. Stop while it is still fun.
- Name everyone. Every card is a chance to say a name and tell a tiny story.
- Let them win. Often. They are two.
Expect the game to start as a naming game and slowly become a memory game. Both versions count.
Real photos or re-drawn ones?
Real photos are the safe pick for the youngest players. A toddler knows Grandpa's face, so a real photo of Grandpa is instantly exciting.
Matchy Matchy Magic re-draws your photos in 3D Film, Watercolor or Anime, from $29.99. It's a lovely pick for older siblings, or for a family who wants the cards to look like a picture book. Some toddlers spot the people right away. Others stare hard, then point and yell the name anyway.
Whichever you choose, pick photos with one big clear face per card. Toddlers do best with close ups taken in good light.
Fewer gifts, longer play
A toddler with twenty new toys plays with none of them. A toddler with three plays with all of them. If the relatives go big, tuck half the gifts in a closet and bring them out one at a time over the winter.
It also helps to steer the grandparents. Point them at one of the ideas above, or suggest they chip in for something bigger. A photo game is an easy one for a grandparent to give, because they are probably on half the cards.
Make one for your little one
Pick a few photos of the faces your toddler loves most. Choose real or re-drawn. Choose 12, 24 or 48 cards, and start small for small hands. Check your first card before you pay. Shipping is $5, and free when you order 2 or more decks. US only, ships in 3 to 5 business days. Order early for Christmas.
Start with Matchy Matchy Memory for real family photos, or try Matchy Matchy Magic to see everyone re-drawn. Questions? Write to us at hello@matchygame.com.