I find certain ages tricky to buy for and 2 is one of them. This is the stage where you can find lots of 0-12 month baby toys and then they just leap through to being unsuitable for under 36 months. We already have some key toys from her older siblings such as the Ikea toy kitchen, cozy coupe, sand and water table and a playhouse. So I really had to think very long and hard for Florence this year.
So with gift lists I always start off doing a wish list that I have updated over several months as and when I get ideas, inspiration and recommendations. The great thing about wish lists on sites such as Amazon is it always leads me to what other customers have bought, reviews and recommendations. This way of making a list has made me find some of our best toys, books and games we have. It doesn’t mean that we have to purchase off Amazon, it just houses my gift list ideas all year round for the kids. Next up is the money saving bit and that is to check for latest deals, vouchers and discounts and so I would recommend giving a good check to see if there are any must have deals. So it’s definitely worth going through and checking what’s up for grabs onlatestdeals.co.uk.
So here are my ideas for Florence’s Birthday and for any littles you have in your life.
So first up is her main present – A scuttle bug. They come in several designs and we chose a ladybird as I just prefer to buy gender neutral colours for selling or handing down to family and friends. This one was an idea for her to feel involved with the others biking and scootering. She’s ready for a micro scooter but I just felt that it would be beneficial to have more of a ride on whilst she’s a small 2 that she can get good use of indoors and outdoors, before we upgrade her to a scooter. I searched various ride ons, tricycles and balance tricycles and this one suited us the most. Its very affordable, easy to use and portable. I have since altered ours with an added function of wrapping a strap around the handlebar to pull her about quicker on it for when we’re catching up with her brothers and sisters! We also purchased Florence a Micro scooter helmet for all her scuttlebug and future scooter outdoor adventures, she was so pleased to wear one and be a big girl!
Melissa and Doug wooden Birthday cake
A lovely addition to our other wooden kitchen imaginary play. Since her big brother’s birthday she is now fascinated by the birthday song and blowing out candles. The toppings for the cake are quite small, so we always supervise her play with this one.
Bloopies doll
Florence is starting to show an interest in her big sister’s doll and as we haven’t got one suitable for the bath, I thought this would be a fun bath time addition, plus its called Floey, one of Florence’s nicknames! She has really enjoyed bathing, drying and caring for her first baby. They come complete with swimsuit, snorkel mask and flippers
Peep Inside the Zoo – Usborne book
A next step up for Florence in Usborne books, one of which she will grow into over the next year plus. Its the first stage of there lift the flap and find out information books. The illustrations are very pretty as well. They do several others in this range.
Skip Hop Zoo Stack Water Buckets.
Another new bath time addition, as Florence will play for long periods in the bath and loves to pour. They’re also a cute addition to your bathroom as bath toys ago and take up little space as they stack. Great also for kitchen sink, outdoor and indoor water play.
Jellycat toy and My friend Bunny book
We found in John Lewis a new jelly cat bunny for Florence, as she hasn’t many cuddly toys yet and we want her to have a really nice selection to keep. So this now takes pride of place in her cot along with her fox. The book is a jellycat book ad is a sweet bedtime story to be told whilst she cuddles her new bunny.
Melissa and Doug dress up bears.
This is a toy we’ve had for many years but I can’t include a gift list for this age without including this one. The bears heads are a little small for tiny people so again supervise. All of my kids still enjoy sitting and matching up bears and outfits with this Mummy, Daddy and baby bear dress up wooden jigsaw.
Duplo
If we already didn’t have a large box of duplo this would definitely be on Florences list. Florence is already enjoying trying to put together her big brother’s duplo. The creative and fine motor skills this construction toy brings to children is endless.
Lacing Toys – I found a beautiful wooden transport set on Bees Toys website that is suitable from 24 months.
I hope that this list gives others some inspiration for this tricky in-between age. Obviously some of these toys age guidance is 36 months, so please do supervise as necessary like all us parents try our best to do!
Love Charlotte x
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