Best Baby and Toddler Gifts and Toys for Christmas

The holidays are coming! Do you have a little one in your life? If you are ready to start shopping for some great gifts for that baby or toddler, I’ve compiled a list of the best baby and toddler gifts and toys for Christmas.

Whether your wish list of favorite things includes imaginative play, fun characters, adorable animals, a dump truck, or rattle rings, I hope this list of adorable Christmas gift ideas helps you with your shopping this year.

If you are able to support a local toy store or bookseller, I would highly encourage you to do so, but I am also compiling my list from Amazon since I know many of us are shopping from home. Ok, on to the list of our favorite gift ideas!

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Fat Brain for Baby and Toddler Gifts

Fat Brain toys are some of our favorite brands for baby and toddler gifts. They provide lots of tactile elements for young children. The toys have lots of different colors and the sizes are perfect for little fingers. All of our Fat Brain toys have really held up over time from child to child.

• Fat Brain Dimpl Baby Toy – Our baby loved this toy and it was the perfect thing to keep in the diaper bag to keep her occupied in the grocery store or to look at while doing tummy time! This one is just right for baby’s first Christmas or a birthday gift.

Books for Babies and Toddlers

Our babies love getting books as gifts! We keep a basket of books on the living room coffee table and in the nursery, so we have always have a great option in the right place. Books are also a fun way for an older child to connect with younger siblings. These are some of our favorites and make the best Christmas gifts.

• Indestructibles – These high quality books can stand up to a baby chewing on them and typical baby play. They come in a variety of themes with fun characters, simple words, and little fingers can hold them easily. We keep them in our toddler’s crib so she can read them when she wakes from naps, but they are soft enough to not bump her head while she sleeps.
• Poke A Dot Books – My kids love these as little ones. The big kids still like to pull them out to read aloud to the younger set, because they love to pop the dots! Your toddler will enjoy popping the dots as they interact with the story, as each dot interacts with a specific character or aspect of the story. Super satisfying!

• Cottage Door Press Lift the Flap Books – our one year old loves this series of books with the lift the flap. They are just the right size and sturdy enough to withstand being opened and closed multiple times without tearing. Highly recommend for a child’s birthday or Christmas present!

• Sandra Boynton Board Books – can you recommend baby books without Sandra Boynton? These rhyming books are the best and a big hit in our home! Any book from a Boynton collection makes all gift guides for little ones.

Hape Toys for Babies and Toddlers

Hape makes beautiful, classic wooden toys that you will want to keep for multiple children. We love the bright colors and simplicity of design that you can display in a playroom or child’s bedroom. Here are some of my favorites.

• Hape Shape Sorter Ladybug– This adorable shape sorter is a great toy for little ones learning shapes and how to manipulate items. Add it to your toy collection, perfect for young kids to use for independent play. It easily captures a child’s attention, requires hand-eye coordination, and gets a lot of use in our house! Kids of all ages love it!

• Hape Beaded Raindrops | Mini Wooden Musical Shake & Rattle Rainmaker Toy – This simple rattle is perfect for little ones just learning to grasp toys and building those new skills. We kept ours on the changing table to keep our littles ones occupied during diaper changes.

• Hape Put-Stay Rattle Set, Three Sea Animal Suction Rattle Toys, Baby Educational Toy Set – Sometimes our one year old doesn’t stay patient when we put her in the high chair to get ready for meals. I keep these in the kitchen to stick on her tray until her meal is ready. They make the perfect present for toddlers!
• Wooden Fresh Fruit – When your toddler is ready to start playing “kitchen”, these wooden fruits are fun to have around. As they develop their fine motor skills, the “cutting” skill with the knife is a great one to develop. This is on our youngest’s list this year.

• Hape Toddler Kitchen – This small play stove with pans is a great alternative for a small space or if you don’t want to commit to a massive play kitchen. Perfect with the veggies listed above!

• Hape Creative Toddler Wooden Peg Puzzle – If you look carefully at this puzzle, you will see it is a little more challenging than it first appears. Great for challenging toddlers and little kids, 18 mos and up.

Melissa and Doug for Babies and Toddlers

Melissa and Doug toys have been at the top of the toy list for many years now, and it’s easy to see why. Plenty of variety, vivid colors, and sturdy, here are some of my favorites for babies and toddlers.

• Magnetic Jigsaw Puzzles – Once your little one reaches 3 years old, you will want some entertainment for the car. These magnetic puzzles are a great take along item for long car trips or plane rides. These 15 piece puzzles are easy for kids to manipulate, and the magnetic feature makes them much more manageable to keep up with when traveling.

• Slice and Bake Cookie Set – I’m not kidding, this cookie set has been in our house for 9 years and it’s still going strong. Our one year old makes cookies for our 7 and 9 year olds, and they are happy to play along.

• Take Along Sorting Barn – This sweet barn and animals are perfect for your toddler. You can practice animal sounds and puzzle sense while playing together.

• Jumbo Knob Wooden Puzzles – These are always in our first puzzle rotation in our house. Classic with bold colors, a hit with the toddler set.

Playmobil and Fisher Price

Realistic play is one of the best types of play for little ones. They pretend with toys, mimicking what they experience day to day. With all four of our kids, we have owned lots of Playmobil and Fisher Price. Here are a few favorites!

• Playmobil Jr. Number Go Round– this cute set helps your toddler gets started with building and encouraging those fine motor skills with a little playground merry go round with numbers!

• Shovel Excavator – Our little guy loved all things trucks and diggers when he was in the toddler/preschool stage. This one is the perfect toy for your little explorer.

• Fisher Price See and Say – A classic favorite for most toddlers! See and Says are always so much fun!

• Fisher Price Little People Friendly School – This is on our one year old’s list this year! Her older siblings will enjoy showing her how to “go to school.”

I hope these baby and toddler gifts for Christmas help complete your shopping list for the little ones in your life! For more ideas on gift giving, hop to this post for the boys and girls on your list.

For tips on building gingerbread houses with your littles ones, check out this post. If you planning to make some fun and easy treats this holiday season, check out this article. Merry Christmas!