Top 2nd Birthday Gifts (Tried & True Favorites We Love)

Our little guy is such a surprise blessing in our lives, and this week he’s turning 2! I absolutely adore the toddler years and saved so many of my older two children’s favorite toys. He really doesn’t need much.

I saved our absolute favorites to have toys for little visitors, toys for my daughter to take when she starts babysitting, and of course, toys for future grandchildren. Little did I know I would need them again for our own sweet baby.

This list includes our best 2nd birthday gifts — toys that have stood the test of time, supported development, and encouraged deep, imaginative play.

What you’ll notice?
There isn’t a battery in sight.

These are battery-free toddler toys that encourage imagination, provide rich sensory experiences, and support fine and gross motor skill development. These are toys that grow with your child — and are worth the space they take up.

So, in addition to Brilliance of Babies books, here are my top 10 tried and true 2nd birthday gifts, and a few that we are getting, just for fun.

If you purchase from the links below, I’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you. Books are expensive inventory, and this commission helps grow my business faster and bring new titles to families more quickly. Thank you for supporting my small business.

Gifts I’m So Glad I Saved

We moved when the older children were 7 and 9, and these toys were good enough to pack up and move instead of donate. Because our new (but very old) house needed a major renovation, we didn’t unpack some of the boxes until three years later. By then, we had our sweet baby—and I cried.

I couldn’t remember what was in those boxes.

It was memories.

These are the kinds of open-ended toddler toys that are worth saving.

• Play food: Cans for fine motor practice, Cookies, Fruits & Veggies, Birthday Cake, Pizza Pretend play builds vocabulary, social development, and imagination — and it never gets old.
• Duplos, and this train set because, wheels. Building toys support early STEM skills, problem-solving, and creativity.
• Magnatiles for years of play. Go ahead and get the big set. You’ll thank me later.
• Rainbow Blocks Beautiful, durable, and ideal for early spatial reasoning and sensory exploration and the perfect addition to your block collection.

Gifts I’m Buying Again (or Similar)

File these under: physically too big to keep or move. If you consider nothing else on this list, consider these two. 

Full disclosure: We aren’t actually buying a kitchen this time because my parents are building one for us. But if they weren’t, I would 100% purchase one.

• Kitchen They don’t make our original kitchen anymore, it has been 10 years. This one looks very similar and gets great reviews! 
• Sensory Table: We had this one on a covered porch for years, but in this house we needed a sensory table that is water tight.

Other Toddler Gifts That Are Still Going Strong

Most of these were 1st birthday gifts or recent Christmas gifts that get almost daily use.

• Toddler Tower These have come a long way. Our first one was big and clunky. I LOVE this one. I honestly don’t know what we would do without it. It builds independence and allows toddlers to participate in the kitchen— cooking, washing, helping — which builds confidence and language.
• Pickler’s Triangle Great for rainy day gross-motor play. Ideal for building strength, coordination, and safe risk-taking indoors.
• Roller Coaster Pro tip: Do NOT push it for them, teach them how to push it themselves. Toddlers love to be independent. And sometimes you need to do yard work.
• Push Car Perfect for a “drive” to the park or the grandparents’ house

Just for Fun (Because I Can’t Help Myself)

• Bubble Blower The gift I am most excited about him getting! He’s obsessed with blowing our driveway with his daddy.
• Fine Motor toys He loves toys like this and they’re great for his fine-motor development. Strengthening his hands is so important.
• Metal Trucks I wish I could find exactly what our older son had and loved, but no luck. These are metal and look really sturdy—built for real toddler play. We’re going to use them outside. 

There are also books, but I’ll have to save those for another post!