With a certain little boy turning two in a few weeks it was time to start looking for the perfect presents but I struggled this year, really struggled. We decided on his main present quite some time ago and we also wanted to get some smaller bits but when it came to it we were a bit clueless on what to actually buy. Joshua has a real love for anything wheel related and the lucky guy has plenty of cars, tractors and trains so we needed to be a little more imaginative as we knew others would be adding to his wheel collection.
We've gone down the play route so think puzzles, books, building blocks and of course play-doh to help his imagination and coordination. I spoke to a number of friends and we were all struggling for ideas so once we'd finally decided on what we would be wrapping up, creating a gift guide seemed like the obvious answer so I can help any of you that may be struggling too.
The best bit? Everything is square or rectangle so wrapping will be a doddle!
Books are a big part of my life so they were always going to be a big part of Joshua's too. We were sent a bundle of books from my very lovely friend a few months ago and rather than give them all to Joshua there and then, I decided to keep some back for his birthday. Pat a Cake books are some of my favourite for children so we have a couple from them. Spot & Say Jungle (£6.99) is a playful book which helps little ones with letters and sounds while Flip-Flap Friends Fancy Dress (£6.99) helps you mix and match clothing with different characters. I just know he's going to love them both.
We also have one of the Oi Frog & Friends (£6.99) puzzle books full of silly animals, rhymes and fun. The Oi range has so many titles to choose from so it's worth taking a look.
I bought two of My Busy Books after a friend had bought them for her daughter. I found these in TK Maxx for £2.99 each and chose Moana and Paw Patrol for our little lad as he loves both. My Busy Books are based on popular TV and film characters and include a book, a playmat and twelve figurines. I can't wait to get them out and play with them with him.
My Busy Books usually retail around the £10 mark on Amazon so keep an eye out in your local TK Maxx store which is what I'll be doing ahead of Christmas as I really want to get Thomas the Tank Engine next.
Next up is a different take on building blocks. Plus Plus are little building blocks that are all one shape but can be made into a variety of things. Make them flat, 3D, curved, anything you like! I first came across Plus Plus this year after winning some of their products in a giveaway. Joshua was a bit too young at first so I put them away until recently and he's much more interested in them now.
They're a brilliant boredom buster and the size is great for little hands too.
We have the Big Basic 50 Blocks (£15.00) in the pastel and mixed colours and then we'll just add them to what Joshua already has so we can build something even bigger! There's lots of different pack sizes and styles on the website so you are guaranteed to find something for your little one.
Orchard Toys are loved for their educational games and puzzles and after a friend bought another friend Shopping List for her daughter's birthday I ordered it for Joshua as I loved the idea of it. We really wanted to go down the educational route while he's too young to resist especially now he's talking so much more so a few of the sets from Orchard Toys were a must. We had a little bundle arrive from the guys at Orchard Toys which included four fab products that are ideal for two-year-olds and older.
Number Street (£10.50) is a chunky twenty-piece number puzzle which encourages learning numbers one to ten. The pieces are bigger making them great for little hands and there's a poster included so kiddo will be counting one to ten before you know it. Joshua currently counts one to four then straight to eight, nine, ten so with this we'll be able to add in five, six and seven!
Mummy and Baby (£7.00) is a six-piece puzzle with chunky pieces and is great from eighteen months old. The puzzle pieces help you match up mum to baby and it's a great way to encourage saying the animal names aloud too. We took this to my parents recently and it was a big hit while we were waiting for a Sunday Roast.
Heads and tail games are something I remember from my own childhood so I'll know Joshua will love Farmyard Heads & Tails (£8.00) too. Featuring twelve farm characters and objects, the colourful game can be played alone or with others. It helps children develop memory and observational skills by encouraging them to match the cards with the correct half plus it's great for learning new words. I'm hoping we have hours of fun with this.
The final product from Orchard Toys is one of their colouring books. The First Words Colouring Book (£3.00) is a twenty-four-page book that includes stickers. There's a step by step activities to encouraging learning in older children but for the moment, we're going to use ours to colour in cats. They'd make such a great colouring book for older children or school-age too.
With the colder months setting in, it seemed the perfect time to add some indoor activities to the present pile and Zimpli Kids have some brilliant products that are perfect for that. They sent through a bundle of products for some serious indoor play full of slime, fake snow and gelli!
The Gelli Worlds Dino Pack (£14.99) includes an inflatable tray, five bags of green gelli and an eight piece dinosaur figure set. Using the green gelli, you just add water to create a miniature gelli world and you can play for however long you want. I'm really looking forward to setting this up with Joshua.
As well as the Gelli Worlds pack, we also have Gelli Baff (£4.99) which turns water into goo and then back again. It's quite amazing and you don't have to worry about blocking your plughole because it comes with a dissolver powder that turns the goo back to coloured water again. Slime Baff (£4.99) is similar but instead of goo, the water turns to slime! This can also be safely drained away by adding more water. If you're unsure, it's totally worth watching their Youtube videos on their products
The final item is from Play-Doh! Who loves Play-Doh? I've been so looking forward to this stage, not so much the mixed up colours but definitely everything else. I found the Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Breakfast Bakery set in the Debenhams sale for £8.00 and so it came home with me. I've since discovered they do so many more Kitchen Creation sets and I am dying to order the popcorn one too! The set comes with six pots of Play-Doh as well as the presser and then I ordered more pots during the Lidl Baby Event in the summer.
We nearly kept the set for Christmas but I'm dying to play with it myself so it's gone into the birthday pile! I think Play-Doh is just so brilliant for children and you can bet it'll be a hit for any age.
I really hope you find this helpful, I thought the easiest thing to do was collect everything we're wrapping for his birthday apart from the main present into one easy post for anyone to refer to.
If you have any more ideas on great presents for a two-year-old, please let me know as it's always handy to know what else is out there.
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