Gift Guide: Baby and Toddler Toys

In the hopes that I can still help someone out with a gift idea for this Christmas, I have pulled together a compilation of toys my little man has fallen in love with that won't break the bank. (Or drive the parents too crazy!)

First up, stacking cups! A staple of any childhood (in my humble opinion), stacking cups have so many uses and provide a lot of learning opportunities for young ones. However, finding a good set can be difficult.

When we were a pair of Baylor-less aunt and uncle, we ran across these stacking cups and ended up buying them as a gift for our niece. Since then, we have purchased two more sets; one for our little man at our house and one for my parents' house (they asked if we could find them the same ones we had). They are made by B.R. Bruin, come in a set of 10 (a rarity these days - usually sets have only 5 to 8 cups), have wonderful colors, are water-friendly, and have fun pictures on the tops that can be used to make imprints in sand (if you take them to the beach or sandbox). I also recently learned that they received an excellent rating after undergoing toxicity tests, so in spite of being made in China they have been proven safe! Bonus!

I have had some difficulty finding them online, but I know you can buy them at Toys R' Us for, if I remember correctly, $10 or less. Little B likes tearing down towers I make for him and using them as a magic trick ... "Where did the cup go?!" as he hides one under another.

Next up, a soft book. This particular cloth book comes from Soft Play and has been a staple around our house since before Little B was born; my mother-in-law purchased it for us to have around for when other people's kids would come over. It is light-weight yet very durable, and it can withstand a horrible bout of teething unlike any other book. This would also be a great book to keep in the car, as it will keep a kiddo busy for ever but will survive if he/she starts to chew on it. (And yes, I realize the picture is not horizontal as it should be ... Blogger is being stupid and won't display it correctly.)

Baylor loves looking through it and has learned a ton of the Sesame Street characters from it. Not a single piece has come off of it, and though it is probably about three years old it still looks as good as new!

Leap Frog has some pretty awesome toys, but this one is a current favorite with my little man. It is called the Leap Frog Alphabet Pal caterpillar, and - like most Leap Frog products - has a lot of options packed into a tiny toy. Each leg has a corresponding letter and color and makes different noises depending on which of the four settings your child has chosen. Those four settings are: letter names, letter sounds, colors, and music; and honestly they are all pretty awesome. Oh, and though earlier versions of this toy allowed you to spell out swear words on the letter sounds setting, all the newer versions insert a giggle when you try to spell something you shouldn't. No kidding ... this toy is smart.

I think puzzles are way underrated as a learning toy for children. Thing is, it's really hard to find a good one that won't be so difficult as to cause frustration to the kiddo yet will still teach him/her something. Enter the Melissa & Doug Sound Puzzle!

This little gem of a toy was given to my son by his dear Aunt Christine for his birthday and from the start he has loved it. Each piece has a corresponding picture underneath so the child can easily figure out where things go, yet it still helps develop and refine dexterity as all the pieces are the shape of the animal pictured. Oh, and the part he loves most? When a piece is placed into a slot it makes the animal's noise! How cute is that?

Some of the animals sound a little creepy - as they tend to with most children's toys - but he has so much fun with it every time he plays with it. We would keep it down with his other toys, but it's not great for children who are teething as saliva tends to wear away at the puzzle pieces. But he asks to play with it often, and so we'll get it down and play with it together.

The puzzle comes in different themes (e.g., pets, zoo animals, vehicles) and can be found both in stores and online.


This gift idea is a little weird, but hear me out. As some of you may remember, my son has a dinosaur ball pit that once tried to eat him. He used to appreciate the crunchy outside of this ball pit much more than the contents, but he has recently taken up a fascination with balls and throwing things so the balls inside have become a hidden treasure.

I'm not recommending that every parent run out and get a ball pit; I'm actually recommending the balls inside as a gift idea. You can buy ball pit balls pretty inexpensively, and while they aren't flashy they are truly wonderful. Now, don't buy the commercial crush-proof variety; those defeat the purpose. The purpose here is to have balls around your house that are hardly heavy enough to knock over anything; to have something that your kiddo can throw around without injuring himself/herself or anyone else.


From what I can tell, you can buy a bag of ball pit balls at Toys R' Us for like $12.99, and unless you're trying to actually fill something up, the smallest bag is all you'll need.

Even the most mundane household objects can become a ball pit if you put your kid and a bunch off balls in them!


I know, ball pit balls without a pit is a little weird, but you/the parents will appreciate these lightweight balls when you get knocked in the head with one and barely feel a thing!


Finally, if you're looking for a fun gift for the sports fanatic's kid, try searching out some cool balls and maybe a book about the school/team in question. Baylor has some Michigan State balls and a Michigan State book that we love to whip out on game days to teach him about our alma mater and the sport we are watching. It gets him excited about the game and teaches him about sports, how they are played, rules, sportsmanship, etc.

Throw a few of these items together and you'd have one popular gift at any sports fan's house!

Like I said, this is just a smattering of toys that our child finds fantastically fun. If any of you have ideas to add, I'd love to hear about them in the comments, as would other readers I'm sure!

Happy shopping!