Yahoo Lifestyle26 Fun Toys to Buy for the Next 2-Year-Old Birthday Boy or Girl on Your List
- 1/27
26 Fun Toys to Buy for the Next 2-Year-Old Birthday Boy or Girl on Your List
By the time your little one is 2 years old, they're most likely getting more excited about sorting colors and shapes and playing with friends. She might even be running around, kicking balls and throwing things — being a toddler is exhausting, after all!
When shopping for toys for 2-year-old boys and girls, be sure to pick products that match their interests but still help them learn something new. (For example: if they always want to watch mom and dad cook, they'll love a pretend grill so they can "make" food and work on their fine motor skills.)
To help prepare kids for pre-school and beyond, the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute test hundreds of toys for safety, functionality and fun factor. These parent- and kid-approved toys and gifts for 2-year-olds will help them develop new skills and spark some serious imagination. Some of our recommendations are even previous GH Toy Award winners! Don't forget to check out our other guides filled with gifts for 5-year-old boys, gifts for 8-year-old girls, gifts for teens and more!
These are the best toys and gifts for 2-year-olds in 2021.
- 2/27
Pinkfong Baby Shark Tablet
WowWee
amazon.com
$15.15
Your toddler is probably obsessed with "Baby Shark," so this Good Housekeeping 2019 Toy Award Winner will have them practicing their letters and numbers. During toy testing, kids loved that they could play the song over and over again. (Don't worry, it also has an adjustable volume button.) Ages 2+
RELATED: The Best Toys for 1-Year-Olds Growing Out of Their Baby Gifts
- 3/27
Musical Drumfish
Haba
amazon.com
$29.99
This fishy friend is lots of musical instruments in one: Toddlers can bang on him with a drumstick, rattle his fins or shake up the beads in his belly. Plus, he looks great on a shelf. No wonder it won a 2020 Good Housekeeping Toy Award. Ages 2+
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- 4/27
Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Servin' Up Fun Food Truck
Laugh & Learn
walmart.com
$49.97
This food truck encourages kids to play with each other — one can be the customer and the other can take orders! One side of the decked out food truck has everything you need for food prep (including a cash register, light-up grill, and service bell), and the other is ready to drive around the house with a steering wheel and shifter. Ages 1+
- 5/27
Sabrina the Pink Rainbow Tabby Cat Caticorn
Squishmallow
amazon.com
These soft and squishy friends can be anything from pillows to bedtime buddies — the insides are similar to memory foam, so it's it's fun to squeeze and re-squeeze. They also come in a host of animals and shapes, from Christmas trees to pineapples, if tabby-cat-unicorns are not your child's preferred creature. Ages 1 month+
- 6/27
Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog
Learning Resources
amazon.com
$9.58
This cutie walked away with a 2018 Good Housekeeping Institute Toy Award because the 12 pegs were easy for little hands to grasp. Parents will love how every piece stores neatly away inside the hedgehog's body, making for easy storage (and on-the-go transportation). Ages 18 months+
RELATED: The Best Toys and Gifts for 3-Year-Old Girls, According to Parents and Parenting Experts
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- 7/27
Easy-Clean Finger Paint
Crayola
Michael's
$29.99
Why didn't anyone think of this before? Crayola invented a method of finger-painting where the paint and paper stay inside a case. Kids still get to roll paint around with their fingers, but the mess stays contained. Genius! Ages 1+
- 8/27
Storytime Buddy
LeapFrog
amazon.com
$55.48
This cute pup is more than just a fuzzy pal. When your toddler presses one of the buttons on his collar, he'll read one of five different stories about his puppy pals. The buttons on his feet also do interactive things, like explore the ABCs or play music. Ages 2+
- 9/27
My Little Girl Doll
Madame Alexander
amazon.com
$46.26
For the next step up in baby dolls, the Madame Alexander My Little Girl dolls have hair that can be styled, along with a molded face and huggable body. You can also get it in different hair colors, eye colors and skin tones. Ages 2+
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- 10/27
DUPLO My First Number Train
LEGO
amazon.com
$15.99
This educational toy has an average 4.8-star rating from more than 450 reviewers! In order to assemble this 23-piece train set correctly, your little one will also learn how to count up to nine. Once that challenge is accomplished, it can chug-chug-chug around the living room. Ages 18 months+
- 11/27
Noah´s Ark
Playmobil
amazon.com
$39.99
As expected, you get two of every animal (including giraffes and zebras) in this Noah's Ark play set. Kids can act out any story using their imagination. When playtime is over, they all fit neatly into the inside of the boat. PS: the ark can actually float on water! Ages 18 months+
- 12/27
Dressed to Nest Cloth Dolls
Constructive Playthings
amazon.com
$30.35
Toddlers love nesting dolls, but they often have little pieces that can be choking hazards. This one comes with a set of five cloth dolls perfect for little ones. To get to each layer, kids have to undo zippers, buttons or bows, so it works on fine-motor skills, too. Ages 2+
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- 13/27
Radio Flyer Scoot About Sport
Radio Flyer
amazon.com
$39.99
Your toddlers can ride anywhere on this sporty scooter. It features wide-set front wheels that help with stability, while the handlebars help them steer. There's even a storage compartment under the seat. It holds up to 42 pounds, so they can ride around starting at age 1 and until they're about 3 years old. Ages 1+
- 14/27
Learning Avocados
Learning Resources
amazon.com
$12.39
This cute toy works on a bunch of skills at once. Toddlers can open them and pull them apart, working on their fine motor coordination. They can sort them by color, working on matching skills. And they can use the faces to work on social-emotional development. No toast needed! Ages 18 months+
- 15/27
Shape Factory
Fat Brain Toys
amazon.com
$24.95
This toy takes shape-sorting to the next level. How do you fit 10 shapes into four slots? Press the plunger on top, which rotates the upper half of the base so that the slots themselves change shape. Now, toddlers have to match the right shape and construct the right hole. Ages 1+
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- 16/27
Ambulance & Doctor's Kit
Green Toys
amazon.com
$19.44
Your 2-year-old boys and girls will be ready for their next check-up after rounds of practicing with this doctor's kit, which comes with a stethoscope, reflex hammer, syringe, Tweezers, thermometer and an ear scope, among others. When playtime is over, the set can be thrown in the dishwasher for easy cleaning, then stored in the ambulance. Plus, it claims to be made of 100% recycled plastic. Ages 2+
- 17/27
Let's Dance Elmo
Sesame Street
amazon.com
$58.99
Get those jitterbugs up and moving with Elmo, who sings, plays music, and wiggles to the beat. Along the way, he'll give encouragement by saying things like, “Elmo is ready for a dance party!” and other cute phrases by pressing the heart-shaped button. PS: His headphones double as a carrying handle! Ages 18 months+
- 18/27
Wooden Peg Puzzles
Melissa & Doug
amazon.com
$22.99
Kids will learn about matching, shapes and animals with these educational puzzles from Melissa & Doug. They're easy to grasp for little hands, so they help develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Plus, the picture quality is excellent. You get three different wood puzzles (pets, ocean and farm animals) that each have six pieces. Ages 2+
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- 19/27
Scoop & Learn Ice Cream Cart
LeapFrog
amazon.com
$39.82
This full-service cart was a Good Housekeeping Toy Award winner in 2018, and we still think it's awesome. It comes with six different order cards and instructions, so your 2-year-old child can learn how to follow directions and boost their memory and sequencing skills. Plus, the cart can actually be pushed around so kids can play and move at the same time. Ages 2+
- 20/27
DUPLO Steam Train
LEGO
amazon.com
$47.99
This train set for toddlers contains a whopping 59 pieces. After you snap together the tracks, a simple push forward or backward sends the train moving along. Then, for even more hands-on play, five "action bricks" make the train do things like toot its horn or turn on its lights. Just when you thought it couldn't get cooler, you can also control even more functions through the free app. Ages 2+
- 21/27
Fun Fair Playset
Peppa Pig
walmart.com
$58.00
You can immediately see why this adorable toy is such a hit: The eight-piece set comes with a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, game booth and more, so your toddler can spend hours filled playing with the World of Peppa. Ages 2+
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- 22/27
Cat Family Color Names Puzzle
BeginAgain
amazon.com
$12.99
With its free-form design, this is more of a challenge than your typical toddler puzzle — but so much more satisfying when the colored pieces lock together. It's a great gift idea to improve your little one's fine motor and language skills, since one side is printed in English and the other is in Spanish. Plus, this bilingual toy for 2-year-olds does double duty — the wooden animals are also thick enough to act as stand-alone animals, perfect for pretend play. Ages 2+
- 23/27
Tool Set
Green Toys
amazon.com
$20.85
This 15-piece set is perfect for your little builder. It comes with screwdrivers, a hammer, a saw, a wrench, pliers and more, so they can imagine building their biggest projects. The set is also made from 100% recycled plastic for a lower overall environmental impact, and its dishwasher-safe just in case the tools get dirty. Ages 2+
- 24/27
Smart Sizzlin' BBQ Grill
LeapFrog
walmart.com
$28.04
Complete with skewers, plates and food, this interactive BBQ set lets kids pretend to grill just like Mom and Dad do in the summer! It can also help your 2-year-old get familiar with numbers — the temperature dial can be adjusted from one to 10, and the grill might even tell them to lower the heat if its too high. Ages 2+
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- 25/27
Ride 'n Chomp Croc
Mega Bloks
amazon.com
$34.99
This crocodile toy combines two things that kids love: building blocks and scooters. The idea is to have your toddler ride over the blocks to pick them up — making for easy clean up! — but they can also play with the building blocks on their own. Plus, they all can be stored inside the seat when playtime is over. Ages 1+
- 26/27
Frozen Elsa's Ice Palace by Little People
Little People
amazon.com
$29.82
Kids love toys that tie in with their favorite movies and characters, so this castle from Frozen will definitely keep them occupied for hours. It comes with Elsa and Olaf dolls so they can act out their favorite scenes. When you line her up on the right spot, Elsa will start singing the movie's most popular song, "Let It Go!" This toy was such a hit, it snagged a Good Housekeeping 2019 Toy Award. Ages 18 months+
- 27/27
Laugh & Learn Pull & Play Learning Wagon
Fisher-Price
amazon.com
$39.99
Any toddler would love to get their hands on a pull-along wagon — and this Fisher-Price toy has multiple activity levels so it can stay with them as they grow! Whether your kid is working on the alphabet, shapes, counting or Spanish words, there's something new for your toddler to learn each time. Even though it's an educational toy, it'll keep them entertained for so long! Ages 6 months+
