2 Things: Best Purchase We Ever Made! What Toys Should I Buy 2 Year Old DD?

About 8 months ago we got my DD (22 mos) the LeapFrog alphabet refrigerator magnet set. They can slot each letter into the little electronic base and it sings a song about the letter, as well as singing the whole alphabet song when they hit another button. She LOVES it and would stand there for 10-15 min at a time and just slot in letter after letter. Now she knows the whole alphabet song and can recognize and tell you about 90 percent of the letters. Picks letters out on written materials all the time now. For my baby anyway, it's the coolest toy EVER.

I got her a used Step2 table and chair set on craigslist and she uses that every day. Mostly I cover the table with paper and she draws all over it -- oh, there's an indispensible item: the Crayola washable markers and crayons. AMAZING invention. :-)

Also, for my daughter, anything Teletubbies: She loves her little playset and her DVDs/videos (got a lot of them used) and her talking Po doll.

She's just now getting good at shape sorting, so she plays much more with the wooden block set with the shape-sorting lid my husband got her a year ago. He bought a huge tub of multicolored blocks and she plays with those every day now.

If your daughter's tall, skip the riding toys and get her a tricycle. Radio Flyer makes little teeny ones. DD has one that some friends gave us after their daughter outgrew it, but she's not quite tall enough and it frustrates her to no end that she can't ride it. (It's in the garage, semi hidden and folded up [yes this model folds up for storage], but she knows where to find it and she still tries to go play with it.)

Finally, I got DD a little wooden stool at Albertson's, and she plays with that thing every day now. Carries it around the house, uses it to climb up and over the back of the couch so she can flop on the pillows (supervised, of course0, brings it into the kitchen so she can climb up and see what we're doing on the countertops (which is what I bought it for), etc.

Hope this helps! I can't wait to see what other replies you get! :-)
J.

My daughter is almost 2 and she LOVES her little umbrella stoller for her baby and her baby high chair. I saw the stollers at big lots for like $5 and I am not sure about the high chair cause I got it at a garage sale for $1. It is Little Tykes though I know that. She plays with them every day almost all day. she has a little diaper bag with bottles and other baby care stuff in it and loves playing mommy. They also have little car seats and play pens for the babies too that I will probably get her for xmas this year.

There are a handfull of toys that have been well worth the investment for us:

If she doesn't already have one, a play kitchen is an enduring favorite at our house. It has been played with almost daily since we got it 2 Christmases ago when my daughter was 18months. Little Tykes has a couple neat plastic ones (like the "Inside/Outside Cook n Grill Kitchen"), and Target has a very cool wooden one. Add a set of toy cookware and toy food and you're in business for hours upon hours of pretend playtime. Throw in a toy shopping cart for even more good times

Another big hit that we borrowed from a friend for a while was one of those small jump houses. They're about $200 and worth every penny if you ask me. You can use it at birthdays and family gatherings. It comes with its own duffle bag so you can even pack it up and haul it to grandmas if you want.

We also have a play house that has been used almost daily for 2 years. We picked it up at a garage sale and it's a smaller one, which is fine for my daughter who is at the 10th percentile in height. It's small enough that we actually keep it in the play room instead of outside. The Little Tykes "Endless Adventures Magic Doorbell Playhouse" is similar. There are larger ones too. The kids are constantly in and out and on and over ours.

Another great hit has been a kid sized table and chairs set. Again, used daily for everything from snacks to crafts to pretend play with dolls and stuffed animals. Ours is one that doubles as a lego table -- it has a removable lid and the lego surface is underneath. Got it at Toys R Us.

I got my daughter a really cute pop up tent at Target for 19.99. She loves it...the sides have sheer curtains that can be tied back and a door that opens and a window...its pink and very girly! My daughter doesnt like being enclosed in things and this tent is breezy and open. She takes her dolls in there and plays and also her paper and crayons too. My daughter also has loved her Mr. Potato head. I got her a big set at Target w/ a mom dad & kid w/ all the pieces. She still plays that all the time and she is now 3 1/2. Well good luck on finding the right gifts...Im in the same boat b/c my little one has everything already b/c shes the only baby in the family and is spoiled so this x-mas will be a bit harder. Good Luck!

The thing that my girls (ages 9 &4) have played the most with over the years is the "LIttle People" stuff. We started out with a house, and then added on from there. They have so many accessories. My oldest daughter has even continued to play with it with my younger daughter. We have had many pieces for 7 years or more.

If you have another boy or girl or even a friend over all the kids can play because you can get many people and different cars and barns and animals. We have had our set added to for B-day, Christmas, even Valentines, etc.

I would definately buy these products again and again.

Hope that helps,
H.

I just wanted to say a big AMEN to the already suggested little people toys!! They have come out with some very cute sets recently, and I intend to get them again this year for my 3 year old girl. I run a day care and there is no question that those toys get the most play time. I would get as many sets as you could get your hands on honestly. For sure on the top of our best purchase list!! Another has been a set of 200 wooden blocks that were a gift last year. I honeslty didnt think she would care about it that much, but I kid you not when I tell you that they get played with every day. And another sort of surprise hit was the Dora house. I bought the big set from Costco last Christmas, so it had lots of pieces in it, and it too gets lots of play time. I would not buy any Barbie type toys yet, or the cute (and nostalgic) Strawberry Shortcake dolls. We are considering the loving family doll house this year, but I am glad we chose the Dora house last year first. Good luck, I know it hard when they dont tell you what they want yet. (But its even harder when they are 6 and they keep asking for a kitten!! Hmm how will Santa get out of this one.....) Have fun shopping!

I have never gone wrong with a kid-safe flashlight for a 2-year-old. Dress up clothes are also a favorite.