The holidays are so fun with toddlers!

Here are carefully curated lists of favorites for each area, how to use these items, and why we love them as a developmental specialists and play experts!

This page contains affiliate links. We will receive a commission on qualifying purchases using these links.

See and Say Musical Toy: One of my favorite toys for imitation! Have fun with mimicking animals noises and sounds, and pair signs with spoken language.
Fisher Price Shape Sorter: This toy can be used for multiple purposes! Model words like “in” and “out” as you load the shapes in and out of the bucket. Stack the shapes and build a tower, label shapes and colors, and then move on to sorting the shapes and putting them through the matching holes.
Where is Baby’s Belly Button: This cute book is full of lift the flaps, and prompts your little one to identify and label body parts! Between 12-15 months it’s expected that littles can point to 3-5 common body parts, so this book is perfect to target that skill!
Peek A Who: One of my most recommended books, this short board book has cut outs to motivate baby to turn the page and all of the words are very easy to imitate! Your little one will want to read it over and over.
Maracas & Shaker Egg Set: A colorful musical toy that your little will love! Model the word “shake” and “dance” as you make music. As your little one grows into toddlerhood they will continue to play, too! Take turns making music back and forth.
Animated Flappy Elephant: Meet Flappy the singing elephant! This little guy is great for interactive play. Flappy plays peekaboo behind his ears and sings along with your little one. Play peek-a-boo with your little one after playing with Flappy!
Spinner Toy: Stack the discs by color or size, model “ready, set, go” and watch the discs spin down the pole. This toy builds anticipation and littles get so excited playing with it! As they grow, they put the pieces on themselves!
Animal Babies Sound Book: This is great for modeling and mimicking animal sounds!
Xylophone: Another fun musical toy! Model words like “bang, boom, tap.” As your little one grows into toddlerhood they will continue to play, too!
Farm Animal Sounds Puzzle: Perfect to motivate your little one to imitate! Remove the puzzle piece and put it back to hear the sound! Also great to work on pinching (15 month milestone)!
See, Touch, Feel: One of my favorite books for incorporating sensory play. It has raised textures, finger trails, and more. Take turns scratching the ribs on the xylophone or banging the drum. Super interactive!
Soft Blocks w/Silicone Inserts: Stack a tower and watch it fall down. As you stack the blocks, model the word “up” or “on top,” then when your little one knocks it down model words like, “down, crash.”

Olababy Fork & Spoon: This set is great for a child approaching 12 months of age, so perfect to throw in with as a stocking stuffer! Using a fork is not expected until spoon use becomes independent, and most start using a fork around 15 months. The harder silicone fork in this package is great since little ones won’t hurt their teeth biting down on it!
Ahimsa Stainless Steel Plate: Stainless steel, deeper sections, and great reviews. I love this for a durable, plastic-free option that is easy to clean, too! As your toddler transitions away from silicone only around a year, this is a great option!
Munchkin Stainless Utensils: This stainless steel set is ideal for 15-18 months or older, as spoon and fork use become independent. These wash and wear well, as I have had for 2 years and use daily! Perfect to add into first birthday gifts as baby preps for this transition!
Olababy Bowl: One of my favorite bowls! Suctions to the high chair and has a little lip on the side to help baby scoop and keep the food on the spoon! Also comes with a lid, making it a good travel option, too. Scooping is expected to be mostly independent around a year, so this bowl can help your little one be succesful!
Hippypotamus Silicone Open Cups: These are so cute and have a weighted bottom - 1oo% food-grade silicone. Open cup drinking is expected to be independent by 18 months of age, so practice more between 12-18 months!
Weesprout Suction Plates:These are great silicone divider plates for littles as they approach one year of age. They also come with lids, so great for traveling or packing for daycare!
Thermos Funtainer: These are my favorite for toddlers on-the-go! These are easy for toddlers to open- push the button, drink, and close the lid. And they fit in most car seat cup holders. No valve, so free flowing water all the way. Your toddler will use for years!
Weesprout Snack Containers: A great option to hold snacks & I love that it’s silicone! Easy to clean, too, as no little compartments that trap food. Between 1-2 years of age snacks become more prevalent, so these are great to have for on-the-go!
Stainless Steel Open Cups: Another great option for open cups without plastic. These are a great size, durable and dishwasher safe. Can be used for a lifetime!
Lollaland Straw Cup: This cup is my favorite weighted straw because it does not have a valve. A valve is a piece of material in the straw itself that is a spill proof feature BUT it requires babies to suck extremely hard to get liquid out, since a lot of force is needed to get the valve open. This cup is not 100% spill proof when the top is down, but when the top is pulled over and the straw is pinched down instead, it is. The handles are also removable so it easily fits in the side pocket of a diaper bag for travel! This is one of my favorite cups for milk since it’s easiest to clean and there aren’t a lot of nooks and crannies- so great for that bottle weaning transition around a year of age.
Hiccapop Travel High Chair: So you don’t have to lug your high chair to grandma’s house or on vacation, this travel high chair is a great option! It can secure to a dining chair like a booster or just be used on the floor. It has a wide seat, so it can grow with your baby into toddlerhood. TIP: Roll up some towels or blankets on either side of baby if they don’t seem so stable in this chair. Can help them sit up better!
Elk & Friends Stainless Utensils: Silicone and stainless steel, these utensils are great quality and come in so many fun color combinations. Your toddler will use for years!
Silicone Bento Box: Perfect for daycare or taking on-the-go, this silicone travel lunch box has divided compartments and a lid that locks into place well!

Melissa & Doug Smoothie Maker: One of Paul’s all-time favorites is this toy smoothie maker. I bought this for him at 16 months and he’s still playing with it now. Endless pretend play! Talk about what foods go in and model words like “mix, spin, pour!”
Melissa & Doug Puppets: These are great for imaginative play and storytelling. Model the sounds the animals make and prompt your little one to imitate!
Melissa & Doug Cutting Set: This is one of the best cutting sets as the velcro sticks but isn’t super tight and the pieces aren’t too small to be too cumbersome. Perfect for around 15-18 months and older so a great gift for a first birthday!
Fisher Price Phone: Talk back and forth with your little one on the phone! This is great for realistic pretend play and having little conversations.
Melissa & Doug Birthday Cake: We love this one and it’s on frequent rotation at our house. Paul practices serving us slices and pretends to blow out the candles. This one is great for practicing social routines and more pretend play! Plus a birthday cake for a birthday is so cute!
Melissa & Doug Dust, Sweep, Mop!: Great for realistic pretend play, and for the toddler who loves to help! This toy provides excellent opportunities to model fun verbs like “sweep, mop, wipe, brush” and “clean/dirty.”
Melissa & Doug Coffee Set: I love this for acting out routines and taking turns. Paul loves to make my coffee in the morning! Another great toy to model “pour, drink, in, out, more.”
Melissa & Doug Slice & Bake: Practice serving cookies to family members, cooling them off by blowing on them, dunking them in a pretend cup of milk and so on! Any pretend play food item comes with endless opportunities to play.
Melissa & Doug Fold and Go Barn: A barn with a handle and folds up! A barn is a fantastic pretend play toy, and since pretend play skyrockets around 15 months and onward, this is a great toy staple. Label the animals, prompt your toddler to imitate animal noises, and create play scenes together.
Leapfrog Picnic Basket: Have a picnic together! Model functional language like labeling the items and what to do with them, and later in toddlerhood focus on identifying colors and shapes.
Plush Baby Doll: Perfect for pretend play for a newly one-year old- feed baby, put baby to sleep, play with baby! These dolls are plush and can be machine washed.
Green Toys Tea Set: This has been one of Paul’s favorite toys. I love Green Toys because they’re so well made! A great set for pretend play! Don’t forget to “cheers!” while you drink!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Slide and Find: The book is great for finger isolation (15 month milestone)- work on using the pointer finger to slide the flaps and find the animals.
Bubble Machine: We love this bubble machine! When Paul was 15 months we would go outside and use pointer finger to pop the bubbles!
Never Touch a Porcupine: A great interactive book that promotes reaching, isolating that pointer finger and more! Find the texture on each page and give the animal a scratch!
Melissa & Doug Wooden Blocks: Stacking a block tower several blocks high is a skill that refines after the first birthday. This is a great set to practice stacking towers and taking turns building. Practice with big and small blocks and knock the tower down while modeling words like, “boom crash push!”
Dimpl Popping Toy: Each “dimple” is a different size and color so you can use pointer finger on the small ones or push and grab the larger ones!
Hoppity Frog Slide Book: Push the sliders on this book until you find Hoppity Frog!
Bubble Wands: Another great one for finger isolation - blow bubbles and pop them together! Take turns popping them, too, modeling “your turn, my turn.”
Pop Its: I like this set because it can work on fine motor skills and also be used as pretend play food in the play kitchen. Model the words, “push” and “pop.”
Pop It Ball: This one is fun because you can push some buttons in and then hear other buttons pop! Great for busy hands.
Busy Buckle Toy: Great for strengthening fine motor skills - pinch the buckles to release, zip the zipper, and problem solve.
Boop the Snoot: Use that pointer finger to push on the doggy’s snoot on each page! Really fun for little ones to read!
Poke a Dot Alphabet Eye Spy: These books are great for promoting finger isolation and pointing. Label what you see and prompt your little one to imitate you!

Water Table: A total crowd pleaser. This water table is big enough for 2-3 little ones to play together and comes with some fun accessories. Perfect for modeling words like “up, down, splash, wet, plunk!”
Green Toys Truck: I absolutely love the durability of Green Toys. These trucks can go indoors or outdoors! Model words like “bumpy, scoop, dump, go!”
Sand Table: This one is great for outdoor sensory play! The lid has molded in roadways so it can be used for pretend play with cars, too. Plus they aren’t sitting in a sandbox, which can be so helpful as you transition inside afterwards!
Bubble Machine: This thing cranks out bubbles!! Use inside or outside. Help your little one isolate their pointer finger to pop the bubbles and model words like “pop, bubble, up, touch, point.” (Finger isolation is a skill that is expected by 15 months, so bubbles are GREAT for working on this!)
Green Toys Wagon: Practice filling it up and pulling it around - indoors or outdoors! Talk about what you’re putting IN and taking OUT, and even have your little one practice cleaning up and putting things away.
Collapsible Crawling Tunnel: It fans out to be a big toy, but folds up to fit in the closet! This is a great indoor play toy to motivate your little one to move and crawl. Pop some toys in there and encourage your little one to get them and “bring them back.”
Toddler Slide: A great starter slide, and I love that it folds up for easy storage. Great for indoor or outdoor play! A great first birthday gift that your little one can use well into toddlerhood.
John Deere Sit’n Scoot: This is a super cute ride on toy and can grow with them for pretend play in the future. After you’re done cutting your own grass, take them outside to finish the job!
Silicone Squirt Toys: Great for playing in the tub or outside. These are silicone and come apart to wash - mold-free water play! Model words like “squirt, squeeze, splash, my turn/your turn.”
Splash Pad: I love this for water play and getting outside in the warmer months! If baby has a spring or summer birthday, this is a great gift!
Baby Balance Bike: Penelope is getting this for her first birthday! These are great for little ones to work on things like balance and coordination. Typically you can use a small balance bike like this once baby can stand and is cruising.
Toddler-Sized Sports Ball Pack: These are a good size for little hands. Practice throwing, catching, tossing, rolling, and taking turns. This set will grow with them until preschool years!

Melissa & Doug School Bus: Paul has this and loves loading the kids on and off the bus. Great for sentence building and describing the routine of going to school.
Melissa & Doug Pull-Back Cars: These were a huge hit with Paul and continue to be. Pull them back and watch them go. I love these because they grow with your little one!
Laugh & Learn Car: Helps develop gross + fine motor skills, and fun pretend play. This got so much use in our home with Paul and now Penelope is loving it! A gift that can grow with your little one and last.
Wooden Ramp Racer: This toy is captivating. Practice “ready, set, go!” and watch the cars fly down the ramps.
Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Dump Truck: It’s a truck and a shape sorter! Practice identifying shapes and colors while using it for pretend play.
Melissa & Doug Road Rug: Great for the transportation enthusiast. Use functional language like “stop, go, around” and practice driving to the store, school, home + more.
Melissa & Doug Emergency Vehicle Carrier: Endless fun with taking the cars off and playing separately, or loading them up together!
Melissa & Doug Nesting and Sorting Garages: These garages can be nested, stacked, or sorted with the matching color/size car. This one is so fun to play with, doesn’t take up much space, and can be used for so much functional play.
Fisher Price Little People Racing Loops Track: Paul LOVED this for his second birthday! See which car will go fastest down the shoots- practice waiting, model “ready, set, go” and let your little one choose their car. A great gift for a car loving little one.
Green Toys Pink Dump Truck: Another Green Toys vehicle and such a cute color, too. Practice loading it up and dumping things out!
Green Toys Construction Vehicles: This is a fun set for the little one who is into all types of construction vehicles. Great for indoor and outdoor play!
Green Toys School Bus: Can you tell we love Green Toys in our home? This is another great vehicle that’s durable and so well made. Practice putting animals or other toy figurines on the bus and drive them to school!

VTech Learning Walker: My favorite walker. Great for the sitting baby to learn and explore the board in the front, and then it transitions to a walker that they can use as they get more stable!
Melissa & Doug Chomp & Clack Walker: A great wooden walker option that makes fun noises as baby pushes it forward!
Playskool Walk & Ride: This walker can also be ridden on, too! Another great option that your little one can use more than one way.
See Kai Run Sneakers: Paul has these and I love them! A great shoe for toddlers with a wide toe base and flexible sole. A perfect first walking shoe. They are also very easy to practice putting on and taking off for older toddlers, as it is one Velcro strap across.
Melissa & Doug Shopping Cart: A great addition to any play kitchen or pretend play with food. Practice going to the grocery store, start labeling foods and more.
Fisher Price Corn Popper Push Toy: A total classic! This encourages little one to walk and can also start to teach them cause and effect with the popping balls.
VTech Sit to Stand Alphabet Train: This is such a versatile toy! The blocks go down the shoot and into the back of the train, and you can push them into the side of the train, too. Label the common objects on the blocks, follow directions for “in, on, down” and also ride on the train as a fun gross motor experience!
Step2 Shopping Cart: Another shopping cart to couple with a play kitchen, or just practice everyday routines like going to the store.
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Vacuum: Perfect for the little one who loves to help around the house - and musical fun, too.
VTech Pop-a-Balls Push Bulldozer: As your little one pushes the bulldozer, balls pop out and land in the scooper! Then as they keep pushing it, the scooper lifts up and dumps the ball back in the shoot! So much fun to see the balls “pop” out and “scoop” back in.

Step2 Cruiser: Such a fun ride-on toy! Has a wheel, horn, and large wheels to reduce how noisy the ride is for your little one.
Rotating Bookshelf: This is one of my favorite bookshelves. So great for keeping books out and visible for little ones to explore. You can build it as high as you want, and it’s super heavy and well-made.
Lalo Play Tent: A fun spot for reading, playing hide-and-seek, and more! Paul pretends it’s a “car wash” and takes his larger trucks in there to be cleaned. Really endless opportunities with this one! “EATPLAYSAY” saves 10% on Lalo products!
Stapelstein Stepping Stones: Make a staircase, lay them out straight, build a tower, flip over and use as sensory bowls, use in water, and more! These stepping stones hold 300 + pounds, so parents can play, too! Perfect for inside and outside use.
Learning Tower: A great option to get your little one involved in the kitchen and food prep! Have snacks in here, play with a play sink, and more! Once your little one can stand unassisted and is cruising, this is a great option for them. Make sure to supervise always :)
Lalo Play Kitchen: A great gift to grow with your little one! The drawers and cupboards on this one are very easy to open and close, and it’s the perfect size for toddlers. It doesn’t take up a lot of space in your kitchen, and allows for tons of creativity! Plus you can put it together in 5 minutes. “EATPLAYSAY” saves 10% on Lalo products!
Little Tikes Activity Garden: This is so fun for outside! Peek through the telescope, go through the gate, open the windows, check your mailbox and more! It’s a fun little outside play house that allows littles to re-enact routines.
Nugget Couch: Pretend play galore. Make a fort, an obstacle course, or a comfy space for reading. The covers come off for easy washing, too.