Finding the perfect gift for a young family with a toddler and baby at home can be challenging. Whatever the toddler is ready for could be unsafe for the baby, and the baby's toys don't always excite the toddler. What are some better options?
Fantastic gifts for young families with a baby and toddler at home include age-appropriate toy sets, simple home activities, and away-from-home experiences both little ones can enjoy. Parents will appreciate educational field trip passes and quality toys that tucker their children out.
If you are on a tight budget, try buying one larger gift together with other friends or family members. The following list of winning gift ideas for little ones comes from the experience of several parents and myself.
Toys and Activities for Home
Once the youngest is able to sit up, crawl, and explore, one's toddler is bound to be more interested in playing with the baby. However, the toys a toddler can play with are not always safe for a baby; hence, finding toys and activities for both to do together is challenging.
Sure, you could buy each one an age-appropriate toy, but watching young siblings play with one another is fun. Gifting them a toy or activity designed to engage both is a superb way to promote that bond.
Here are some of the best toy sets and activities for a baby and toddler to play with together at home.
1. On-the-Go Gift Set
Can we admit that long car rides with a baby and toddler are generally awful? Not only do you have to stop often for potty breaks, diaper changes, feedings, and snacks, but you also have to keep everyone entertained enough not to scream.
Well, Moonkie's On-the-Go Gift Set addresses this very problem with a range of cute, mesmerizing toys for your baby and toddler. Oh, and it comes with a nifty snack bowl, convenient utensil holder, spill-proof training cup, and pacifier holder, making this set both entertaining and practical!
My kids LOVED the popper toy, racer, and spinner. The spinner can stick to the glass window for your toddler to spin or be nommed on by your baby. And, as far as racers go, Moonkie's race car is weighted beautifully and rolls long distances. So, it is fun to spin the wheels in the car or around your destination!
There are three different sets to choose from, and each one has a different popper toy shape. They are bigger than I thought they would be (much to my kids' excitement).
2. Playtime Gift Set
Looking for a super baby-friendly toy set that won't bore a toddler? Check out Moonkie's Playtime Gift Set! It comes with a koala baby teether and creatively-designed teething ring set just for babies, as well as a UFO pulling toy, popper toy, and stacking cup set that babies and toddlers enjoy.
Each item in this set features a variety of textures, weights, shapes, and sounds to delight little ones' senses. Though a baby will mostly chew on these toys and smash them together, toddlers will figure out how to stack the rings, use the cups as tools, and make the UFO toy a part of their imaginative play.
One of my favorite things about this set is how easy it is to clean. Since everything except the pacifier clip and UFO toy is made of 100% food-grade silicone, I can run them through the dishwasher overnight or boil them for a few minutes.
Moreover, I don't have to worry about my toddler's destructive antics--this high-quality silicone is incredibly durable, and these toys are designed with sturdiness and safety in mind!
3. Camping Gear
Something about a little tent and nightlight makes toddlers and babies excited and giggly! When my littles were 2 years and 10 months old, respectively, they received a tent, two sleeping bags, and two nightlights. They loved them!
We set everything up in the living room that night, and they played and napped in it for days. We would read books in there, tell stories, and get every stuffed animal tucked in for naps. As soon as the weather became nice, we camped in the backyard, which was an exciting educational experience for sure!
Three years and another baby later, we still use that tent weekly, inside and outside, whenever the kids want to stargaze. This was a fantastic gift for our young family!
4. Reading Nook Setup
Getting little ones into books for learning, imagination, and exploration is one of the most important gifts we can give young minds. Though babies are not exactly sitting through entire books yet, gifting a "place" to read is a way to promote sticking around for storytime.
Reading nooks can be anything from a tent to a couple of comfy seats to two low bookcases that box in a corner of the room. You could even gift a string of lights, a small rug to decorate the area, and a few books for the book collection.
5. Water Table
Looking for a gift that will get little kids outside? Get a water table! Parents can fill the table with water or sand to keep their little explorers busy for hours. They are typically made with plastic, so find a sturdy one that can withstand a sneaky toddler trying to climb in!
Some water tables come with scoops and buckets, but you can easily add toys like rubber ducks, sand stamps, and cups for more play options.
6. Crawl Tunnel
Crawling babies are on a mission to explore everything they can reach, so why not make their journey more fun with an expandable crawl tunnel? Big enough for babies and toddlers to crawl through and easy to pack away, crawl tunnels have been sources of entertainment for many young families.
Our little ones have used their tunnel for goofing off, relay races, toy cars, rolling balls, and a "no-parents allowed" fort entrance. Someone gifted this to us years ago, and it's still a frequent playtime toy!
7. Climbing Blocks
On the pricier end of the spectrum are climbing blocks for indoor play areas. You can find far cheaper variations of these easily; just ensure they are sturdy enough for jumping toddlers.
These nursery and daycare favorites last for years through several kids and are simple to clean and sterilize. Long, rainy days are not a problem when you have an indoor playground to use up all that energy!
WARNING: Having a thick rug, foam puzzle mats, or thick pads under and around these is crucial for safety.
8. Books Sets
Age-appropriate books for babies and toddlers are always a wonderful gift idea! Babies love texture books, and toddlers enjoy books with lots of pictures to see and questions to answer.
Books with songs or animal sounds keep both kids busy, but only get such books if the batteries are covered with a lid and screw.
9. Drawing Pad
While in the throes of toddlerhood and babyhood, I gifted all the littles I knew with an LCD Drawing Pad. I intended them to keep toddlers busy during baby feedings or naps, but the drawing pads entertained adults and babies, too!
LCD drawing pads are not designed for babies, so hold it for your baby and remove it if he tries to put the pen in his mouth. Nonetheless, toddlers love this toy when traveling or playing at home.
10. Road Rug with Big Cars
A road rug with cars is a classic gift idea for babies and toddlers alike. It taps into your toddler's imagination while stretching her ability to follow lines with cars. For the baby, road rugs are a sensory experience with colors, texture, and various shapes to see.
Adding a few safe cars for the baby and toddler to play with completes the set! Later on, these two engineers can build block houses and tunnels along the roads. My littles have passed many afternoons with a set like this!
11. Assorted Ball Set with Hoop
Basketball is fun, especially when you have an assortment of ball sizes and weights to play with! The Little Tikes Basketball Set adjusts between 2 and 4 feet tall, so it will work for two different ages and grow with little players.
While the toddler is busy scoring baskets, the baby can crawl after the balls and practice rolling them to a parent or sibling, building those hand-eye coordination skills.
12. Wooden Musical Instruments
Yet another classic toy set for babies and toddlers is a wooden musical instrument set. As loud as they can be, these sets are wonderful for sensory exploration and generating giggles!
These should always be used under adult supervision because a toddler can smash an instrument, or a baby could try biting one. Despite this set not being a parent-free activity, it is still fun and educational!
For a list of safe Montessori toys for one-year-olds, read 15 Best Montessori Toys for 1-Year-Olds.
13. Outdoor Games
Games and activities for babies and toddlers to play outside make excellent gifts for young families. These range from outdoor bowling sets to beach balls with a low net to a sandbox.
Outdoor building blocks or a little fort also bring little ones joy. Outdoor games and activities encourage young families to get outside and practice gross motor skills.
You can get more outdoor gift ideas for babies and toddlers by reading Making Memories with Your Baby or Toddler: Outdoor Playtime Ideas.
Experiences and Education
Young families often have a tight budget, so other thoughtful gift ideas include passes to family-friendly experiences and subscriptions to educational services. When choosing one of these, consider the family's schedule.
Families that have both parents working and the little ones in daycare may not have much time to take their kids somewhere open only on weekdays. Likewise, if they live over an hour away from an experience, they probably won't make much use of an annual pass.
14. Annual Zoo Pass
Annual zoo passes are awesome gift ideas for young families living close to a zoo. Toddlers and babies often like animals but may not have the patience or attention span to spend a whole afternoon at the zoo.
So, getting an annual zoo pass would make taking several short trips to the zoo affordable and doable for a young family.
15. Annual Museum Pass
Many American cities have engaging interactive museums for young children, but they typically charge a pretty penny for one ticket. Thus, annual museum passes are often welcome gifts that treat the whole family!
Some museums are in a network that shares an annual museum pass, like the Association of Science and Technology Centers' Passport Program. When you purchase a yearly museum pass at a participating museum, the family you gift it to can go to any in-network museum for free or at a discount.
My family has loved using this program!
16. Playplace Pass
Some towns and cities have playplace clubs for toddlers and babies. These clubs usually feature an indoor playground, imaginative activities (grocery store, restaurant, forest, etc.), and a scheduled craft time.
Many of these play places also have an attached coffee shop for parents to hang out while they watch their little ones play. As fun as these play places are, they tend to be expensive. So, gifting a month-long pass is a great idea!
17. Airbnb Near a National Park
Another more expensive gift is an Airbnb gift card. Young families often choose to stay close to home due to work and the demands of parenting little ones.
However, many would likely choose to have a fun weekend away if they had a gift card to help them do so. You can even give some ideas for neat places near a national park or city with tons of free, family-friendly events.
18. Aquarium Pass
Aquariums amaze little ones, even babies! However, aquariums are expensive to maintain and, therefore, costly to visit. If you know a family with a young fish-lover, an aquarium pass would make an excellent gift!
Aquariums are not always nearby, but some offer gift cards that don't expire. Check the impossibly fine print before you buy one!
19. ABC Mouse Subscription
Generally speaking, babies and toddlers under the age of 18 months should not spend much time on screens, especially without an adult actively talking with them about it (source). After that, a few minutes of educational screen time is acceptable.
If the young family you have in mind has an iPad or Kindle, gifting an ABC Mouse subscription may be welcome. ABC Mouse is a gamified step-by-step learning path for little ones. It's entertaining, interactive, and does not have long videos. Many families love this program!
20. Audible Book Subscription
Young families that travel a lot together may appreciate an Audible subscription. Audible has a wide selection of toddler and preschool books recorded in entertaining voices.
Though having the book in front of a child is better for visual recognition, learning to listen to stories and answer specific questions about them is also a crucial skill for school.
In a Nutshell
The gifts that have stood out the most to my family have been the experiences and activities my kids could play together over and over again for years. I included most of those in this list, so I hope it helps you.
With so many brilliant gift ideas to choose from, the young family you hope to surprise will be well entertained for hours!
