I’m at a loss on what gift to give to my nephew that’s turning 2 in about a week.
Children’s books.
A toy that makes a lot of sound- like a truck with siren noises or a little electric piano, or spaceship with explosion sounds. There are these great plastic dinos that roar when you play with them. As a parent, I’m telling you, their parents will thank you.
A large empty box that they can climb in and make it a fort. Cover it in cloth with their favorite theme.
A gun
triple shots of espresso
I have a 2.5 year old girl. She loves stuff like this. This brand is also pretty durable.
Nothing that makes noise or takes batteries.
Board books. Toddlers are murder on books with paper pages. Stick with classics like Goodnight Moon or Dr. Seuss, or if you want something more recent the Little Owl series by Divya Srinivasan, or Calm-Down Time by Elizabeth Verdick are really good.
Playground/beach toys, like a bucket / shovel / rake set that parents can keep in the car. They’ll likely get lost, so go for cheap and sturdy over premium and expensive.
Sidewalk chalk, like the huge fat ones.
The water based coloring books someone else mentioned are great, too. No cleanup (beyond the occasional water spill), they can be reused, and they’re great entertainment for the car.
And yeah, like others have said, coordinate with the parents.
And if you hate the parents, get a Furby knockoff or something else that makes noise.
Get the pop up book adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Girl of who loved Tom Gordon”
The Pop-up Book of Phobias is also great.
Magnetiles are probably a good choice. Gonna get my niece a set for her birthday next month.
Teddy bear
Just ask the parents what (s)he likes.
Definitely coordinate with the parents, not only to find what your nephew’s interests are but also so no gifts are duplicated.
If they don’t have advice or you can’t ask for some reason, Brio scale trains, construction equipment, emergency vehicles, dinosaurs and generic toys are usually a good bet, they don’t usually understand or care about brand names or franchises yet.
if they don’t have some already, 100% on the Brio train set - except not Brio. The generic wooden railway sets are just as good nowadays, and many many times cheaper.
You can buy a whole dinosaur themed wooden railway set on Amazon for £37. I’d want that, even as an adult!
FWIW, both of my kids played with their wooden railway for years - seriously good investment.
Yes, Brio scale, not Brio brand.
“They” is a word that exists
Full stops also exist. Both are fine.
If you hate the parents, something that makes noise
Stuffed elephant.
Serious.
World map for their room. First teaches colors and shapes, then numbers and letters, and then history.
Are there world map rugs, kinda like the classic “street map” children’s rug? I feel like that would last longer.
https://groovebags.com/products/blue-world-map-area-rug
I did a search.
PS5
The Pro variant?
This little people house.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/303615936
It’s kept my daughter interested and her several years brother loves to play with it too. It’s got a few cute songs that she dances to. There’s one about mixing milk and spaghetti and some nonsense. So it’s funny for the parent. It was well worth the money. As a kid, I remember playing with the little people house up until like 10 or something so it doesn’t get old.
