what on earth do I get for my (2yr) son?!

[Mrswhiskerson]

We are having maybe the most broke Xmas we have ever had ever this year, We really are not bothered about presents for ourselveswe are having xmas with my family this year and we both cant wait. but we could not face ds (age2)not having at least a couple of little openers. I want to fill a box full of little activities and toys for him because he is in to everything at the moment and the only thing that has kept him occupied was a cbeebies magazine with a free stocking to decorate. he has played with it for hours (and I got to actually read a couple of chapters of a new book)
He is also really nosey curious and likes nothing more than delving into peoples handbags or emptying boxes.

I am really stuck for ideas, I just want to fill a box with fun little things for him, but my budget can only be twenty pounds.

I would love some ideas

Your family will have got him presents though wont they?

Get thee to home bargains/BMs or another discount store, £20 is plenty to fill a box, or the charity shop - although they put their prices up at Christmas.

pound shop visit? Stickers are only a pound or less -- what around looking at charity shops -I bought my DS at that age a 2nd hand purse - he loved it, and they might have some toys as well -
what about a big - really big box full of ballons - he could play in the box and would enjoy unwrapping it

Were having the same issue here this yr. DS is 2 in january, family have bought him so much but I wanted to get him something so filling his stocking with cheap things including colouring book, crayons, a little ball, bubbles, plastic cars and little books i got at a charity shop. theyre all things he'll love and think it all cost about £16 from various cheap shops. Hope you find inspiration and have a lovely Christmas

My DS is 2 too. He is mad about in the night garden, but i couldn't afford to buy him all the toys brand new but have bought loads 2nd hand on ebay. I got a ninky nonk & some other characters for about a fiver. Don't be afraid to go to charity shops / car boot sales. I buy or get given loads of DS's toys, they are all in vgc and he doesn't know care.

One thing DS loves is glueing & Painting, try poundshop, Wilkinsons, asda. Get some of those glue spreaders, PVA glue, glitter, pad of coloured paper. You can also collect any household things he would find useful to make things with (think Blue Peter in the 70's) and keep in a busy box.

Feeding his imagination and creativity imho is more important that £20 spent on just one toy

If your two year old son is anything like mine, he loves 'surprises', as in something hidden in something else. I've bought some pound shop crackers, divested them of their crappy choke hazards and snaps, and filled them with chocolate coins and little bouncy balls and diecast cars. I made about six of them and put them in a shoe box. He is going to love pulling them. Maybe yours would too? Nice and cheap.

I've done a few other home made gifts as well since I blew my budget on one huge unwrappable thing.

I made a sock monkey: www.craftpassion.com/2012/04/how-to-sew-sock-monkey.html/2
All you need is a pair of socks, a needle and thread and a bit of stuffing (old pillow?) and trust me, they look amazing, and SO easy. Crafters actually sell these for around £25.

HTH.

I've bought DD this and it arrived yesterday - got good reviews! It's under £10.

Also bought her this - she already has the Peterkin tea set and plays with it endlessly so this was the next step.

Agree Wilkinsons is good for pads, crayons, craft stuff etc if he likes those things - DD loves drawing and I bought her a magnetic pad (magnadoodle thingummy) for £6 in Aldi a few weeks ago and she really really likes it.

There are tons of cheap and fun things you can buy for a 2 year old, and just one gift will be so exciting for him - DD got a little dolly from her childminder and was totally delighted with it. DH said, 'You'll be getting lots of lovely things from Father Christmas too, won't you?' and she replied, 'No I don't need any more presents daddy, I've got enough'.

Our eldest boy is 2yrs 9 months and to be honest, I think a £20 budget is healthy. They also get overwhelmed with a lot of presents, so if you've others off friends and family I wouldn't worry.

First, make a list of his favourite things, e.g. trains, planes, diggers, chocolate, ice cream, toy story, roary, dinosaurs.

Then think what you can buy/make across each of those for christmas, e.g.:

• ice cream with choc buttons on for xmas day (or whatever that he will find special/different)
• a t-shirt/pjs with train/digger/character he likes from somewhere cheaper (supermarket/discount store)
• play doh (v cheap) with relevant card cutouts you create which he can stick in (e.g. dinosaur head, train wheels etc)
• if he likes trains make one out of a series of cardboard boxes decorated and all sit on in a line going "choo-choo", "tickets please" etc (can you tell I've gradually regressed to 2 yrs old?)
• toy car/plane/train for a few quid
• cheap low power torch (mine loves torches), purse with pretend money
• search on eBay using the toy category, for sales within 10 miles of home, ending within the next day and for

There are hand puppets in Ikea at the moment for £3, and the pound shop has lots of dressing up stuff/stickers and books/play dog etc. You could stretch £20 pretty far, and a big box ready to have a door cut into and full of pillows and blankets would be a two year old's dream
It sounds like he's got a lovely mum trying to make the day special for him, that's worth a million expensive presents.
Merry Christmas OP

get yourself round the charity shops or NCT sales. Lots of bargains

Hot wheels cars, if he's not too young for them? You could makes ramps for them with empty cardboard tubes, rulers etc.

Stickers.

Make some play doh. The hot water recipe only takes five minutes.

Good luck x

Craft things? My DS will sit for an hour or more glueing pieces of coloured tissue on to a picture that I've torn out of a colouring book.
You could fill a box with loads of bottles, cardboard tubes, googley eyes, pipe cleaners, colouring pens etc, if he watches mister maker then tell him it's a mister maker box.

The pound shop is great for stocking fillers and I did see some bargains in Home Bargains the other day too.

Just get creative and think about what he will love. You've got plenty of Christmas's ahead of you where you can spoil him and he's still so young so won't have a clue who has got what.

Could you maybe ask relatives to say that it's all off Father Christmss rather than ''oh that ones off me!''

I second the idea of going round the pound shop, and picking up a selection of all sorts of little things like toy cars, stickers, crayons and paper, little books, bubble bath etc.

Also if there is anything that he needs anyway just get it him and wrap it as a present. He's 2 he's not going to say ''what? A toothbrush for Christmas? That's a crap present mum!'' he'll say ''wow I've got a new toothbrush of Santa!''

Asda are selling off some fab little sets, I got ds one with plaster and moulds to make spaceships for £1, they had loads of different ones, think the most was £2.50.

Pjs in tesco are dirt cheap at the mo too, got dd some spongebob ones for £3, they had packs of toddler onesies for 1.50. Kids love fancy pjs

Get down to Home Bargains!! Toys in there are so much cheaper, I've bought plenty of stuff for my dc's from there at a fraction of the price - for instance zhu zhu ninjas are £1.99 perfect stocking filler

Poppyprincess oddly enough I've bought my dd and ds a toothbrush for Xmas and underwear! Not sure why but they both love it.

I've got a bunch of mini presents from charity and pound shops and I am so excited about giving them to dd. bubble mix, hair clips, red bus, wooden digger, crayons in a little case, a couple of books, a dress, stickers, etc, all for £1-2.50. Might add some other household waste craft things. Think it's a good way to make a 2yo happy!

We're the same! Pound shop, charity shop & If you have room how about a washing machine box? Our local electrical store is happy to give them away.Then you have whatever your DS desires...a house, a shop, a rocket, a boat. I remember my Dad making us a shop with an enormous box, all the tins from the kitchen, we did have a till but could use anything with buttons, we loved it. Throw in a few store loyalty cards and chocolate coins...with or without the chocolate! It isn't about the amount spent but the thought and your DS has no expectations yet. Good Luck!

use old cardboard and big boxes to make a shop front and counter (or whatever his interest is). paint it yourselves.
we did a fridge/freezer box into a wendy house painted like miffy's house when daughter was eighteen months. she used it for at least a year. it was her favourite toy in a Christmas when we'd bought like idiots.

Wow I'm loving the idea of the cardboard box shop/house, it's getting me all excited at the thought! Shame we've not really got the room for one here

i second these ideas, and especially the charity shops - I got DD 2 jigsaw puzzle sets that would easily be a tenner each in ELC, for 99p each - almost immaculate condition. Also got a book with CD of nursery rhymes - don't think it has actually been opened for 99p, instead of a tenner. That's £27 saved already!

I can't see thatanyone has said plastic animals? My son loves his. His personal favourties are a gorilla and a crocodile. I'm getting him a shark and some dinosaurs for his stocking.

Mr Tickle Mr Men book? He likes that too.

Gold chocolate coins.

CD of nursery rhymes. If you can't get one in a charity shop. Amazon has loads for about £3. We've played ours a gazillion times.

Big bouncy ball and inflatable ball.

Mr Men books 99p in The Works just now.