Ideas for non-toys for 15mo

[lornathewizzard]

Well, not exactly non-toys but just not plastic rubbish!

I’m stuck for 15mo DS. He’s DC2 is as you can imagine we have got lots of toys, books, etc

I’m also not super keen on lots of presents - ideally one from us and one from Santa. Budget around £50 for both presents but in no way has to be that much.

If it helps, DD3 is getting a Scotland strip from Santa and a real baking set with personified apron from us.

Scuttlebug?
Ours has had hours of use here and about £20 so well within budget
Some kind of shopping trolley or pushchair / pram? Our kid loves pushing stuff around and collecting various things to put in it (rarely a doll or baby)

Oh I’ve not looked at scuttlebugs, will look. Already got a pram and a trolley thing somewhere

(Worth digging out and wrapping up?!)

One of those wooden bead mazes (sort you see in Dr surgeries!). My DS loved his at that age

I also thought easel (?blackboard and chalks or paints)

Oh maybe Nan but his big sister would prob cotton on!

Easel we have too (from last Christmas for his sis)

Those wee ball things a good idea too

We have previously avoided toy-geddon with nicer than you'd normally get:
Pyjamas
Slippers
Dressing Gown
Bedding Sets
Blanket
Hoodie (Chewbacca it was, has to be surgically removed to go in the wash)
Wellies
All manner of what we call arty crafty stuff - go bonkers in The Works or similar.

Oh also nice ideas thanks King. I need to actually go have a look in shops rather than just online

I know he is young but big picture books that you can read to him.

A balance bike? If you could get a second hand decent light one DS rode his from 18 months. At that age huge hits for DS was a pop up fire engine, a toy tractor and trailer and dinosaurs. We also have brio but he's not really interested in trains but I know lots of kids love it

We did a lot of adding to existing collections of toys, so they each had their own "bits" in the box and it felt a bit more shared, especially for the things the older one was a bit possessive over.

So a few extra bits of play food or a new accessory for a toy kitchen, a couple of new bits of track and and train for the wooden railway and so on.

Thanks for the good suggestions everyone.

We’ve got a balance bike already (that his sister got at the same age), and probably about 100 books (to be encouraged of course)

Brio is a good idea, and also remembered we have one of those bikes with the push handle on it that never got opened for his sister so that will be one present for sure.

We’ve got such a big family so they get lots, luckily

Bath toys. My kids loved them at that age. Stacking cups, sponges etc.

Grimms stained wooden rainbow. Its slightly poncy but seems to be adored by parents and kids alike. And it looks good on a shelf too.

Ha NapQueen, a bit poncy indeed but it is kinda cool

Bath toys also a good idea

Plastic wheelbarrow. Set of gardening tools. Magnifying glass - the kind where there is a pot with magnifying lid so the creep crawly doesn't run away when you try and look at it. My 6yo got one at 1yo and still uses it!

Fuzzy felt.

Duplo

Books of his own

An experience? e.g. Yearly pass to local attraction (open farm, children's museum etc.?)

Last year MIL gave us an extremely generous voucher for our favourite shoe shop. It save us loads as we were able to buy DTs shoes in the January sales.

Grobags are another good one (with DTs the expense of the bigger ones was getting a bit much).

Puddlesuits/waterproofs for winter walks?

A year's pass is a lovely idea - but i don't think a 15mo would enjoy unwrapping it!

We are having similar issues with 16mo DD2. There is nothing she desperately needs as we already have everything.
She is getting a couple of books (is there such a thing as too many?), a shopping basket with fabric play food to compliment DD1's play kitchen, a big box of second handDuplo (shared gift with DD1), a scooter again second hand with helmet as DD1's is still in use, and a Teletubby. It's around £85 in total, although I'll still need to get an extra few small bits to bulk out her stocking on top.
The Teletubby is something she's really into that DD1 never was, so we have nothing else of that brand in the house. Does your 15mo have any interests that differ from DC1?

Thanks for ideas again everyone, all good stuff.

Can’t really think of anything he enjoys that’s different to her (apart from climbing on things ). He really likes Mickey but then so did she so we’ve got loads of stuffed toys etc

Are 15/16mos going to notice if their stockings are 'bulked out'?

Sticker books.
Pavement chalks.
Toy box with their name on.
Get a cheap suitcase from a charity shop and fill it with charity shop-bought dress up clothes, everyday stuff like purse, feather boa*, hats, gloves, waistcoat... Silly stuff that they can be inventive with, rather than 1 x Elsa costume, 1 x pirate costume etc.

• yes i realise it isn't exactly an everyday item! And yes, play with under supervision to prevent strangulation etc etc.

Or get stuff for their room - beanbag chair, window stickers (those that stick on with watervand perl off leaving no residue), create a reading nook.

How about a wooden wobble board we have asked family for Mooney for ds2 third birthday at end Nov to club together to get him one as they are about £100

Yesbebe.co.uk sells creatimber brand and babipur.co.uk sells wobble board brand

There are a few other brands

Rainbow rockers are also fab for 1-4yr olds

elQuinto probably not, but her sister will! And getting a few £1 dinosaurs from Wilkos plus a couple of satsumas isn't going to break the bank.

You can try wooden board games or wooden toys. Plastic made toys are actually hard to tell whether they're safe for kids unless your getting from from a trusted brand.