Which animals for a 2 year old?

[Snakedoctor]

My nephew will be 2 in couple of weeks and SIL has suggested animal figures as a Christmas gift. Any ideas which ones are best for this age group? Schleich, happyland or something else?

My pair never notices the brand and always seemed more delighted by volume. I’d go for poundland rather than quality!

Schleich ones are my favourites, they are lovely. Papo come a close second.

They are quite pricey though, but there are some decent deals on eBay if he would be ok with second hand.

How about some duplo animals?

My DS is 2.5, in the last few months he's really favoured realistic looking animals (which are probably meant for much older kids) over the cartoonish type happyland stuff

We got DD a set of wooden farm animals as she had already a basic set and it got extended.

Schleich is nice but I find them too pricey for a toddler.

Playmobil 123 are cute they are for younger kids my boys had the farm and zoo
Happyland is also good for younger kids.
Schleich is my fave just because they look real,my kids still play with these.x

The schliech ones are lovely, but are really expensive so I’d look out for some second hand ones. Honestly they don’t seem to age, I’ve had some second hand ones for about 10 years and they are still in really good condition, despite being played with often (I’m a childminder). I have added in some Lego animals and some cheaper animal sets to bulk out the animal collection and the cheaper ones are fine and the children don’t notice the difference, but they aren’t as sturdy and the detail on them isn’t as great. But I wouldn’t pay the money for new schliech ones So if it were my nephew, it would be second hand, or cheaper ones.

Schliech animals are pretty expensive but I would recommend them for two year olds. They look realistic, they are virtually indestructible and last for years. The duplo or happyland type animals are ok, but they will probably grow out of them by four or so - the schliech animals have fantastic play value throughout childhood.

Holzteiger do beautiful wooden animals.

Holztiger and Ostheimer are beautiful wooden animals! Lanka Kade are another wooden animal brand, brighter more cartoonesque animals, lovely quality and about £3 each

Thanks everyone! Looks like I have a few more options to research!

Home Bargains had some lovely plastic animal sets in by National Geographic for £5.99 this week. About 5 animals in each set and different themes, jungle, safari, ocean and they were similar size to Schleich.

Dc1 is almost 4 and still loves his Holztiger, Schleich and Papo animals and dinosaurs. He got his first Schleich (a large T-Rex) at 20 months and it's still going strong.

Definitely not Happyland as it doesn't have the longevity.

Thank you, proper animals it is I think. (I just hope he doesn't throw the hard ones at me)!

Another poster on here recommend Lanka Kade and I've bought a few for DD. They haven't been played with yet but look cute and good value.
www.littlefootprint.co.uk/brands/lanka-kade-wooden-toys.html/?p=3

Sainsbury's had buckets with farm animals or dinosaurs in. Quite A few in each one and pretty decent looking quality. Half price from £10 down to £5.

Or possibly the playmobil animals. They are quite sweet and nice to add onto each year.