If your child was 2 or so last Christmas...

[TwinsAndTrifle]

Hello our DTwins will be two at Christmas (one boy, one girl) and just wondering of any success stories, regarding things to put in stockings, main presents, trips or activities?

They're sort of at that age where they'll engage and enjoy things, but too young to have any real notion of Father Christmas, or any real desire for a particular present.

They love The Snail and The Whale, so have a plush toy and a sticker book. The boy has the Playmobil bus from the bargain thread. I love to plan early, so any recommendations or tips most welcome.

Thank you x

My DS was exactly 2 this Christmas just gone.
He always had access to Christmas books. So he was reading about father Christmas and reindeer etc in June, and by December he did have enough of a connection to it all to be excited by seeing Santa's, elf's, reindeer etc in garden centres and such places.

Two is often the beginning of imaginative play so second things like toy kitchen, wooden veggies you can chop etc also things like doll with buggy.
Do they watch Bing bunny? The two year old I know loves Bing and gets excited about wearing a Bing T shirt.
You could also think about toddler friendly art materials and they are also likely to really enjoy stickers.

My DS was nearly 2 last Christmas and we got him an IKEA kitchen and accessories as his main gift. He also got books, puzzles, play doh and some wooden toys but I agree with PP who said it was overwhelming. If I was to do it again I would have put out less on Xmas morning because he was out of sorts all day.

DD1 was 2,5 last Christmas and her main present was a toy kitchen (+fridge ) with some play food, pans, ...

She also got:
a few books
Maileg doll
Cube puzzle
Building blocks
Colouring book and stickers
Dress up costume
Tea set
Bath toys
Play Doh

My Dtwins are turning 2 a few days before Christmas and I have no idea what to get them so this thread is very helpful

Those of you who have had 2 year olds, in your experience how many presents = overwhelmed? I realise this will differ from child to child but just trying to get a general idea

My DD’s now older, but I found that honestly at that age (and even now) they are delighted with anything and really don’t need loads of presents. You’ll be surprised at how few things are enough.

One big one from Father Christmas like a train set, plus a couple of soft toys, some puzzles/books and a couple of smaller things like bath toys on the day (and less than 8 items in stocking) was, I found, in total, about right for my DD.

It also all depends on what amount of presents they will get from family - if your DC will get a few from relatives, you can get a bit fewer yourself. They also have no concept of expense at that age and are just as delighted by a cheap ball or similar as an expensive electronic toy!

I don’t go over the top ever with presents, and I still always found there were presents that went unopened for days or that she didn’t want to open! At that age they are mostly happy with the tree, the lights, the occasion, the excitement, but it can all get too much quite quickly.

I recall my eldest child being into duplo and toot toot driver cars and the garage at 2. My mum got a play kitchen for her house as she has more space and he loved that too.

I'm looking forward to all this again with dd (currently she is 8m old).

In terms of what is enough it depends on what your child can handle I suppose. I wouldn't worry it they only want to open 1 thing and play with that (probably the box lol) they can open stuff up later. It may be worth splitting stuff up if possible. For example we normally do a xmas dinner at my mums the week before xmas, and this year the eldest have xmas with their other parents so we are doing xmas with them boxing day. So I can split my daughters stuff up across the 3 days.

Two is a great year for a play kitchen. It’s a big splashy toy there waiting for them all set up and ready to play.

That is my tip for all things. Take them out of the packaging and assemble. You can still wrap, just put in a box or bag, but save yourself the torment of assembling with little ones waiting.

Also a good age to start the book a day advent if you want to do that. We didn’t hear of the idea until it was a bit too late, but we did have a big stack of Christmas books in rotation for the month so it was basically the same idea, just not 24 of them.

Baby born and a pram for her was her favorite present. None of mine ever liked the toy kitchen. The fisher price little kingdom toys get well played with as well.

Following with interest, I will have a 2 year old at Xmas and need both birthday and Xmas ideas (birthday in December) my parents have already gotten her a play kitchen for her birthday (that we have to hide until then!) so I know we can get lots of play food and she loves books but it's 6 months away so it's hard to know what her interests will be then!

I haven't completely decided but I think I'm going to go with cosy coupe car for birthday and a kitchen for christmas. I think he might also like a train set and a garage so might suggest those to grandparents. Really need to have a clear out of baby toys soon (I'm pregnant so they can go in the loft ready for number 2!)

This is a great thread. DD will be 2 at Christmas.

I managed to get the ice cream cart on prime day for £24 so I'm glad to hear that so many little ones loved it. Her birthday is in October so I'm getting lots of ideas from here.

I second not getting too much stuff (easier said than done) but mine at that age got SO much when I added in presents from friends and family and were a bit overwhelmed.

WOW toys were a big hit at that age and still regularly played with (now 4 years old).
Melissa and Doug do some chunky puzzles that are lovely.
Nice books....if they don't have them already The Tiger Who Came To Tea is a classic and we love The Smeds and the Smoos....also by Julia Donaldson if they like Snail and the Whale.
We tend to do about 5 presents to unwrap from us, stocking is from Father Christmas and find that's plenty with other presents from wider family added in.

For stocking fillers.....sticker books, toothbrush, flannel, character socks of whatever they're into....the Hey Duggee socks I got DC last year were a big hit. Matey bubble bath is fun, little die cast cars, some chocolate buttons etc