2 year old who loves to build - gift ideas please?

[Justworkplease]

DS is just about to turn 2. Hugely into building toys at the moment - wooden blocks, Megablocks, jigsaws anything that he can build really! Also really likes cars/trains etc.

I think he’s at a decent age to start a nice train set. Is Brio worth the bit extra money? 😊

Have also seen MagnaTiles which I think would be right up his street? 🤔 Are the branded ones considerably better? There seems to be some other bigger sets on Amazon.

Any other toys that yours loved at this age and have been well used?

Sticklebricks

I bought a huge job lot of brio for £20 from Facebook market place, recommend you look on there as you can get so much for your money

Biro is no different at all to ikea/bigjigs etc. some of the accessories are nice though.

Duplo is good

Agree with this. I'd get track from IKEA and maybe a train from brio

Another vote for sticklebricks!! Also currently half price in the Tesco toy sale if you have a Clubcard!

Connetix magnetic tiles - our most played with toy - definitely worth paying a bit more for - such good quality

Orchard toys giant road floor puzzle

I think 2 is a bit young for magnetic tiles, but perfect age for Brio / Duplo / Sticklebricks or simple Knex.

Duplo. Gateway drug to the very expensive Lego.

Magnatiles have been a huge hit with all my kids from the age of 2. We've got these ones from Amazon and the quality is very good:
www.amazon.co.uk/Desire-Deluxe-Magnetic-Building-Blocks/dp/B07MGYKZ36/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=TSB6Y58KI58&keywords=magnatiles&qid=1665559035&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjU2IiwicXNhIjoiNC41NiIsInFzcCI6IjQuMzgifQ%3D%3D&smid=A2YCTJUHN5OGGG&sprefix=magnatiles%2Caps%2C438&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySUtHWkpSQzFZWklKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDE4NTI4M0pZV1g2UjZIQzBUVyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjc1OTYwMVg1TTZLMjFGMVdHVCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

We had a cheaper magnatiles which they had lots of fun with, they are fine and he would like. We later got Connetix and they are better quality and easier to use, like the pieces stand up themselves so wee ones can find them easier to work with. Dear though.

Would definitely check out FB marketplace, you can get huge bundles of track and accessories for bargain prices. Santa kindly built the track for us on the living room floor for my DC so didn't matter that there was no box 😉

As others have said, brio/big jigs/John Lewis own-brand etc all readily interchangeable

We’ve got some proper brio and some non brio. Brio is much nicer and the pieces tend to fit together with less tension.
But 2 yr olds won’t notice (just the parents trying to build the track 🤣). The other stuff isn’t awful.

Ikea train is good.

Both mine love this, even 5 y/o still.
smartmax.eu/en/collection/my-first-totem
It’s about 7 blocks and cards with pictures on how to make different towers they can go through.
Youngest 2 like to build his own, oldest likes to follow all the cards in order.

Be careful with the cheaper magnetic tile sets as a lot haven't been properly safety tested and if the magnets are ingested it can cause very serious harm.

Another vote for Duplo. Do they have the dexterity for Brio? My little one is generally pretty dexterous but is only just getting into his Brio properly at nearly 3.

I second duplo and Brio. I would go for the real Brio over the Ikea one, we had some of both and the Brio was easier for him to put together and the bridges were sturdier.

We also had a giant marble run, that was great! It was golf ball sized so not a choking hazard and he loved making different runs with it.

A John Deere tractor that you can take apart with a drill. My 3 year old is obsessed.

My 3 year old regularly uses his duplo, sticklebricks, wooden blocks and trains. We have brio and ikea, brio is better quality imo but ikea is absolutely fine too. Last year we go him a small tin of mini wooden blocks in his stocking which has also been a hit!

Thanks everyone - all your suggestions are really helpful 😊 A lovely neighbour handed in a MASSIVE box of Duplo a few months back that her little ones had finished with. I haven’t taken it out for him yet but I’m sure he’ll love it.

Hadn’t thought of Sticklebricks! And thanks for the Clubcard sale suggestion 👍🏻 I’ll keep an eye out when I’m in Tesco!

There are some Brio sets on the Amazon day sale so I might go with one of those then can pick up some IKEA next time we’re there 😊

@LittleRedYoshi That’s the tiles I had looked at. Reviews all seemed quite good 😊

We have Lidl magna tiles and they are almost as good as the real ones. The real ones are transparent and that adds a nice touch but other than that Lidls are great.

My kids love them from under one up to pre teens so that quite a good age appeal range for a toy. Plus they can stick to the fridge and radiators

I did a lot of research on magnetic tiles and Playmags and Connetix are as good as each other, Playmags being significantly cheaper. We've had ours for a couple of years, played regularly and all good.

The duplo train set is amazing and it’ll fit together with what you already have.

Duplo is great and make sure you have base boards because sometimes they don't really know what to do with it at first. In your shoes the second hand ones would be the gift for the 2 year old! Save space in your house for all the plastic shit that's headed in your direction for the next few years

Something from this range would be perfect: www.amazon.co.uk/Early-Learning-Centre-148437-Build/dp/B07MTYV546

I've had children under two who enjoy playing with magnatiles. They might not build properly with them but they really enjoy the colours, the magnets, stacking them, connecting them together and pulling them apart. They are a great open ended toy that children will use for years, so we'll worth the initial expense.