2.5 year old gifts? New baby on the way!

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DS will be 2 and a half at Christmas. All being well, he'll have a new sibling by mid February so I'm looking for toys that may help to keep him occupied during the newborn madness!
I'm currently thinking of a Tonies/Yoto player and a bike/scooter. Any thoughts? He's active, loves to be outside and is currently obsessed with animals so anything related to this would be perfect too.

my daughter has only just outgrown her yoto at nearly 10 years old :) it’s a great gadget, enjoy!

My son is 6.5 and we have only just gotten rid of his wooden play good that he got when he was a toddler. He loved that for years!

Hot wheels ultimate toy garage for that age is also a hit and has longevity, also had many many hours of entertainment from it.

wooden peg puzzles too. My son at 2.5 would pile all the pieces up from 10/12 different puzzles and do them all at the same time, he loved it, took ages.

I have a newborn and a 2 year old and he has a scooter and a balance bike, both are really handy for going for walks with the pram. He also has a tablet which is great for times when you need half an hours peace.

Magnet tiles, and I cant stress that enough! My son is 2.5 and he cannot get enough of them. We do need to play with him every now and again to give him more ideas of what he can build with them, but now he has more ideas under his belt, he does more self playing with these than he has with any other toy. Look on Instagram for ideas of what to build.

I would say get a decent amount of them though - we initially got a pack of 50 which ran out quickly, and therefore didnt play with them that much. We topped up with another 100 and he is obsessed! (As is my husband sometimes, boys will be boys! 😆)

We have a yoto. 3 yo DS has unfortunately shown very little interest in it so far. With hindsight he was unlikely to ever get on with it though. He’s not one to sit and focus on an activity. He’s always on the move and likes to be active/out the house. If your DS is the sort of child who is happy to sit and play/draw/do crafts for hours then they’ll probably love it. If physical stuff is more their bag it may go to waste.

Both my two absolutely LOVE their Yotos - though they are a little older. The range of stories etc. is amazing.

I’d second Magnet Tiles and Aquadoodle, plus any outdoor toys you can get your hands on (mine both loved a water table, though maybe not in February!).

Easel with chalks/whiteboard is great, though does take up space.

A kidizoom camera was the most used thing dd1 had when dd2 was little. Kept her busy for ages.

DC1 still loves the kiddizoom camera and he's 6! I don't know if a 2yo could use it though - DC2 is 3 and could manage it now I reckon...

What about a toddler balance beam - can be made into different shapes and you can add or take away obstacles.

We bought our DD a yoto at a similar age and she has never used it. Our DS 6 now uses it all the time and he loves it.