What toy can your 2 year old not live without?

[Rileysmum]

Since I am a SAHM, and the industry DH works in is quite slow right now (which equals less hours, and smaller paycheques), money is something we don't have an abundance of at the moment. DS has a birthday coming up in a couple of months, and with Christmas following not long after, I am trying to decide on gifts now, as there are some sales in our area. I am trying to figure out some good gifts that are not too expensive. Any suggestions?

Also, does anyone have ideas for things that I could make at home?

[anna*]

My LO is just about exactly a year older than yours, it is pretty brutal having xmas so soon after their birthdays! In the last year, the gifts (from last year) that my LO has played with most are:

* An indoor tent (basically just some poles with a fabric cover - he loves going inside there. When he was two he would just sit in there saying 'In a house! in a house!' He still loves it but now uses it for imaginative play, takes his teddies/animals in etc).
* wooden train set - he loved it at 2 but loves it even more at nearly 3.
* A small helicopter and plane toy. They don't 'do' anything, but he still loves making them 'fly' and has done the whole year.
* A little tin tub full of small plastic animals. First he was learning their names, now he does imaginative play with them (sheep is mummy, dog is daddy, pig is baby, they go to the park etc).

Don't know if you're crafty at all but he also LOVES a knitted snake I made for him, basically just a long tube of stripy knitted fabric with buttons for eyes and a felt forked tongue. You could easily make something similar store-bought fabric.

[lilisuze]

i am with anna on the tent. DS loves his, and you could easily make a teepee type one for him. ours has a pop up frame so stores by the vaccuum cleaner when we dont use it.

DS is just strating imaginitive play this week (and his 2nd birthday is in 2 weeks) so could recommend finger puppets/puppets on sticks/glove puppets if you fancy making some with a story attached (3 little pigs/cinderella/billygoatsgruff etc). DS likes putting the puppets to bed!

[Mashi]

Fisher Price Little People car garage - not sure if this is expensive in Canada or not, I do know that it's about 1/3 of the price we pay for Little People stuff here in Germany, and it killed me to shell out 55 Euros for this thing but DS has played with it EVERY SINGLE DAY since he got it for St Nicholas Day last year (Dec 6 so almost a year now). A handful of mathbox cars and he's happy as larry!

Wooden train set - we have the Ikea one which is about the cheapest one out there but fits the Brio trains (and I think the track too) and the wooden Thomas trains so can be added to and expanded in future.  He plays with this a lot!

Bucket of mixed cars - he likes to line the up, put them beside each other, push them along the couch, uses them on the train tracks, etc.  I get them a the euro shop so cheap!

Those are pretty much the three things that he can NOT live without, though he does have toys that he loves, those are the things that I would keep if I had to choose from all of his toys!

[momtonb&ab]

I agree with Mashi on the Little People stuff - my kids played and played with that from about 18mos til 3 (when i put them away for a break and will bring them out later this winter for a 'new' play).   Also agree with her about the train set.  We were blessed enough to have been given a gorgeous started Thomas set (they are very expensive) and we added IKEA and used Thomas stuff that we bought online.   they LOVE it even more now then they did at 21 months (they got it for christmas that year). 

the tent from ikea (super cheap, $14 i think) is a huge hit as well.  we've had that since 15 mos and we still play with it very very regularly. 

the trains are very inexpensive from IKEA and for the most part, if you are in a major urban centre you could buy this stuff online used very inexpensively!

[anna*]

Funny, Stan has the Little People garage and barely looks at it!

[We Three]

Another vote for the tent! DD had a little one we got at Target for $25...it was a tiny flower shop...she spent hours in there!  They had one that looked like a barn as well....super cute!  

Also..a Radio Flyer Red Wagon....she LOVED it, and still does! We got the one with the rugged wheels so we could use it outside. She pulled rocks around, filling and unfilling, helped take the trash to the curb even!    Her dolls got lots of rides, and we would pull her around in it too! Last summer we filled it with sand and she had a mobile sand-table! SO fun!  

[Mashi]

LOL - my DS can't be bothered with his indoor tent for more than 5-10 minutes every few weeks!

[Mama2boys]

trains and cars and construction trucks. DS has been addicted to these since 1.5 and now makes up loooong stories and makes all trucks etc do a job its pretty neat.

Also you cannot go wrong with Legos as a long term gift that lasts.

[*Becky*]

anything to do with construction (especially if it is also to do with farms) - he is obsessed! Not so much cars but tractors, diggers, dump trucks etc. He said he really wants a combine harvester for his bday

[~inbalance~]

Trains and cars are the big hit here as well, and the wooden train set is a great idea!  Ikea does have inexpensive ones, and I think the best part is it's the type of thing you can always add more little parts to each birthday and holiday.  We have an ikea set for now, but T LOVES Thomas the Train at the moment so he has a Thomas engine that works with all the pieces of the set no problem.  These types of things I'm sure you can most certainly find at sales and could probably have a fun time too looking for new pieces for his collection!