7 Best New Christmas Gifts for Toddlers Hitting Shelves Now

Are you on the hunt for holiday gifts for toddlers? In my opinion, toddlers are the easiest age group to shop for. If you have a general understanding of the gift recipient’s interests and age, you can easily find a gift that will grab and keep their attention. Also, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. While older kids ask for expensive gadgets and $100 dolls, toddlers don’t know the difference. If you want to splurge, go ahead and buy them a toy kitchen at Pottery Barn. However, they might be just as excited about a $20 plastic Target shopping cart filled with grocery items and a coffee cup. What should you buy the toddler on your list? We came up with some parent-approved items. Here are the 7 best new Christmas gifts for toddlers now.

Chances are, your toddler understands Target’s amazingness. This Target Toy Shopping Cart, $19.99, is a bestseller for a reason: Kids love it. It has a grocery cart, coffee cup, coffee cap, coffee sleeve, coffee cup holder and 7 grocery items. “This has been one of our number 1 played with toys! The paper boxes inside are pretty pointless but the cart itself is awesome,” one shopper says. “I purchased this cute cart for my 15 months old grandson. He plays with it everyday filling it with his toys and empty recyclable items. I’ve taken so many videos of him pushing his shopping cart around the house. This is a must buy,” adds another.

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Obviously, you want to avoid tiny Lego pieces for toddlers who might put them in their mouths. The Duplo collection is sized for smaller hands. I love this Number Train – Learn To Count set for ages 1.5 and up. “My little one loves train; actually anything with Wheels. For Christmas we made the longest train together and he was super excited. Everything was ‘WOW’ as he said. If it were up to him, he would make it longer than 10 wagons that we had,” one shopper writes. Many people opt to buy multiples. “My one and a half year old daughter loves to connect these wagons and make a long train, she can play like this a few hours in a row. I bought her another, exact same set to let her play with even more wagons. It was wonderful idea. So, I giving now an feedback to 2 the same sets,” adds another.

Young children love anything soft and squishy. They also adore smells. What do you get when you combine the two? Smillows is a creative scented stuffed toy shaped and smelling like their favorite items. There are so many to choose from, including a cupcake, jelly donut, watermelon, and bubble gum. The scent is guaranteed to last two years, but shoppers say it lasts even longer. “I bought this for my granddaughter 4 years ago and it still smells. Every time she spends the night we smell it before we go to bed. It reminded us of the strawberry from Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Love this pillow!!!” writes one.

Briarpatch, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Bakeshop Matching Game, will provide hours of entertainment for your tot. Based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Bakeshop A Peek-Through Book, the matching game develops object matching skills. “As a parent, I’m always on the lookout for fun and educational games, and the Bakeshop Matching Game checks all the boxes! It’s a fresh take on classic memory games with a fun baking theme straight from the Eric Carle books. The illustrations are bright, and the gameplay is easy for the kids to pick up—flip cards, find a match, and ding the bell! Best of all, no reading is required, so our 3 year old and 5 year old could play together,” writes a fan.

Tonies are another popular gift this season. This Tonies Character Backpack – Elmo: Educational Creative Thinking Electronic Storybook is $24.99 and perfectly sized to carry a Toniebox, headphones, charging cables, and Tonies. “Love having a backpack style bag for our tonie box. I hope they come out with more characters in the future,” writes a shopper. “As soon as I saw this, I had to get it for my son. He loves Elmo and wants to carry his tonie everywhere we go, especially grandma and grandpas house. This makes it so much easier to put the tonie box in and his favorite tonies. I love that it has a secure strap for the box and a velcro strip for his headphones,” adds another.

Aspiring musicians will love the VTech Kidi Star Drum Pad, $69.99. It is better suited for older toddlers. “This is an excellent choice for young aspiring percussionists! It offers plenty of fun and entertainment for my 6- and 4-year-olds, keeping them engaged and excited. I appreciate the volume control, which helps manage the noise. While the pads don’t completely dampen the sound, it’s still a much better option than many others out there. Highly recommend for little drummers!” writes a shopper.

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You can never go wrong with Play-Doh, especially on a budget. This Play-Doh Case of Imagination Multipack comes with 30 containers of various colors and is on sale for $12.74. “PlayDoh is a classic! we love the never ending fun that comes with PlayDoh. it offers a wide variety of colors, 30 individual tubes of colors that you can create endless memories with! Purchased the variety pack for a Christmas present for my 3y/o! He is going to LOVE opening this Christmas morning and spending countless hours being hands on!” writes a shopper.