When you attend kids’ birthday parties (or send your kids along to one) do you struggle to come up with a great gift idea? You know, one the child will love, the parents will thank you for, and that your own kid can hold their head up high to give?
It’s no small challenge to find that perfect blend of giftability for children! I prefer to give kids non-digital, non-noisemaking gifts that practical as well as fun! I think the gifts we gave our two-year-old last week hit all those important markers!
Birthday Gift Ideas for 2-4 year olds!
Thanks to my sponsors (Crane, Kidorable, Little Tikes, and Zutano), I’m sharing some unique birthday gift ideas AND giving you the chance to win an awesome giveaway! I know this is a gift list for two-year-olds, but I really think the age range for most of these ideas could extend to the 2-4 year old crowd of either gender! Let me know what you think!
Crane Cool Mist Humidifiers and Crane Portable Night Light
Cool mist humidifiers are a must in every home for managing a host of issues – dry skin, sore throat, coughs, congestion. So since you have to have this type of apparatus in your house, why not make it extremely fun for the kids with a shaped cool mist humidifier from Crane? We’ve used Crane humidifiers for the past four years as parents (actually, we still have our original two!), but now we’ve added a third one to the mix for the boys’ room and it is the coolest humidifier to ever pull into the station… because it’s a TRAIN!
Yes my train-obsessed boys love their new humidifier because “real steam” (as my son says) pours out the smokestack when you turn it on, and there’s a light in front of the engine.
I love it because of the 1-gallon reservoir, a clear “on” light, and a hidden switch (in the train wheel!) to adjust the steam. Oh and auto-shut off safety sensor and NO filter!! There’s over fifteen Adorable styles in the Crane humidifier lineup (from $45-60).
New to the Crane family are their Belly Glo portable night lights ($16.99). Each animal shape (hippo, duck, or frog), has a removable light in its belly that turns on automatically when the room grows dim. The light (which you can set to either soft white or shifting colors) last about eight hours, and are rechargeable just by flipping out the prongs to fit in to any electrical outlet.
Oh, and! When plugged into an outlet, it functions as a regular night light, so long after the kids outgrow the animal feature, you can still use the light! The Belly Glo Night Light is definitely one of those items you may want to get one-per-child as we have nightly discussions over whose turn it is to hold the hippo in bed!
Zutano Clothing
I honestly think kids love to get clothing as gifts… as long as the clothes represent their style and interests. Zutano is a kids’ clothing brand we’ve loved for years in our family because they understand children’s love for bright colors and quirky prints (especially exciting to me is their clothing for boys: stripes, sunfish, superheros, and more). They also get it – kids love to mix and match their own clothes, so they design sets that go together even if they’re mix-matched (like navy striped shorts and a fish-printed shirt? Not a problem, that’s just Zutano-awesomeness in action!).
With clothing from newborn to 4T, Zutano has basic solid print pants and jackets to coordinate all their looks. Also…after putting my kids in Zutano clothing for many years, while they’re always updating prints and styles shift, it seems they use a similar color palette overall, so even between seasons or sets, the pieces still “go together.” I love that!
Stay tuned for an upcoming feature and giveaway of Zutano’s summer styles!
Kidorable Rainboots
I never had rainboots growing up. I’ll just let that sink in… seriously, how did I survive? My kids wear their rainboots just as much as their flip-flops and sneakers. Not just for rainy days, but for gardening, camping, apple picking, and… sometimes just for the fun of wearing cute frogs, spaceships, pirates, or fire engines on their feet. Yep, I’m talking about the adorable styles at Kidorable! This year’s gift to our son was a pair of natural rubber fire engine rainboots ($35.00), complete with wheels molded into the sides of each boot! Once our son unwrapped them, he wore them the rest of the night!
Don’t forget matching accessories for kids like raincoats, umbrellas, hats, towels, backpacks and more from Kidorable!
Radio Flyer Red Wagon
We had a classic metal Radio Flyer kid’s pull-along wagon growing up, which I loved. However, it was always a rather bumpy ride, so for our kids we decided to get our son a deluxe triple-seat Radio Flyer Comfort wagon. Complete with a removable shade, six cupholders, and a generously sized “backpack” storage attached, we’re already loving taking the kids for rides in the new wagon! The wheels swivel (so watch sharp turns!), and it doesn’t collapse so you’ll have to have your entire truck emptied to take it anywhere, but otherwise, it’s a wagon that is both family tool and kids’ toy!
Radio Flyer has a variety different wagon styles at various price points ($49-200).
Toddler Utensil Set
Children’s Bible and Washable Bible Cover
Little Tikes Gas ‘n’ Go Mower
I know, you’re thinking, but Julie, where are the TOYS!? There must be TOYS at a birthday party, right? Okay, so I am not huge on lots of toys as gifts, however, a few strategic ones aren’t terrible. Little Tikes sent me some outdoor fun products to check out, and one of them was this Gas ‘n’ Go Mower ($24.99). Complete with gas tank, pull cord to “start,” speed knob, and popping balls for noise, our boys love “mowing” the grass right along with their dad! So it’s a toy, but it gives them some practice with real-world activities, and gets them running about a lot. Read more about ways to keep little ones outdoors in summer (and enter a giveaway for the Little Tikes Gas ‘n’ Go Mower – ends 8/12/14!).
There you have it! My top birthday gift ideas for children!
What gift ideas would you add? If you liked this post, be sure to pin it for future reference:
WIN IT: One reader wins a Crane Train Humdifier AND their choice of Belly Glo Night Light! (ARV: $75). Enter in the form below!
Thanks to Crane, Kidorable, Zutano, and Little Tikes for providing media samples for this post. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links have been used in this post.
I love giving puzzles and books but if my daughter has a specific thing she wants to get them, I let her pick it out. She loves giving to others and I love encouraging it!
I tend to give what the child seems to be most interested in. My son was anything Hot Wheels and my niece loves Barbie.
if it’s boys, i usually give cars, trucks, or something along those lines. when it comes to girls i’m pretty clueless so usually stick with a barbie or some kind of dress up set 🙂
We try to get him things he is interested in at the time. This year I found him (my almost 4 year old) a set of real little tools in a cool wooden box. I found it at a Flea Market and snatched it up. I have thought about buying him his own towel as we just moved into a new house, and he will have a kid’s bathroom.
I like to give a gift specific to what the child likes. But books and craft ideas always work well for anyone.
I like to give gifts that are both fun and educational, whether they are coming from myself or my son.
I like to give each one a gift which is meaningful to just that person. My daughter loves dance so I like giving her books on ballet or taking her to see the Nutcracker. My husband makes homemade trucks and trains for our son who loves both.
One of my favorite gift ideas to give is books. My children prefer to give toys.
Those rainboots are adorable!
I like to gift a child something to encourage creativity.. art kits, science kits, crayons, markers.. fun creative stuff. Also, it depends on the child. If I know that the family needs clothes or something like that for the child I will buy some or give a gift card. If my child is giving the gift, I love it to be something homemade. For example we made necklaces for all of my 5 year old daughter’s cousins/friends one Christmas, and made fudge for the adults in our family.
i really love the night light. so cute and will make a kid feel much more comfortable. but all the ideas are great!
I really love to give books and craft supplies.
Whether it’s me or my child giving the gift I usually try to find something that I know will be lots of fun for whomever the gift is for. Most times I buy a fun toy and something character wise from the clothing dept. that they would love.
Basically a combination of fun and practical.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
I like to give toys or something I know the child wants. For close relatives, in addition to a gift the child will enjoy now, I also contribute to the child’s college fund.
It depends what the child likes. I typically try to get something character specific to a character I know they like, and it doesn’t matter if it’s from my kids or myself. I have a hard enough time deciding, lol. I just go with what I think they’ll like.
I like to give children toys or games for gifts because they just seem so excited and happier getting that than clothes or shoes! I try to find a teaching game or toy as in a craft maker or something along those lines
i love to giveaway as gifts book,incouraging little ones to read from early age,i think thats important.
i like giving books or something that helps them be creative
I like giving a magazine subscription, like Highlight High Five for this age group.
I like to give kids gifts that spark their creativity. play-doh, art sets, musical instruments, coloring books
I like to give (and receive!) arts and crafts items (coloring books, paints, play-doh, bubbles, etc). Things that my children will have fun with and use as opposed to toys.
The rainboots are a great gift idea! I love gifting educational toys to kids, (books, puzzles, blocks, ect.) right now I usually pick out the gifts since my kids are a little too young to help out.
My favorite gift to give to my 2 granddaughters (sisters) are books. They give me beautiful drawings that they made (like multi-colored butterflies). 🙂
Thanks for your children’s gift ideas. I like them all especially the Children’s Bible and Washable Bible Cover.
Unusual give either toys, books or clothes depending upon the child. Sometimes some of each.
I like to give books if possible. I think it is fun to share the books my son loves read to him with other little ones. And a good variety in books is fun too.
I like to give gifts that are educational or that encourage open play, like books or blocks.
I usually rely on our local family owned toy store that carries wonderful quality toys for children that inspires their imagination such as Magformers Magnetic Building sets.
My favorite thing to give is subscription boxes! That’s the gift that’s gotten the most positive response from my niece and nephews!
We usually give our youngest grandkids learning toys or books, however, the older ones prefer gift cards so they can go shopping.
We usually give our schoolager a party for his birthday. Yes, that is our present to him, and last year’s was ridiculous… We DIYed a Minecraft mine in the basement, hosted a science show, and made fresh cotton candy.
When he was littler and big birthday parties weren’t appropriate, we would usually grab that one more expensive toy we’d been waiting on, like the large Lego Duplo truck set or the ball pit or the children’s museum membership.
I like to give gifts that are meaningful or provide experiences rather than a physical gift.
My favorite gift to give children is books! Parents don’t typically like to spend money on books and will just go to the public library. I love adding to my grandson’s at home library!
I love giving arts and crafts to children! It’s hard sometimes because you don’t know all the toys a child may have, but they can always use arts and crafts!
I chose a gift based on the recipient
I love to give toys that are educational as well as fun, things like wooden blocks. These are great ideas and I would never have thought of giving rain boots but my son LOVES his! I will keep it in mind for future.
I like to give Legos for boys and a Barbie or similar type doll for the girls. Of course there are crafts kits that I like giving out too! It really depends on the child and how we’ll we know him/her.
I like to give books. You can never go wrong with that!
Hello! If I’m buying the gift, I go old school and get girls dolls and boys some sort of car/truck. On the other hand, if it’s my son giving the gift, I give him a budget and let him pick out what he thinks they’ll like. Thanks!!
I like to give experiences along with gifts. Like music classes.
We get a craft kit with something they are interested in at the time.
When possible I enjoy giving activity gifts like a day at the Science Center or perhaps a family zoo pass.
I love give kids (mine and others) toys and books where they can learn something. Learning through play is the best in my opinion.
I like to give one toy/fun item, some clothes, and a couple books. Keeps it rounded on things they want, need, and can learn from!
My daughter will be 8 soon, and for some of her friend’s birthday parties, my favorite gift to give is either money or a gift card. I think as the kids get older, it’s harder to find things they may like or don’t already have. For younger kids, I love to buy fun toys, like trains and cars for boys! 🙂
I like gifts that encourage creativity: art kits, building sets, etc.
So far I’ve had great luck giving puzzles as gifts!