Gift Ideas for Babies, Infants & Toddlers

Kids Preferred sent us a set of the Eric Carle “Little Musician” Maracas for inclusion in our holiday gift guide.  I choose these when I saw them because they reminded me of growing up in Trinidad.  When I was a little girl I didn’t have a store brought rattle.  My uncle hand crafted me a maracas, he even painted flowers on it for me.  I loved it.  Music is very important in a child’s life and these cute maracas are a great place to start.  It’s not super loud and noisy, plus it’s a great way to introduce your child to music from another culture.  This is perfect for infants who are walking.  They can walk around shaking their maracas and have their own personal dance party.

About the Eric Carle “Little Musician” Maracas:

Very Hungry Caterpillar creator Eric Carle is helping kids get in touch with their musical side with these fun and colorful instruments.

Kids Preferred – The World of Eric Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Wood Maraca – $9.99, Free shipping – Available at Amazon.com Marketplace

My family are big Disney fans.  My kids love Disney Junior so each year for Christmas we get them at least one Disney Plush.  I choose this Minnie Mouse Holiday Plush from Kids Preferred because all kids should own a Mickey & Minnie plush in their lifetime.  Plushies are a great beginner toy for babies and infants.  They are soft and cuddly and as long as they don’t have buttons or small pieces they are safe for infants to start playing with.  Another great bonus of plushies are they can be collected and passed down to younger siblings or saved for as long as you like.  My daughter still owns her first Classic Winnie the Pooh plush that was a gift from my baby shower.  The plush is almost eight years old.  This Minnie Holiday Plush is just the right size for an infant.  It’s soft and cuddly, she’s dressed up in a cute holiday outfit and this plush doesn’t have buttons for eyes which makes her a very safe choice.  I would definitely recommend both Mickey & Minnie so you have the set. 

Kids Preferred – Disney Mickey Mouse & Friends Minnie Mouse Holiday Plush Toy by Kids Preferred – $8.95 (20% off), 4.29 shipping – Available at Fullfillment By Amazon

We received a Bright Starts Around We Go Baby Activity Station and it’s the perfect gift for our infant.  He’s turning one in December, right before Christmas and this is going to help him with his mobility.  He’s all over the house right now, walking, trying to run, and even crawling again sometimes.  This all in one activity center is perfect for infants and toddlers.  The seat swivels around the activity center so your child can play with the different sections of the activity table.  This is a big gift item so you may want to use put it under the tree on Christmas Eve.  It’s a gift that will grow with your infant.  They’ll enjoy all the activities.

About the Around We Go Baby Activity Station:

This award-winning activity station has a one-of-a-kind seat that allows baby to safely walk or run around the outside perimeter of the activity table! It’s like a walker and entertainer in one! Bright Starts 3-in-1 Around We Go! Activity Station in Zippity Zoo fashion will keep your baby entertained and challenged all the way through the toddler years! It has 15+ activities that include an electronic toy station with volume control and three modes of play: melodies, animals sounds and piano notes, plus a flip book with colorful characters and sounds, popping penguins, spinning ball beads, an elephant popper with spinning beads, a teethable palm tree and lots more! Parents have loved this award-winning toy and you’ll be glad you chose it for your little one.

Bright Starts – Doodle Bugs Around We Go Baby Activity Station – $119.00, Free shipping – Available at Amazon.com Marketplace

A jumper is great gift for infants.  Kids have lots of energy and not only is this a toy is a great way for kids to work off some of their energy.  One of my son’s would always fight sleep, when he was sleepy but wouldn’t close his eyes we would put him in his jumper, giving him some more play time but also making him tuckered out for nap time.  The jumper also helped him with balance and movement.  This jumper adjusts so it grows with your baby.  This is another great gift to keep baby entertained for hours. 

About Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumper:

Your baby will jump with delight in the Baby Einstein Musical Motion 2-in-1 Stationary Jumper and Entertainer! 

Infants can jump, play, and engage with classical melodies, language discovery and 12 fun activities. The soft cradling seat with machine washable seat pad rotates a full 360° to give baby access to all toy stations. Beads, melodies, and light-up piano keep baby entertained. 

With five height adjustments and a padded high-back seat for extra support, the activity jumper grows with your little explorer. For safety, four non-skid feet keep the jumper firmly in place. Designed for babies at least 4 months of age.

Baby Einstein – Musical Motion Activity Jumper – $89.99, Free shipping – Available at Target.com

We own a VTech Sit to Stand Learning Walker and my toddler loves it so much, he wants to take it away from our infant.  Our toddler has special needs and instrumental music is something that soothes him.  He loves this walker.  I love it because it has great features.  You can detach the front toy as play with that separately, so it’s a carry all toy that you can take with you when you are traveling in the car or even at home.  The wheels on the walker adjusts to slow it’s speed depending on how well your child is walking.  

About the VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker

From baby steps to big steps the Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker™ by VTech® helps your baby develop from a crawler to a walker through adaptive technology. With a barnyard of playful friends to cheer them on, your little one will have endless fun as they learn to walk.

Start out with the easy-to-remove activity panel for floor play or on-the-run fun, then step it up with the fun-to-maneuver walker. Spinning gears, five piano keys, three colorful rollers, three light-up shape sorters, three light-up buttons and a telephone handset offers endless fun that will stimulate your baby’s learning and develop their motor skills. The Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker keeps baby on track teaching shapes, colors, animals, music and more!

Barnyard friends cheer Baby on when walking, and lots of fun features keep Baby busy exploring 5 piano keys play music, 3 colorful spinning rollers, 3 shape sorters, light-up buttons and telephone handset

VTech – Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker – $28.49 (28% off), Free shipping – Available at Target.com

I remember before I had children of my own, my nephew wanted an ELMO for Christmas, it was the Tickle Me ELMO, remember those? They were so hard to find and the whole family wanted to come together and make sure we found him one.  I was so excited when I found one, but I found out so did my brother.  We ended up taking one back and getting him another toy.  This reminds of that ELMO.  With our infant and our toddler I figured this would be a great gift item for us.  My only worry is should I get one or two.  I know they both would enjoy it and love playing with him.  I love that the different hats shows more personality of ELMO.  This is a great item to add to your shopping lists.

About Sesame Street Lets Imagine Elmo:

Tickle and bounce the Let’s Imagine Elmo toy! Or place a hat on his head to get the imagination adventure started!  Sesame Street and associated characters, trademarks and design elements are owned and licensed by Sesame Workshop. 

Hasbro – A7366 Sesame Street Lets Imagine Elmo 2 – $29.99, Free shipping 

It’s never too early to get your first set of wheels (well play wheels).  This is a great toy for all little kids, especially if you have lots of yard space or places you can take the kids riding around.  When the weather is great take them out for a ride in their wheels while you  enjoy a nice walk.  This particular car can be used from 18 months to 5 years of age.  That means it’s a great investment and a toy that can be around for several kids as well.  

About the Little Tikes – Cozy Coupe

The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe 30th Anniversary Edition ride on toy has become an American classic. Toddlers love this riding toy car’s classic design. Easy maneuverability helps development of large motor skills. 

Little Tikes – Cozy Coupe 30th Anniversary Edition – $57.97, Free shipping – Available at Overstock.com

Gifting teddy bears are a great way to start a family tradition.  Gift them to younger kids and save them for other children, pass them down from one child to another.  These large bears are perfect for gifting for the holidays.  I love the neutral cream color on this bear, the little gingerbread plush in it’s hand adds even more holiday flair to the bear.  This is a perfect gift for kids of all ages.  It would make a great companion.  Plus Aurora also makes other holiday bears that work great for gifts.

Aurora – Gingerbread Latte 15″ Bear Plush From Aurora World – $29.85, 6.34 shipping – Available at Fullfillment By Amazon

Peppermint Mocha Bear is another holiday bear from Aurora.  I just love these bears, they are so soft and cuddly, perfect for children. Once kids are old enough to enjoy decor on their beds they will love having this on their bed or in their rooms.  For the holidays I’ve used it on our couch to add to the holiday decor.  It fit in perfectly because we have a brown loveseat, so I sat both bears on different ends.  My son and daughter both love them and keep them with them at night before heading to bed.  If you’re looking for a fun, soft, cuddly and cute gift then the Peppermint Mocha Bear would be a great gift for any child.

Aurora Technology – World X-Large Peppermint Mocha Bear Plush, 20″ – $27.58, 6.57 shipping – Available at Amazon.com

This fun and educational toy is a perfect addition to any toy chest.  My three year old and our infant both love the sounds and music from this toy.  We even used it to help our first grader with building sight words and trying to see just how many three letter words he knows.  It’s perfect for helping children learn about sounds of letters, phonics and spelling as well.  Note to parents make sure you keep the letters safe.  My kids have had their all over and I am always hunting down letters.  The storage on the unit works well but my kids open is easily.  

VTech – VTech Lil’ Speller Phonics Station – $24.99, 6.95 shipping – Available at Sears.com

The VTech Sit to Stand Smart Cruiser is another great gift for toddlers and walkers.  This toy transformers as your child grows.  All my kids has taken turns on this even though it’s for our toddler.  My three year old likes playing with the musical sounds on removable pad.  He can easily press button to hear music, the alphabet and car sounds.  My infant likes taking it for a ride and sometimes he even pulls it around.  This is another great VTech toy to is not only fun but educational as well.

VTech – VTech Sit-To-Stand Smart Crusier – $29.49, 9.18 shipping – Available at Target.com