For the past few years, I’ve shared a few gift guides on subjects near and dear to my heart – and today I’m kicking off this year’s gift guide series with an installment inspired by my two girls! Sophie is 4 years old and Alice is 2 years old, so we officially have two wild and crazy little girls running around the house! Alice hadn’t yet started walking when I wrote last year’s post, so this is the first year that we’ve seen the girls both really play together and seriously compete over toys. This year, I thought I’d share some gift ideas for preschoolers along with a few ideas for toys that will encourage siblings to play together!
1. I purchased a teepee on a total whim earlier this year, and it turned out to be one of the best purchases I’ve ever made! The teepee both encourages my girls to play together and to use their imaginations. The teepee has been a bedroom, a kitchen, refuge from a sudden storm, and a hiding spot from monsters. We don’t have a lot of space in our house, but we set the teepee up in an area by our laundry closet and just fold it up and stick it in the corner after the girls go to bed at night. I actually bought this teepee from Target’s Pillowfort collection for the colors in the design (light pink, light purple, and mint green), but I love the solid bamboo poles of the Land of Nod teepees. Either way, you can’t go wrong! My girls love theirs so much and play so well together in it, I’m seriously considering getting a second one just to keep at the grandparents’ house.
2. – 4. Blocks, blocks, blocks! Sophie comes home from school every day and immediately starts building these incredible structures with her various blocks: Magna Tiles, Lego Duplos, and regular wood blocks. Alice is starting to play with blocks, too, and I’m looking forward to the two of them building all sorts of things together over the years. I’ve had my eye on these Kiva and Kapla wood blocks for a while now, but I also love the idea of slowly expanding Magna Tile and Duplo collections at birthdays and holidays over the years.
5. Ikea has been really stepping up their kid toy section lately! Have you seen their new costumes? We were just at our local Ikea this past weekend, and I’m kicking myself for not grabbing this rainbow abacus or this wood stacking game.
6. We can never get enough art supplies in this house! I carry a set of washable markers and a drawing pad with me pretty much anytime we go with the kids, and we spend lots of time drawing and creating at home – so we go through lots of drawing materials! I love these washable Faber Castell duo-tipped markers and these Crayola Pip-squeaks markers for the kids.
7. Now that Alice is a little bit older, the girls are able to play together with their pretend play toys – their toy kitchen, doctor’s kit, and now train sets! I’m seriously loving the colors and elevation in this Metro Line train set. These bigger toys are definitely an investment, but so worth it for the years of shared play.
8. + 9. Puzzles! Sophie has been really into maps this year, and I think this floor puzzle from Petit Collage looks like a lot of fun! We’re also big fans of the Melissa & Doug wood puzzles – Sophie enjoys the 48-piece puzzles, while Alice is still pretty into the chunky toddler puzzles.
10. + 11. J.Crew and the Cat & Jack collection at Target are my go-to sources for cute accessories, from purses to necklaces. This necklace even glows in the dark! And how cute is this pink watch for little girls??
12. LOVE this pink superhero cape and hat set for girls from Lovelane!
13. Sophie has officially outgrown her tricycle, which means time for a big girl bicycle! I’m loving the clean design of this bike, and it comes in pink – which Sophie will definitely like.
14. Alice doesn’t quite yet have the leg length or strength for a tricycle – not that it stops her from trying! But now that big sister is ready to move onto bigger wheels, I’m looking for something other than a wagon or push trike that would help Alice keep pace. These micro scooters are at the top of my list!
p.s. Gift ideas for 3 year olds, 2 year olds, and 15-month olds
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