Santa Wanna Be’s: Help me find the perfect gift for 18 month old boy

December 4, 2022 9:38 PM

I would love to find a fabulous and original gift for a special little boy. I would like to spend $50.00. I am not sure what he already has so I don’t want the most popular toy of 2022(which he may already have). It should be safe, something he absolutely loves, and something that can be returned. Help me be original! If you are a parent, what is your little boy’s favorite posession from this age (the one thing that makes his eyes light up). Thanks in advance!
posted by Lylo to Shopping (34 answers total)

Get the cutest pull or push toy you can find.
posted by rainy day girl at 10:14 PM on December 4, 2022

They aren’t probably returnable but activity boards or busy boards on Etsy are great. Also when my boys were that age the little Thomas the tank engine wooden trains were very special to them… the track master Thomas with batteries was also extremely special. I think those toys got carried around for a couple years.
posted by pairofshades at 11:06 PM on December 4, 2022 [1 favorite]

Kids that age all love toy strollers, and for some reason people only buy them for girls.
posted by LizardBreath at 11:36 PM on December 4, 2022 [13 favorites]

At that age my son was obsessed with a plastic fire truck large enough to sit on, with a ladder that moved (search “ride on fire truck”). Fire truck was the best ride on toy because the moving ladder added extra fun. The “v-tech sit to stand train” toy is also a winner. A toddler shopping cart or stroller would also be a huge hit.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:24 AM on December 5, 2022

Magnatiles! There has not been an age that my kids didn't like playing with them. I recently put our 15-year-old set out surreptitiously, knowing my 17yo son had friends coming over. They played with Magnatiles for about an hour while they talked.

Also seconding LizardBreath's suggestion for a toy stroller and doll. Both my sons loved a boy doll and stroller set at that age.
posted by cocoagirl at 3:55 AM on December 5, 2022 [8 favorites]

At that age, my kid wasn't quite into busy boards, but that's a toy that can be grown into.

For $50 you can get a nice wooden activity cube (we have one from Battat). Lots of little beads and things to spin and fiddle with, and as the child gets older he can use it to learn the alphabet, names of animals, etc.

Another option is a pop up play tunnel. Those are sort of like a pop up hamper, and very easy to store, carry to the park, etc. Little ones love to climb inside, and you can buy multiples for connecting them together.

If the parents are ok with it (they're chaos!) you could offer to buy a pop up ball pit and balls. You need around 300 balls for a kid to have a proper good time, but they're a blast. I got one for my daughter (now 4) at this age and she still plays with it all the time.

I'll note that many toys, such as magnets or items with small parts, can be considered unsafe for kids under three due to the risk of swallowing. Also the parents will likely thank you if you avoid anything that lights up, bleeps, or bloops.
posted by champers at 4:13 AM on December 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

Oh, and a set of blocks is a classic for a reason, and it's NBD if the kid already has them because, hey, more blocks! Bigger towers to knock over! (That's a big age for stacking and sorting.)

Uncle Goose makes beautiful, high quality blocks that can take a beating. They also come in fun themes, like planets and the periodic table.
posted by champers at 4:16 AM on December 5, 2022

Make the wrapping awesome (but not hard to get into). That is the age of wrapping being better than the present at first. The wrapping can be like a busy board.
posted by mutt.cyberspace at 4:19 AM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

100 percent Magnatiles. They are STILL the most played with toy in my house and my kids are in elementary school. They adored them as toddlers as well.
posted by heavenknows at 5:41 AM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Two of you suggested Magnatiles, they look great! but they seem to be only for kids 3+. Are these safe and appropriate for an 18 month child?
posted by Lylo at 6:02 AM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

No. Don't get a 3+ toy for a 18 month old. Young toddlers like to swallow things.
posted by creiszhanson at 6:22 AM on December 5, 2022 [7 favorites]

The "age three and up" rule is because many young children explore the world by putting things in their mouths. Toys with small parts or especially magnets can be very hazardous when swallowed.

Yes, some kids don't do this, some kids grow out of it earlier than others, and some parents are very talented at swooping in and getting the object before an ER visit happens.

But as the parent of one of those busy fiddly kids who at eighteen months snarfed everything, here's how I'd react: I'd make polite noises at Magnatiles, groan inwardly a little, let my child play with it for a bit while I watched her like a hawk, then surreptitiously stash them until they were more appropriate for her. (I have a box of "inappropriate gifts to dole out later.")

Now that she's four, she loves magnetic tiles and they're a fantastic gift.
posted by champers at 6:31 AM on December 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

The thing about Magnatiles is that the magnets are pretty strong, which makes them great for building but also means tiny fingers can get pinched when they “snap” together and less dexterous hands can get frustrated when they can’t pull two pieces apart. They’re cool but wait a year. A good alternative for now would be DUPLO (the bigger, chunky LEGOs). My three year old has loved them since getting them at about 18 months and still plays with them daily.
posted by lovableiago at 6:32 AM on December 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

Agreed on Duplo or MegaBloks, which came with a handy tote. Anything that comes in its own storage system is fantastic.

In general, toys where you build stuff are great, and grow with the child.
posted by champers at 6:40 AM on December 5, 2022

Play tents are also fun at that age and will stay fun for a long time.
posted by LizardBreath at 6:47 AM on December 5, 2022 [6 favorites]

Our many various and beloved Magnatiles sets don’t have any pieces small enough to fit into the mouth of an 18 month old, and the magnets are sealed on the inside. Even my incredibly rough and motivated-at-deconstruction 6 year old hasn’t figured out a way to get them out. The real issue with 18 month olds is the finger-pinching that lovableiago mentions.

For ideas, maybe look here? It depends on what the kid is into — being like the parents? dress up? things they can do with their hands?

If the last one, Duplos are a particularly solid choice especially because they’re compatible with the older kid version, full-blown Legos, so they can stay relevant for a couple years. You’ll also note the list is technically for 2 year olds, but I usually try to buy dont-take-up-a-lot-of-space, don’t-make-too-much-noise toys for ever so slightly older than trying to nail the exact biological age for a variety of reasons — all kids don’t develop at same pace, and if the toy is given at a big gift-giving occasion, they don’t always play with toys right away. Plus at that age, their odds of growing into a toy are generally better than them looking backwards. Finally, some parents may be annoyed if you buy a toy that looks more “baby” than they feel like their kid is.

Although I will say that my god, V-tech toddler toys with batteries have some of the worst songs out of any brand. It’s been 3+ years, but I still have this particularly heinous jingle about cute loving birdies occasionally drifting my head…..
posted by joyceanmachine at 6:48 AM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: For specific duplo sets, my daughter got this dump truck and excavator set and an animal set similar to this when she was two; she still plays with both (almost 4 now).

Megabloks, she has a Fire truck she likes, in addition to the big general set.

Fisher Price Little People are a hit, particularly this assorted car and truck set which was also a 2nd birthday present, and still gets some use.

One thing we thought about but never got: toddler safe Brio trains; the magnets are incased to prevent swallowing hazards (but finger pinching still a possibility, I imagine!).
posted by damayanti at 7:16 AM on December 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

The best toy we had when my son was about 18 months was a set of pop up tents and tunnels like this. We used then inside and outside. All the pieces together or just a couple pieces and sometime just one piece. With or without the balls. It could be anything from a tunnel behind the couch, or a fort in the livingroom, or a shady play system outside.

There are several themes including dinosaurs, space, princess, animals and multiple color palettes.

I like that they could be folded up into a smallish bag and put away fairly easily.

I originally bought a l large pack of balls for the ball pit that was part of our tunnel set, and they were not nearly as important as I thought they would be. My toddler loved the tents and tunnels with or without the balls and I didn't love the clean up with them.
posted by CleverClover at 7:21 AM on December 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

My under 2 had his siblings magnet tiles called Picassotiles and there was no tiles in any of these sets that could fit in their mouth. None of the tiles broke*, and the magnets are not very strong so I can’t recall any pinched bits. They do require a bit of coordination to manipulate, and the challenge of the blocks were sometimes beyond the kid’s abilities. Overall the kid very much enjoyed playing with the tiles.

There is many different kinds but the purely geometric sets where the most popular and saw regular action as set pieces for play in elementary school. Unlike Lego the built objects/structures are always understood to be temporary.


Montessori style toys are generally pretty great source, I loved the sorting eggs. There are many variations but this set stood up and this one’s squeaky but was a nice peep peep. More is not always better. The puzzles from Mellissa and Doug where the right combo of accessible and durable. There are many wood sorting toys in that Montessori category, my other suggestions are all no longer on market, but I generally used European standards as a proxy for any wood or painted toys that would be safe to put in a kids mouth.

*restricting busted toys is on the parents
posted by zenon at 7:23 AM on December 5, 2022

Best answer: check out: https://tksstgiftguide.tumblr.com/
very useful, quality gift guide for kids of all ages.
posted by dannysaur at 7:30 AM on December 5, 2022 [4 favorites]

Hearthsong lets you sort by age and price. The inflatable bouncy animals here would be my choice: good for letting off some toddler energy.
posted by corey flood at 7:31 AM on December 5, 2022

This popup toy was a hit with our daughter and peers through this age. The little pegs are great pretend people, they are useful to chew on when teething, initially it's a posting activity, then they learn how to pop it up and match colours.
posted by pipstar at 7:52 AM on December 5, 2022

My kid liked trucks and tractors of all kinds, but especially garbage trucks. He was (and still is) a fan of anything with buttons to push and switches to flip. Something like a toy cash register would have been a hit. You’ll get bonus points from the parents if your gift doesn’t play music or make beeping sounds.

Even at 18 months, kids have preferences and interests, so it might be worth it to ask the parents what their kid likes so they can steer you in a good direction.
posted by Maeve at 8:11 AM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Playmobil My First Train Set had good longevity when we gave (a previous version of the same set) as a gift. It's got a nice number of pieces, but not so many that it becomes overwhelming or messy. It's got enough tracks to make a loop, but few enough and simple enough that toddlers can build it themselves. Playmobil has a few other playsets in the same series that I would predict would hit a similar sweet-spot of "enough but not too much".

Other gifts that I remember being hits with that age: anything to do with water play (e.g. a water play table if they have outdoor space like a deck where they can make a mess) and a toddler-size upholstered chair.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:43 AM on December 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

GIANT CARDBOARD BLOCKS. I still remember playing with these in preschool (I am 44), and my nieces and nephew have been playing with the set I gave them for 6+ years now.

(Obviously this is a terrible gift if the family lives in a small apartment.)
posted by mskyle at 9:11 AM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

Chiming back in to say that this "My First Trucks and Diggers" book has been a HUGE hit with all the little boys in our extended family. My most cherished video of my son is at 14 months, looking at it with his dad and his eyes truly are lighting up and with every page turn he is literally saying WOWWWW! It holds a special place in my heart; 10/10 recommend! It's been looked at so many times I've had to tape it back together more than once. Not a toy, per se, but it will help little guy figure out if he's more of a garbage truck or excavator kind of kid ;)
posted by lovableiago at 9:39 AM on December 5, 2022

This doggie guitar is our go-to gift for kids that age. It's absolutely delightful. Kids seem to love it and it is not completely obnoxious for adults.

I will second and third everything people have said about Magnet tiles. Our kiddo finds new ways to play with them at every age and he's had them since he was about 18 months. He is now 7 and still using them. But damn, they are expensive, and to really enjoy them you need quite a large set. We were blessed to get a big box as a gift. If you are going to get these be prepared to invest.
posted by EllaEm at 10:12 AM on December 5, 2022

This UFO was my son's favorite toy at 18 months.

Now at the ripe old age of 21 months his favorite toy is the cardboard tube from a roll of 42" plotter paper I brought home from work.
posted by The Monster at the End of this Thread at 12:02 PM on December 5, 2022

I was chiming in to say Giant Cardboard Blocks. My son received them the Christmas he was 18 months. My kids used them for years! They made towers to knock over, lined them up domino style to gradually tip into one another and later made them into towns. They even made furniture for pretending (a bed, a cashier table, a place to make pizzas) and used other toys with them. My husband hated them. I loved them. But we also had a basement because you do need some space for them to be used.
posted by maxg94 at 12:02 PM on December 5, 2022

An adjustable basketball hoop (Fisher Price and Little Tykes both make them). This was played with even when my son was 10 and he got it when he was about 1.
posted by maxg94 at 12:06 PM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Playmobil 123 stuff is GREAT. Highly recommend. Our kiddo was 18 months last Christmas and santa brought them the little house, it is still in daily play mode now and Santa is bringing more of the line this year and I would guess we'll get another 2 years out of it before we move onto "bigger kid" playmobil.

I also LOVE This really deluxe bathtoy set. It's gorgeous, super fun to play with, and all the clutter goes in the boat for storage.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 1:16 PM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

Two unusual toddler gifts my child loved, that can grow with them:
* Water soluble gel crayons. These would be a great gift, particularly packaged with blank postcards/greeting cards and postage stamps. They also work fantastic on unfinished wood shapes from the craft store. I found them easier to clean than crayons/markers and they can make either a rich saturated color or a lovely watercolor effect.

* A 6" steel tongue drum as an alternative to the terrible clangy kid instruments or electronic noisemakers. You should be able to get a great one with a case in the $20 range. Smaller is better-- the bigger ones are louder and heavier. I think they have a pleasant sound even when a toddler is tunelessly banging.

Of course, we play with both of these under adult supervision.
posted by Gable Oak at 5:19 PM on December 5, 2022

Response by poster: You all have fabulous ideas, thanks to all of you….but especially to LOBSTERMITTEN, I just ordered the “My First Train Set” and I think Baby Noah is going to be delighted with his gift! You guys are the best!!!!!
posted by Lylo at 8:38 PM on December 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

Maybe 18 month is a little young but we bought a swing set for our two year old. we thought it would be a great gift to get him outside to play with a little exercise. we got ours at Backyard Adventures, We are way exited to give it to him.
posted by podgebag at 11:37 AM on December 7, 2022 [1 favorite]