Looking for Christmas gifts for 18 month old cuties in your life?! This gift guide has Montessori toys, bath toys, quiet toys, building toys, and even ones to help them work on fine motor skills! This guide is filled with our favorites.
This post is all about Christmas gifts for 18 month old kiddos in your world. These toys are highly engaging while not being over stimulating either. They will love them and you will too!
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Christmas Gifts for 18 Month Old
1. Sound Puzzles
The Melissa and Doug sound puzzles have been a favorite since my son got them on his first birthday. It has been so cool to watch him progress and learn about the different pieces of each puzzle as he gets bigger! This puzzle comes in instruments, farm animals, vehicles, pets, and zoo animals.
If you go for multiple or already have other Melissa and Doug puzzles, I recommend the Melissa and Doug Puzzle Shelf. This is how I store ours
2. A Small Play Kitchen
This may sound like a toy for older kiddos, but our little wooden play kitchen is my 1-year-old’s absolute favorite toy. She absolutely loves filling up the wooden pots and pans with food.
While most play kitchens take up a ton of floor space, this small wooden kitchen takes up very little space while still being a ton of fun! Plus, it’s a toy they will play with for years!
3. Lego Duplo Number train
When our son was 18 months old, he played with his Duplo number train at least once every single day! (that’s not an exaggeration) Plus, I love being able to work on numbers with him while he is playing with a toy that he loves!
4. Mini Wagon from Radio Flyer
At just 12.5 inches, it’s easy to play with this mini wagon both outside and inside. It’s the perfect height for our 18 month old to pull around and the perfect size to fill with little toys or a few stuffed animals!
5. New Books
One of the family Christmas traditions in our house is a box of new books for everyone in the family! We’ve linked one of our absolute favorite books but you can also check out the list of all our favorite books here!
6. Peel & Slice Fruit
I love that our play food is both peelable and sliceable! The role play is more realistic and they are a huge hit with both my kids!
7. Caterpillar Gear Toy
We have had this Melissa and Doug gear toy for over two year and there’s a reason it’s made it through so many of my panic toy purges. Both my 1 year old and my 3 year old love this toy and I truly feel as though it’s a toy that grows with your baby. They can start by just putting pieces on anywhere and working on fine motor skills and slowly work their way into matching the colors. Plus, they learn cause and effect from the gears as well! I keep this toy in our bin of quiet toys and it’s been a great addition.
8. Tool Workbench
While most kids’ workbenches are absolutely massive, this wooden workbench is only about 8 inches wide and 11 inches tall. It’s perfect for apartment living with kids.
9. Car Run
On the days teething gets the best of my son, his car run is the only thing that will calm him down. It’s actually amazing how many times an 18 month old can put the cars down and not get bored. Just trust me on this one. Our car run has been a life saver for us.
10. Wooden Name Puzzle
Custom name puzzles are great Christmas gifts for 18 month old aspiring puzzlers. They are an especially good gift for nieces, nephews, or your friends’ kids if you don’t know what toys they have already!
11. Bath Tub Building Pipes
Essentially a marble run for the bath tub, these bath building pipes stick onto the side of the tub to create a “water run!” They are definitely one of our favorite bath toys and I love how much they learn playing with it.
12. Fine Motor Hedgehog
This little hedgehog toy is a favorite of both my one and three year old! It’s great for teaching fine motor skills early on and has also been a great quiet time toy. Plus, I’m a huge fan of the fact that the top comes off and the “spikes” store inside the toy.
13. Lego Alphabet Truck
Between the Lego Number Train and the Lego Alphabet truck, you’ll be able to build some amazing towers with your toddler and your toddler will learn tons too! We love connecting the train and the truck to make a SUPER long train!
14. Learning Friends Word Book
The Learning Friends Word Book will read words aloud to your toddler as they touch each picture. I personally love keeping this toy in the car since it’s easy for my 1 year old to navigate all on her own.
15. Buckle Toy
If your 18 month old is anything like mine, they may just have an obsession with buckling and unbuckling things on repeat. This buckle square is a great quiet toy to keep them occupied in places like church or weddings.
16. A Functional Mini Vacuum
This miniature Dyson vacuum couldn’t be pried from my 18 month old’s hand for days after he got it! The best part….it actually suctions and looks just like the real thing!
17. Plush Fishing Toy
This Melissa & Doug fishing toy is a great toy that will grow with your toddler. While it can simply be used as a fishing toy at first, it’s also great for learning matching, colors, shapes, and numbers too!
18. Locks & Latches Board
The Melissa & Doug locks puzzle is great for fine motor skills, colors, animals, and numbers! However, I would definitely make sure you don’t have any of these locks in your house before you buy it!
19. Rainbow Stacker
This Montessori rainbow stacking toy has a small footprint and can be used in many different ways! It’s perfect for making a tunnel for balls and cars!
20. Swimming Turtle Bath Toys
My kids are obsessed with bath time. So, I’m always on the hunt for toys to make it even more fun! These little swimming turtles will amaze your little one and make bath time more fun for everybody!
21. Pull Frog
This adorable little pull frog toy from Melissa and Doug works great even in our tiny little apartment! The string is the perfect size for 1-2 year olds too!
22. Melissa & Doug Wooden Animal Magnets
These wooden animal magnets are a lot bigger than any other kid magnets I’ve had which makes them easier for little hands to pick up and manipulate. I love keeping these on the washer and dryer to entertain my kids while I’m doing laundry!
23. Pounding Bench
The Melissa & Doug pounding bench has been one of my toddlers favorite toys. As you pound one peg, the peg on the other side pops up. It’s a great way to help little ones get out frustration and energy or just have a little fun!
24. Radio Flyer Scoot to Scooter
So many kid toys last a short time before they are out grown. This scooter is a little different. The handle extends as they grow and the bottom piece where their foot goes also flips over to become a seat! So, this scooter is not only perfect for your 18 month old now, but it will work for a couple years too!
25. Pop Up Tunnel
Pop up tunnels are great toys for winter time since kids are often cooped up inside! This pop up tunnel connects to a ball pit and a tent too. This is the perfect Christmas gifts for 18 month old balls of energy to have some fun in the winter.
26. Pop Tubes
If you are looking for stocking stuffers, pop tubes are a great option. They are cheap, perfect for little hands, and also great on the go too!
27. Wooden Lacing Toy
This wooden lacing toy is great for developing fine motor skills and a fantastic quiet toy that will actually keep them engaged. My kids will play with just this toy for an entire church service sometimes!
28. Road Tape
If you are looking for Christmas gifts for 18 month old car lovers, this road tape is the perfect gift! We love using this car tape to make elaborate car tracks through the house on cold and rainy days!
29. Touch Light Board
Since 18 month olds struggle to not cover themselves in marker when drawing, this touch light board is great for mess free drawing.
30. Glow in the Dark Stars
This set of glow in the dark stars also comes with planets too! They can learn about the planets and get to sleep under the stars too!
This post was all about Christmas gifts for 18 month old car lovers, aspiring artists, future chefs, and kids that just need to get a little extra energy out! I hope you find the perfect gift that they will absolutely love!
– Beautifully Busy Mom
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Meet the Author
This post was written by Monica, a mom of two and former teacher who love high quality, engaging toys that are educational rather than overstimulating. These toys are some absolute favorites.
