My neighbors have a beautiful daughter who will be turning 2 later this month.
I have no idea what to buy her.
Help?
Price range?
A copy of Edward Gorey’s The Gashleycrumb Tinies, the perfect way for the Little One to learn her ABCs!
Well, my kid will be two this month too (he’s a boy, but at that age it’s incidental). Stuff I’m thinking about getting him for his birthday are
*Books–especially ones with thick cardboard pages and lots of bright colors/simple words
*Big Wheel–and since she’s a girl you could stick those cute little streamers in the handlebars
*Videos–ask the parents if there are any shows/characters she really digs. Mine’s a Spongebob freak.
*Toys–at this age, kids love toys they can get to “react”. Meaning anything with knobs, cranks, buttons, wheels that move and make noise.
*Clothes–boring for the kid (although some girls are really into pretty stuff by that age) but the parents would love it
price range: Under $20.
It really depends. Is she a put everything in her mouth toddler or more developed?
I sat for a 2 year old and while she couldn’t speak well (Only her mom, sister and I understood her gibberishy baby talk, not even poor dad could) she was much more developed in other ways. She loved barbies and polly pockets which would be dangerous for the eat everything toddler as they have small parts. Playdough playsets which go for under $20 are always fun as are age appropriate art sets (check the label it will say which age it’s suitable for). If you are unsure you can’t really go wrong with a book. Check out an interactive one a la Leapfrog or a cheaper version, most toddlers love those.
Wooden train set.
Without knowing the parents, I like wood toys like these:
Generally, you can’t go wrong with a wood toy. They are classic and sturdy.
You should be able to purchase any of these at your local independant toy store or maybe Zany Brainy, even.
No matter what you get, make sure it is age-appropriate.
Good luck!
My rule of thumb is to pick something I personally would like to get, then check to make sure the age designation is appropriate.
I would say wooden blocks or maybe Lego Duplos. (That way you can keep buying similar presents as she gets older to add to the set.) You might check with the parents to see if there’s something she already has a collection of that needs adding to.
Anything Sesame Street would probably work for that age group too.
This is why I love Eve
My Nieces were very much into their mother’s purses even at this early age. Fisher Price makes a wonderful play purse that comes with big plastic keys, a fake lipstick, mirror etc., it was a big hit with all of the girls.
At that age, my daughter loved books that simply had a whole bunch of pictures on a page that applied to a theme or setting. For example, one page might be “At the Farm”, and there would be pictures of a barn, cows, pigs, a tractor, etc… Under each picture would be the corresponding word. She’d spend hours learning what each thing was, and would be really proud of herself once she could find the dog, or the chicken, or whatever.
Building blocks were another favorite, especially when daddy would build a tower out of them, and she could knock them down.
If you don’t like her parents ;), get her a kazoo, a drum or a little keyboard. My daughter loved being able to make noise and “music”.
I have fond memories of my big chalkboard, which I used daily for years. Cheap too!
See, based on our experiences of what the favorite toys are at two, I was gonna suggest a big pile of junk mail; a dustpan/handbrush set; a fat, lazy, declawed, tolerant cat (she couldn’t catch the other three at that age, but the idiot just let her maul him for hours on end); anything physically safe for her to play with, so long as it’s supposed to belong to her mother or father…
But a cheap harmonica, or crayons and a new coloring book would be good, too. 
I think I have Skeezix’s kid… 
Our daughter will be 2 next week and I told everyone that anything with elmo on it will be fine. She has ONE elmo video and she is in love with him completely! My husband and I will never be the same after listening to elmo sing 3 times a day every day for the forseeable future
Be careful with clothes unless mom has given you the sizes… my almost 2 year old fits perfectly into a 4T. She wears size 8 toddler shoes. She’s a nightmare to keep dressed and she will not wear anything yellow.
Books are great and who cares if they’ve already got a copy… she’s 2 … she will shred her favorites or extra copies can live in the car or at grandmas.
My daughter is in love with a set of wooden alphabet blocks we bought her. They were expensive for wooden blocks ($20.00) But they are slightly bigger than the others we’d seen and the corners were lightly rounded and they were completely smooth (no splinters!) Carter’s makes them and we got them at babies R us.
Crayons, construction paper and coloring books are another great winner.
Oh and tub/pool toys are great too.
I’d go with age appropriate books. Something she’d like to have read to her and with pictures she can look at.
Another vote for interesting tub toys!
Also, Playskool makes a pretty cool flashlight that runs about $12. It has an auto shut-off so the kid can’t run down the batteries by leaving it on, and a kid-friendly switch that lets you change the light from red to green to plain ol’ yellow again.
It’s a fabulous toy. Kids love flashlights.
Also, any sort of bubble-related toy. For $10 you can get a huge spill-resistant bubble blowing set.
It must be around potty training time, right?
How about Everyone Poops?
We gave it to the 2-year-old of friends. Not sure if the kid likes it, but the parents loved it.
Sidewalk chalk - tub paint soap - “Pat the Bunny” book
and anything loud. I got my best friend’s twins little mobile robots (one each) and they have batteries and flashing lights and buzzes and whistles and bells (MWA ha ha ha!) He hasn’t forgiven me yet but the kids just LOVE me! 
Batteries disappear from those toys quickly DeVena (or my daughter soaks the toy in the dog dish and shorts it out… all the same to me)
She just brings them to me and says “uh-oh” while poking the battery door and when I tell her it’s broken she takes it back to play with more quietly.