Gifts for a 2-year-old boy — ideas he’ll love

No time for the whole list? These are our four favourites for a 2-year-old boy: Het coole voertuigen kleurboek, a colouring book full of vehicles to colour in himself; the Ravensburger inset puzzles with a digger, a tractor and a tipper truck, three puzzles of six pieces; the Mini Deluxe Glow LED scooter in arctic blue, with wheels that light up as he rides; and the blue Stapelstein balance board, to wobble on, sit in or use as a bridge. Four gifts you can’t go wrong with.

A small gift for a two-year-old, for the Sinterklaas shoe or for a birthday party. Everything below costs less than ten euros.

With up to 25 euros to spend you’ll find a tractor, a set of blocks, a floor puzzle or something to take outside. Everything below has been picked for a 2-year-old boy.

Start with knob and inset puzzles of two to six pieces; each piece drops into its own space, which gives instant success. A big floor puzzle is a nice next step, but expect to do it together the first time. At this age, vehicles are almost always the subject that works.

A ball, a spade and something to fill is enough for a whole afternoon outdoors. Soft balls can be used indoors too, and a sturdy spade goes from the sandpit to the beach. These are the gifts that get used most and cost least.

A series with short rhyming sentences, big pictures and the same rhythm every time — exactly what a two-year-old asks for, and why he wants to hear it twenty times in a row. Because it’s a series, you know straight away what to buy for the next birthday. Start with the book closest to his own world. (The books are in Dutch — the rhymes are part of the fun.)

Chunky wax crayons and pavement chalk suit this age better than felt-tip pens: they don’t snap, they don’t roll away and there’s no cap to put back on. Big sheets of paper, or simply the pavement, work better than a colouring book with lines. Expect scribbles, not drawings — those come later.

At two, a vehicle doesn’t need to do anything except drive. Wooden cars without batteries last for years, survive being dropped and make exactly the noise the child thinks up for them. Choose something sturdy enough to lean on, because that will happen.

Wooden blocks are the opposite of a toy with one button: there’s no right outcome, so it never gets stuck. Coloured building blocks work especially well at this age, because sorting by colour comes naturally. Go for blocks that fit in a child’s hand but not in a mouth.

A first DUPLO set doesn’t need a theme. A box of loose bricks, a few figures and something with wheels is enough for months; a baseplate saves a lot of toppling over. Themed sets with small parts are often for age three and up, so check the box.

At two, a handful of wooden animals is more useful than a complete farm with gates and flaps. They get named, lined up, loaded into a lorry and unloaded again. A few animals plus something to transport them in is a gift he won’t tire of quickly.