The 2017 Toddler Christmas Gift Guide - Blocks, Books, Brilliant Beats and Balance

The 2017 Toddler Christmas Gift Guide – Blocks, Books,…

November 23, 2017March 22, 2018
by James

With Christmas just around the corner, I’ve taken the time to sit down and think about the gifts that would really get a toddler excited on Christmas Day. I thought long and hard, and you know what? I’ve come up with a pretty amazing list! Behold, Blog of Dad’s 2017 Toddler Gift Guide – Blocks, Books, Brilliant Beats and Balance (because who doesn’t love alliteration?).

Disclosure: These amazing gifts were provided free of charge to Blog of Dad for review during 2017. Some were sent specially for Christmas, Lucky Hannah!

Blocks – 2017 Toddler Christmas Gift Guide

Whenever someone asks what to get Hannah for Christmas, my response is “blocks and books!” They are two of her favourite things in the world and you can never have too much of either. When it comes to blocks, LEGO is the king! And for toddlers, the excellent DUPLO range is their entry into the LEGO world.

There is a DUPLO set (or ten) to suit the tastes of every toddler. We were sent the amazing Fun Family Fair set for Hannah to try out this Christmas and it’s spot on! Animals, slides, little people… perfection!

I made the mistake of showing Hannah the box when it arrived. She wouldn’t let it out of her sight. I had flashbacks to my own childhood and suddenly remembered the pure joy and anticipation that comes with unwrapping LEGO at Christmas time.

The Duplo that Hannah already has is her most played with toy, and this wonderful set will add even more enjoyment to her magical box of DUPLO delight. It doesn’t matter if it’s your toddlers first set, or they already have a tonne of the stuff – a DUPLO set is bound to bring a smile to a tiny face on Christmas Day!

You can find the Fun Family Fair set here, or check out the full range of amazing DUPLO sets on the LEGO shop website. There’s something to suit the tastes of every toddler (and dad)!

Books – 2017 Toddler Christmas Gift Guide

Hannah loves her books. She already has an extensive collection of over 100 great picture and information books on the bookshelf in her room. Why on earth would I want to get her more books? Because you can never have too many!

Hannah interacts with at least five of her books each day – sometimes we read together on the floor first thing in the morning, sometimes she pulls a book down from the shelf and quietly flicks through the pages by herself. Every single night I read her the story of her choice before she goes to bed.

Books are a massive part of our life and the more diverse and engaging her collection, the more enriched Hannah’s experience and understanding becomes.

We love reading, and that it why I’m so happy to have a Christmas gift guide packed full of amazing, high-quality literature! Below is a list of great books for Christmas. If you want more details about each book, check out my Dad’s Guide to Books for Toddlers – The 2017 Christmas Gift Guide Supplement.

Picture Books

Guff – Aaron Blabey, published by Penguin.

Once Upon A Small Rhinoceros – Meg McKinlay, Illustrated by Leila Rudge, published by Walker Books.

The ABC Book of Feelings– Helen Martin, Judith Simpson and Cheryl Orsini, published by Harper Collins.

My Superhero – Chris Owen, Illustrated by Moira Court, published by Fremantle Press.

The Bum Book – Kate Mayes, Illustrated by Andrew Joyner, published by Harper Collins.

La La La – Kate DiCamillo, Illustrated by Jamie Kim, published by Walker Books.

Koala Bare – Jackie French, Illustrated by Matt Shanks, published by Harper Collins.

No One Likes A Fart – Zoë Foster Blake, Illustrated by Adam Nickel, published by Penguin.

Andy & Terry’s Funny Picture Book Starring Big Fat Cows and The Cat, the Rat and the Baseball Bat – Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, published by Pan Macmillan.

The Wolf The Duck & The Mouse – Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Jon Klassen, published by Walker Books.

The Poesy Ring – Bob Graham, published by Walker Books.

The Amazing Monster Detectoscope – Graeme Base, published by Penguin.

Scarface Claw, Hold Tight – Linley Dodd, published by Penguin.

Board Books

Dress Up With Ted – Sophy Henn, published by Bloomsbury.

Busy Café , published by Pan Macmillan.

Charlie Chick Wants to Play – Ant Parker and Nick Denchfield, published by Pan Macmillan.

Short Story Collections

Laugh Your Head Off Again and Again! – Andy Griffiths, Alex Ratt, Tony Wilson, Meredith Costain, Tristan Bancks, R.A. Spratt, John Marsden, Deborah Abela and Alan Brough, published by Pan Macmillan.

Books About Christmas

Little Mouse’s Christmas – Riikka Jantti, published by Scribble.

How Many Quacks till Christmas? – Mark Sperring and Ed Eaves, published by Bloomsbury.

A Christmas Advent Story – Hannah Tolson and Ivy Snow, published by Bloomsbury.

Brilliant Beats – 2017 Toddler Christmas Gift Guide

So far this gift guide has been packed full of Hannah’s favourite things. I thought I had better keep that trend going by introducing two brilliant products that have had a profound effect on Hannah’s enjoyment of music this year.

These two products won’t be under our Christmas tree… because we already own them! But they are two products that we have extensively tested this year and that I’m only too happy to recommend them both to you.

Spotify Premium

Spotify Premium has turned Hannah’s little music world upside down since we were given a subscription in September. It was a vital part of the success of our Japan adventures, but it has also been a staple of daily life since! I now can’t imagine life without Spotify Premium – it is that ingrained and that useful.

Through Spotify we have been able to massively expand Hannah’s exposure to great quality kids’ music. She now has an extensive playlist of the greatest children’s songs on the planet (and some that will slowly send parents insane)! Hannah knows how to operate the tablet to play, pause and skip through her songs.

Spotify Premium is the kind of gift that can provide a whole year’s worth of entertainment – that sounds like good value to me! Subscriptions can be purchased by logging on to the Spotify website, or Spotify Premium gift cards can be purchased in many retail outlets throughout Australia.

Puro Sound Labs BT2200 Headphones

I have written plenty about these great headphones already. We trialled them extensively throughout our adventures in Japan and I was thoroughly impressed by everything about them. The Puro Sound Labs BT2200 were so great that I gave them a rare 5-star rating!

The Puro Sound Labs BT2200 headphones are perhaps the best way to avoid the insanity of parenthood that comes with listening to the same grating kids’ song over and over and over again (the perfect pairing for a Spotify Premium account!). Best of all, you can put them over those delicate little toddler ears safe in the knowledge that their precious hearing is being protected by the volume-limiting capacity of the headphones.

Head on over to the Puro Sound Labs website to find the excellent BT2200 Studio Grade Children’s Bluetooth Headphones

Balance – 2017 Toddler Christmas Gift Guide

A great gift guide for Australian toddlers would have to include some outdoor fun! Well it doesn’t get much better than the Globber EVO 5-in-1 Scooter!

This is another gift that Hannah won’t have under the tree this year, because she already has one. I’m including it because it has become one of Hannah’s most loved possessions since we reviewed it earlier in the year. If Hannah loves it that much, then I’m sure other toddlers will too.

The Globber EVO 5-in-1 is a quality gift that is capable of providing many years of joy. It changes as your toddler grows and it is built to last. If you are looking for a scooter this Christmas for your toddler, the Globber is hard to beat.

You can find the Globber EVO 5-in-1 and a range of other great scooters on the Globber website.

That’s it for the Blog of Dad 2017 Toddler Christmas Gift Guide. Be sure to check back soon, as The Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Australian Dads 2017 is coming, and it’s great!

And remember, as fantastic as all of the gifts in the guide above are, the greatest gift that you can give your toddler is your time and attention while you share the experience with them. Snuggle up together and read a book, go outside and teach her to ride, or put on some tunes and build amazing DUPLO things together. That’s what your little one will remember and appreciate a lifetime from now!

Merry Christmas!

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5 COMMENTS

Tash
November 24, 2017 at 8:44 pm
Awesome Gift Guide. Glad my son can’t read yet, he’d be jealous of Hannah’s gifts. Intrigued with the Puro Sound Labs headphones… might need to go investigate them a bit more. Thanks for the tip! #ThatFridayLinky
oldhouseintheshires
November 26, 2017 at 5:42 am
Lovely guide for little ones!
I am a teacher in the UK and I haven’t heard of any of those books! They look great though.
That scooter….OMG I want one never mind a 5 year old!! Awesome!
Thank you for linking to #thechristmas linky……just a bit of fun at Chrimbo. xxx
Nige
November 27, 2017 at 7:47 am
Fab Xmas guide loving those headphones but I will admit I have a bit of fetish for headphones I have far too many lol Thank you for linking to #Thatfridaylinky please come back next week
Alan Herbert
November 30, 2017 at 10:29 am
Some Fab gift suggestions here.
I’ve not yet gotten into the Spotify online streaming world yet.
I’m from the era of Singles, Tapes and CDs
With 3 boys and Little Miss OMG I’m sure it won’t be long before I succumb to another monthly payment.#thatfridaylinky
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My Sunday Photo - Duplo Fun - Blog of Dad
January 28, 2018 at 3:09 pm
[…] This Duplo set has been particularly brilliant. It is the Family Fun Fair set that Hannah was sent for Christmas. […]