20 of the Best Educational Gift Ideas for Toddlers

Toddlers do a lot of developing and learning in their first few years, so toys that are fun but help foster learning are a great gift idea.

If you’re looking for gift ideas that are educational, but that kids will still love playing with, you are going to love this list of the best educational gifts for toddlers.

Wooden toys, learning toys, games and some Montessori toys, we have it all.

Scroll down to cchoose your favourite.


As we think about all the new toys our toddlers are going to receive, it can be overwhelming to imagine all the toys that don’t exactly serve a purpose. Not to mention that sea of multi-coloured plastic! The best thing to do is to opt for choices that support development and learning.


What are the best educational toys for 2 year olds?

I’ve done my best to include a variety of different toys for toddlers with different interests and developmental levels in this gift list. We have alphabet toys, building toys, sorting toys - and everything in between. You are sure to find some great gift ideas in this list!

The Best Fun but Educational Toys for Toddlers


ALEX Jr. Pound and Play Porcupine

Older babies and toddlers will love to hit the coloured pegs of this traditional toy to their heart's content. Perfect for practicing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cause and effect. Buy in the UK



Toddlers can practice their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination with this fun lacing toy. Includes 5 double-sided wooden pets with lacing strings. Buy in the UK




This is one of our plastic exceptions! Older babies and toddlers will LOVE building with blocks and they last forever - our girls still build with these now!

Building with Mega Bloks and then LEGO DUPLO helps spark creativity and imagination all while practicing colour recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and more. Buy in the UK




Another toy that lasts forever, magnetic letters are so simple but are easily one of the best things you can buy.

As toddlers it helps with hand-eye coordination, letter recognition, and number recognition. Then, as kids get older, they can use them to help with name recognition, spelling, basic maths, and more.

This set includes 303 pieces of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and maths symbols plus a magnetic whiteboard, pen eraser and storage box. Buy in the UK



Introduce toddlers to puzzles with this fun geometric shape puzzle!

Features big handles for little hands to grasp hold of, developing fine motor skills while practicing colour and shape recognition. Buy in the UK



Toddlers LOVE things that spin and what better than an alphabet toy that encourages it?

This abacus features illustrated letters and pictures to help with letter recognition and a traditional bead abacus on the other side for counting.

It also has a clock to help toddlers learn about telling the time, or just have fun spinning the hands of the clock around. There is a cute fish puzzle on the other end and even a whiteboard on the base. Buy in the UK



Help your child learn name recognition with this fun puzzle! The thick pieces and deep holes make this perfect for little hands. Customize with their name for a gift they will LOVE! Buy similar in the UK



Practice fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, colour recognition, and more with this fun toy. Toddlers will enjoy recognizing and matching the different bee and hive colours. Buy in the UK



This is the PERFECT busy toy for toddlers! Watch as they practice all kinds of skills - tying shoes, telling the time, identifying colours, turning gears, and so much more.

There is LOTS of value in this busy board. Buy similar in the UK



For little ones who adore water play, this is perfect. Watch as they construct different variations, practice hand eye coordination, and learn about cause and effect. Buy in the UK




This cute mushroom garden will get so much educational play.

Push the light up mushrooms and watch as your child learns colours, numbers, patterns and more. 

Game mode will build over time as your child progresses to increased difficulty. Buy in the UK



A clock fit for toddlers that teaches more than just telling the time!

Watch as they practice hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, colur recognition, shape recognition, and basic time telling concepts. The wooden pieces are perfect for small hands, too. Buy in the UK



Keep your toddler busy while you do the dishes with this toy (or try at least)!

Includes 26 letters that they can hear the name and sound of when they stick it to the bus. It also sings phonics songs, the alphabet and more. Buy in the UK



Make fun pictures out of cool shapes! This toy helps older toddlers and preschoolers with colour recognition, shape recognition, hand-eye coordination, problem solving, and more.

As they grow older, the shapes can be used as maths manipulatives, too. Buy in the UK




This is the perfect toy for car-loving toddlers. This toy teaches cause and effect as well as helping little ones practice colour recognition, imaginative play, matching and more. Buy in the UK




Also known as one of the greatest toys ever made, this is a toy that will certainly grow with your toddler.

Great for practicing hand-eye coordination, colour recognition, cause and effect and lots of creative thinking as they build. Buy in the UK



These domino tiles are so much fun! Practice patterns, matching, animal recognition, animal sounds, and so much more.

You can play with matching pictures or flip the tiles and play classic dominoes. Buy in the UK



Peg dolls are a great open-ended toy for toddlers. They are ideal for imaginative play and developing colour recognition.

These ones have different emotions painted on their faces so they can help toddlers to identify emotions as well. (Only available on Amazon.com but international shipping is available)



Children love to make music and with this set of instruments in a backpack, kids can develop their musical abilities and sense of sound.

Kids from age 2 up will love this fun music toy. Buy in the UK



Help your older toddler start to develop independent skills with this toy. Helps with identifying different foods, colours, cutting skills, and more. Buy in the UK



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