My Eight Favourite Toys for 0-2 Year Olds

LeapFrog Tag Junior Reading System RRP £24.99, Argos
Little Miss has never been one who enjoys being read to. She much prefers to read on her own which is why I bought her the Tag Junior reading system. The battery powered puppy reader reads the story when pressed over the words. The books that go with it ask questions and read in the voices of the characters. You can get a whole variety of books from ones to help with potty training and dealing with a new sibling, to educational ones about numbers and letters. Not only that but you can program the puppy to say your child’s name which Little Miss rather enjoys. Over the last year Little Miss has used it at least once a day so I don’t begrudge buying a couple more books to go with it for Christmas.

Pollyanna Rocking Horse RRP £49.95, Mamas and Papas
This was Little Miss first Christmas “big” present. As a child I’d always wanted a rocking horse so when I went through my Mamas and Papas phase while Little Miss was a baby I invested in this. Little Miss has loved her so much that I feel slightly heart broken at the very thought of packing her away to make room for her new toys. But I have to face the fact LM is just too big for her now. She’s so pretty and I can’t express the amount of use we had out of her, even now LM takes her dolls for a ride. Such a perfect piece for her nursery.

Wooden Kitchen RRP £40, Asda
This was Little Miss gift from Aunty Ezz, Lee Lee & Jack last Christmas and ask you can tell, it’s had a LOT of use over the past year. Every morning LM gets up and makes breakfast with it. It has been one of the best toys and because of the fact it’s wooden, a good height and fairly stable I’m sure LM is going to have a lot more use over the next few years. I think kitchens are always a brilliant toy for role play and imagination. We have collected a lot of accessories to go with it and we’re hoping to add to it this Christmas.. I found pretend macarons in Mothercare that are perfect for her stocking! This pink kitchen is the one that was available in Asda last year, this year there is an even better version.. if you have a kid between 1-4 I urge you to make that their big Christmas present!

Play Trays & Jigsaws £1.99+
My daughter is smart and brilliant at problem solving so the decision to buy her play trays at one year old was a bit of a no brainer. She didn’t start being able to do them herself and with ease until maybe 18 months but since then I can’t keep her going with them. She recently completed a 50 piece jigsaw alone which was marked age 4. I’m so glad I bought them as I think skills that come from being able to complete a jigsaw at an early age such as problem solving and concentration. They’re relatively cheap to buy, the Disney ones came from Home Bargains, the letters were from Argos. Perfect for a rainy afternoon, and lets face it, in the UK we have a lot of those to face over the next few months!

Fisher Price Little People £7.99+
As I’ve mentioned above, Little Miss is a Disney girl however Little People also come in non-Disney sets not that we have any of those. Last Christmas I bought her the Disney Princess Songs Palace and she loved it from the moment she opened it. Of all the toys she has, her Little People are the most played with. So much so my mother has bought her the Disney Princess Garden Tea Party for this Christmas. Again, these are fantastic for imaginative play. Little Miss plays some of the most amazing games with the characters. She also likes singing along to the music. The characters are also great to take in the bath and the paint stays on. The detail is fantastic unlike a lot of non Disney Shop toys. Despite being plastic they’re all very durable, I can assure you of this as I have tripped over the castle multiple times haha. There are garages, homes, farms all available and Argos often has fantastic offers on them making them a good buy.