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A preschool teacher of eleven years on the gifts that quietly disappear, and the kind that survives.
Three birthdays ago
I bought my granddaughter a singing pony for her second birthday. She loved it for about four days.
I found it in their garage the following March, in a box marked “toys,” under a play kitchen and a ride-on car that had lasted about as long. Nobody had said a word to me. That is the part that stings. They never do.
I have spent eleven years in a room full of two year olds. I should have known better than anyone. And I still walked into the shop and picked the thing that sang.
What I finally worked out
Every January the toys arrive in my classroom, and by the third week the same ones are on the shelf untouched. After eleven years you start to see the pattern. Five kinds go quiet, almost without fail.
The gifts that survive all share one thing, and it has almost nothing to do with price. They give the child a job. Something to open, close, fasten, thread, match. A small problem they can solve without an adult. Two year olds will repeat that kind of work for half an hour, then come back to it the next day, and the next month.
That is the whole test. Not “will they like it?” Every child likes everything for four days. The test is: does this give them something to do, or something to watch?
What I buy now
So now I buy from a very short list, and the one I buy most often is the Toddla Busy Board.
It is a soft felt activity book, and every page is one of those jobs: real zippers, buckles, shoelaces, buttons, shapes to match, a little clock to learn. More than thirty small tasks in something a two year old can carry by the handle.
Zips, buckles, laces and buttons. 30+ hand tasks in a fold-shut felt book with a carry handle. Detachable pages.
Three things make it a good gift rather than just a good toy.
It travels. It folds shut and lives in the car and the changing bag. This is the one the grandchildren bring back to my house, and take to restaurants, and take on the plane. A gift that goes places gets remembered.
It splits. The pages unzip apart. If you have two grandchildren, one board becomes two, and there is no argument in the back seat. A good many grandmothers worked that out before I did, and buy one for each grandchild anyway.
It lasts past the birthday. The zips and buckles suit a young toddler. The letters, numbers and puzzles are still being used at four and five. It is the rare gift that grows instead of being outgrown.
It is felt, not a wooden heirloom. It is built to be dragged through a changing bag and sat on a kitchen floor, not displayed on a shelf.
The first time it is opened, sit down and do one page with them. Children take up anything faster with a grown up beside them, and it makes a lovely thing to do at a birthday party while everyone else is opening boxes.
And if the child is under eighteen months, an adult should stay close, as there are small parts.
But as the gift that is still being played with when you visit in March? I have not found better, and I have watched a great many toys come and go.
From other grandparents
★★★★★
I bought this gift for my Grandson. When I gave it to him I thought we would play together... nope, Grandma was totally forgotten about. It was a huge win, and I didn't mind being forgotten about at all.
Angie · Canada★★★★★
When I gave my 15 month old granddaughter the blue activity book, she was in her car seat and she grabbed it out of my hand. Her Mom said she played with it for over 30 minutes on their road trip.
Peggy J. · United States★★★★★
Kept my grandson entertained on a 4 hour flight. Wouldn't have even known he was there. Well worth it!
Kmcl · United KingdomRated by 700+ families.
Making it easy
Two versions, and I will make the decision simple.
Standard, four pages, the practical work: zips, laces, buckles, buttons. Ideal for a first or second birthday.
Plus, eight pages, adding the letters, numbers and animal puzzles. This is the one I buy for a two year old, because it carries them through to school.
Both come with a thirty day money back guarantee, so if it is the rare child who does not take to it, the parents are not stuck with it and neither are you. Fewer than one in a hundred send it back.
See the Busy Board →This year
My granddaughter is four now. The board lives in the back of their car. It has been to two weddings, one very long flight, and more restaurant dinners than I can count.
Her mother sent me a photograph of it last month, worn at the corners, still in use.
That is the whole thing, really. You are not trying to win the birthday. You are trying to still be in the room in March.
— Judie
See the Busy Board →