Christmas present ideas for 18 month nephew?

[Katieinwonderland]

I am racking my brains trying to think of a Christmas present for my nephew - he's 18 months, and I have NO clue! I did ask his mom about a Christmas list but she's been really busy and hasn't got back to me, and I hate leaving shopping to the last minute.

I know he's going to get a million presents, he's the only grandkid in a huge Italian family, so I want to get something he'll really like, and that he can use, rather than getting a toy that'll just get put in a closet.

Any ideas anyone? Money's not unlimited, but he's our only nephew so we're willing to splash out a little. What do 18 month old kids want these days??!! DH and I are in our twenties and have no experience with kids apart from him, so we're a little stumped!
TIA!!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Our youngest will be 18 months old on Christmas this year and we bought him a Cozy Coupe car, he LOVES our neighbors and it's always SO nice to get outdoor toys for them. It's about $50, not sure if that's in your budget, or not, but I highly recommend it. Rocking horses are nice, gift certs to Childrens Place, Old Navy, Gap for after Christmas shopping are fun. Hope this helps some!!

 

[quasar4legs]

Books for toddlers are great.
Kids from big families often get stacks of toys and it is great to promote a love of books and reading. Go to a children's books store or department and have a look at what is available.

Trish

 

[Ephany]

The Cozy Coupe is great, we've had our about 5 years now and it's still going strong. My nephew (same age) just got a wagon and apparently he thinks it's the coolest thing ever. The shopping cart from Little Tykes is great too; my niece and nephew also loved this blue plastic dog rocking thing from Little Tykes. http://www.littletikes.com/Toys/rockin-puppy.aspx?

 

[TravelinMommy]

my son is 18 months now. And I would suggest any of the "Little People" toys are great. Or the Mega Blocks (the larger blocks). Those are all pretty reasonable prices...20-25 dollars.

 

[nikkers]

I agree with the above. My kids love the Little Tikes shopping cart. Both my DS (4 1/2) and DD (2 1/2) still play with it. Little People are great. My kids like the animal Little People. Duplo Legos are also great. My DS started playing with them at 18 mo, and hasn't stopped. They entertain both my kids for hours.
We also really like Leap Frog toys. My son received a Little Touch Leap Pad for his 1st b-day. Both my kids have enjoyed it. You put different books in it. You can read along with the book. Touch different objects in the book. There are 3 different levels in each book. So, the book can be a little different each time you read it.
Leap Frog also makes these fridge magnets. We have the Fridge Farm. I always see it listed as one of the top toys in parents magazines. It is a very popular toy when we have kids over.
Good Luck!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

My son is 18 months old and LOVES his Cozy Coupe and his Thomas foam chair (just his size). He also is obsessed with the movie CARS and loves any clothing or toys with Lightning McQueen.

He also plays with his toy kitchen and shopping cart and loves anything with wheels.

DVDwise he loves Elmo, Thomas the Train, Barney and of course the movie CARS.

Books are a great suggestion - lift the flap books are a hit with this age. He is starting to get into the puzzles with the knobs and shape sorter type toys where you fit the blocks into the coordinating holes.

 

[seeking pixie dust]

My son is about to turn two and for the past 6 months he has loved playing with his Little People Garage. It entertains him for a long time! He also loves his ride on trucks - he has a tonka and a little tikes. Tonka now has a gas pump that is on my son's wish list - maybe you could consider the combo.

If you choose to go the book route - my son loves Kevin Lewis books - Chugga Chugga Choo Choo and My Truck is Stuck. He loves anything trains or trucks.

Another idea is the Belly Banks. These run about $50, but the kids can see the change move through the bank to the belly. My kids are each getting one for Christmas...son a Train one, daughter a flower. They love putting change in their piggy banks -- thankfully daddy brings them change home every day. It's a gift that can keep on giving...you can always send/bring him change to put in it.

Have fun shopping.

 

[3boymthr]

If you'd like a gift that gives you ideas for many years to come try the Thomas and Friends wooden railway sets from Learning Curve. The recommended age on these is 2 but if he likes trains these are a great toy even at 18 months. We started my oldest son at 18 months on these and have kept building the set through all three boys. The basic sets are great also in that they will fit into a small box so they can travel to grandma and grandpa's house. All the sets are expandable and you can combine sets. A basic circle set will cost around $20, a figure 8 set costs about $40 and more complicated sets up to $200. You can buy them at AC Moore, Toys R Us or "learning" stores.

 

[puffkin]

We have a 2 1/2 year old. DH and I were just saying yesterday that the 2 toys we have gotten our money's worth out of are his bubble mower and his little kawasaki four-wheeler. We don't put bubbles in the mower, but it makes a realistic noise when you push it and he just loves it. And, no batteries! He will scoot around the house on the four wheeler too all day, and again, no batteries! He has consistently played with them almost every day since he got them around 1 year old.

Bubble mower:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265144

Four-wheeler:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2338114

 

[TravelinMommy]

We have a 2 1/2 year old. DH and I were just saying yesterday that the 2 toys we have gotten our money's worth out of are his bubble mower and his little kawasaki four-wheeler. We don't put bubbles in the mower, but it makes a realistic noise when you push it and he just loves it. And, no batteries! He will scoot around the house on the four wheeler too all day, and again, no batteries! He has consistently played with them almost every day since he got them around 1 year old.

Bubble mower:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265144

Four-wheeler:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2338114

Same here....we have the power wheels Lil Quad...and my son loves it! He got it for his 1st birthday and has loved it ever since.

 

[3goofyboys]

My younger son will be 18 months at Christmas and my older son was just a bit older than that last year. I agree with all the pp's suggestions, we have virtually all the toys mentioned and they're all huge hits in our house. I also love, love, love to give and get books. I buy tons of books from sortfloorbooks.com. The site is hard to navigate, but if you have an idea of what you are looking for (I always scour amazon first for ideas) and some patience, you can score some fantastic deals. If you know he is getting a lot of toys, another idea might be a membership to a zoo or local museum. My older DS's favorite place in the whole world is our local museum of nature and science!

 

[cruellababy]

How about something a litte different? Last year we got my new nephew a framed share of Disney stock; it was a huge hit! And it's hanging oon jis nursery room wall. Mousesavers had the info- it's framed and it will be treasured always.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I have a friend who always give ds a contribution for his college fund. And one uncle who always gives ds a bond. Both are very appreciated and that money will mean so much to ds when he's older. Ds already has tons and tons of toys and everything else that he needs so there's not too many things to ask for at the holidays and at birthdays. A gift like that is always appreciated. (Note: if the parents aren't good with money you can open a 529 account in his name and make the contributions directly into it.) You can always get him a little 'fun' thing to open and then his real gift will be the $.

 

[Fall1]

I have 17 month old twins and their favorite toys by far are books! They love board books and especially the Fisher Price Little People Lift the Flap books, they are great. They play with them for hours a day.

For board books they love the kind with lots of pictures on them, like ABC, Colors and any that have their favorite characters like Mickey, Minnie, Elmo. Have fun shopping!

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

Ditto on the Little People books, I got 2 that are exploring the town and playing pretend - they are set aside for our 12month old. I also rec the LIttle People playsets - we ordered Santa & the reindeer set - there are some sets you can only get on the Fisher Price website.
I love giving books, My daughters really like a book called "I Love you More" It is read from the front to the middle then flip it over and read it from the back to the middle.

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

My son is 21 months and I fully expect the ride on dump truck to be the big hit for him. He absolutely loves his tonka trucks - he pushes them around and fills them up with whatever he can fit into them. He is always lifting the dump body and sitting on the truck to ride it around so I think he'll really like having one that is the right size for him to ride on. It sells for about $40 and I ordered it from walmart.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7811122

 

[disneybridetobe]

My DD is almost 17mos and we're getting her a Lil Quad, and the Fisher Price Little People Farm. Both were tested at other peoples' houses and were a huge hit

GL!!

 

[tonilea]

That is about the age DS fell in LOVE with Thomas the Tank Engine. He also really liked his Little People sets at that age.

He got his first Thomas for christmas that year (19 months). He opened it first and we couldn't get him to open any of his other gifts.

 

[Momma2dakidz]

Dont know teh price but the little tykes roller coaster has always been a hit around this area. Well used by every age, 18months to 7-8 years!