28 Christmas Gifts for 2-Year-Old Boys

If the boy on your list waves at every passing train, a BRIO Steam & Go engine gives him one to hold.

The next time a real one rumbles past the house, he can lift his up to the window so the two trains can say hello.

Animal sounds come first: he can moo or oink for each chunky wooden piece in this Melissa & Doug puzzle before turning it until it drops into its slot.

The barnyard from his picture books becomes something to hold, and when the board is full he can dump it out and start over.

Pots and spoons turn into drums for a toddler who bangs on everything; this VTech tambourine is his own instrument.

He keeps time with every song, and a hedgehog to rattle and thump puts that beat in his hands.

Pretend school puts him in charge, and this classroom set of Little People figures gives him students who never talk back.

He can line them up in neat rows, call on each one in turn and give every figure a name he picks himself before recess.

Story time with a toddler often ends with him grabbing the book out of your hands, and this soft one from Melissa & Doug can take the grabbing.

He pats, squeezes and pokes each spread as slowly or quickly as he likes, then flips ahead when he is done. From the grocery cart seat, he holds up his favorite page for you to see.

This VTech pup answers a toddler's tap with a tune, handing the boy who stomps to every song his own soundtrack.

Dancing is how he responds to any beat, and here he starts it himself rather than waiting for a grown-up. The stomp-and-clap routine he invents gets performed for everyone on the living room rug.

Your coffee table takes a pounding from a toddler who slaps along to songs, so give his hands a LeapFrog piano.

Hitting whatever sits nearby is how he joins a tune, and these keys answer each press with sound. His jumbled run of notes becomes a song he plays for whoever is on the couch.

When the toddler you are buying for belts out nursery rhymes at full volume, a VTech Sing-It-Out mic gives him a stage.

He knows his favorite rhymes by heart, and gripping a mic turns each one into a performance. His loudest round of Old MacDonald becomes the encore before bath time.

A two-year-old who claps along to every tune he hears can take charge of the sound with LeapFrog's Strum and Count.

Moving to a song is how he listens, and an instrument of his own lets him start the beat himself. Its neck doubles as the handle he grabs to carry the guitar down the hallway.

Hape's musical spinning top gives a spin-happy toddler a music toy he sets going himself.

He loves sending things whirling across the floor, and this top adds a tune while it turns. After the presents are open, he can spin it beside the tree and hand it back for another go.

This Little Tikes slide gives a couch-climbing boy a spot to clamber up and whoosh down.

He scrambles onto every sofa arm anyway, and this hands that habit a proper place. It can stand on the living room rug for lap after lap.

Hoop dreams start early for a toddler who chucks whatever he holds, and Little Tikes Easy Score gives his throws a basket.

He hurls things now just to watch them fly, and a goal of his own lets him aim every launch.

Melissa & Doug's pretend desktop busy board belongs with a toddler who climbs into your lap whenever the laptop opens.

His hands keep heading for your keyboard, so a work spot of his own gives him something to tap. That little office of his ends up parked beside your chair while you type.

Go Opus Go from Baby Einstein changes what it offers whenever a boy who hops from game to game wants something new.

His focus darts around, so a gift with more than a single way to enjoy it keeps up with him. The version he lands on gets shown off to the family after dinner.

Learning Resources New Sprouts play food suits a 2-year-old boy who stirs pots whenever a grown-up cooks.

He fills a toy shopping basket, then unpacks it on the kitchen floor to make you a snack.

Each Munchkin sea creature gulps up tub water and spits it back out whenever a toddler presses it in his fist.

He wants to run every game himself now, and these little sprayers let him aim each stream wherever he likes.

Battat's Pop-Up Pals toy gives a toddler who loves peekaboo something to fiddle with until a hidden friend jumps out.

Peekaboo is his favorite game now, and here he runs the surprise himself, tucking each critter away again.

Hape's stacking block set gives a two-year-old boy towers to raise and knock flat on Christmas morning.

Toppling things is half the fun at his age, so every crash means he gets to start over. Later he can lay the blocks end to end as a road for his toy trucks.

Balls pop inside this Corn Popper car from Fisher-Price each time he pushes it along, which gives it the edge over a plain toy car.

Pushing it to the far end of the room, scooping it up and heading back can fill a good stretch of Christmas Day.

Big kids usually keep the Mario games to themselves, so this Little People set gives a two-year-old a hero he can hold.

The chunky figure fits small hands, though if Mario is new to him, a farm or garage set may suit him better.

GUND's Nayla puts a cockapoo puppy in the arms of a toddler who stops and points whenever a dog trots past.

Those rarely wait for a pat, so a puppy of his own lets him hug and stroke it anytime.

On the couch after the presents, a LeapFrog book gives a toddler who points at everything something new to name.

His finger lands on a page, you say the word, and his constant pointing turns into a back-and-forth.

The toddler who copies every grown-up holding up a phone can aim a VTech Snap and Giggle camera of his own.

Mimicking the adults nearby is how he spends his days, so a toy that matches their habit lets him join in rather than watch. At dinner, the VTech gets pointed at each face around the table in turn.

During your next call, a toddler who grabs for your handset can hold a LeapFrog Chat and Count of his own.

Talking like the grown-ups around him is his favorite game right now, and your real one stays out of reach.

Every digit on a mailbox gets shouted out by a toddler on the hunt, so Learning Resources turtles bring those marks home.

He spots digits everywhere now, and shells he can grip let him call each out while you echo it.

While you fold laundry, a toddler who loves taking things apart can sit beside you with a flower pot of his own.

Undoing and redoing is his favorite puzzle right now, and these blooms come off and slot back with no help. Its rebuilt tower of petals waits beside the laundry pile until he takes it apart once more.