Holiday Gift Guide for Toddlers: Classic Toys from the Developmental Perspective

The holiday season is upon us, and for those shopping for toddlers, it can be tempting to grab the latest flashy gadget or trendy toy. But as a speech-language pathologist and the founder of The Sensory Studio, I often remind families that the best gifts for young children are timeless, versatile, and packed with opportunities to foster learning and development.

This year, I’m highlighting three classic toys—Jumbo Ring Stacker, Potato Head, and The Barn with Animals. These are far more than playthings; they’re powerful tools to build language, social skills, and problem-solving abilities in toddlers. Here’s how to incorporate these gifts into meaningful, interactive play that fosters learning.

1. Potato Head

Potato Head is a timeless toy that encourages creativity and humor, while also offering endless opportunities to work on language and social-emotional development.

How to Play and Elicit Language:

• Body Parts and Actions: Name each body part as you attach it (“This is an eye—we need two eyes!”). You can also talk about actions related to the parts (“We see with our eyes,” or “Our nose is for smelling”).
• Prepositions and Spatial Awareness: Use language like “Put the arm on the side” or “The nose goes in the middle” to teach spatial concepts.
• Descriptive Language: Add fun descriptors like “silly,” “big,” or “wiggly” to expand vocabulary. Encourage your toddler to describe their creation.
• Turn-Taking: Potato Head is a wonderful toy for practicing turn-taking. Each person can add one piece at a time while using simple phrases like “Your turn” or “My turn.”
• Emotion Words: Use the facial features to create different expressions and talk about feelings (“This face is happy! Let’s make a sad face. Why is he sad?”). This builds emotional awareness and empathy.

Potato Head’s mix-and-match pieces provide endless opportunities for creativity, giving toddlers the confidence to explore new ideas while reinforcing key language skills.

2. The Barn with Animals

A barn playset with animals is a classic toy that can spark imaginative play while building critical language and cognitive skills.

How to Play and Elicit Language:

• Animal Names and Sounds: Name each animal and practice their corresponding sounds (“This is a cow. The cow says moo!”). Animal sounds are often some of the first words toddlers learn!
• Actions and Verbs: Talk about what each animal is doing (“The horse is running” or “The pig is sleeping”). Use play to model new verbs like “jumping,” “eating,” or “drinking.”
• Spatial Concepts: Incorporate prepositions while moving animals around the barn (“The duck is inside the pond,” “The cow is next to the barn”).
• Storytelling: Encourage your child to create simple stories about the animals’ day-to-day activities. For example, “The sheep woke up and ate breakfast, then went to play.”
• Imaginative Play: Engage in role-playing to introduce social interactions. For example, you could pretend one animal is visiting another and model dialogue (“Hi, horse! Can I come to your house?”).

The barn and animals open a window to imaginative and cooperative play while fostering a toddler’s ability to link words with actions and ideas.

Stacker, Potato Head, and The Barn with Animals. These are far more than playthings; they’re powerful tools to build language, social skills, and problem-solving abilities in toddlers. Here’s how to incorporate these gifts into meaningful, interactive play that fosters learning.

3. Jumbo Ring Stacker

The Jumbo Ring Stacker is a deceptively simple toy that provides a foundation for teaching colors, sizes, and sequencing. It’s a fantastic way to build both fine motor skills and language.

How to Play and Elicit Language:

• Labeling and Repetition: As your toddler picks up each ring, name its color and size (“This is the big red ring”). Encourage them to repeat after you to build their vocabulary.
• Concepts of Size and Order: Use comparative words like “big,” “bigger,” and “biggest” or “small,” “smaller,” and “smallest” to describe the rings as they stack them.
• Following Directions: Practice simple two-step instructions, such as “Pick up the blue ring and put it on the stick.”
• Counting: Count the rings aloud together as they stack them, introducing early number skills.
• Problem Solving: If your toddler struggles with stacking, use this as an opportunity to model problem-solving by talking through your actions (“Hmm, the big ring doesn’t fit here. Let’s try the smaller one!”).

The act of stacking isn’t just fun—it teaches hand-eye coordination and helps toddlers organize their thoughts, a skill they’ll use across many areas of learning.

The Takeaway

Each of these toys—Jumbo Ring Stacker, Potato Head, and The Barn with Animals—combines timeless fun with developmental benefits. They invite toddlers to explore the world around them while building foundational skills in language, socialization, and problem-solving.

As you wrap up your holiday shopping, remember that the best toys are the ones that bring the family together. These classics create opportunities for connection, laughter, and learning—all wrapped in the magic of play.

Wishing you a joyful and educational holiday season!

Warmly,
Dr. Michele DeSimone
Founder, The Sensory Studio