100 Frugal or Free Christmas Gifts for Toddlers
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If you’re looking for Toddler Christmas Gifts this list will give you some great ideas! Over 100 Frugal or Free gift ideas that the little people on your Christmas list will love.
100 Frugal Or Free Christmas Gift Ideas For Toddlers
With two little ones in our home, preparing for the holidays means these 100 Frugal Or Free Christmas Gift Ideas For Toddlers will come in handy! From the simple homemade finger puppets, to the inexpensive coloring book or toy car, this list is a great place to get some ideas for your holiday shopping needs.
Make sure to share some of the free or frugal gift ideas you will be making or giving to your little ones this holiday season in the comments section!
–Check out these Homemade Gifts for Kids to get ideas for your older kids too!
1. Clay or Play Dough
2. Coloring Books
3. Puzzles
4. Wooden Blocks (can make your own with scrap lumber and paint)
5. Wooden Peg Dolls (tons of tutorials online with how to paint them)
6. Finger paints (homemade finger paint or purchased)
7. Stuffed animals
8. Homemade rag dolls (or yarn dolls!)
9. Dress up clothes (repurpose items from your own closet)
10. Calm bottles (add glitter and glue to water and seal in a bottle for a fun way to calm and have fun)
11. Homemade matching games (Print matching games and laminate for fun. I have this inexpensive laminator.)
12. Homemade lacing cards (use card stock and ribbon)
13. Cardboard playhouse. (Find a large cardboard box and create your own painted and hand crafted playhouse.)
14. Fun gloves for gardening next year.
15. Kid safe lip balm.
16. Electric toothbrushes
17. Bubble bath.
18. Bath toys or bath paints.
19. Nail polish for little girls. (I love Piggy Paint!)
20. Homemade purse or bag (use old t-shirts)
21. Paper Dolls. (Here is a big list of !)
22. Hair bows (homemade or purchased)
23. Scarf (homemade or purchased)
24. Stamps with ink (tons of washable brands)
25. Stickers
26. Temporary Tattoos
27. Homemade tambourines (bottle with beans inside and colorful paint or ribbon on outside)
28. Picture books
29. Homemade tutu (tulle and elastic are easy to assemble)
30. Special sippy cups
31. New Christmas stocking (could be a homemade stocking!)
32. Personalized water bottle
33. Shrinky Dinks (under adult supervision)
34. Costume play jewelry
35. Play makeup (You could make homemade, like this Homemade Lip Gloss!)
36. Hot wheels cars
37. Super hero cape made from an old t-shirt
38. Duplo Lego kits for younger ages (the smaller sets)
39. Puppets (homemade with socks or purchased)
40. Mr. Potato Head
41. Board Games
42. Fun silly socks (the dollar store has a good selection!)
43. Homemade ornaments with their name and the year
44. Photo books with pictures of their family, pets and favorite places
45. Large box of Crayons
46. Outdoor Bubbles (I have a great recipe for these in my book!)
47. Balls
48. Slinky
49. Slap Bracelets
50. Sidewalk chalk (I have a great recipe for this in my book!)
51. Paint by number sets (great way to teach them number and color recognition)
52. Chalkboard or a chalkboard wall in their room
53. Sensory boxes with things like beans, rice and small toys or blocks.
54. Nesting boxes (cover various sizes of cardboard boxes with washi tape to create a unique homemade set)
55. Kids plastic (or real) small tool sets
56. Plastic food and grocery basket
57. Fake money (make sure larger toddler safe pieces)
58. Kid sized apron (homemade or purchased)
59. Fun Tie Dyed shirts or clothing (can easily make homemade)
60. Homemade tote or cinch backpack
61. Homemade blankets or pillows for their bed
62. Spinning tops (My oldest has one of these Wooden Tops and he loves it!)
63. Magnets (create your own fun ones with pictures of animals, letters and shapes or numbers)
64. Hooded towels (homemade or purchased)
65. Sock monkeys
66. Homemade crayons (use silicone molds in fun shapes like flowers, hearts, Lego’s and more)
67. Silly putty
68. Lap Desk (homemade or purchased)
69. Music (create a CD of favorite songs, or buy toddler friendly CD’s)
70. Movies (there are tons of kids movies under $5 on Amazon and at big box stores like Target, Walmart or Best Buy)
71. Lotions (little girls love scented or glitter lotions, you could make homemade lotion!)
72. Homemade head bands
73. Trip to the zoo
74. Custom graphic tees (paint or use vinyl to create your own or purchase)
75. Candy or special treats that you usually don’t give them
76. Piggy Bank
77. Felt food, animals and people (find tutorials to make your own, or purchase)
78. Record yourself reading their favorite book so they can listen when you are busy or away
79. Doctor kit with a bag, band aids, gauze and other pretend items to use to check out their dolls or siblings.
80. Car mat (homemade or purchased rug or mat with roads and buildings painted or stitched for fun car play)
81. Play fort kit (blankets, pillows and dowel sticks to create their own fort)
82. Animal pillows (homemade or purchased throw pillows in the shape of animals)
83. Silly straws
84. Whistles
85. Plastic animals or people (Little People are always fun at that age and are readily found secondhand)
86. Bath toys (foam letters & numbers are great)
87. Homemade bowling set – made with 2 liter bottles filled with sand and a small ball
88. Notepads (Dollar Tree & Target $1 bins are great for character items like this)
89. Flash cards with animals, shapes, letters and numbers
90. Miniature cooking utensils (many stores have miniature versions of spatulas, etc. to create a mini toddler cooking set for play or help in the kitchen)
91. Pajamas (kids love new PJ’s!)
92. Placemats (fun character, or homemade color pages they did and you laminated)
93. Baby doll clothes, blankets and accessories
94. Pacifiers (for younger kids)
95. Their own plate, bowl or utensils (Check Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar or Target Dollar bin)
96. Brush or comb set
97. Rubber Duckie
98. Matching card games (Check Dollar Tree or make your own with index cards and stickers)
99. Sunglasses
100. A car kit that hangs over seat the with toys, coloring books, books and crayons
These frugal or free Christmas gifts for toddlers are tons of fun to gather. At this young age, kids are so happy with any item, no matter if it’s an inexpensive item or not!
–If you decide to spend a little more on your gifts, make sure to invest in something that will last. Here are My Favorite Long Lasting Toys For Boys and Girls
What are some gifts that you are giving the toddlers in your life this year?
This list of Toddler Christmas Gifts was originally published on Little House Living in November 2015. It has been updated as of November 2019.
Merissa,
I enjoy your site; when I see it I immediately read it & have learned a lot.
Sorry for the illness near the holiday although it sounds as though you not only took it in stride but made it special with the cookie baking for dessert. I applaud your efforts & know your babies love you so much. My tip for you is:
ON A CALENDAR THAT IS VISIBLE TO ALL BEGIN MARKING A MORNING OR AN AFTERNOON FOR AN HOUR OR SO FOR YOURSELF. BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU THAT EVERYONE WILL BE SO HAPPY FOR A BIT OF REFRESHED MERISSA. Actually this is so important for all busy mothers, we can become ill so quickly then feel guilty for not being there for everyone.
Take care.
What a great list! I hadn’t thought about gifting clothes from my closet to add to their dress up bin. I love the idea. Pinning for future reference!
Great ideas – thanks! There are a few we do already, like my older kids make colouring books for the littler ones using free pictures from the internet, and I already make dolls clothes/scarves, but loads more ideas here. Recording yourself reading their favourite books is inspired! And although we have made play dough before, it was plain rather than coloured and we don’t make it often; I never would have thought of making it for a Christmas gift but I will now! I think adding some glitter to each colour would make it really special!
Thanks for visiting us and linking up to Let’s Get Real Party. I am past the age of having toddlers, but will past your article on to my niece who will love it.
Wow – excellent list! Play doh is a big hit in our house right now! And plastic easter eggs that you can get at the Dollar Store! I should have stocked up in the spring! 🙂
Toddlers are so much fun because the simplest things make the happy. My daughter would literally have loved to get a cardboard box as a gift, lol! #ThoughtfulSpot