I honestly feel like this is the hardest to shop for. She is pretty happy with anything, however she'd be equally happy opening a box full of confetti.

For ages 1-3 I prefer to focus on large motor activities, pretend play and building blocks and cars.
                 This currently would be considered the next                                                                            level up as an alternative. Super cute!

Number two: 
This one was a huge surprise for us. We bought it brand new from the store at a killer deal but later realised it would have been worth full price. 
This was a toy we got for our first baby when she turned one years old. It was happily used and played for five more years. All three of our girls love this. It is a battery, sound, etc toy. But this is one I was happy with. It has days of the weeks, interaction with mail cards. Not a lot of tiny parts and very easy to assemble. 
NO REGRETS- Just pure fun. For a toy at this price to last 5+ years is a win in my book. P.s. We also got this car from a garage sale that interacts and it was also a fun combo, or just each by themselves. 


 Stocking stuffer and smaller toys.
1. ALL of my kids love the Crayola Mess Free coloring packs. They are clean, non-toxic and an easy savior when it comes to when you need some time to drink your coffee. We never run out of stock.
2. Duplo has been another go to toy for kids around this age. Easy block building and characters to interact with. Lots of imaginary play.
3. A fun tradition in our house that I'll touch on a little later is getting board games for each other and our kids. We start around two years old with matching and memory card games. This Bluey 5 in 1 is a great, easy and fun way to encourage recognition in patterns and characters, but have some fun as well. It's been one of my kiddos' favorites.
    

No joke, these first two have been some of the best purchases we have made for our kids that are 3 and up. Now even our two year old is comfortable. 
This first one we found at a garage sale but I found the link on Amazon here. We have it in their bedroom and it is played on all day. In fact, our youngest learned to climb and be comfortable with heights way earlier than our other two. (so-so feelings about that one) We did pay close to full price, and it was worth every penny. Especially since living in Alaska can make it tricky to go outside. 
#2 is our play kitchen. This was our first kid splurge and we were hoping we wouldn't regret it. Good news, it's another well played toy. It helps that it has a permanet spot in our living room so it's played most of the day when they are out there while we are cooking meals. It provides a great toy to kids that visit. So far its going on three years strong. 

#3 Our oldest was in a homeschool preschool program and they had the Amazon kids tablets to loan out. We ended up likeing it so much for all the learning apps we wanted and the parental controls that we bought it for her. We are now getting a second (smaller) one for our almost four year old. Yep, this is under the flashy and noisy category, but to us, the learning aspect was well worth it.