Christmas gifts for a one- to two-year-old, the splurge picks.

The little red car that has outlived every trend. Flintstone-powered, endlessly re-gifted, never once ignored.

Seventy heirloom-grade wooden blocks with a genuinely clever storage box. Pricey, beautiful, and played with from one well into the school years.

The high chair that becomes a big-kid chair that becomes an adult chair. You buy it once. Grandparents: this is the one to go in on.

Blocks with a hidden magnetic snap — a very satisfying click that holds up to toddler construction physics.

A wooden ball run they drop, watch, chase, and repeat. Mesmerizing at this age, and handsome enough to leave out.

A sturdy indoor coaster for the kid who needs to MOVE. Loud, joyful, and worth every square foot it takes up.

The 19-to-21-month kit — real practical-life skills, gorgeously made. A splurge that looks good in the living room.

Sound machine, night light, and eventually a toddler time-to-wake clock. It earns its keep for years, not months.

A sturdy wooden push-wagon with blocks to load and unload. Steadies a new walker and lasts into pretend play.

Load it, push it, dump it, repeat. The wagon does the walking-support job and the haul-your-treasures job at once.

A tip-proof little ride-on they scoot with their feet, and genuinely adorable. The ride-on that photographs as well as it plays.