Christmas gifts for a one- to two-year-old, under $25.

Made from recycled milk jugs, indestructible, and the tipping bed is endlessly satisfying. Indoor-outdoor, dishwasher-safe.

An electronic book with buttons that name everything. It talks so you don't have to, on the fourth read-through.

Bath toy, beach toy, stacking toy. Nesting cups are the most-used toy per dollar I know of.

Silicone bubbles you push through, back and forth, forever. The fidget that survives the diaper bag.

The popping push toy that has delighted new walkers since your grandmother's day. Loud in the best way.

Paint with plain water, it dries, do it again. The no-mess restaurant and airplane hero. Buy the four-pack.

Fat wooden pieces with knobs a small hand can manage. First puzzles, first little wins.

The ring stacker with a wobble base and textured rings. Under ten dollars and genuinely good for months.

Lift the flap, find the animal, send it back. Forty years old and still the first book a one-year-old asks for twice.

The point-and-name book that gets read to pieces. The one I keep buying because friends keep 'borrowing' mine.