Browsing Etsy with a cup of coffee in hand used to be one of my all time favorite lazy weekend morning activities. (I’m sure it still would be if we ever had lazy weekend mornings these days.) I never even bought that much, but for some reason love looking at all of the beautiful hand-crafted items. Maybe it is because I love homemade things, but am the ultimate least crafty person in all the world.
The one downside with Etsy is that for many items, you understandably have to order further ahead of time so the person can make the item and ship it from potentially across the world. For this reason, I’ve been browsing with Christmas in mind lately and found several beautiful things I’d love to get for James.
Here are a few of my favorite Montessori-friendly finds, great for babies 12-18 months old (pictures from Etsy website).
I’ve been hoping to find more indoor gross motor toys for James, and think this one would be perfect. I love that it’s small and doesn’t take up too much room as well.
Similarly, this would be great for indoor climbing. Toddlers need gross motor opportunities, and it’s hard to redirect them from climbing on the furniture if there is nowhere appropriate for them to climb. This bridge also looks like a great indoor gross motor option.
A craftier person could make something like this themselves, but I am not that person 🙂 I think these would be great for a younger baby to touch and explore, and for an older baby to practice throwing into a basket.
I love the natural wood used here. I also love that this could be used at several different levels. For a 12 month old, it’s great for removing / replacing the pegs, while an older toddler could sort based on the types of wood or make patterns.
I’m looking to get more musical toys for James and love the natural wood and clean look of this one.
I’m not sure James is quite ready for this one, I may wait until his second birthday, but I had to share because it’s probably my favorite. I think the colors are so beautiful and at less than $50 before shipping, it seems very reasonably priced to me.
This would be great for a baby who has mastered the rainbow stackers because the wood offers less of a clue as to which ring comes next so he would have to pay more attention to size. I also just love how it looks 🙂
A creative twist on the rainbow stackers, I think this would look so beautiful on the shelf.
This one could also get more challenging as baby progressed as it can simply be used for putting on the rings, or for sorting by shape.
This helps young toddlers practice object permanence, and is also great for fine motor control. It is also super easy to make a homemade version of this though, I just made one and will share it soon!
Simple Vegetable Magnet Puzzles
I have a feeling these may make it under our Christmas tree this year, love them!
*Please note this post contains affiliate links – I get a small percentage if items are purchased, at no cost to you. I only include items I have and love. Thanks for your support!
6 Comments
These are awesome! I will have to check these out for gifts. I really love that climbing toy.
Thanks! I do too, I haven’t bought it yet, but I really want to….
These are so cool! I’ll have to save and revisit when looking for gifts for Alessandra I’m a few months. I too am the least crafty person ever but Nick seems like he could make some of these, based on the seat he made for James. Lol! I was impressed!
Thanks! Haha, he is pretty handy, but we don’t have a lot of wood working tools…perhaps a selfish Christmas gift I can get him this year 🙂
These are great and so unique! I love the idea of getting handmade toys. My only issue with etsy has been that sometimes the shipping cost is as much as the item! I used some hand-dyed baby swaddles from a shop for newborn photos and my husband gave me rings with our sons names on them for Mother’s Day this year. The selection of items is really amazing!
Yes! I have definitely fallen in love with items on Etsy and then realized the shipping was more than the item and not bought them. I wish there were a way to filter searches to only include items with shipping under $10 or something. My only other issue is remembering to buy things ahead of time since they often ship from far away and take a while, but I do love everything I’ve gotten. Those hand-dyed swaddles sound beautiful!