Cartoon of toddler holding hands with dad at a duck pond

The Toddler Years Bucket List – All the Most Fun Activities To Do With Toddlers Before They’re Big Kids!

Here's how to spend quality time with your toddler!

My youngest child turned two the week of writing this! In celebration of her birthday, and because I really want to make the best of this time, I created this list of fun activities for 1, 2 and 3 year olds. Sometimes you know you want to spend quality time with your toddler, but don't really know how. Well, have no fear!

I present the Toddler Years Bucket List!

Having a toddler around is SO busy; I don't want to spend the toddler years in a blur and miss the best parts of this cute and funny stage – I need this list! Many of these ideas for toddler activities come from when I asked readers about favorite fun activities for 2 year olds this summer. They gave me so many wonderful things to do with toddlers. I had no idea how HAPPY reading the responses would make me!

Black and white cartoon of toddler holding hands with dad at a duck pond
cartoon by: Alissa Zorn, photo by: mcKensa / Getty Images Signature / Canva

Don’t let this list overwhelm you!   Just use it to get get re-inspired when you’re feeling exhausted by things like night wakings of your 1 year old, potty training your 2 year old, or the constant mess your 3 year old leaves in her wake.  The quality time ideas on the list are the some of the most fun activities to do with toddlers.  Many are simple toddler activities you can do at home and you don’t have to do them all – though I think you’ll treasure any you do. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I may receive compensation for purchases made through them.

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The Toddler Year Must Do List – 50+ great ideas for how to spend quality time with your toddler

Play Together:

“My daughter particularly likes it went I pretend her nose makes different noises like beeping etc. Its so bonding and so fun” ~Mel, mom to a 2 year old

“Hide & seek in the house (which is really silly because it's just basic hiding beside the bed post or behind the couch).” ~Katherine, mom to an 18 month old

  • Pretend to be tigers and chase each other
  • Pretend you can't find their hands when you're helping them get dressed

Exploring Nature:

“Stomping in muddy puddles; making the most of the weather whatever it is!” ~ Lucy, mom to 3 year old

“The look on my little one's face every time he was in a toboggan was priceless!” ~Rhonda

  • Hop over waves at the beach.
  • Look for crabs in the rocks, starfish in the rock pools.
  • Plant a spring flower to watch it grow.
  • Pick fruit off of trees
  • Watch a caterpillar become a butterfly
  • Explore the forest, touching everything. (With obvious exceptions for oh, cactus or poison ivy naturally.)
  • Play ‘look high/look low' and see what types of creatures or plants they see.
  • Run in the fields.
  • Toss leaves
  • Collect rocks.

“A daily afternoon pram walk, so we can talk about the gardens we see, trees, the clouds, we count the buses. We just connect, get some fresh air and if I'm lucky they have a nap ;-)” ~Caroline, mom to toddler

Go Visit:

  • Petting zoos
  • A botanical garden
  • An open gym day where your child can free play in the foam pit, the trampolines and the mats.
  • A Children's Museum
  • Public library toddler reading time, or toddler activity hour
  • Cousins, Grandparents, and Friends!

Sensory  Play Activities

Find more of our favorite sensory activities for toddlers here.

Songs, Rhymes and Stories

“My kiddo and her young friends (18 months and 2 year olds) like to wiggle to music while wearing tutu's.” ~Katherine

Cooking

When my daughter was a 3 year old she had 2 of her friends over and we made Valentine's cookies–the floor was solid pink with sugar and sprinkles afterward! ~The Twisting Kaleidoscope

Arts and Crafts

More Play!

And of course: Hugs, snuggles, kisses, and have lots of playful physical interaction. So many of the most important things to do with toddlers are simple activities that take place in the home as part of day to day life.

“I adopted my boys as 21 and 23 month old boys… they are now 5.5 I would say ANY of the suggestions here, because kids just LOVE to play and experiment, but more important was the fact that I was down on the floor with them, making eye contact, laughing, sharing, and connecting with them.” ~Margaret

This is YOUR list.  Thank You.  Thank you for all of your beautiful ideas for how to spend quality time with your little one as well as your adorable examples. And thank you for inspiring me and so many other parents to enjoy activities, love and snuggles with our toddlers!

Alissa Zorn stands near a pond with an orange shirt on wearing a black button down over that.

Alissa Zorn is an author, and founder of the website Overthought This. She's a coach and cartoonist passionate about helping people overcome perfectionism and shame to build authentic, joyful lives. Alissa is certified through the International Coach Federation and got her Trauma-Informed Coaching certification from Moving the Human Spirit. She wrote Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection, Not Perfection, and is always following curiosity to find her next creative endeavor.