Gift ideas for my almost 2.5 yr. old DS when space is at a premium?

[Kaylee31]

I'm kind of stumped on what to get DS this year. We live in a small 2 brdm. house that's about to become even smaller when DD arrives, so big toys like a train table, play house or kitchen are out. He already has a lot of outdoor toys like a cozy coupe, balance bike, tricycle, etc. I just bought a Leapfrog Explorer and a few games, but I'm not sure if he is too young for that yet or not. I might end up saving those for his 3rd b-day.
He loves Thomas & trains, so we have just about every take-n-play set, since they are easy to fold up and put away. He also likes to color & build things. He has a few Duplo sets from last year, which he seems to like, but is not crazy about. He likes dinosaurs & bugs also. :) And books, which are easy enough. any ideas? What does your 2-3 yr. old DS like?

[ciw]

Magnatiles are great for a space-saving toy. Since he likes to build things, I think these may be the way to go.
Water colors, play doh, do-a-dot markers are also fun for this age.

[eno0609]

Our DS is 2 yrs. 8 months and is obsessed with cars (especially from the movies Cars/Cars 2) so he's getting a few more of them in his stocking, they're easy to store in our small place. He's also into:
-books
-dinosaurs (we have an Animal Planet play-set from TRU)
-recently he's been into sharks as well, so we got him a small play-set that comes with a couple sharks, a diver and a cage. (also from TRU)
-Thomas trains- we already have a figure 8 set, so I got the roundhouse and another small 'destination', and an expansion track set for Christmas. There's no room here for a table either so we just store them in bins in our 'expedit' shelving unit.
- Wader car garage no.1- it's a bit big, but still the smallest of their garages and it's not too tall so it stores away under an end table.

[eno0609]

Magnatiles are great for a space-saving toy. Since he likes to build things, I think these may be the way to go.
Water colors, play doh, do-a-dot markers are also fun for this age.

Thanks for this suggestion, I always see them mentioned on here but had no idea what they were so I just finally looked them up. My DS and DD would both love these! (ETA: referring to the Magnatiles)

[WatchingThemGrow]

I think other threads have mentioned Magnatiles being out of stock this season because the factory is overloaded with orders.

Having been in the same situation with space, I'm going to tell you the best thing EVER for the toy situation in our house. 2 thoughts - IKEA Expedit - the large one (5x5) and labeled Container store Multi-purpose bins/deep sweater boxes. Seriously, it has turned a wall of our living room into it's own playroom. LOVE it. Can't live without it in our small home...

[arivecchi]

dress up costumes, m&d puzzles and rack, cars

[Kaylee31]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keep them coming! :)
I've only recently looked up the Magnatiles too. Amazon currently has some in stock from a 3rd party seller ($135 for a 100-pack). I thought they seemed expensive, but they seem to get a lot of love here and have great reviews. Should I jump on that price?

[happymom]

Would he enjoy some movement cd's- like Greg & Steve "Kids in Action" or "Kids in Motion"? Or maybe a Laurie Berkener cd? Those definitely don't take up a lot of space, and they're good for winter days when you can't go outside to move around...

[elephantmeg]

playdough stuff?

[katydid1971]

Some play food, that's DD's favorite part of the kitchen anyway. I personally love M&D "Cutting Food" Also the Ikea food is really nice for the price. I know lots of mommies like the etsy food, you could do a search of playfood and etsy and see links to some prefer vendors.

ETA: I saw this set at costco for $20 http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner/dp/B000BSZ04W/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1321840856&sr=1-3

[vonfirmath]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keep them coming! :)
I've only recently looked up the Magnatiles too. Amazon currently has some in stock from a 3rd party seller ($135 for a 100-pack). I thought they seemed expensive, but they seem to get a lot of love here and have great reviews. Should I jump on that price?

Look at the reviews on that seller.
That price seems decent to low.