What One Gift Did I Buy for My Grandson, and I Think He’ll Love?

Disclaimer: The item discussed here is a purchase I made from Amazon and I’m also signed up for the Amazon Associate program, which means I will earn a commission if you decide to purchase from that link, but it won’t cost you anything extra. This is my honest opinion and do not rely on commissions, but any support is truly appreciated!

Christmas is almost here and I can not wait to see my grandkids opening presents bright and early Wednesday morning. Many of the items I bought were on their Amazon wish list, created by their parents. I love this feature because they know the kids the best, so it’s great to have access to that info.

I’m their Mimi though, so I go off script sometimes and find things I don’t think the parents are even aware of yet. This year, I found such a great toy for my 2 1/2 year old grandson, so let me explain what it is and why I love it.

This Would Have Been My Childhood Dream Gift!

If you read my About Me page, you already know my education and learning is very important to me. Growing up in the 80s, in a tiny town, left very few chances to explore and learn. My method was by always having my nose in a book, from old school books to Harlequin romance novels my grandma shared with me. The ability to read allows your imagination to wander and expand, so that’s what I did.

Now, kids are bombarded with screen access and learning is so much different. My grandson’s day is filled with Disney+ on TV, YouTube kids on someone’s cell phone, or something on his Amazon kids tablet. He has a million toys to actually play with, but the time spend doing that is drastically reduced. And this is where my gift comes in to the rescue.

It’s currently 4 days before Christmas, so he hasn’t tried it yet and I don’t know if he’ll like it, but I do!

The Big Reveal

Now let’s dive in to what it is and why it’s great. It’s a little, cloth-covered, cube with ears that sings and tells stories. Without. A. Screen. Isn’t that great?

This awesome toy is called a Tonie Box. I started with the red Tonie’s Playtime Puppy Starter Pack, which is the 2nd most popular item in the Storytelling Toys category. I also got the cute little travel bag in the Blippi color-scheme, so he can carry his box and all his Tonie figurines.

This Tonie company has at least 235 Tonies available to collect. I went a little overboard and got 12 to start. A kid needs options (ha- I don’t really believe that, I’m just a Mimi that doesn’t have a stop button sometimes.) Beware – there a ton of options and each one usually costs between $12 and $18, unless there’s a good sale going on.

Tonie Box Characters For My Toddler Grandson

I chose the Tonie figurines based on what I know my grandson likes FOR SURE. Here are the first 12 I started with and the run times of each. These times contain songs and/or stories on each one. The only one he MAY not enjoy too much is the Disney Castle since it’s baby lullabies, even though it’s the same music played on his little night light/music machine he uses every night. If he doesn’t like it, maybe he’ll share with his baby sister [probably not though].

The Creative Tonie is so cool! It allows 90 minutes of your own recordings and content. I read a few of his favorite books, created my own story about him and all his favorite family members, and also used some free content the Tonie company provided. I still have about 43 minutes left, but since I have the app and am connected to the Tonie box, I can add more whenever I want. I really hope he loves the idea of hearing Mimi read him stories from now until he’s 30 years old 😁

Will It Be a Christmas Hit?

There’s still 2 days and some hours before it’s time for my grandson to unwrap and start exploring his new Tonie Box. So far, I have used my wifi to get the box set up, I’ve charged it completely, and I’ve tried all 12 Tonies to make sure they all work with no problems. Instead of wrapping each item individually, as you can see in the pictures above, I took everything out of the packaging and filled the travel bag so he can dig right in and get started.

If you’re wondering, the Tonie Box is designed to be tossed around and seems to be unbreakable. The ears are used as volume buttons, tapping the sides will rewind and fast-forward, and the Tonies connect to the box by a magnet on the bottom of the figurines attaching to the little light up square on the top of the box. So, since I got him a dozen to choose from, I also invested in a wooden cloud to hang on his wall. There’s a shelf to put the charger on, so the Tonie can sit there when not in use. Then, all the magnetized Tonie characters can attach to the magnets on the cloud. Again, I think this whole concept is amazing and I hope it turns out to be as good as I hope!

I’ll admit, I didn’t do a ton of research about other options – but, I have heard of a thing called a Yoto player. It sounds like that is more for older kids. I’ll look into it if this turns out to be a bust. Good thing he’s pretty spoiled and will have plenty of other presents: a scooter, swing set with slide, a climbing dome, a picnic table and so much more. It’s December in Georgia and this kid is getting his own little backyard playground. He’s going to be so happy I’m sure.

After all this talk about gifts for the kid, I thought I’d also share my plan for tomorrow. It’s the Monday before Christmas and I’ll be going to pick him up, bring him to my house, and we are crafting a gift for his mom, dad, and Gigi. I want to show him how fun it is to make things for the people you love and GIVING gifts is part of Christmas too. Look for a separate blog post about this adventure and I’ll review what our end result is meant to be.