We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. A 100-piece set of Picasso Tiles, because reviewers say they're not only comparable to Magnatiles (which are $80 more for the same size set) but also work with the Magnatiles you may already have, so you can expand a world of creative and educational play for much less. And of course just like Magnatiles, they'll keep the kids busy for hoooours.
Promising review: "I wish I had known about these sooner! PicassoTiles are *exactly* like Magna-tiles but way more affordable. We just received the 100 tile set today — an early birthday gift for our soon-to-be-four-year-old. We have two sets of Magna-tiles — one with the grommets (purchased new last year) and one without (purchased second hand [no idea how old they are]). The PicassoTiles are the same weight and size as the MagnaTiles and have the same exact magnets. They do not have metal grommets, but the old MagnaTiles are indestructible, so I know that these will be too. And PicassoTiles are much prettier in my opinion, because they are slightly more translucent and have brighter colors. They integrate into the collection seamlessly. I highly recommend this product. And if you are considering buying any kind of magnetic tile toy for your child, I recommend purchasing as big a set a you can for versatility of play. Our son has played with these all day and night off and on every single day since we bought them last year. After integrating the new PicassoTile set, he hugged his enormous structure and declared them his favorite...twice. A wonderful toy!" —skater mom
Get it from Amazon for $39.99.
2. A Crayola light board that'll take your growing artiste's masterpieces to the next level — their designs deserve to shine brightly, and I mean that literally. Plus the board is reusable, so they can wipe away old drawings or tracings and start all over again (and again and again).
It includes an LED light board with a removable tracing panel and and six gel markers. They can just draw directly onto the light board — plus the removable back panel makes tracing images incredibly easy. Then, turn it on to light up the designs and showcase them — even in the dark.
Promising review: "This light board is awesome!! My 6-year-old loves to draw and absolutely loves this board. The markers nestle into the back of the board for storage, which makes this mom happy, the board cleans easily with a damp paper towel or wipe. This is a great car activity for traveling. Love the added feature of the removable blackboard for tracing — so fun! Will make a great gift for any art lover!" —Danielle Campbell
Get it from Amazon for $32.99.
3. A magnetic shape-shifting puzzle cube if your kid is into fidget toys — this one's wayyyy cooler than the average one. It can be manipulated into over 70 different mesmerizing shapes, thanks to the design with built-in magnets!
You can also collect all 12 puzzle box designs and connect multiple magnetic cubes to build even larger structures and sculptures.
Promising review: "I was hesitant about spending $25 for this toy and even more concerned when it showed up and I saw the size, but this got the award for favorite Christmas gift. Both my 9-year-old and 12-year-old play with it constantly!" —Blair001
Get it from Amazon for $25 (available in 22 designs).
4. A marble run set so kids can work on developing their problem-solving skills while having a HECK of a lot of fun watching the colorful marbles zip and zoom through tracks and obstacles.
Promising review: "My 5- and 3-year-olds (and me) have spent hours building towers and watching marbles clatter down these chutes, steps, gears and spirals, HOURS! And they’re not bored yet! It’s also educational learning the physics of slopes by experience. Plus, it comes with enough marbles that losing a few doesn’t matter." —Joyce Parker
Promising review: "This is a really neat toy that has provided literally hours and hours of enjoyment for my 4-year-old nephew (and me!). The pieces fit well together, it is very sturdy and stands up well even on carpet. There are an infinite number of ways to build these runs, and this toy never gets boring. Highly recommended." —Becca
Get it from Amazon for $47.99 (available in four styles).
5. A classic Melissa & Doug ice cream station that'll be almost as delicious as the real deal — your L.O. will be so excited to stack scoops and toppings for the ultimate cone. Start crafting your order!
The wooden ice cream counter comes with eight ice cream scoops, six toppings, two cones, cup, scooper, tongs, wooden spoon, reusable menu card, and six pretend dollar bills.
Promising review: "Fun toy set for a creative toddler. My newly-turned-3 year old daughter instantly fell in love with this set! She loves seeing how high she can stack the ice cream cones and pretending to serve Mom & Dad her creations. She's been obsessed with climbing things around the house and we *desperately* needed a distraction to get her to stop, and this is working so far — she plays with this thing for HOURS!" —West Family
Get it from Amazon for $41.99.
6. And a Melissa & Doug interactive wooden dashboard for your backseat driver. This dash is packed with realistic features, including a steering wheel, ignition key, a horn that really beeps, hazard lights, etc. It's never too early to start practicing for their road test!
Promising review: "This thing is awesome! My kids were playing with my husband’s old gaming steering wheel and it ended up breaking apart a week ago. They were pretty upset because they love pretending to drive so I looked to find another one. There were cheaper options than this one but they were just the plain steering wheel, no buttons or gear shift so I decided to give this one a try. My boys loved it so much that I had to sit with them for hours having them take turns playing so they wouldn’t fight over it. I didn’t realize there was a little window that shows the car on the road but my 3-year-old LOVES it! He likes to set the timer on the gas gage and when it goes off he lets me know he’s pulling into the gas station (there’s a little gas station in the window part). Anyway, we loved it so much we bought another one the same afternoon so both boys can drive together." —Brittany
Get it from Amazon for $44.99.
7. A pack of dinosaur egg bath bombs sure to make bathtime way more rawr-some. Just plop the egg in, and the exterior will fizz away for colorful bathwater fun — and reveal a hidden dino toy inside! With each bath, their collection of dinos will grow, so they'll have a veritable Jurassic Park to play with when tubtime is over.
Promising review: "My younger sister is having a phase where she loves taking baths, but at the same time obsessed with anything "dinosaur involved." I decided to give her these dino surprise bath bombs, and she absolutely LOVED them; she even requested to take multiple baths per day. One of her favorite parts of the bath is where the bomb dissolved to reveal a small trinket — and even though it was nothing special, she'd play with it afterward for hours on end. Most of the colors were pretty good, too, except for one that looked like she had an accident 😅. This is a perfect gift for 6-year-olds and under!!" —ESmoth
Get a pack of nine from Amazon for $19.99.
8. A bestselling Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes musical toy packed with 10 classical tunes from iconic composers like Mozart and Vivaldi, plus twinkling lights that'll entertain even the fussiest baby.
Promising review: "I LOVE this thing! I bought it before my daughter was born because of high reviews. It's a reasonably priced toy and my daughter has been using it since birth. Whenever she's having a meltdown I break it out of the diaper bag and she's all better. :) I actually memorized the songs and order and they're pretty catchy. Not annoying and overbearing like other toys. I don't know what I would do without it!." —uhhdorkable
Promising review: "The best baby distractor EVER! Every person with a child must have this toy! I had about five tucked in various places in case one got lost. My son loved them from basically birth and sometimes it would distract him for hours of non-crying! (heaven for a new mother) Of course in the beginning you have to keep pushing the button for them but compared to swinging him in his car seat that was easy! Then we he got older he would spend entire car ides just playing with this one toy. I give it to everyone I know who has a baby." —NH-Mommy
Get it from Amazon for $8.88.
9. An LCD writing tablet so they can draw, scribble, erase, and draw all over again — and it looks like the rainbow scratch paper we all loved as kids!
Promising review: "This tablet has entertained my 4-year-old grandson for hours at a time. He loves that he can erase at will and that the drawings are multicolored. I highly recommend this item for 18 months old and up. I bought a pink one for our 18-month-old granddaughter, and she too is just enthralled with it and the 'power' she has to erase, create, erase, create! They loved them so much, that we bought another set of two different colors so that they would have them at home as well as at 'Grammy's.'" —Kindle Customer Red Heart
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in four colors).
10. Or a scratch paper art set if you want to go fully tablet-free — you'll want to borrow a sheet of paper and join in to enjoy the nostalgia!
11. A Smart Lab human body toy for doctors and scientists in the making — it has 21 removable body parts, including squiiiishy organs, that'll be the perfect intro to Human Anatomy 101.
Promising review: "Great learning toy. I got this for my kids (7, 9, and 11) while we are studying the human body for science and they are obsessed with this! They want to play with it all the time and can sit there for hours. They have learned so much just by playing with this toy and reading the book it came with." —Jacqueline
Get it from Amazon for $31.98.
12. A DIY puffy sticker kit with pre-colored and colorable designs that kids 6+ can transform into 3D stickers they can decorate with. Plus it comes with extra sticker paper to print your own!
Promising review: "This is a great craft for my 7-year-old to do on her own! It's quick, easy to use and gives her hours of fun. So much that I ordered another one. I love how this craft kit is something she can do with no help. Yes the stickers are cheap to an adult but to a 7-year-old who colors and makes it on her own, its magic." —Coop
Get it from Amazon for $17.86.
13. A National Geographic geodes kit that'll amaze and astound any young scientist and keep them busy for hours as they smash the rocks to discover the gorgeous crystals hidden inside.
This science kit includes four natural crystal-filled geodes, one pair of safety goggles, one display stand, and one learning guide.
Promising review: "My daughter is 10 and this kept her busy for HOURS! She had so much fun and was excited every time she got a glimpse of what might be inside. A couple of them were pretty cool, while the rest were just white. She didn't care, she loves them all. She was so proud to gift them to her grandparents." —Michelle
Get it from Amazon for $18.59 (available in four sizes).
14. A Tetris-esque wooden puzzle kids of all ages will enjoy — and honestly I wouldn't mind having a go at this myself. No screens needed!
Reviewers say this is a great toy for all ages — from 3 to 12.
Promising review: "I was pleasantly surprised with how popular this was! I just bought it as a side gift for a child just because it was cheap and it was a puzzle-type toy. However, this kept both kids and adults immensely entertained for hours. It was challenging for everyone but a fun challenge. I’m purchasing another so we can race each other to finish at the next gathering." —Mrs. Dinkleberg
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
15. A Dyson Ball toy vacuum that actually *has some suction* so that when the kid in your life is mimicking and wants to "help out" around the house, they're actually getting a little bit of vacuuming done. And it'll keep them busy for ages!
Promising review: "Our son is absolutely obsessed with our Dyson (the real one). Which is why we purchased this toy Dyson vacuum for his birthday. He's 2-years-old and he is really enjoying having his on 'working' vacuum cleaner!!! He seriously plays with it for hours during the day. Turning it on and off and pushing it through the house just like we use our real vacuum. I would buy this again! It was his favorite gift!." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $24.99+ (available in three colors).
16. A Snap Circuits kit, a no-tools-needed set for giving engineers-to-be hands-on insight into electrical circuits. It includes over 30 electronic parts that snap together in a variety of designs for a total of over 100 functional projects!
The kit comes with over 32 electrical components including snap wires, slide switches, an alarm circuit, a music integrated circuit, and a speaker. (Each piece is numbered and color-coded to make identifying them easy.) Plus, a plastic grid and a project manual with 101 different electronic projects.
Recommended for ages 8+. Adult supervision advised.
Promising review: "Can I give this 6 stars? My 6-year-old son didn't ask me ONCE today for his tablet, video game or to play on my phone. He ignored a new movie on TV (one he had been BEGGING to see) because he was playing with this toy. He spent a couple hours working with his dad, a couple experimenting by himself and another few HOURS working through the projects with his aunt. I LOVE THIS TOY!" —SnappinMom
Get a set from Amazon for $35.99.
17. A flower-building activity set that'll take the idea of STEM-based play to a whole other level (get it??? stem-based??). They can let their imagination run wild while building creative plants and gardens from the brightly colored pieces. It's a fun spin on block sets!
Promising review: "I bought this flower garden as a gift for my 3-year-old daughter. She absolutely loves it! She has always enjoyed blocks and this is something different that has kept her engaged for hours! We highly recommend this product to others!!" —Ashley Petersen
Get it from Amazon for $19.98.
18. A Gravity Maze designed to challenge kiddos to think ahead to figure out how to build paths so the marble can drop down to the final cube. Puzzling and satisfying! The game includes 60 challenges, ranging from beginner to expert, so they can work their way up to the harder ones.
Promising review: "What a great combination of construction, puzzles, and games! My 5-year-old and 8-year-old niece were able to challenge themselves to some of the levels (the 8-year-old was was more capable of solving them on her own). The adults also found themselves fixated on playing the different levels as well! It was challenging and fun! We love marble runs and games so this was a perfect fit. This is one of the few games that everyone asks to play and it's perfect when we have guests of kiddos over and keeps everyone busy and engaged for hours!" —Crystal Brown
Get it from Amazon for $27.99.
19. A pack of parachute toys that (gasp of gasps) actually won't tangle when thrown from the top of a staircase over and over. Miracles happen once in a while!
Promising review: "I bought these for my 4-year-old nephew and 2-year-old niece for when they come to visit. Right out of the box, they were excited and loved tossing them up in the air and watching them fall. I was amazed as to how long it kept their interest and the different ways they played with them. They dropped them off the stair landing, off the couch, in the yard and held them behind them to expand as they ran. My niece liked "Dancing" with them and twirling it around. Good colors and very well made. Hours of fun and the best $7 I ever spent on a toy!" — hiker0811
Get a pack of four from Amazon for $8.99.
20. A Melissa & Doug activity book designed to help build fine motor skills and includes a pair of child-safe scissors to help them use their destructive talents in productive ways!
Promising review: "Scissors skills are important both in and of themselves and because it strengthens the hand muscles to be used for learning to write. My 4-year-old LOVES this book. We received it this week and she has used it for a couple of hours each day. Many of the pages are cutting things out and putting them together (four-scoop ice cream cone, pizza with pepperonis, the components to build a house or a car, puzzles). We've used tape or glue to put the components together. This book is interesting enough to have caught the attention of my older children as well, although I make them let her do the cutting. :D Would make a great gift as it is so unique." —Mom of 7
Get it from Amazon for $7.99.
21. A flying orb that magically floats or boomerangs back and forth, depending on how it's thrown, all while flashing colorful lights. And it fully charges in just 20 minutes!
Promising review: "This is incredible!! My grandkids spend hours outdoors, playing with this!! Best thing I could have ever bought to get them outdoors and out from under video games and YouTube. Also, good exercise. It is better outdoors than indoors. The battery life is not very long, but I bought 2 and they just switch them out. Fun! Fun! Fun!" —ladybug
Get it from Amazon for $28.80 (available in seven colors).
22. A Craft-tastic "Make a Fox Friend" kit, because they'll love their new stuffie even! more! when they make it themselves. That's right, they'll learn basic sewing skills while whipping up this cutie — and it even comes with fancy accessories!
Promising review: "This is by far the best sewing craft project!!! The design is adorable, and it’s so clever. All the extra pieces that come with it are an absolute delight. My 7-year-old daughter LOVES it! She was able to do most everything herself, but the purse accessory (that was tricky)…but so cute :)" —J Fox
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (also available in mouse, bunny, or koala).
23. A solar-powered DIY robot kit that can transform into 12 different kinds of moving robots at two levels of difficulty so kids can flex their engineering muscles and enjoy the results of their hard work!
The kit includes 190 pieces, a solar panel, and detailed instructions.
Promising review: "I purchased this as a gift for an 8-year-old boy. He loves to build, loves robotics, dinosaurs, and Godzilla. :) He LOVES this set! He sits for hours on end, which is an amazing accomplishment for any 8-year-old, playing with and building all the different robot toys. And, this isn't just for little boys. A friends 8-year-old daughter loves them, the 48-year-old parent loves them, and the 75-year-old grandpa loves them. Fun for the whole family!" —MBC
Get it from Amazon for $32.99.
24. A roll of road tape to engage your tot's imagination and help them set up the most creative race course Ever! Designed! Rainbow Road who?! And don't worry — reviewers say it doesn't leave residue behind, so even if roadways end up on the walls, they won't leave a trace when playtime is over.
Promising review: "I was so excited to gift this tape to a 4-year-old boy, and to see how it was. It's very light, and stuck to a table very nicely. Left no residue on the table, and could tear easily to make a turn in the road. You could put this anywhere in your house and not be worried about damage. Very cool!" —Courtney S.
Get a 30-foot roll from Amazon for $9.25 (available in multipacks).
25. A set of washable dab and dot markers perfect for helping budding artists unleash their Pointillist creativity — without the mess that comes with paint bottles and brushes. They're even designed to be easy for toddler hands to grip!
The set comes with eight paint markers and a downloadable 101 Easy Dot Marker Activities PDF.
Promising review: "My son is 4-years-old, we bought this item a year and a half ago I can't believe he still uses them weekly and love them like the first day.
I came to my Amazon order history only to write a review here because I'm amazed how long they last and still look like new! We used it for his 3-k class projects and now we use them for pre-K (and of course home projects and coloring books). Is a great tool for little artists! Last Halloween we had a couple of friends over to paint small pumpkins and these markers saved me from all the mess that could have been!" —Sofia Ostrowski
Get a set from Amazon for $16.99.
26. A LeapFrog 100 Words Book that'll help your kiddos pick up more than 100 common words (everything from animals to food to colors to opposites and more) in both English and Spanish. Reviewers say it actually holds kid's attention through the bright colors and interactive buttons and sounds.
Promising review: "This may be my favorite LeapFrog toy yet!! So much to teach children, two languages, and it has actually kept my 1-year-old's attention for more than 60 seconds!!! It’s a must-have toy in my opinion!" —Megan Hennegan
Promising review: "Our 18-month-old toddler loves it! Clear words makes it easy for babies to repeat. A must-have toy. 👍" —Zaida
Get it from Amazon for $14.29.
27. A Bingo game to help make learning sight words more fun (and less frustrating). It's played just like regular old Bingo, except instead of letters and numbers, you'll be calling out 46 different commonly-used words to help build word recognition and reading skills.
The set comes with 36 playing cards, 264 playing chips, caller's mat and cards, and a storage box. You can also get Sight Words Level 2 or Bingo for lots of other skills — including Multiplication and Division, Rhyming, Colors and Shapes — on the company's Amazon store page.
Promising review: "Our first-grader was feeling really discouraged with her sight words and I've been trying to think of ways to encourage her and get her excited to learn things she doesn't already know. She loved this game! We played with the whole family and her 3-year-old sister even enjoyed playing (we show her the cards and have her find the word that matches on her Bingo card). I think this is a great way to make learning/practicing sight words fun! I am very happy with this purchase and I can see how it would be great for teachers in the classroom as well!!" —Jennie
Get it from Amazon for $12.99.
28. A pack of Crayola Globbles that'll relieve hours of boredom — kids love to toss these at the walls and ceiling to watch the colorful spheres stick and unstick. But fret not: reviewers say they actually don't leave residue behind!
Yes, they easily wash clean with soap and water without losing stickiness, so the fun can keep going even after they end up in one of your houseplant pots.
Promising review: "I waited over two months to write my review! My 4-year-old daughter plays with these DAILY! YES they do attract dirt and hair. HOWEVER they are so easy to rinse off, it's not a big deal! We took these to a family gathering and ended up giving two away because they were SO loved! The two we gave away went to a 12-year-old and my 19-year-old brother. They discovered throwing them at the ceiling fan and watching them shoot across the room, which was pretty entertaining! None of them have busted or ripped and they are definitely NOT gentle with them! I will definitely be buying more!" —Kindle Customer
Get a pack of six from Amazon for $10.27.
29. An inexpensive Pop2Play foldable indoor slide to bring the playground indoors when the weather is just not cooperating inside. It just pops up easily in moments, and folds down completely flat for storage when the kids are done playing.
The slide's capable of holding up to 50 lbs.
Promising review: "I got this for my 2-year-old daughter's birthday and she LOVES it. She is a little nervous on the playground and she took to this right away. It folds down easily and sets up easily — the design is brilliant. It was actually so easy that I watched the 30-second setup video just to be sure I got it right lol. My 8-year-old son got on it too and it held up. We live in an apartment so this is something that she can climb on safely without taking up a ton of space. Love this product!!" —jenna
Get it from Amazon for $34.99 (also available in Barbie, Baby Shark, and Paw Patrol themes).
30. A set of Crayola Scribble Scrubbie pets for endless coloring fun — and I mean endless, because once these toys are colored with the included markers, they can wash them clean (it even comes with a cute tub and scrub brush!) and start all over again.
The Peculiar Pets set includes: one dragon, one narwhal, one yeti, one unicorn toy, one sparkly scrub tub, one scrub brush, nine washable markers, one standing play mat, and an instruction sheet.
Promising review: "My daughter LOVES coloring, stickers, drawing, etc. so when I saw this prior to her fourth birthday, I thought she would enjoy it. It was a HUGE hit and it will regularly keep her occupied for an hour or so at a time coloring, cleaning, and coloring again (with only minor help when asked for more help cleaning and drying). Even my 6-year-old son who doesn't usually color or draw will join her periodically and seems to enjoy it. The markers are short and skinny, great for small hands." —a.b.
Get it from Amazon for $22.10.
31. A bestselling Little Tikes trampoline to really get their jumping energy out, without them jumping on your bed instead. An hour or so on this, and you can all take a nap!
Promising review: "I have a wild 3-year-old who has more energy in one day then I've had in my entire life. From sun up to sun down he is ON. Unfortunately, we don't have a yard and we can't always make it to the playground. We picked this up for him hoping that it would help him get some of that energy out on days that we're stuck inside. We've had it for 8 months and it has been a lifesaver! I was worried about it taking up too much space in the living room but it's not bad at all. It's wide enough for him to jump comfortably, but not big enough to be an eyesore or get in the way. When I catch him trying to climb on the couch or run around too wildly, I just give him a quick reminder to jump on his trampoline instead. It's a win for both of us since he has a safe place to let that energy out and I'm not scolding him because he's jumping on things he's not supposed to. He is about 40 lbs and 40 inches tall and he doesn't seem to be growing out of it anytime soon. It was easy to put together and has held up beautifully! It's never tipped over and we've never had any accidents with it. I am so thankful we picked this up for him because it helps keep all of us happy and sane." —Ana
Get it from Amazon for $74.99.
32. A talking microscope with slides they can inspect for a Closer Look at nature's wonders. And g'day to learning, because it actually features Bindi Irwin's voice to expand their knowledge of animals and plants!
The microscope talks in three languages in addition to English — you can choose between two options: Mandarin/Japanese/Korean or Spanish/French/German.
Promising review: "This is by far one of the coolest products I’ve ever seen! My 4-year-old loves this talking microscope! Every day while her baby sister naps I spend some quality one-on-one time with her and this was the perfect product for our special time together! She didn’t want to stop looking at all the different slides and I love how each slide has three images and the fact mode shares fun facts about the slide chosen! I love that she was learning new facts while looking at it up closely! She has been having so much fun using it and asks me daily to use her new microscope! This is such a great learning tool in a fun, different way for a 4-year-old and it is a big win in my book, especially because it can be used for many, many years! It also includes a quiz mode that we haven’t used yet but it’s nice that it has different modes for older kids. Highly recommend for all preschoolers and older kids!" —JC Mommy
Get it from Amazon for $30.49.
The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.