We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Some may have been sent as samples, but all opinions and reviews are our own. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
1. A mini digital camera perfect for exploring all kinds of portraits since it can also take selfies. You might just have a young Annie Leibovitz on your hands!
2. A pack of six squishy Crayola fidget balls that they can stack, stick, or sling! The best part is the balls won't leave behind any residue. Whether they're being used as stress balls or as a wall ornament, these fidget balls are a ton of fun!
And when the balls lose their stickiness, just clean them up with soap and water for them to feel like new again!
Promising review: "They are beyond great! My son likes to throw them on the ceiling and wait for them to fall and then catch them. My nephew who is a toddler loved them so much I had to buy him some too! He liked watching them roll down the wall. I have never had one break and they are easy to clean." —Yvonne1011
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
3. A mini sports center if you have a little athlete on your hands! They can play basketball and soccer with this interactive toy whose functional LED scoreboard will make their games feel even more real.
Promising reviews: “Got this for my 9-month-old grandson and he loved it. He is now 15-months-old and still loves it. He has learned how to slam dunk the basketball.” —K. Love
"Purchased this for my grandson’s first birthday and of course he loved it. His 5-year-old brother loved it more and wouldn’t stop playing with it." —Priscilla Hope
Get it from Amazon for $44.99 (available in two colors).
4. A toy construction site with 2 pounds of kinetic sand they can play with and mold into bricks. They'll even have the help of a dump truck and a working crane! And its contained play space means less cleanup for you.
Promising review: “This set is so cool. I bought it for a 3-year-old, and he absolutely LOVES it. It comes with some sand but I wanted to fill both ends up so I bought another bag. Now two people can play at the same time. The crane works very well and the scooper is very cool. The dump truck makes three blocks at a time which is fun. I 10,000% recommend this. It’s not messy if you keep everything in the container and when you are done you just close it up.” —Kyle Smile
Get it from Amazon for $23.99.
5. A 36-pack of Play-Doh so they can create models of the creatures and shapes living in their imagination.
Promising review: “I have to stock up on Play-Doh because my kids can go through it. I loved how these had multiples of the same color but also a large variety. My son always wants the color his big sister has so it’s nice to not have to worry about that issue with these.” —Carrie
Get the 36-pack from Amazon for $24.99.
6. A super cool Jeep Wrangler because they've got places to go and people to see. You can control how fast your little one goes so you don't have to worry about them getting involved in any high-speed crashes.
Promising review: “Got this for my 4-year-old son for his birthday and he is OBSESSED with it! The first thing he does in the morning is ask me if we can go outside to ride his Jeep. If you have a toddler who loves Jeeps/cars, you cannot go wrong with this!” —Danielle Comins
Get it from Amazon for $286.05+ (available in seven styles).
7. Kid-sized binoculars if your little one is a burgeoning bird watcher. Support their self-propelled learning and curiosity with these!
8. A talking kids' microscope for learning about biology and botany. It comes with 60 full color images on slides that can be observed under the microscope with shares facts about what your little one is seeing.
Promising review: “My 4-year-old granddaughter loves this! She can look at the slides and listen to the explanations by herself.” —Perry Moseley
Get it from Amazon for $33.99.
9. A stop-motion animation Lego activity kit that'll keep your mini Spielberg occupied for hours upon hours making their very own movies!
The set includes: a 78-page book of ideas and inspiration, 36 official Lego mini figures and props, foldout paper backgrounds, and punch-out animation frames.
Promising review: "My son saw this book in his school book order sheet and HAD TO HAVE IT. So I bought it off Amazon for his 6th birthday. He built his own mount for his iPad Mini and was making stop-motion videos in no time! I was worried it would be too advanced for him, but once his dad showed him how to use the program and how to move the pieces just right, he was all set! It keeps him occupied for HOURS and I love that it’s an interactive way to channel his creativity and do something else fun with the millions of Lego sets he has. Definitely pleased with this purchase!" —justcruzn
Get it from Amazon for $24.18.
10. A reusable LCD writing tablet if your little artist loves to draw but you don't want to use countless pieces of paper to support their hobby. To get different colors, all they have to do is adjust the amount of pressure they're using!
Promising review: "This has been the best product and my son loves it. He is in preschool and with all the schools being shut down because of the pandemic getting him to sit down and practice writing his name and alphabet has been a challenge. Since this came he will not put it down; he thinks it’s the coolest thing." —Justin
Get it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in four colors).
11. A funny hide-and-seek game — just place this little poo somewhere in your home and watch as your kids have fun trying to find it! This Silly Poop will even give them clues, and it plays a song that'll have them dancing once it's been found.
What Do You Meme? is a small business making fun, and funny card games/toys, plush friends, and pool floats!
Promising review: "This game is HILARIOUS. My kids love playing with it and taking turns hiding it (8, 6, and 3 years). They all think poop is funny and run around yelling 'Silly Poopy, where are you?' It keeps them busy for at least half an hour at a time and they leave me alone. Also? It's pretty durable. I found it outside in my garden in the 20-degree winter weather. I guess my 8-year-old left it out there for a few days. It also gets thrown down the stairs and Silly Poopy just keeps on giggling and having fun." —Adele
Get it from Amazon for $12.98.
12. A foam pogo jumper so they can not only develop their hand-eye coordination and balancing skills, but also have jump-tastic fun while they do so. And because the jumper is made of foam, it's a safer alternative to your more classic pogo stick. Oh, and it makes a squeaky sound with each bounce!
Promising review: "Our 4-year-old loves this toy! It's really fun for her and great for developing balance and large motor skills. The fact that it burns off some of her boundless energy is an extra plus. There's a built-in squeaker (which kids enjoy and adults learn to block out). Nice that it's an indoor/outdoor toy! Definitely a good value for the money." —L J Wessling
Get it from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in 13 colors).
13. A colorful DIY rock climbing wall set because your future mountain climber needs all the practice they can get. Not only can these mountable rock climbing grips hold up to 225 pounds each, but they can also be used indoors or outdoors.
The set includes 25 hand and foot grips, two climbing handles, and a knotted climbing rope.
Promising review: "My girls absolutely love this! We’ve been wanting to give them some things inside the house to climb and jump on since it’s cold here and we’re stuck in the house most days. We haven’t installed the rope yet but plan to do so soon. The climbing holds are very durable and seem pretty sturdy. They are also a good size, making it easy for my girls to hold on to. I would definitely recommend this to as it’s a lot of fun!" —KKL—L&L’s Little Shop of Goodies- Living Life RV Rentals
Get a set from Amazon for $29.99.
14. A Lego flower bouquet building kit if they're too much of a liability when it comes to living plants. These gorgeous and immortal flowers are not only fun to put together, but they're fun decoration all year long.
Promising review: "I bought this for my kid and I to do together. We have been building with Lego for about 10 years now, but he moved beyond needing me to help him about five years ago. This was a nice throwback to when we would do this together. We both loved it and now I have an everlasting bouquet to remind me of the bond we have." —heidi leah ring
Get it from Amazon for $55.87.
15. A pair of child-safe scissors and activity book with 20 pages worth of fun shapes for your kid to cut. These plastic scissors were designed to encourage correct form so you know your little one will be OK when they eventually graduate to adult scissors.
16. A super cool flying orb that'll either hover in the air or boomerang back to the thrower depending on the angle it's thrown. They can play catch with others or by themselves!
Promising review: "This is one of the coolest toys I have ever bought. It seems almost magical the way it floats from one person to another — perfect for indoor play. It is enough fun that my kids will use it instead of playing on their computers, which is the highest praise I can bestow on a toy." —Jill B
Get it from Amazon for $32 (available in five colors).
17. A custom puffy sticker maker so they can decorate their belongings with custom creations. Some of the stickers are pre-colored but others require coloring, so make sure to have markers handy!
You can use any markers with these, though you might wanna try some fine point markers to get more precise coloring!
Promising review: “My kids (ages 6 and 10) had a blast making these puffy stickers. I purchased this for them to do while we were on a long RV trip. It was a lot of fun, not messy, and held their attention. Even my 17-year-old got involved!” —Tomel
Get it from Amazon for $18.63.
18. A self-balancing hoverboard designed with kids and beginners in mind. With built-in LED lights and a Bluetooth speaker, this hoverboard will make getting from point A to point B so much fun!
Promising review: "My 6-year-old daughter loves it!! Her brother had one and she had to have one too! We thought she would be too young and were afraid she would get hurt herself but she got on just fine and had good control of her balance and rolls around like a pro! The Bluetooth is perfect for her rock and roll style too! Just keep it charged at all times and you’ll never be unhappy! Oh, and we always make sure she wears her helmet. Safety first!! :)" —Barry Isenhart
Get it from Amazon for $169.99 (available in three colors).
19. A big body bubble because what kid wouldn't want to go bowling and be the bowling ball? This splurge-worthy bumper ball has two handles and two shoulder straps to keep you safe as you bounce and roll around!
These come in two sizes: 4 feet or 5 feet. And they are suitable for kids between 3’9’’–6'3'' who weigh between 60–250 pounds.
Promising review: “The bumper balls have been so much fun for our family to burn energy in our basement during the winter. We brought them out for my daughter’s birthday party and they were a huge hit! My children are 14, 12, and 9 and can all use the larger ones. My husband and I use them too! I use an electric air pump and can have it filled in about seven minutes. They are durable (just avoid sharp objects obviously) and the straps and handles are good quality.” —djackson513
Get it from Amazon for $139.99+ (available in two sizes and five colors).
20. Or smaller body bumpers so your littler ones can get in on the bouncy action.
Recommended for kids ages 4–12, these body bumpers measure 25 inches L x 25 inches W x 23 inches H.
PSA: Make sure helmets are worn during bump-offs.
Promising review: "Absolutely hilarious to watch! I got these for my kids (7and 8) because i thought it would be a perfect way to blow off steam and get out some energy...it was great! They ran at each other pretty hard, but it didn't pop and no one got hurt! If your kids do a lot of bickering like mine do, get these! 😅" —Sky Moran
Get two from Amazon for $17.60.
21. A foldable indoor slide from Pop2Play for those rainy days when the playground isn't an option. This super sturdy slide will provide hours of fun!
This slide can hold up to 50 lbs.
Promising review: "This slide keeps my easily distracted 1.5-year-old daughter entertained for long periods of time! I thought this would be a great way for her to learn to use a slide on a carpeted surface. She has a blast pushing her toys down and has become so confident at climbing and sliding down herself! It’s very sturdy and easy to pop up and fold down. When this one does wear out, I’ll be purchasing a new one. Take all of my money to keep my toddler’s attention for as long as it does!" —Lindsey Pleakis
Get it from Amazon for $34.99 (available in several styles).
22. An ice cream–making kit that'll not only teach them how to make their favorite flavors, but will also teach them about the science behind the cooking (or freezing) process.
This kit comes with: a set of measuring cups, measuring spoons, jars, towel, scoop, whisk, a "Lab Notes" notebook, and a recipe book. Food ingredients are not included.
Promising review: "This crate was so fun for all ages in our house! Each piece was well thought out and my kids loved learning how different ingredients reacted to make ice cream." —Sydney
Get it from KiwiCo for $34.95.