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The 60+ Best Toys for Kids to Cure Them of Their Perpetual Boredom
Are you not entertained?
Kids are picky, fickle little creatures, and honestly, that’s a big part of their charm. The toys they want are ever-changing, and it can be seriously hard to keep up with what trend is cool and what’s “Ugh, so lame, Mom.” Thankfully, there are people out there whose job is to figure out what our kids want before it’s sold out and going for the price of a small car on eBay.
This year, the trends at the Toy Fairs were pretty exciting, trending towards all things surprise and magic, but updated from recent blind box toys to include surprises that are actually a part of the experience of play, not just the opening of the toy. There are also a ton of toys based on television shows like Bluey, Baby Shark, and Gabby's Dollhouse. Our own Toy of the Year awards showed that magic and animals are a huge trend!
Games are also making a big comeback after taking a turn in 2021—which was likely a rebellion against all the board games we all played in 2020.
We know that these lists are really overwhelming, but that's where we come in. It's our job to sift through the lists, cross-check them against one another, and determine what it is that your kids really want. And so far? Pretend play, Magna-Tiles, and classics such as Barbies and board games are making the biggest splash.
While we're not ashamed to admit we pumped our own children for intel, it's not an approach we recommend you take. We got hours-long responses about what game this YouTuber loves, which toy is being played by that TikTokker, and what toy this Twitch streamer just reviewed. They're precious hours of our lives we'll never get back, but hey, it was invaluable to us to hear recommendations right from the kids themselves.
We've combed these lists ourselves, as well as used our own research and experiences to share the very best, most engaging, and totally trending toys for kids that they'll be obsessing over.
Moose Toys have some real magical mojo, and this year, they really hit it out of the park. The Magical Mixies Crystal Ball is a step up from last year's cauldron.
There's a lot happening with this toy: it's a crystal ball that lights up and has "eerie smoke" (glycerin steam), and kids use their magic wand to make a surprise creature appear. That creature has over 80 sounds and reactions, acting a bit like a Zoltar or Magic 8 ball. Kids can do it over and over again, and the crystal ball also doubles as a night light!
Gabby's Dollhouse is a wildly popular Netflix series, and this is a two-foot tall replica of her house, complete with lights, elevator, and of course Gabby and her kitty friend, Pandy.
This is a splurge toy for sure. Kindergarten graduation, Christmas, first night of Hanukkah, birthday—a big occasion toy. But, it comes with 15 pieces, all the extras, and it looks just like thee show.
Your future Judy Chicago or Kehinde Wiley could get their start with this light-up drawing board by Crayola. This enchanting coloring toy illuminates your children's artwork, inspiring them to create more and more illustrations. Powered by three AA batteries, this board utilizes washable color gel markers that create bright and bold lines that your kid will absolutely adore.
Squeezy interactive dumplings are a bit reminiscent of Wowwee's Fingerling toys, except these are much cuter. You squeeze their little cheeks, and its little body pops right out of the head, and the eyes move up and down.
We promise it's nowhere near as strange as it sounds. It's positively sweet, and kids are going wild for it. (Mine certainly are.) These are available for preorder right now, shipping the week of Nov. 15. 2021.
Take the love of virtual dressing offline with the My Avastars doll! This doll includes over 50 stickers with the ability to create over 100 looks. And soon, there will be a kid safe online community game for sharing the outfits. Don't worry, the game is free, and each doll comes with a code so that you can easily showcase your creations.
My whole family lost their minds playing this game. It's a stacking game played with your eyes closed, where you try to stack on your own tower, but you're also trying to destroy others' towers. It has a bit of a survival component, too, with the ability to vote people out of the game. It's a genius cooperative game, that's as fun for adults as it is for kids.
Have a little future veterinarian on your hands? This Playmobil set is just the thing for them. Made of more than 80% sustainable materials, this 347 piece set includes everything from the clinic with actual stalls to a pulley system, heat lamps, and row boat! There's also an AR component where kids can learn all about the animals and the environment.
Our testers loved this toy so much that the parenting editor has now purchased several of them so that chaos did not come from toy testing. (Well, any more chaos than is usual with toy testing.)
The show, Alice's Wonderland Bakery is a huge hit, and kids are clamoring for merch. Luckily, they really delivered with this interactive kitchen and large doll. It has tons of sound effects and comes with a 10-inch Alice doll, a magical oven toy, pot, two stackable layer cakes, two spice jars, and one spatula.
If you combined all your favorite elements from magnetic tiles and other building sets, but you made them more artistic, that's what Squaregles is. It's an open-ended building set that lets your little architect not only design and build, but also draw the backgrounds on the 4" by 4" paper tiles.
Plus, you get a cute, if creepy little man and two cars with the set.
If you want to see your child cackle with glee, get them this remote control shark. It chomps as it goes, and it's actually pretty quick. Don't worry, it's light and doesn't hurt when your child inevitably chases you down while you're cooking dinner one evening. It's a cat's worst nightmare, but they're good at hiding.
I am in my 30s, and this game still slaps. Imagine if the traditional games of the floor is lava, Twister, and 4-square had a baby. That's this game. You're given a variety of colored squares that you can set up indoors or outdoors, and a spinner that corresponds to those colors. Whichever color the spinner lands on, you cannot step on that color. It's exactly as fun as you think.(Just as fun for adults, but not recommended as a brewery game for obvious vestibular reasons.)
Remember the bottle trend from a few years ago where kids were trying to flip a half-full bottle of water to land on its base? It's like that, with the addition of having a dart element to it. Also, it's way easier to land these darts.
The darts are built with suction cups that stick pretty well to most-surfaces without damaging them. How do I know? My kids landed their darts on my oh, so brand-new television ... and it was fine.
We think this is one of the best toys for kids today, not only because it gets kids active and outside but because it's fantastic for kids with lower-body mobility issues. It lets more kids just be kids, having a good time finding puddles to run through.
Radio Flyer is notoriously sturdy, so this ride-on will take its licks and be ready to pass down to another kid.
Looking for a toy that will lure your child from your phone for actual hours? Get them an Imaginext transforming tower like this Batbot. My kids had about six full-sized, and we got every penny's worth from them.
And this one? It blows those out of the water. It has Batman sounds, it leans forward and shoots (lightweight, round) discs. It lights up, has a jail cell for the Arkham problem people, and a fully lit cockpit. Your kid will be saving the day and leaving your phone to you so you can doomscroll Twitter.
What kid wouldn't love a fun dose of science? With this crystal-growing kit, children can run their own science experiments and deepen their appreciation for all things rocks and gems.
The best part? Your kiddo will have an extra special crystal to add to the collection when the experiment is over.
It's a pogo stick — reinvented! Even kids with not-so-hot skills can find their balance on this toy. It can be used indoors and outdoors, too, thanks to its foam material. The only thing your kid will have to do is jump and laugh.
I got to see this toy in action at a toy preview, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Sure, ostensibly I am “buying this for my 10-year-old,” and “it’s for her,” but? It’s Charmander, and he reacts to touch and sound, and he lights up!
This is going to be another sellout, folx, so throw a raspberry and catch it soon.
Your little future mail carrier will be bringing all your Amazon packages right to your door in this USPS ride-on toy, complete with a mailbox. It's run by a rechargeable 12-volt battery and has a maximum speed of 2.5 miles per hour.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like kinetic sand is going anywhere, anytime soon. The ever-popular toy has some big things happening this year, including awesome play sets like these that your kids are sure to love, and sure to scatter.
Chances are, if you have a toddler or a preschooler, they love Bluey. The Aussie sensation now on American television features a family of blue heeler dogs as they go about their daily lives.
Let your children take these characters out of the cartoon world, using their own imaginations as they play with this deluxe home set from the show. It comes with the whole family, their house, a barbecue, and a picnic table.
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