Discover the ultimate gift guide for toddlers and preschoolers! We polled parents and family members to bring you top toy recommendations that are sure to bring excitement and joy to little ones aged five and under.
Who doesn’t love seeing the excitement on a young child’s face when they tear open wrapping paper to reveal a colorful new toy? It makes the time you spend searching for the perfect gift worthwhile. Parents naturally love to shop for their kids and babies, but gifting is where grandparents, aunts and uncles shine as well. We polled adults with kids and close family members aged five and younger to find out what they have already bought or plan to buy the little ones this year and why. The result? Fantastic gift ideas for little ones, from toddlers to pre-schoolers. Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Foam climbing blocks $106.32 at Ali Express $129.99 at Amazon “Axel is adventurous and fearless and imaginative. He loves climbing, jumping and sliding outdoors and indoors. He uses anything from pillows to mattresses to build his own personal jungle gym. We were thinking of getting him crawling and sliding foam blocks so he can continue to build his own mini-Adventureland.” Calvin, dad of Axel, age 2 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Picasso tiles $29.99 at Amazon $39.99 at PicassoTiles “Magnetic tiles replace Lego. They’re colorful and manageable by four- and five-year-olds, although I’ve been told that three-year-olds will start maneuvering them. One of the popular ones is called Picasso Tiles. This can be for a boy or a girl. It starts kids off with motor skills and it’s fun because they can take it down and put it back up with relative ease.” Julie, grandmother to Leo and Holly, ages 3.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Crayola Model Magic Deluxe Variety Pack $9.59 at Amazon $9.59 at Hobby Lobby “Blake enjoys creating shapes and figures using all different colors. He loves that he can let his creation air dry and put it in a display in his room. He already has a set, but I’m thinking of getting him another one, or even a couple, so he can make bigger and better creations to put on display and share with friends.” Melissa, mom of Blake, age 4.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon VTech Storytime with Sunny $59.99 at Amazon “Maddie was given this for her birthday by my sister and she loves it. It tells stories and is interactive. It sings and moves, with an interactive face that Maddie really enjoys. There are multiple stories, songs and games to choose from.” Nicole, mom of Madison, age 3 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Pretend Play Tea Set $21.99 at Amazon “Kira is really into feeding and playing with her dolls. She really likes to replicate the adults that take care of her. So, she naps dolls, feeds them, and plays with them. It’s good for her imagination and makes her feel responsible.” Chris, dad of Kira, age 2.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Bicycle with training wheels $79.99 at Amazon $79.99 at Walmart “We got Yasa a bike. It’s not only a rite of passage, it also builds self-esteem, improves coordination and health, and is fun! He loves riding his scooter, so a bike was the natural progression.” Pantea, mom of Yasa, age 4.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Gabby’s Dollhouse characters $63.95 at Walmart $63.95 at Amazon “Anything Gabby’s Doll House is a hit with our three-year-old these days. In particular, things that are small enough to be stepped on by an adult.” Paul, dad to Mara, age 3 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon VTech Karaoke Machine $45.95 at Limolin $54.99 at Amazon “Good for boy or girl, this is being purchased for a boy who just loves to dance and sing. Parents can get involved with this, too, so it’s pretty cool.” Julie, grandmother to Leo, age 3.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Melissa & Doug Spray & Shine Car Wash $22.99 at Amazon $22.99 at Walmart “I love how water changes the colors of the car, and that this is great for girls and boys.” Donna, mother to Marcello, age 3 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon FoxMind Games Don’t Rock the Croc $11.24 at Amazon $11.24 at Walmart “This game is great for three-to-five-year-olds and can be played with the whole family. The whole concept is to place a block into a bowed crocodile. The one who tips it after putting in various cylinders and blocks loses.” Donna, mother to Marcello, age 3 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon I Spy Books $42.90 at Amazon “You can purchase this for three-to-five-year-olds and they have to locate items that are on the side of the page. They have fun trying to spot them.” Julie, grandmother to Leo, age 3.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Gymheroes Gel Fidget Toys $35.01 at Amazon “It’s a liquid sensory fidget toy. They promote fine motor skills, but also help with anxiety, and have a calming effect because of their texture. It can also be an occupational therapy toy.” Julie, grandmother to Holly, age 3.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Cinderella costume $29.99 at Amazon “Any type of Cinderella dress that comes with all the fixings like a wand, crown, necklace, and more included is always great.” Carla, mother to Izzy, age 4 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Learning Resources Grab That Donut! Fine Motor Game $18.99 at Amazon $18.99 at Target “This educational game is for ages three plus, and it really promotes fine motor skills. Madison requested this. It’s 39 pieces.” Shauna, mother to Madison, age 2.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Lego Disney Moana’s Island Fun Building Toy Playset $15.99 at Amazon $15.99 at Walmart “Luna would love this set. She loves building things, and currently, Moana is her favorite character.” Marta, aunt of Luna, age 3 Sign up to The Filter US Free weekly newsletter A guide to buying fewer, better products. Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Magnetic blocks $25.19 at Walmart $36.39 at Amazon “Jack would love these blocks. Recently, he became very passionate about Minecraft, but I don’t like him spending hours on electronics. This way, he still feels like he is playing the game, but it allows him to be more creative.” Dan, dad of Jack, age 5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon LeapFrog Preschool Game & Go $12.38 at Amazon $12.99 at Macy’s “I’m planning on getting this for my very active three-year-old granddaughter. She gets bored watching TV and I’m sure she will enjoy this as it is loaded with games she can play while learning. The music feature is a plus, as she loves music. I hope it will help improve her attention span.” Mary, grandmother of Luisa, age 3 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon The Fidget Game Word Pop $23.99 at Amazon $29.99 at The Fidget Game “I’m getting this because when Sarina comes over with her brother for sleepovers, we can all play with her. She will not only enjoy being included in playing games with us, but it will improve her reading skills.” Lisa, grandmother of Sarina, age 3 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Carson BugView 5x Magnifying Glass $11.99 at Amazon $11.99 at Walmart “Blake always wants to go outside and collect all types of insects he can find. This magnifying glass is cool because he can capture one and view it up close. I like that it doesn’t harm the critters, and he can release it once he’s done. Plus, he gets to learn about different types of bugs.” Melissa, mom of Blake, age 4.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Spooner Boards Freestyle $44.95 at Amazon $49.95 at Fat Brain Toys “Austin loves balancing and spinning on this board. While it makes me nervous at times, we keep a watchful eye on him while he’s doing it, and he always uses it in a safe space. It helps him expend some of that energy. He’s a kid that likes to go, go, go all day! He has one speed: turbo!” Rob, dad of Austin, age 3.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Police car toy $15.99 at Walmart $16.99 at Amazon “Axel’s extremely active, so he needs anything that keeps him busy and out of trouble. He loves anything relating to cars or any form of transportation vehicle, whether it’s an actual toy car or T-shirt or pyjamas. He loves police cars, in particular, so I plan to purchase a police car for him.” Joanne, aunt to Axel, age 4 Photograph: Courtesy of Blain's Farm & Fleet Google Eyes puzzle $8.70 at Puzzle Warehouse $8.99 at Blain’s Farm & Fleet “Dinosaurs are one of his favorites (toys, T-shirts, pyjamas, like the cars), and so I’ve purchased a Googly Eyes puzzle with dinosaurs for him. It’s supposed to help with color recognition, creative thinking, and memory skill.” Joanne, aunt to Axel, age 4 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Crayola Mess-Free Coloring Set $19.09 at Amazon $19.09 at Staples “Parents love these because the magic brushes only paint color on Color Wonder paper provided in the kit and not on skin, furniture, or fabric. I got him the blank canvas one so he can get creative with whatever he wants to draw. It comes in folder style packaging, which is convenient for travelling. Non-toxic.” Sandra, mom to Travis, age 4 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Hulk pajamas $21.97 at Amazon “Casimir absolutely loves Hulk, and he wants to be big and strong, just like his hero, Hulk. He keeps telling us he likes to protect his family and friends, which, as a parent, is the sweetest thing to hear. If it’s got Hulk, it’s number one, so we’re planning to get him Hulk pajamas for Christmas to help him channel his inner-Hulk.” Allie, mom of Casimir, age 3.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Kid-friendly headphones $24.12 at Amazon $27.16 at Belkin “Thorin is observant, and he’s at an age where he wants to be just like mom and dad. If he sees us using our laptop or headphones while we work on something, he wants one of his own so that he can do what we’re doing and be just like a grown-up. This is why we’re planning to get him a set of kid-friendly headphones for Christmas.” Allie, mom of Thorin, age 3.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon StoryPhones $99.99 at Amazon “We want him to enjoy being a kid as long as possible, so we’re going to get him a set of StoryPhones, which plays kids stories. This way, he can focus on having fun with screen-free entertainment, instead of recreating the grown-up ‘work’ aspect when he mimics us.” Allie, mom of Thorin, age 3.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Melissa & Doug Wooden Food Toy Set $24.69 at Walmart $32.98 at Amazon “She loves pretending to feed members of the family by cutting a variety of fruit she is exposed to. She’ll also pretend to feed dolls that attend her made-up restaurant.” Nicole, mom of Madison, age 3 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Early learning book sets $14.99 at Amazon $14.99 at Walmart “I really want my son to develop a love of reading like I did as a kid. I think it’s important to start them early to get there. I plan to get him a book set and read one with him every night, helping him learn letters, numbers, and expanding his vocabulary.” Paul, dad of Lucas, age 2.5 Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Hand-eye & teething toy $5.99 at Amazon “I want to get him some hand eye toys, like fidget and teething toys.” Darlene, mom of a four-month-old Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon Paw Patrol Firetruck $41.99 at Kohl’s $49.98 at Amazon “Giant Marshall firetruck! The big firetruck from Paw Patrol.” Elaine, mom of a five-year-old
