Need holiday gift ideas? No need to scour the Internet for the best toys, because we are here to help! With the help of my kids (3 and 6 year old), here are some of our favorite gift ideas. Hope this will make your shopping simple and easy this year. We hope you’ll find something for your kids in this gift guides.
1. Connetix Tiles Rainbow 212 Mega Pack
Magnetic tiles is by far the only toy that both of my kids play with daily. The Rainbow 212 Piece Mega Pack is a great starter set and includes:
- 6x large hexagons
- 12x large squares
- 36x small squares
- 36x equilateral triangles
- 36x right angle triangles
- 36x isosceles triangles
- 12x window square pieces
- 12x hollow square pieces (door frames)
- 12x rectangles
- 12x square gates
- 2x cars
- Idea booklet
If you are having a hard time deciding which magnetic tile to go with, read my Magna-Tiles VS Connetix post.
Educational Benefits:
- Developing Motor Skills
- Creative Play
- Shapes and Color Identification
Age Group: 3 and Up
2. Grimm’s Large Wooden Rainbow, Semi-Circles, Balls
Our 12 piece wooden rainbow is one of the most open-ended toy at our house. We use them a lot with semi circles to make cakes and ball runs.
These wooden balls comes in a pack of 12 and are perfect for little hands. They fit perfectly between the large wooden rainbow. You can also color sort them. We got them here (get $10 off your purchase).
Educational Benefits:
- Problem Solving
- Color Recognition
- Spatial Awareness
- Hand/eye Coordination
- Improves Concentration
- Sorting
- Balancing Objects
- Imaginary Play
- Sequencing
Age Group: 3 and Up (Warning – Balls are Choke hazards)
3. Hot Wheels Mario Kart
These Hot Wheels Mario Kart brings me back to my childhood! Each one is 1:64 scale. It work on Hot Wheels tracks, and we love using them on magnetic tile ramps.
Educational Benefits:
- Problem Solving
- Hand/eye Coordination
- Developing Fine Motor Skills
- STEM Learning
Age Group: 1 and Up
4. Maileg Mice
These adorable little dolls have relatable characters with cute outfits and accessories. It makes you want to collect them all. They also come in different sizes, which makes it much easier to bring them wherever we go. My kids love the babies (twins or triplets) the most. I bought our Maileg Mice here (get $10 off your purchase).
Educational Benefits:
- Improve Social Skills
- Language Development
- Foster Imagination
- Boost Creativity
- Develop Gross Motor Skills
Age Group: 3 and Up
5. Hubelino Marble Run
Want to extend the life of your Duplos? Get a Hubelino Marble Run! We have the Mega Building Box Set. This marble run is compatible with Duplos and have cool accessories such as Slide and Gravity Hammer.
The marble spins on its axle as it rushes down the slide. It is fun way to introduce early concepts of physics, such as acceleration and gravity!
This hammer has enough force to move your marbles up several levels! When a marble approaches the gravity hammer, the metal ball will swoosh down and knock the marble forward. It is a cool way to learn about momentum.
My kid’s favorite part about ball runs is decorating it with our existing Duplos.
Educational Benefits:
- STEM
- Spatial Reasoning
- Hand/eye Coordination
- Balance
- Developing Fine Motor Skills
Age Group: 3 and Up
6. Sarah’s Play Silk
Playsilks are open-ended, simple, versatile and magical toys that ignite your child’s imagination and creativity.
These soft, colorful pieces of silk fabric can transform into capes, scarves, blankets, backdrop, hammock, and so much more.
Each Sarah’s play silk is hand-dyed, making them truly unique and special. They are made from natural materials, ensuring a safe and eco-friendly playtime experience for your little ones.
The open-ended nature of playsilks allows for endless play possibilities.
Educational Benefits:
- Fine/Gross Motor Skills
- Language Development
- Creative Play
- Sensory Exploration
- Foster Imagination
Age Group: 3 and Up
7. Yoto Player (Third Generation)
Yoto Player (3rd Generation) is an audio player for children 3-12+. It plays audiobooks, podcasts, music, or even your own personalized audio (i.e., Yoto Make Your Own Cards) simply by inserting a card into a small slot on top of the player.
Besides an audio player, it can also function as a clock, night light, and sound machine. My son uses the night light feature a lot. His night light is red at bed time and green in the morning to indicate that it is time for him to wake up.
My 6 year old takes it everywhere. To breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He always bring it with him on long trips, and we listen to the Yoto Daily Podcast every morning.
Yoto also has a great app where you can access hundreds of free podcasts, audiobooks, radio, sleep sounds, as well as playing any of the content you own without needing the physical card.
If you are interested in a more thorough review, check out my blog post here.
Educational Benefits:
- Foster Independent Play and Learning
- Improve Language Learning
- Promotes Story Telling
- Foster Imagination
Age Group: 3-12+ years old
8. Tara’s Treasures Felt Food
If your little ones love playing with their play kitchen, these Tara’s Treasures Felt Food (use code “THANKYOU” for 10% off) might be a good additional. These eco-friendly and safe play felt foods feature lifelike designs that promote creativity and enhance pretend play. Our favorite ones are the mouthwatering desserts.
Educational Benefits:
- Improves Imagination and Creativity
- Improves Expression Skills
- Language Development
- Promotes Social Skills
Age Group: 3 and Up
9. Bounceland Medieval Castle
Bounce house improve children’s balance and physical aptitudes. With added challenges like obstacles, ball pit, dart game, basketball hoop, and double slides, this Bounceland Medieval Bounce Castle kept my kids active and busy for hours on end.
While you can rent a bounce house in the United States from $300 to $800 for an 8-hour rental, it made financial sense for us to buy one to have long term. We played with this a number of times already, and plan to use it for future birthday parties and gatherings.
Educational Benefits:
- Teamwork
- Social Skills
- Motor Skills
Age Group: 36 Months to 10 Years Old
10. Stapelstein Stacking Stones
We have had this for a year now and it is still well loved. These stepping stone work well on carpet and hardwood floors. These Stapelstein Stacking Stones are made from 100% resource-saving EPP (Expanded Polypropylene) – completely recyclable. I got the rainbow classic set of 6 and added 2 rainbow stepping stone and a balance board. It is perfect for floor is lava and obstacle course. You can even flip the stones over and use it as a bowl or color sort activity. You can buy your stepping stones here (get $10 off your purchase).
Educational Benefits:
- Hand/Eye Coordination
- Develop Gross Motor Skills
- Sensory Play
- Promotes Open-Ended Play
- Enhances Concentration
Age Group: 1 and Up
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