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Finding the best toys for children can feel like a daunting task, whether you’re a parent with years of experience playing Santa Claus or a cool uncle who’s totally unprepared. You want something fun, something that won’t cause too big a mess, and something that can be used for more than one play session. Oh, and a toy with educational qualities and STEM attributes is a big plus. On top of that, whatever toy you pick will be competing with the siren call of screen time and Youtube, so not just any old toy will do.
Where does that leave you? With so many toys to choose from, how can you be sure the one you pick is worth the money? We went to the source — parents, of course — to find out. Specifically, parents who co-sign on the most loved Amazon toys.
Amazon makes it incredibly easy to get your Christmas shopping done, and thanks to the company’s epic Pre-Black Friday sale, thousands of popular toys and games are on sale right now. For this reason, we wanted to find the best toys on Amazon for every age.
After a lot of deliberation, careful research and a lot of playtime, we’ve gathered the most-loved Amazon toys into one place. So if you’re a parent, cool uncle or grandparent searching for the best toys on Amazon, we’ve got your back.
Check out our picks of the most beloved Amazon kids’ toys for all ages below. Keep checking back, as we’ll be sure to update this post as new toys are released and the holidays approach.
1. Sassy Stacks of Circles Stacking Ring
BEST FOR BABIES
If this stack of rings looks like a familiar toy from your childhood, it’s because it likely is. Plastic stacking rings are an excellent first toy for babies because it helps them practice hand-eye coordination. Designed specifically for little hands, the Sassy Stacks improves on the tried and true toy by making it BPA-free and incorporating a variety of textures and weights to help babies experience different feelings and sensations.
2. Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set
BEST FOR BUILDING
Another great first toy is the Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set. Kids can learn to sort and build with the colorful set, which makes a great toy for various ages and comes with enough pieces to allow several siblings or friends to play together.
3. Nuby Floating Purple Octopus with 3 Hoopla Rings
BEST BATH TOY
There’s no shortage of great toys to make bath time the best part of the day, but one of the most popular is undoubtedly the Nuby Floating Purple Octopus. (If you can find it, the Cocomelon Squirting Bath Toy is also a SPY-favorite.) The soft and flexible octopus has three rings that fit over the brightly colored toys’ tentacles. Parents will also appreciate that the floating toy has been designed to keep mold from forming.
4. Learning Resources Spike The Fine Motor Hedgehog
FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN
Designed for babies ages 18 months and up, this Montessori-inspired toy helps children learn counting, sorting, and improve their fine motor skills. Little ones will have fun fitting the spikes into the hedgehog. Children can also practice their cleaning skills when playtime is over by placing the quills inside Spike.
5. Bluey Ultimate Lights & Sounds Playset
BEST BLUEY TOY
We couldn’t review the best toys on Amazon without including at least one pick from Bluey. With this playset and toy box, your kids can bring Bluey to life. When your little ones are in the mood for some Bluey but you don’t want to spend more time in front of the TV or tablet, use this playhouse to keep them entertained (and active!) for hours on end. This Amazon-exclusive toy is on sale and comes with the entire Bluey family in mini-figure form.
6. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Kitchen
ENGLISH AND SPANISH
Both my kids love the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Kitchen and it’s my go-to gift for new parents. It sings and speaks in English and Spanish, makes ‘kitchen’ noises, and is fun for babies, toddlers, and even little kids. Kitchens are a great learning toy and this is a fun and compact first kitchen that little ones will love. Fisher-Price is one of the best-known toymakers, and this playset is an Amazon Exclusive, making it an easy choice for one of the best Amazon toys of 2022.
7. Fisher-Price Little People Farm Toy
ENCOURAGES PLAYTIME
You can’t go wrong with any of the Little People toys and one of the best aspects is that each figure fits with any Little People set. The Farm Toy is a great first toy for babies and toddlers. It includes several figurines, including one farmer, and there are lights and sounds that little ones will enjoy.
8. Magna-Tiles 32-Piece Clear Colors Set
BEST FOR MULTIPLE AGES
Magna-Tiles are another toy that gets constant use in our house and one that I recommend to all parents. They’re suitable for a wide range of ages, making them a toy that siblings can pass down and play with together, and the open-ended design means kids will never run out of things to build. This is a great starter set and Magna-Tiles and Create On are consistently releasing new sets with different colors and characters, all of which work together.
We recently featured this classic children’s toy in our guide to the Best Christmas Gifts of 2022, and it’s one of the most loved Amazon toys year after year.
9. hand2mind MathLink Cubes Numberblocks
BEST MATH TOY
Inspired by the hit Netflix series Numberblocks, this hand2mind set makes learning math fun for kids ages 3 and up. Kids can follow along with the show or learn on their own using the colorful stacking cubes. Sort, count, and have fun with this hugely popular educational toy.
10. Osmo-Little Genius Starter Kit
BEST INTRO TO STEM
Another Amazon exclusive, the Osmo-Little Genius kit is a STEM sensation. STEM has become one of the most popular toy categories for kids and Osmo continues to lead the charge. The Little Genius Starter Kit is designed for kids ages 3 to 5 and uses games to teach early math skills, phonics, fine motor skills and more. The kit works with an iPad or Fire Tablet and boasts several learning properties while also working as a toy that kids can enjoy with limited parental supervision.
11. Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Kidnoculars
BEST FOR OUTDOOR PLAY
For little nature lovers, a kid-friendly basic like the Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Kidnoculars will turn a regular trip to the park into an exciting adventure. Designed specifically for little ones, these comfortable and durable binoculars help kids explore their surroundings and get excited about nature.
12. Educational Insights Playfoam 8-Pack
BEST SENSORY TOY
A sensory toy that kids can build and mold and it doesn’t leave a mess? It’s real and for adults, you’ll probably want to play with it as well. The Educational Insights Playfoam 8-Pack comes with eight balls of foam that can be squished, stretched, shaped, and then put away for another playtime. The non-toxic, non-drying playfoam is another toy that siblings of various ages can enjoy together.
13. LEGO Chain Reactions
FOR LEGO FANS
If your kids are already into LEGO, keep their love of building going with the LEGO Chain Reactions. The set includes a full-color book with instructions on how to build 10 moving machines and it comes with several pieces kids will need to complete their movable creations. A great STEM toy that focuses on engineering, the LEGO Chain Reactions will inspire kids to make their own creations.
14. ThinkFun Gravity Maze Marble Run
BEST FOR SOLO PLAY
For kids ages 8 and up, the ThinkFun Gravity Maze Marble Run is an excellent choice for improving problem-solving skills. The STEM toy includes cards that give users an outline of where a marble should begin and where it has to end. There are various levels of difficulty, making this a toy that kids, teens, and adults will enjoy.
15. LEGO Star Wars The Razor Crest
BEST FOR OLDER KIDS
Two things kids have loved for decades are LEGOs and Star Wars, so of course, the LEGO Star Wars The Razor Crest is one of the most popular sets on Amazon. Designed for kids ages 10 and up, the Star Wars-inspired set, which includes over 1000 pieces, features scenes from The Mandalorian and includes four mini-figures.
How Did We Pick the Best Amazon Toys?
To select the most loved Amazon toys, we consulted a lot of parents. (Editor’s Note: this article was also written by one of SPY’s parenting and toy experts, Allison Bowsher, who is quite the expert herself.) In fact, we’ve been on the hunt for the best toys of the year for awhile.
You can refer back to our list of the Top 50 Toys of 2021, or you can check out some of our more recent toy guides:
In addition to consulting parents and toy experts, we also wanted to make sure that we selected toys for every age group. Specifically, we looked for toys that do not involve starting at a screen for hours at a time; rather, we’re looking for toys that encourage play and imagination. Toys that promote STEM properties, encourage fine motor skills, foster independent play, and toys that can be enjoyed by siblings of various ages have all made our list, as well as some top picks by our SPY writers who are also parents.
Whether you’re buying toys for a baby, a 5-year-old, a 7-year-old, or a preteen (thoughts and prayers to you, parents), all of these toys have been vetted by parents and are worth the space they are going to take up in your once organized home.