I’m always in search of gifts for my kids that they won’t toss aside just a few days after Christmas. Bonus points if they’re educational, too! So today I’m rounding up our favorite open-ended toys for young kids. And by young, I mean kiddos from roughly 3 to 7. (But you know your kids best, so obviously you’ll be the best judge of which toys are suitable for them.)
These toys have all been a huge hit with our boys, who are 6 and 4 this year. (And I’ve thrown a few toys in there for babies, too, because they can be kind of hard to buy for!) And many of them come in sets that can be added to for birthdays, subsequent Christmases, and just because.
OUR VERY FAVORITE OPEN-ENDED TOYS FOR YOUNG KIDS
Magna-Tiles
Why we love them:
- They’re super durable. My kids are really rough on toys, and in the four years we’ve owned Magna-Tiles, we’ve only ever had one crack. And I mean, they stand on them, thrown them, etc. Pretty impressive!
- The options for building and creating are endless. My boys have built some awesome structures with their Magna-Tiles, making them a huge win for inspiring creativity and open-ended play.
- They encourage geometry, critical thinking, and motor skills. I have been amazed at how their little brains work out solutions to a caving in roof, or how they are able to easily lay out the net of a 3D shape and then fold the whole thing up flawlessly. I feel like I could have used these for high school geometry class!
Squigz
Why we love them:
- They’re durable and dishwasher safe. Need I say more?
- They make a very satisfying sound when they’re unstuck from surfaces. My sensory-seeking little boy really loves the sound and feel of sticking and unsticking these little guys to things, especially glass windows.
- They are great for vertical surfaces, which changes things up from playing on the floor or at the table. Because they suction to windows really well, we usually open them up and let the boys go crazy creating things on the front window. It offers new and exciting challenges for them, and it changes things up from their usual floor play.
LEGO
Why we love them:
- Are there any more classic open ended toys than LEGOs? I think not! They’re not for young ones, though. I think Mr. Six started playing with them when he was 4, but we supervised him then to make sure he wouldn’t be tempted to put them in his mouth. Thankfully, he was well past that phase. Now, Mr. Four enjoying them alongside big brother.
- They have plenty of uses, including for homeschooling. A month ago, we were working on a map project that asked for a 3D model. So I brought out the LEGO set and has Mr. Six create his map on one of the green LEGO squares. It was perfect and he absolutely loved it!
- They have all kinds of “creator” sets, so you can tailor your LEGO collection to any interests. But we love the “Classics,” too!
- They have a DUPLO version for the really littles, so Little Miss will soon be able to begin her own collection for some open-ended fun!
Nugget Couch
Admittedly, Nugget Couches are incredibly hard to purchase these days, but if you can get your hands on one, they’re absolutely worth it! Somehow, we were able to score one in the September drop they had, and the boys have literally played with it every. single. day. It’s really at the tippy-top of our favorite open ended toys list.
Why we love it:
- They can build so many awesome forts and towers and trees and houses. The options here are pretty much endless.
- They make a great landing pad for my brave climbers and jumpers.
- Best cruddy weather toy ever! They get the boys plenty of physical activity and gross motor play even on days when the weather has us stuck inside.
- The whole family can snuggle up on our Nugget to read or watch a movie together.
Arts & Crafts Library
Why we love it:
- My kids could craft pretty much non-stop. They are always stealing my crafting supplies or cutting up paper for all of their creations. This library has given them all kinds of awesome craft supplies (so they leave mine alone…mostly)!
- They love to make gifts for other people using their craft supplies.
- The “library” comes in a handy box with trays, so it’s a nice way to keep everything organized and all together. They can pack it up and put it away on their own pretty quickly.
Play-Doh
Why we love it:
- It promotes fine motor skills and gives sensory input for sensory kids.
- It’s inexpensive, so when they inevitably leave some out or don’t get a lid sealed shut, it doesn’t break the bank to replace it.
- Play-Doh is so great for homeschool activities like learning Color Theory. You know, if you don’t mind the colors mixing.
- There are all kinds of tools and accessories you can get to help them level-up their Play-Doh creations. But cookie cutters and other kitchen tools work well, too!
- It smells sooooo good! Or is that just me??
Reusable Sticker Pads
Why we love them:
- Pretend play is sooo good for kids, and this just helps their imaginations come alive as they create different scenes.
- They can stick and unstick all of the pieces endlessly.
- There are SO MANY different sets, you can tailor these to any interests your kids may have.
- They make a great supplement to homeschool activities. We like to get out the wildlife sticker pads to act out scenes from our nature lore or just play with the habitats and animals that live there.
Dolls
Why we love them:
- This type of pretend play helps kids develop their social/emotional skills, as well as process emotions and experiences.
- They get to practice adult-like tasks such as feeding and changing dolls. It’s great life training in toy form.
- Dolls aren’t just for girls. Boys need that type of pretend play just as much as girls do! (Because everyone wants boys to grow up to be responsible, involved dads, right? Give them practice!) Girls and boys both benefit from these sweet open ended toys.
Wooden Train Sets
Why we love them:
- Our kids will happily play for hours at a time, building tracks, setting up little towns, and running their trains from place to place.
- They encourage fine motor skills and of course, creativity and imagination.
- The more the merrier, so these make great toys for siblings and are collections that can continuously be added to.
- You can get wooden tracks in pretty much any store where toys are sold, and thankfully, they all fit together. That seems like a rare blessing in the toy world!
A word of caution: Be very careful that you buy NEW painted wooden trains and sets from reputable retailers in the US or Canada (such as in-store at IKEA or Target). Cheap brands sold by foreign companies and older trains may contain paint with dangerous levels of lead. Coming from a mama whose babies were lead poisoned, this is one area you want to be VERY cautious!
Wooden Peg Dolls & Wooden Figures
Why we love them:
- The unfinished wooden peg dolls are perfect for creating your own characters. We read stories (such as The Nutcracker) and then we can create the characters and act out the ballet ourselves.
- We love wooden toys, and the kids seem to gravitate toward that natural material over plastic almost every time.
- These are great to play with in addition to train sets and other buildings that they kids make. My boys love to have their characters go on adventures in their other imaginary play worlds.
- There are loads of wooden stacking toys for the littlest ones, too. Little Miss will be getting this rainbow stacker for Christmas this year.
A word of caution: Be very careful that you buy NEW painted wooden toys and sets from reputable retailers in the US or Canada (such as in-store at IKEA or Target). Cheap brands sold by foreign companies and older wooden toys may contain paint with dangerous levels of lead. Coming from a mama whose babies were lead poisoned, this is one area you want to be VERY cautious!
These are truly some of our absolute favorite open-ended toys for young kids.
We have every single one of them, and our kids love them! I do still do a loose version of a toy rotation, just to keep everything fresh. However, they have yet to get tired of any of these toys, so they’re definitely winners in our home!
Oh, and if you’re still looking for ideas for simple Christmas activities, check out this post to get you started!
I hope this helps get some of your Christmas list knocked out!
Merry Christmas!
