Popular Gifts for Toddlers, From STEM Toys to Activity Tables

Just a couple years ago, your baby didn’t care about presents. Sure, she opened them, sucked on them, and maybe played with them, but she didn’t fully understand the true art of gift-giving, and — if we’re being honest — wouldn’t have missed it if you never gave her anything at all.

Finding the best gifts for toddlers is a whole new ballgame. In some ways, it’s a lot more fun: Now that your baby is a toddler, she actually plays with her toys — and you can get down on the floor and play right there with them. But the challenge is that toddlers have opinions now — a lot of opinions — so not just any toy will do. We scoured the toy aisles to find gifts that your toddler will play with more than the box it came in. (And hopefully you’ll have some fun with them, too. Hey, we won’t tell if you keep playing after they go to sleep.) Whether you’re looking for board books, building blocks, educational toys, snuggly soft friends or toys that feature their favorite characters from TV and the movies, here are the best gifts for toddlers for 2020. (And if you’re still looking, we’ve got the best gifts for babies too.) And for more ideas for toys for kids of every age, check out the Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards.

LEGO

amazon.com

$19.99

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Here come the letters! New for 2020, this 36-piece Duplo set features every letter of the alphabet, plus 10 additional bricks and a truck to haul them around on. It's a building toy and a reading toy in one. Ages 18 months+

RELATED: The Best Toys for 2-Year-Olds, According to Parents and Parenting Experts

Educational Insights

amazon.com

$11.51

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Get your future engineer ready: This hands-on toy lets her snap together parts and drill in bolts using a kid-friendly screwdriver. When it's all done, she can also personalize her new robot friend using colorful stickers. Ages 3+

Learning Resources

amazon.com

$10.63

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This hedgehog plays games with kids that develop their motor control, since they involve putting the "spikes" into the holes. Testers the Good Housekeeping Institute found that the pegs of this toy were easy for little ones to grasp. Ages 18 months+

VTech

amazon.com

$17.99

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Enhance sensory development with this pint-size drum set. It comes with nine pre-programmed melodies to play along to and can be set to educational modes that teach letters, numbers and rhythm. Three AA batteries are included. Ages 2+

RELATED: The Best Toys and Gifts for 3-Year-Old Boys, According to Parents and Parenting Experts

Melissa & Doug

amazon.com

$21.95

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If your child wants to care for some fuzzy and furry pet friends, this 24-piece set is just what the doctor ordered. You can opt to buy the set alone, or add on a vet costume. (Not in stock at Amazon? Try Kohl's.) Ages 3+

Uncommon Goods

uncommongoods.com

$40.00

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Personalized with your toddler's first and last name, this book will help her recognize the most important letters in the alphabet.

RELATED: Diverse and Multicultural Toys That Foster Inclusivity in Kids

puma

puma.com

$28.00

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Fat Brain Toys

walmart.com

$24.95

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A twist on the traditional shape sorter, the Shape Factory comes with a base and a top that rotate in opposite directions when you push the plunger, changing the shape of the holes. Now, instead of trying to find the right shape for the slot, you have to find the right shape and create the right slot. Ages 2+

LAMAZE

amazon.com

$69.99

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Puffs of air make the sea creatures on this table come to life: the starfish spins, the seaweed waves, and the fish swim on the "water" the way an air hockey puck floats across the table. It's designed to grow with a child: the legs come off so it's a floor toy for babies, and then you can raise it up again when your kid learns to stand. Ages 6 months+

RELATED: The Best Toys and Gifts for 3-Year-Old Girls, According to Parents and Parenting Experts

Constructive Playthings

amazon.com

$30.44

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Toddlers can get practice with buttons, zippers and bows as they go through the layers of this nesting doll. Plus, the dolls themselves are soft to snuggle with. Ages 2+

Skip Hop

amazon.com

$39.99

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Kids can whip up loads of pretend treats at this cute coffee counter. The playset comes with the cafe machine, the drawer, a filter, three cups, three drink pods, three lattes, three whipped toppings, two donuts, a milk pitcher and sugar — 20 pieces in all — and everything fits in the tray for storage. Ages 3+

RELATED: The 2019 Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards

My Family Builders

amazon.com

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Toddlers will love stacking, sorting, and re-stacking the various faces, bodies, and feet in this set. The pieces are magnetic, so they won't get too frustrated with them toppling over (unless they want to knock them down, which is half the fun). Ages 2+

Educational Insights

amazon.com

$16.57

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With a toy drill, kids can take these toys apart and reassemble them, so they can feel like little makers. There are three sets available: a recycling truck, a rocket ship, and a race car. Ages 3+

RELATED: The Best Toys for 1-Year-Old Toddlers Growing Out of Their Baby Toys

Uncommon Goods

uncommongoods.com

$10.00

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Since they're way beyond "milk" and "ball," teach them words they really need to know: dragon, android, cyborg, wormhole and other vocab you need to get them into sci-fi and fantasy.

Fisher-Price

amazon.com

$42.99

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This is never the same toy twice: The "rocktopus" comes with 15 musical "instruments" you can put in its hands, and then kids can tap them to make different sounds. It comes programmed with five musical styles, and kids can play in three different modes, like "math" mode, where they can practice adding, subtracting and making patterns. Ages 3+

VTech

amazon.com

$66.56

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The way the police car chases a getaway car around bright and colorful tracks is so engrossing, your kids won't quit playing with it after five minutes. Ages 1+

LeapFrog

walmart.com

$29.09

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These building blocks let the imagination flow, but there's a bonus: If you insert certain blocks into certain positions, they make different sounds like, "You found the 'A!'" Ages 18 months+

LEGO

amazon.com

$15.99

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If your toddler watched and re-watched Toy Story 4, she might want to create more fun at home with Woody and Buzz. This 21-piece Duplo set should do the trick. Ages 2+

Fisher-Price

amazon.com

$31.99

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If you're looking for a first dollhouse, this is a good toddler starter home. The "discovery" button gives the characters prompts that teach them how to be helpers at home, like feed the dog, make the bed or put away the toys. Ages 3+

Hape

amazon.com

$29.84

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Get them started on their rock-star swagger with this four-string toy ukulele, which is fully playable and tunable like a real guitar. (And did you know Fender offers ukulele lessons online? Bookmark that one for when they get older.) Ages 3+

Petit Collage

amazon.com

$18.00

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This jigsaw puzzle is perfect for beginners; it's made from 24 sturdy pieces that are perfect for little hands. Ages 2+

WowWee

amazon.com

$19.99

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All toddlers are obsessed with the "Baby Shark" song, and this puppet not only sings the song — it goes faster or slower depending on how fast you move the mouth.

RELATED: A Complete List of Every New Baby Shark Toy and Gift to Get for Little Shark Fans

BabyLit®

amazon.com

$8.99

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From Austen to Zebec, this sweet Board Book teaches kids the ABCs according to famous works of great literature. Start them on the classics early!

Fisher-Price

amazon.com

$48.38

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This ice palace comes with a staircase that slides in and out, lights that can be turned on and off, and — most importantly — a button that makes the whole thing sing "Let It Go." Kids were so entranced by it during a Good Housekeeping Institute lab test that it walked away with a 2019 Good Housekeeping Toy Award. (Sold out at Amazon? Try Walmart or Target.) Ages 18 months+

Viking

amazon.com

$4.99

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Penguin Bedtime Classics is reviving all your old favorites as board books with new illustrations. In addition to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, there's also a new edition of The Nutcracker, The Wizard of Oz, A Little Princess and Jack and the Beanstalk.

The First Years

amazon.com

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Practice numbers and color recognition with these brightly colored cups. They may not seem like much, but your tot is working on motor control, hand-eye coordination and language development as he plays. Ages 6 months+

Thomas & Friends

amazon.com

$23.85

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Stefano is a cruiser who can transform into a train track, so he's perfect for playing with on the go. If you open him up, he has room for 40 engines inside (he comes with three). Ages 3+

Jellycat

amazon.com

$20.00

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Part-stuffed animal, part-lovey, this will be the first thing your toddler reaches for when they want to snuggle. If loveys aren't their thing, Jellycat also has adorable stuffies in a variety of animals, including a flamingo, dragon, octopus, llama, dinosaur and even a pineapple and avocado.

YOTTOY

amazon.com

$28.00

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In honor of every kid's favorite book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems, this soft plush bus could be played with like a vehicle, or used like a pillow. Ages 1+

Fisher-Price

walmart.com

$23.93

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This happy sloth claps its hands and nods its head along the music it plays, and also lights up in bright colors. It can also connect to other Linkimals (like the hedgehog or llama) for even more fun. Ages 9 months+