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This is your sign to finally get them those popping tubes all their friends have (and I can vouch for 'em — they're quite entertaining).

Promising review: "These are fun and sturdy, solid 'rocks' that are great for open-ended play. There are many sizes and lots of bright colors. If you are stacking them, you do need to find some patience…they like to topple over — which can be frustrating for littles. Overall, a great toy!" —MomOfLulu

Promising review: "I have had these for a few years now and my kids love them. They enjoyed them as babies and continue to learn new ways to play with them as they get into their preschool years. The kids have used this to learn fruits and vegetables, colors, sorting, counting, and now for more imaginative play as they play chef and make soups and meals. I am always impressed at the quality of toys produced by Learning Resources and their products are worth every penny. These are a phenomenal gift that will receive years of play without any show of wear and tear." —kaBuku

Reviewers say this is a great toy for all ages — from 3–12.

Promising reviews: "I got this for my 5-year-old for Christmas and she really enjoys trying to figure it out. Colors are vibrant, wood isn't too thick or too thin, and it's a nice size as well. She was thrilled when she finally figured out a combination to complete the puzzle. Great gift for a kid, especially given all the screen time kids have now. Gets their brains working!" —lr

"I was looking for stuff that would keep my kids entertained without electronics, and this is one of the things I got them. From my 5-year-old to my 10-year-old, they’ve all sat down and played around with it. It’ll be a great road trip game as well. Small. Compact. Has a bag to carry the game." —MGS

Promising reviews: "This item was exactly what I needed for some of the younger children because handling the rubber bands helps develop their fine motor muscles. It also encourages imagination and creativity, and counting. They make designs and love it. For older ages, there are cards with designs for them to try and duplicate. Young children can also make shapes and letters, thus developing math and literacy skills. This is a sturdy, well-made geoboard." —Kathleen Loden Barbuti

"Bought the geoboard for my 4-year-old grandson, who enjoyed making his own pictures and designs. As a retired math teacher, I can tell you that geoboards are great hands-on learning tools for children of any age. My seventh-grade students loved when our lessons involved 'playing' with geoboards!" —anne porter

To win, players must get three circular pieces of their color in a row in either ascending or descending order; get the same-sized pieces in a row; or get three concentric pieces in the same space, but beware of other players attempting to block you! 

Promising review: "We've played with ages from 10–50, and all love it. The game is about defense if you look away or focus on your moves you will lose. It is also a relatively quick game so it is good for a small window of time or for hours. We take it camping with us and to game night with neighbors." —Steve Peters

Promising review: "This game is HILARIOUS. My kids love playing with it and taking turns hiding it. (8, 6, and 3 years). They all think poop is funny and run around yelling 'Silly Poopy, where are you?' It keeps them busy for at least half an hour at a time and they leave me alone. Also? It's pretty durable. I found it outside in my garden in the 20-degree winter weather. I guess my 8-year-old left it out there for a few days. It also gets thrown down the stairs and Silly Poopy just keeps on giggling and having fun." —Adele

The game comes with 60 challenges that range from beginner to expert so it will hold their interest as they work their way up to the trickier ones.

Promising review: "What a great combination of construction, puzzles, and games! My 5-year-old and 8-year-old niece were able to challenge themselves to some of the levels (the 8-year-old was was more capable of solving them on her own). The adults also found themselves fixated on playing the different levels as well! It was challenging and fun! We love marble runs and games so this was a perfect fit. This is one of the few games that everyone asks to play and it's perfect when we have guests of kiddos over and keeps everyone busy and engaged for hours!" —Crystal Brown

My daughter has had this for a few months, and whenever I pull it out for her to play with, it definitely holds her attention thanks to its variety of activities. She specifically loves pushing the button that opens a little mirror. Not gonna lie, this toy is pretty amusing for me, too, when she is off playing by herself, and I wanna give her a little independence. I like the one that spins with the little balls lol.

Promising review: "We love this toy. I bought this for my child's first birthday, and their 4-year-old sibling also likes playing with it. It's like the most portable 'busy board' that you can customize. The little blocks can also be changed out with different ones, and they're easy for on-the-go if you just want to grab one or two and throw them in your bag. It does a pretty good job of keeping my littles' attention and helps with some dexterity as well. Great idea, nice quality little toy. It is a little expensive, but overall I think it's worth it." —Blair

Promising review: "I bought this for my son when he was 3. Two years later, I’ve come back to write my unbiased review so you have one to trust. At the time, I bought these on a whim and had no idea what I would unlock. For more than two full years now, these gears have been played with DAILY. Every. Single. Day. They have held up to crashed airplanes, tidal waves hitting sea creatures, and have been catapulted into castles. Very rarely have they been played with as shown on the product pictures, as my son uses them to build different things every day. Dusty Crophopper (plane), Lightning McQueen (race car), and so much more. Our only regret is that sometimes we don’t have enough pieces to build an entire fleet. These creations have an entire shelf for display in his bedroom to feature what he builds each day. This toy is durable, open-ended, grows with the child, fits a variety of abilities and ages, and is only limited by imagination. I could not recommend this toy more!" —Traveler

We got this for my daughter, and she's a little young to want to sit inside and play independently for any extended period of time, but she looooves running inside and hiding just to pop up through the little window on the side to play peek-a-boo. We have it set up in the corner of her room as a little reading nook with some blankets and stuffed animals, and I can only imagine how much she's going to love it for years to come. 

Get it from Target for $64.79 (originally $79.99).

Pass out all the cards to the players and keep all the stacks face down. Everyone takes a turn putting a card down in the middle, while saying "taco," "cat," "goat," "cheese," and "pizza," in that order. If the picture on your card matches the word that's said, everyone races against each other to slap their hand on the central pile of cards. Whoever is last must take the pile of cards and add them to their stack, and the person who runs out of cards first wins! And it's made by a small biz!

Promising review: "The title says it all! You must buy this game if you’re looking to get your kids off their butts, computers, phones, or TV! My children sat for hours, five to be exact, just playing this and laughing. It was a lot of fun for my husband and me to hear them not fighting and doing something together. Loads of fun!! We even loved playing with them!! 🥰🤘" —Melinda Haiden

Get it from Amazon for $9.95 (also available in a "ridiculously large" version).

Promising review: "First off, this is the cutest and coolest thing ever! Remember, it’s for 6+, if you’re over 20 and find flaws, I think we know how fun a person you are. It’s adorable! I’ve taken sooo many pictures and taken such good care of it she's soo happy! I’m excited to have this by my side ’til the end of time! 🌈✨ There are other Tamagotchis out there, but none have a camera, which makes the Pix the coolest. 😇💖" —Gabii Webber

Get it from Amazon for $99.99+ (available in three colors and three versions).

It comes with six design templates to follow, including a boat and a unicorn, but obviously, your kiddo can use their imagination to create designs of their own! And don't worry, the LED bulbs are designed not to get hot.

Promising review: "Y’all, talk about a throwback gift! I got this for my daughter for Christmas in 2019 — and within the first day, she and I both played with it for hours! To say it’s her favorite might be an understatement. And it totally takes you back to your childhood. Get it, you won’t regret it!" —Danielle Lavender

Promising review: "This tablet has entertained my 4-year-old grandson for hours at a time. He loves that he can erase at will and that the drawings are multicolored. I highly recommend this item for 18 months old and up. I bought a pink one for our 18-month-old granddaughter, and she too is just enthralled with it and the 'power' she has to erase, create, erase, create! They loved them so much, that we bought another set of two different colors so that they would have them at home as well as at 'Grammy's.'" —Kindle Customer Red Heart

Get it from Amazon for $13.29+ (available in four sizes and six colors).

I just got this about a week ago, and my daughter is already in love. We swapped it out for our coffee table, partially because we had no other spot for it, and partially because she's been climbing (and falling) off our couch, so we wanted to get rid of the hard table. While she is technically below the recommended age for this, it has not stopped her from playing with it almost every single day. Yes, she's definitely not using it to its full potential yet, but she loves to throw the lid off and jump from piece to piece and dance inside the big ring.

Promising review: "We have a small townhome, and our daughter is almost 1. This ottoman has worked out perfectly to be a place for her to climb, use as a ball pit, or use to pull herself up. We love that it’s a functional piece. It gets used every day." —Rebba K.

Get it from Nugget for $199+ (available in 16 colors).

Promising review: "Great starter drone! Got this for my 8-year-old son for Christmas and he has had so much fun with it! His dad has a drone and our son always wanted to play with it, but it was extremely fragile so he didn't get to play with it, hence why I bought him his own. It comes with charging cords and an extra battery so you can play with it longer than a few minutes and honestly by then my sons attention has gone elsewhere so it's perfect for him. He LOVES the flip option on the controller and it's easy to use. My husband also gets a kick out of it because this one has options that his does not. I would definitely purchase again!" —Kat

Get it from Amazon for $39.98 (available in three colors).

Promising review: "My 5-year-old nephew wanted a parachute so bad, but we didn't want him jumping off the roof of the house, so I found these toys and he LOVES them! The boys have contests and make up games on who's chute goes farthest or highest and they play play play! It's awesome!" —Amazon Customer

Get a pack of four from Amazon for $8.49 (available in three styles).

This set includes four high-flying stomp rockets and an adjustable rocket launch stand.

Stomp Rocket is a small business creating fun blaster toys that are powered by kids!

Promising review: "The assembly is EXTREMELY easy. The rockets launch well above my two-story home, that I have to make sure it’s not too close so one doesn’t land on the roof. It’s actually fun for the adults as well. My son loves to watch me really launch one. This is a great outside activity for any boy or girl. You don’t have to chase the kids around and they get plenty of exercise running to get the rockets after they’ve landed. Fun for everyone. Well worth the 20 bucks I spent on it." —Geno

Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in two quantities).

Mollybee Kids is a small, family-owned small business based in Pennsylvania. 

Promising review: "A must-have. My 2-year-old son is obsessed. Always asks to play 'find you' game LOL. Then we play it and every option on the game he actually thinks really hard then says, 'Come on, Mommy,' and runs me through the house to find the object. Highly recommended from a mom of four." —Britney bansley

Get it from Amazon for $12.99 (available in three versions).

The kit includes 190 pieces, a solar panel, and detailed instructions.

Promising review: "I purchased this as a gift for an 8-year-old boy. He loves to build, loves robotics, dinosaurs, and Godzilla. :) He LOVES this set! He sits for hours on end, which is an amazing accomplishment for any 8-year-old, playing with and building all the different robot toys. And, this isn't just for little boys. A friend's 8-year-old daughter loves them, the 48-year-old parent loves them, and the 75-year-old grandpa loves them. Fun for the whole family!" —MBC

Get it from Amazon for $23.99+ (available in four colors).

Promising review: "I bought this flower garden as a gift for my 3-year-old daughter. She absolutely loves it! She has always enjoyed blocks, and this is something different that has kept her engaged for hours! We highly recommend this product to others!!" —Ashley Petersen

Get it from Amazon for $13.48+ (available in four versions/sizes).

Promising review: "Given to our 4-year-old during her birthday party. Our 8-year-old grandson put it together with a little help from grandpa. The 4-year-olds to 8-year-olds all had fun running and jumping. I even got asked to play the tossing rings! Fun was had by one and all." —Joann

Promising review: "I love this product. First, it was so simple and easy to put together. Secondly, it is perfect for a rainy day. If your little one has loads of energy and needs to get it out, but outside is gloomy, this sports center is perfect. Easily fits into any corner, doesn't take up a lot of space, and your little one will enjoy it." —Tisha M. Smith

Get it from Amazon for $47.99 (available in two colors).

Promising review: "I gave this toy to my daughter for her 1st birthday. It didn't take her long to figure out how to take things in and out. It challenges her mind, it's almost a puzzle to her, and figuring out how things work is already a favorite activity. She absolutely loves this toy! Now, you never know what you're going to find inside... That missing binkie? Her favorite teether? An unopened applesauce pouch? The TV remote? Yupp, you'll find it in this cube! We've only been playing with this toy for a couple of weeks now, but it seems quite durable. The bright elastic bands have the perfect amount of stretch to them. The colored shapes are bright and interesting. They're made of a hard plastic with different textures with almost a matte finish to them. I will probably buy this as a gift to other kids in the future. 10/10 definitely recommend!" —Frankie Garrett

Promising review: "These are fun for kids of all ages. My grandbabies love them because they can hold them in their baby hands. They are brightly colored and flexible. Unlikely to hurt anything. Older kids like them for the noise they make when they are stretched or closing. They create long chains (they attach to each other) and wild twisty things. All in all, a good toy for this grandma to have in her house." —Katy

Get a four-pack from Amazon for $5.89+ (available in three sizes and three pack quantities). 

Includes five Play-Doh colors. If you want additional color options, grab some here!

Promising review: "This is a great Play-Doh set. Super adorable, LOVE how you can fill the pan with 'cake batter,' then lock it into the stove and use the lever to make the cake 'rise.' The kids are thrilled with it. A couple of things to note: Make sure the cake pan is locked into the oven by sliding its lower edge under the notches. After pulling the lever, you need to put it back into its original position BEFORE trying to open the oven door. Don't force it, or it could break. Also, note that the set will need additional Play-Doh if you want to make any color of cake other than pink. It comes with enough pink Play-Doh to make a cake, but not enough of any other colors to make a cake. That wasn't a problem for us, we have PLENTY of Play-Doh..." —elise

Promising reviews: "Happily surprised that the positive reviews about this product are true! Only play foam my toddler and I can both enjoy. He loves how easily foam keeps its shape, the fun colors, and the surprise inside every case. I appreciate that the small foam balls rarely separate or dry out. Great creative gift for children. A win for all!" —MissKrissy

"These are amazing for creative sensory play! I love that the foam is non-toxic and that it doesn't stick to everything. My kids have left it out numerous times and it never, ever dries out. And the little pet pals are just the cutest. The kids were so excited to see which ones they got and literally spent hours playing with them and the foam. These would be perfect for stocking stuffers!" —NYMommy

Get a pack of six from Amazon for $23.99 (also available in a two-pack).

I have this in my daughter's playroom, and it's been a great place to store away all of her stuffed animals (and trust me, there are like 50+). We currently have the lid permanently off 'cause it's too hard for Blake to get off right now, but for older kids, I really don't think it would be an issue. The shelves are great for storing little baskets, and even though Blake is on the shorter side, she can reach the bottom shelf.

Get it from Target for $131.99 (originally $139.99).

The reviews used in this post have been edited for length and clarity. 

BuzzFeed Shopping is service journalism first: our writers and editors spend all day shopping so you don’t have to, vetting products, fact-checking brand claims, and surfacing what actually helps in real life. We center readers over revenue, recommend products with authenticity (using real experiences, not ad-speak), and reflect our diverse audience, inclusive of a variety of price points, people, and needs. We cut through fake deals, favor useful info over glossy fluff, and recommend both budget and splurge options with context so you can decide what’s right for you — and still have a little fun along the way.

Jessica Hall is a freelancer and former BuzzFeed Shopping writer, and is based in Cincinnati, OH where you can find her curating lists on ~a little bit of everything~ (and adding a few things to her own cart in the process).