The 37 Very Best Gifts for Kids of All Ages

Babies can stuff, spill, and squeeze their way to motor-skill fun with this plush taco playset. The soft, textured pieces are perfect for sensory play.

This sleek, BPA-free water filter dispenser makes safe drinking water easy for the whole family. It filters bacteria, lead, and microplastics so everyone stays hydrated. Great for all ages, especially little ones learning to fill up their own glasses.

Designed by child development experts, this all-in-one activity gym keeps babies engaged from tummy time to toddlerhood. It’s made with sustainable materials and grows with your little one.

Standing over four feet tall, this giant giraffe is part cuddle buddy, part room decor. It sparks imaginative play and makes a big impression.

Have a future chef in your midst? This wooden pizza kit lets kids design, slice, and serve their own pretend pies. It’s great for imaginative play and kitchen creativity.

A starry night projector is Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan's favorite gift to give kids of any age. He first bought one for his daughter when she was little, but she's a teen now and still loves it! It creates a soothing galaxy glow that kids love for falling asleep or playtime.

Count down to Christmas with 24 days of LEGO minis. Each build adds up to a festive scene kids can play with all season. Perfect for ages 6 and up.

Classic bubble fun with a sweet twist — these bubbles are flavored and safe to taste! Kids will love the sensory play and giggles that come with every puff.

An American Girl doll is a special gift: It’s a pretend-play friend, not a baby doll, that lets kids imagine all sorts of adventures in different times and places. Summer is a current Girl of the Year and, like the rest, comes with a book for your child to read. You can also customize a doll to look like a specific child, or to look however you want.

These gorgeous pop-up fairytale books are our choice for an extra special nighttime read-aloud experience. Little and big kids love to see what's coming, and it helps keep their attention and focus on the story.

Lovevery's wonderful block set is an ideal toy for open-ended play, and it has such broad appeal, too. Cubby contributor Tyler Moore notes here that all three of his girls -- ages 7, 5, and 2 -- love playing with it. The set includes 70 solid wood blocks in 18 different colors with 18 different shapes and tools.

Loog has carved out quite a niche among musician (or just music-appreciating!) parents for its awesome kids guitars. The tiny 3-string guitar teaches proper finger placement that can transfer to a normal 6-string guitar once your child is a little older. Every Loog guitar (and there are various sizes and styles!) come with chord flashcards and an app for free (and super fun!) guitar lessons.

I don't think I've ever seen an all-star kids gift list that didn't have Magna-Tiles on it, and that's because they are the OG open-ended, years-of-play, good-for-all-ages toy. If your kid doesn't have Magna-Tiles yet, start here with this classic 100-piece set. If they do, expand their set with something like the Forest Animals or Dino World sets. Also, if you're really going for it, give it alongside this Magna-Tile playmat and storage bin so everything stays organized and together.

Crazy Forts takes amateur fort making with couch pillows and dining chairs to the next level. Each kit contains 25 balls and 44 sticks for building any number of fort shapes and sizes. Once your kid has a structure in place, add a few sheets and it's ready for all the hideaway spots they can imagine, be it pirate ship or space ship.

Hape's wooden marble run is high-quality and super fun for kids ages 4 and up. (It uses real marbles, so you don’t want it in a house with toddlers). The run takes a bit to build, but the payoff is well worth it.

Lite-Brite has been around for, well, a very, very long time, as those of us who are grownups well know. And yes, its appeal has not wavered! One fellow Apartment Therapy parent says it's her 4-year-old's favorite toy.

There's a reason these fantastic play capes are our new go-to gifts for kids: they're genuinely cool! From this metallic dragon cape to wizard capes and unicorn capes, they're a slam dunk for any kid into imaginative play.

There are many dollhouses out there, but none quite as whimsical and beautiful as this one. It is an investment for sure, but also heirloom-quality. My kids use it with Maileg mice and furniture, but a furniture set like this would also fit nicely!

I think IKEA's Duktig play kitchen is the best play kitchen out there. It’s endlessly hackable, and kids love playing with it. There’s now a less expensive option, though, at Walmart: The Battat Two in One Kitchen Cafe is half the price. Or if you want a more colorful play kitchen, the Tender Leaf Toys kitchen is also fantastic, as we wrote about here.

Pretty much any box or subscription from KiwiCo is worth a spot on this list, but if we had to choose, this domino robot machine is probably one of our favorites! KiwiCo is just so good at encouraging creativity, problem solving, and building STEM skills. Honestly, you can never wrong with one of their project kits.

As we wrote in our review, kids of all ages love to play with these stepping stones! They are a fantastic space-saving gross motor toy that also encourages imaginative play. They're also so pretty you won't mind leaving them out.