1
Flower Garden Building Set
Credit: Byserten
The stems, pistils, petals, stamens and leaves of these flowers are all interlocking and interchangeable, so kids can build the garden they've always imagined. Snapping them together will help work on their fine motor coordination. Ages 3+
2
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Ruby's Gem Quest Game
Credit: Educational Insights
In this game, kids play as Ruby the Dragon, who has to fly across the kingdom and collect gems of different colors. To pick them up, players use a dragon-shaped scooper that works the same way a scissor does, getting them ready to learn scissor skills in a safe way. "She loved the scissor tool!" a parent of a toy tester told us. Ages 3+
RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
3
Disney Princess Dress-Up Trunk
Credit: Disney
Get her role-playing as her favorite Disney princesses with this one-stop royal wardrobe. It comes with four full outfits, plus necklaces, headbands, stickers and even a soft tiara. This trunk features outfits themed to Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora and Belle, but there's a second version with outfits for Tiana, Ariel, Jasmine and Rapunzel. The clothes fit sizes 4 to 6x, so they'll be a little big on your 3-year-old, but she'll grown into them. Ages 3+
4
More Than 16,000 5-Star Ratings on Amazon
LeapFrog My Own Leaptop
Credit: LeapFrog
For kids who want their own "device," this lets kids type in a letter and hear the sound and see a little animation of an animal whose name begins with that letter — a great pre-reading toy. In addition, it plays songs, does guessing games and gives animal facts. Ages 3+
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
5
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Magna-Tiles Castle Set
Credit: Magna-Tiles
There are some kids who, when you give them Magna-Tiles, will always build a castle no matter what. Give them more of what they want with this set, which comes with a drawbridge, spiral staircases, balconies, windows and even a dragon so they can build the palaces of their dreams. Toy testers say they loved the special pieces, including sparkling ones, and used them for both castle-building and open-ended construction. We recently named it the best overall magnetic toy for kids. Ages 3+
6
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Fisher-Price Rockin’ Record Player
Credit: Fisher-Price
True story: This is the first toy a girl ran to on the day that the Good Housekeeping Institute hosted in-Lab toy testing. She figured out how to pop a record on the player and start the tunes immediately! It's a needle-less player — the toy can read what record is on, and will even know to play the music for the side facing up — so little kids can be a bit sloppy without doing any damage like they might with real vinyl. Comes with five records. Ages 3+
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
7
Great Doll Set
Baby Born My Real Baby Doll Annabell
Credit: Baby Born
Caring for baby dolls develops empathy, and Baby Annabell makes it even easier with her interactive nature. She babbles, gurgles, laughs, cries, sucks on her pacifier and snores when she sleeps. She even cries real tears! Ages 3+
8
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Cry Babies Bella's Morning Routine
Now 33% Off
Credit: Cry BabiesKids who dawdle through their own morning might love to impose a.m. routines on this interactive doll — Bella needs to get her teeth brushed, needs to eat breakfast and needs to have her hair combed, ideally without crying. Maybe after enough times of seeing Bella clap and dance when finished with a routine, your girl will be inspired to cheerfully move through her own day! Ages 3+
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
9
Melissa & Doug Slice and Bake Wooden Cookie Set
Now 45% Off
Credit: Melissa & DougYou can almost smell these cookies baking in the pretend oven. Kids really get to play out lots of parts to the cookie-baking process: They can "slice" the dough with the pretend spatula, arrange them on the cookie sheet (with velcro), put them in the oven (wearing the oven mitt, of course) and then decorate with toppings and sprinkles (which also attach with velcro). When they're done, the cookies can be stored in a tube. Ages 3+
10
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Gabby's Dollhouse Celebration Dollhouse
Now 37% Off
Credit: Gabby's DollhouseThe Gabby doll can ride the Cat-A-Vator to get around this 25-inch-tall dollhouse, complete with six rooms and a hidden attic up top. A button sets off 10 sounds and phrases from the show. It comes with 10 accessories to unbox, plus the doll. Sold separately: many inexpensive room sets to fully furnish the dollhouse, like the Primp and Pamper Bathroom with Mercat and the Bakey with Cakey Kitchen featuring a cat-shaped fridge. Ages 3+
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
11
Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Award Winner
Frances Lincoln Children's Books 'My First Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker' Book
Credit: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Six musical buttons provide 10-second clips of the famous score from The Nutcracker, which gives kids another dimension in which to enjoy to the story. It's perfect for people who want to gear up to go see the famous ballet. “I want to take my son to see The Nutcracker this year, since he enjoyed the book so much,” said one parent. Ages 3+
RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Awards
12
Splash Park Double-Sided Puzzle
Now 11% Off
Credit: UpboundersYou get two puzzles in one with this set, with a beautiful illustration of a splash park on one side and a counting grid on the reverse. At 24 pieces, it's the perfect amount of challenge for this age, and the pieces are the right size and sturdiness for preschoolers. Ages 3+
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
13
Crayola Scribble Scrubbie Pets Arctic Snow Explorer
Now 47% Off
Credit: CrayolaGood Housekeeping Lab pros and kid testers alike have long been wowed by Crayola's Scribble Scrubbie pets, which lets kids color designs onto the flocked fur, wash them off and color again. These arctic friends add an extra dimension of fun: They have color-changing effects, turning white in warm water, and blue in cold water. The set comes with three pets, markers, two tubs and an arctic vehicle that doubles as storage. Ages 3+
14
LEGO DUPLO My First Organic Garden Brick Box
Credit: LEGO
Kisd will love mixing up the pieces of this LEGO set's various plants (a carrot, a watermelon and a tomato) and animals (bee, snail and ladybug). Along the way, they might learn a thing or two about how plants grow, because it also has pieces related to water and sunshine. Toy testers liked how this wasn't too challenging for the little builders to use on their own. Ages 18 months+
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
15
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Jada Toys Disney Princess Carriage RC
Credit: Jada Toys
This remote-control vehicle for princess fans is easy for a little girl to send forward, backward or turn around. Their favorite small dolls can even ride inside. “My daughter loved the remote control and creating imaginary scenes with the carriage and her dolls,” a parent told us. Ages 3+
16
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Just Play Disney Junior Ariel Groove & Glow Doll
Now 72% Off
Credit: Just PlayFans of Ariel on Disney Junior will love to hear songs and phrases from the show when they press this doll's shell necklace. She has long, thick hair and hair beads to play with, but the best part is when you take her into the water she spouts a water skirt. A tester family took this doll to the beach and said it held up to a week of vigorous play! Ages 3+
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
17
Melissa & Doug Wooden Get Well Doctor Activity Center
Credit: Melissa & Doug
The best part about buying this toy for your kids? By pretending to be a doctor, you can hope that they'll be less afraid of the real doctor's office. This wooden play set comes with a waiting room, exam room and a check-in area so your kid can familiarize themselves with all aspects of going to a doctor's appointment. With this gift, kids can pretend to fill out your patient file and take your blood pressure. For a smaller and more affordable option, you can go with the Melissa & Doug's vet set, which encourages empathy when kids practice giving care to their stuffed animals. Ages 3+
18
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Scentco Snuggle Bugs
Credit: Scentco
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
19
Super Smalls Everyday Sparkle Gem Sticker Book
Credit: Super Smalls
They can dress up their drawings, glam up those projects and decorate their lunch boxes and other supplies with this four-page book featuring sticker gems in all sorts of shapes and sizes. For kids who love to collect stickers, this gives them something a little 3D to play with. Ages 3+
20
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
Battat Two n' One Wooden Kitchen Café
Credit: Battat
Wow, is this a great price for the play value! Kids can pretend this wooden playset is either a kitchen or a restaurant, where they can write the day's specials on a chalkboard. The oven opens and closes, the knobs turn, it is comes with 30 toys, including pretend food and plastic dishware. Ages 2+

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below