Every year we seek out the best toys for toddlers, teens, ten year olds and tweens. This year we’ve had an ABUNDANCE of submissions from toy manufacturers new and old. We think we’ve finally decided on our shortlist.
This isn’t the only toy gift guide we’re featuring, we have many more, so be sure to check out the top toys for geeks, top toys for tweens and everything in between!
The Best Toy, Our NUMBER ONE CHOICE!
Cubetto Review
There are a lot of toys teaching coding this year and we’ve chosen our top ones. This is our favourite. It can be hard to explain so we’ve included a video! Please also see the Codeapillar! In polls this has rated better than Lego and is heralded as the top toy for Christmas. Lego haven’t been in touch this year so we can’t compare but for us, we think it’s brilliant!
It’s a Unique wooden toy that teaches children the art of coding without a screen
Forget children, it actually teaches adults too, it’s fabulous.
Milton Death Star Planetarium
This planatarium is amazing for any age, and in the shape of a Death Star any child would be happy to display it in their room.
DIY Electro Dough Kit “Make Your Own Conductive Dough”
About: This bestselling kit allows you to make your own dough with household items or play dough to begin sculpting scientific creations straight out of the box. Use electronic components to learn how electricity flows through a circuit, and your dough will come alive with LEDs and buzzers.
Price: £17.50 I Ages: 4+
Breyer Horses
A Champion is Born
Horses are exactly to scale!
Breyer have been around for a long time but their toys still delight and entertain. We especially love this Champion is born set that is of a super high quality and brings hours of role play fun!
Rock and Ruddle www,rockandruddle.co.uk
Codeappilar
Fisher Price Code-a-Pillar™
Code-a-Pillar inspires little learners to be big thinkers by going further than ABC’s and 123’s, helping foster coding skills like sequencing, problem solving and critical thinking. Through endless combinations with 9 easy-to-connect segments, pre-schoolers use fine motor skills to send Code-a-pillar on his path. Motorised features including lights, fun character sounds and light up eyes help bring Code-a-pillar to life!
RRP £49.99 Age 3 – 8 years
Lego Duplo Minnie Parade
A nice little set for a Minnie or Mickey Lover!
Hickies
HICKIES, the no-tie lacing system that that never suffers from imprecise tightening or loosening, bringing ingenuity and design to one of life’s most overlooked, but essential routines.
These should be in every stocking this year!
Little Brian Paint Sticks
These draw like wax crayons, not too sure about the paint, but they are more vibrant and softer than wax. They’re easily washable so a bonus for toddlers, and the children loved them. Great for under fives.
Little Live Pets Snuggles
Snuggles comes with her own bottle, and is a delight to cuddle. One of the best puppies we’ve had the pleasure to meet, any child will be delighted opening this!
Shopkins Tower Mall
Collapsible and easy to store this mall has everything for a great Shopkins shopping trip, from a café to a spa, your little ones will love taking their shopkins on an adventure in this!
Sylvanian Families
The Baker’s Shop
Sylvanian Families is still going strong and this bakery has all the tiny little accessories you’ll love!
Aqua Beads Carry Case
This Aqua Beads Carry Case has everything your child needs for fabulous creations. We’ve created some Christmas decorations but you can do so much more with every colour of the rainbow.
Twosies
We love the little characters children can collect and Twosies seem to be new on the market. Every baby receives a pet and it’s fun to collect them all. Look out for Twosies if your child loves Shopkins, Animal Jamz, and My Little Pony eggs!
Sparkle Club
Shoes with attitude!
These shoes got a LOT of attention when we shared them on social media! Our five year old reviewer looked like a Rockstar. Follow us on Facebook for your very own discount code, or send us a message.
K’NEX
Still a leader in child’s construction toys, we had hours of fun with the rollercoaster. You will too!
K’NEX Thrill Rides Electric Inferno
This awesome set includes 640 K’NEX pieces to create a rollercoaster 2.5 feet tall and 3 feet wide! With a motorized chain lift, building fans can watch a car zoom around the track to bring their creation to life! Requires two “AA” batteries (not included).
RRP £39.99. Age 7+
www.knex.com
Christmas Eve Gifts
Woobamboo Toothbrushes
Great for Christmas Eve! If you’re making Christmas Eve boxes these will be a treat for teeth after sweets and they’ll also encourage a discussion about our environment too.
PNP Elves
We have a big feature planned this year on ideas for your Christmas elves. These are the elves we’ve chosen along with the reindeer to bring much mischeif to the Mercer household. They’re of a very high quality and come with their own book and passport. We can’t wait to get started. You can find the Portable North Pole Elves online.
An Elf for Christmas
We also chose an Elf for Christmas as there are three children in our family, and each one has their own elf to take care of. These are cheeky looking elves and they’re already fighting to get out of the box to cause mayhem. The stickers and reward charts that accompany them, along with the cards (even a warning one for bad behaviour) are ingenious. We love it and they really have helped improve on the tantrums in this house.
Cyber Jammies
Cyber Jammies have wonderful pyjamas that will see your little ones all snuggled up on Christmas Eve. We usually have a parcel of pyjamas, slippers and a movie for this, all delivered by our favourite Elves.
Once Upon a Name
Finally a book that promotes lower case letters. My five year old is always confused when books that help to spell use all uppercase!
A beautiful book for any child.
A Magical Opening
We love this Fairy Door from Not Before Tea.
Sparkle Bay Splash fountain from Little Tikes
Sparkle Bay Splash Fountain (RRP: £9.99) Age 18 months – 6 years
This cute little critter spins and lights up when in water and sprays water just like a real fountain!
Poptropica!
Poptropica is the self-discovery app for kids which allows them to learn as they play, reaching over 100 countries worldwide. The brand has since branched out into books, which are the perfect stocking fillers for young girls and boys who love reading and amazing adventures!
Book Storage
This book box from Tidy Books is more than a storage solution, it’s also a toy for the little ones. Expertly made with an attention to detail, toddlers will love putting their books away from now on. It’s very easy to put together and holds a wide variety of different sized books which is ideal if you have an avid reader for a toddler. We love it.
The Globetrotter
We love this world from Fisher Price, even though the countries (UK) aren’t so well defined it’s still a great way to introduce a globe!
Christmas Pudding Bear
The Christmas Pudding Bear from Smiths is the great gift for the person who has everything. Sales also donate £1 to Save the Children so this is a bear that keeps on giving!
The Gift of a Lifetime
Teaching a toddler how to ride a bike is a gift that can’t be valued. Make memories to last a lifetime and put your toddler on the right track with the best balance bike we’ve ever tried. The tough wheels and high quality frame make sure your toddler feels 100% safe. 
Here’s what the manufacturers say:
At Strider® we love riding bikes and inspiring kids to ride. Our mission is to build lightweight, efficient all terrain bikes that develop two wheeled balance, confidence and coordination in children. Strider Bike UK are the exclusive distributors for STRIDER across the UK and Ireland. Organisers of the Strider Cup® racing, the family run business takes great pride in offering an event programme across the country to get children and adults onto two wheels. Offering exceptional high levels of customer alongside the brand that has taught over 1 million toddlers how to ride a bike.
Fly Barbie Fly!
Based on the space fantasy movie Barbie Star Light Adventure, this working RC Hoverboard with Barbie doll rider on top is truly out of this world – because it really flies! It’s so easy to operate with simple mechanisms and one-button manoeuvres! Recreate favourite scenes from the movie or let your imagination soar!
The remote features an easy-to-use joystick and sliding lever to adjust the flying height. Four propellers work to lift the toy into the air, control the direction and complete stunts. Automatic take-off and landing with one easy press of a button.
The barbie figure is ready to fly into galactic space wearing her signature pink jumpsuit with sculpted silvery vest, blue utility belt and silvery boots. The hoverboard has a sleek design in black with colourful accents and pink propeller blades.
