Big news today! All toys at Target are 30% off for today (Saturday, Nov. 19th) only. Just use the code: PLAY.
With such a great discount to use, I’ve put together my top picks for every age – focusing especially on those “Wow!” Gifts – to help you get the most bang for your buck below.
And don’t forget, Advent calendars (including LEGO, Star Wars, and more) and the Little People Nativity Set are also on sale today with the code.
The Preschool Set (2 1/2 – 5 years)
Magna-Tiles 74 Piece Set $99.99 (2 – 10 years)
I discovered magna-tiles a few years ago and they were the big present under the tree for the kids. They’re definitely more of an investment, but have been totally worth it. All of my kids, ages 2 to 8, still play with them multiple days a week. Currently, my 6-year-old loves making elaborate pet stores with ramps and rooms for each of her Disney Princess Palace Pets while my 2-year-old always asks for these first to take to build in his room during “Quiet Time”.
Teachers absolutely rave about these blocks and the play possibilities are endless. Because they join together using magnets, kids can create elaborate structures (often taller than they are) without becoming frustrated by crashes. They’re also great for use with other toys. They can be used along with blocks and LEGOs to make elaborate structures, with marbles and cars to make tunnels, bridges, and marble runs, or even with dolls to create doll houses.
Melissa and Doug 60 Piece Block Set $50.99 (2 – 12 years)
If I could buy my children only one toy, a large set of basic wood blocks like these would be it! They are the ultimate creativity toy – enough said.
Step2® Play Ball Fun Climber $79.99
If you want to help your toddler get energy out inside but want something a little smaller, try:
Little Tikes® Easy Store Large Slide $67.99
or
Little Tykes Trampoline $39.99 (2 – 7 years)
Every day around 4:30 PM, when things get real, I wonder why we haven’t bought one of these yet. Two of C’s buddies have one and they each love to jump and jump and jump on it. Chances are very high Santa will be bringing the kids a trampoline this year and if he does it’ll be this one due to the great reviews and great price.
Note: This one is an Amazon link as it’s almost $20 cheaper than Target!
Mega Bloks® First Builders Fast Tracks Deluxe Rescue Center $39.99
There’s no time to lose! Be first on the scene with the Fast Tracks Deluxe Rescue Team by Mega Bloks First Builders! With easy-to-build tracks and stickers included, your little one can build and decorate a multi-leveled town full of speedways and arches, then put together a rescue team of three mix-and-match vehicles.
Roll out to save the day when you help the police car patrol, guide the shiny red fire truck, and assist the ambulance as it dashes down the street for a speedy response. With over 100 pieces, including special parts, plus 20 bonus First Builders blocks, your little builder will be able to create countless rescue adventures! Ideal for ages 1 to 5.
Mega Bloks First Builders Build ‘n Learn Table $40.99
My son got this for his 2nd birthday and it’s been a big hit. It’s amazing how just having the blocks a little higher up to his level has encouraged him to play with them so much more!
Fisher-Price Bright Beats Dance & Move BeatBo $34.99
This was the hottest new baby toy of last year and it’s not too hard to see why. The happy look and bright colors of this little guy will be enticing to any young chid and his light up tricks, songs, phrases and dance moves are sure to get them moving and giggling too. There’s even a freeze dance function that will help bigger kids burn off some energy.
One reviewer wrote, “A very versatile toy for a broad range of age groups. You could put it in front of a baby that has the ability to sit up on his/her own and they could clap and wiggle around to the songs. The flashing lights on the belly are very intriguing as well… For my 30month old daughter it is very educational. It teaches colors, the alphabet, and the freeze dance song is a great energy burner and a great tool to teach them that freeze means stop and they have to wait for the next cue. I will certainly buy this for all of my friends’ kids. It was especially helpful when I was trying to make dinner and Hallie wanted to be held and was under my feet, she picked up Little Guy and worked up a sweat dancing. I LOVE it!”
Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar $37.99
The coding trend in toys is here to stay- and with good reason. Basic understanding of computer program is a big deal in today’s world. Code-a-pillar is one of the new Think & Learn toys from Fisher-Price that goes beyond ABCs and 123s to help children learn how to think independently. Each toy fosters 21st century skills like curiosity, experimentation and problem solving in ways kids haven’t seen before. They’re engaged in hands-on, open-ended discovery that helps them become lifelong learners.
The perfect first coding toy, kids use the sections to program the caterpillar to move around obstacles they set up, from start to finish. This is one I highly recommend for siblings of multiple ages as they can enjoy it in different ways and work together as a team to achieve their goals. Santa will be brining it to my 2, 6 and 8 year olds this year!
Little Tikes® Cozy Coupe® Sport $51.99
Kids have loved this classic toy for generations. The simple addition of a collapsible handle so parents can push them around without getting a sore back is totally genius!
LeapFrog LeapStart Interactive Learning System for Preschool & Pre-Kindergarten $29.99 (2 – 4 years)
This is a great toy for your older toddler who is becoming interested in naming letters, numbers, etc. and who wants tablets and books all their own. The magic behind LeapStart is a stylus that reads invisible dots on every page of the books triggering engaging audio like questions, challenges, songs, jokes and more to teach school and life skills in new, exciting ways.
This is also a fantastic toy to start to introduce “quiet time” or, as we call it, “me time”. This is something that you REALLY, REALLY want to introduce around this age, even just for 15 – 20 minutes, trust me!
I really appreciate the large number of books that are available as add-ons with this system as well as the fact that most replayable activities are designed with two levels so that kids can play and learn at the right level and move up when they’re ready. Highly considering it for under our own Christmas tree this year.
The ultimate “wow” present and definitely a good thing to get 30% off on! Favorites in the line include:
KidKraft Waterfall Mountain Train Set and Table $209.93
We bought our son a train table for his 2nd birthday and we always say it’s one of the best purchases we’ve ever made. For over four years both he and his sister played with it several times a week. And now his 2-year-old old brother is really starting to get into it. At 4 years old our oldest was able to completely construct the track by himself using the map and that added a whole new level of building play to this fantastic toy.
I think the model we bought has been discontinued but this one is the same brand and has all of the same key components: a bridge, waterfall mountain, helicopter landing pad, and the all-important drawers for storing all the little pieces.
KidKraft Vintage Kitchen $109.99 (1 – 6 years)
The play kitchen is a quintessential play toy that I would recommend for every child if you have the space and budget. There are so many different ways kids can play with them – cooking at home, setting up a restaurant, having a tea party, going shopping and unloading the groceries, etc. Just last night, in fact, I brought home some kid-friendly cooking utensils and before I had even gotten them unpacked my kids had set up a restaurant game with the kitchen; my 8-year-old wrote out the menus, my 6-year-old cooked the food, and my 2-year-old made the deliveries. It kept them busy all night!
We bought this one for the kids when they were 1 and 3 and couldn’t be happier with it. I really like the look of the thing and I think the vibrant red is nicely gender neutral. Despite a small footprint, this kitchen still has all the amenities and both my kids enjoy regularly playing at it simultaneously (Side note: people sometimes ask if kids will get too big for this smaller kitchen – mine are 95% in height and haven’t had an issue). If you’re looking for a big wow gift from Santa, this could very well be it!
Step 2 Finding Dory Swim & Swirl Water Table $49.99
We have owned this water table for years and still get so much use out of it! My 18 month old son plays with it so much that we gated off a portion of our deck, that also has doors into our living room, so that he can freely walk in and out to play with all day long. To my surprise, even after years of pouring, dunking, sailing, etc. my 5 and 7 year olds still find themselves drawn to the water table too.
This is such an excellent toy for getting your kids playing outdoors and we use it all types of weather. It’s actually great fun to put on our rain gear and go play with it on the deck while it’s raining (plus there’s pretty minimal clean up for playing outside in the rain because they stay out of the mud). I highly, highly recommend this one and so do the multitude of positive reviews.
Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Trike $89.99 (9 months – 5 years)
I always wanted one of (probably because I see them EVERYWHERE at the park and on the playground) and used the back surgery I had last summer as an excuse to finally get one. This made it possible for me to walk as I was supposed to during my recovery while safely keeping my toddler in place (he was super over the stroller). It was definitely the right choice, he absolutely loves it!
The clever 4-in-1 design easily converts from a stroller to a steering trike, learning-to-ride-trike, and finally a classic trike. That means you have something fun for your little one to ride around in from the time they need to be pushed until they are ready to pedal all by themselves. The height adjustable handle and seat along with the removable canopy and tray allows for a lot of flexibility. Baby #3 may be the perfect excuse to finally pick one of these up for our family!
CAT Digger Sit On Toy $99.99 (2+ years)
The aunties bought this for my kids several Christmases ago, when my oldest was 3. I have to say, I had my reservations. My son, of course, thought an excavator that he could actually sit on, drive, and manipulate was just about the coolest thing ever but I was concerned about the space it would take up in our yard, especially with a non-rainy season of only about 3 months here in Seattle. What I failed to realize was the versatility of this toy. Yes, it’s awesome for digging in the sandbox or bark in the summer, but it’s also great for picking up leaves in the fall and snow in the winter (see here).
This thing gets played on year-round and is often the one of the main things that lure my kids out to play on a rainy day (they put out buckets to collect the rain water and use the bucket shovel to scoop it out). This one’s definitely a big ticket item but return on investment is high.
Step2 Thomas the Tank Engine Up & Down Coaster $89.99 (2 – 5 years)
Several indoor play centers and community centers around our town have these Step2 rollercoasters and my kids always flipped when they saw them. Easy for younger kids to get on and off on their own, I have seen first hand how they will get on it over and over and over.
A friend of mine bought one for her kids a few years ago and said it was an excellent toy in the driveway on sunny days and in the playroom on rainy days. And, of course, the Thomas the Tank Engine version only makes it that much cooler!
One reviewer wrote, “The Thomas Roller Coaster Ride is absolutely amazing! I have two younger kids, a boy and girl who are two and three, and they can’t get enough of it. They have been playing with it for hours at a time. All they have to do is climb up the small steps and take turns going for a downhill ride. Not only does it keep them entertained, it also teaches them about sharing and taking turns.”
Doc McStuffins Hospital Care Cart $39.99 (2 – 8 years)
This new Hospital Care Cart packs a lot of play punch. The mobile cart features a light & sound patient scanner with two interchangeable cards, a talking EKG area with a printout EKG roller, a kid powered blood pressure pump, a real working drawer, and a patient bed.
If your child is a fan of Doc McStuffins, pretend play, animals, or all of the above, they will play with this thing for hours on end giving their stuffed animals top notch healthcare.
The great news is that, unlike the Vet Checkup Center, the Hospital Care Cart has a great price tag for a toy this size. That could go up as Christmas gets closer but for now it’s a great deal.
Micro Kickboard Mini Scooter $79.99 (3 – 5 years)
Hailed as “the quality choice in 3-wheel scooters for young children” this scooter has more than it’s fair share of rave reviews and awards (the Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Gold and Platinum Award Seals for Best Toy, the Parent’s Choice Approved Seal, ‘Best Pre-School Scooter’ by Toy Report, ‘Best Outdoor Toy’ by Learning Express Stores and was featured on the NBC Today Show as part of its ‘Best Toys for Summer’ series).
The key is the “learn to steer” design and back brake, both of which grant preschoolers an extra element of stability. Also, the Mini can be ridden inside while learning (or waiting for Spring) as the quality wheels, made especially for Micro, are non marking. And the Micro-Mini 3-in-1 Kick Scooter $114.99 (1 – 5 years) lets even new walkers in on the fun. 1 year olds start out sitting on the scooter with the seat attachment and using it as a typical ride-on toy. Later they advance to the O-bar (which is lower than the traditional Mini Micro Scooter) and eventually graduate to the real deal.
Strider Balance Bike $119.99 (18 months – 5 years)
I think a balance bike will probably make it onto my gift guide for as long as I’m writing them. Both of my kids have been zooming around on bikes since they were 2 years old thanks to this genius idea of taking away the pedals and letting the kids pick up their feet and balance when they’re ready. I also really love how lightweight they are. Both kids could easily pick theirs up and carry it around as soon as they started using it.
Fisher-Price Imaginext Shark Bite Pirate Ship $49.99
Yo, ho, ho! Be this a pirate ship or a giant shark? Actually it’s both! Those crafty pirate scallywags have disguised their ship to look just like a shark. Roll it along and the “fins” move, just like it’s swimming! To protect your treasure from Blackbeard and his raiders, push on a Power Pad to capture attackers in one BIG shark bite! Still more coming? Turn another Power Pad to aim the cannon and fire – or push button on launcher to send projectiles flying!
Now it’s all hands on deck for more high-seas adventures! Young buccaneers can throw prisoners in the brig that opens & closes … have them walk the plank … or hang ‘em from the yardarm. Want to make sure the treasure’s safe? Turn a Power Pad to reveal the secret hiding spot. (Whew, it’s still there!) There’s no end to the swashbuckling fun that little mates and their imaginations can create with this pirate ship playset. Imaginext Turn on Adventure! For ages 3 to 8 years.
Fisher-Price Imaginext DC Super Friends Super Hero Flight City Playset $64.99
Young Super Heroes’ imaginations will be flying high when they combine two worlds into one with the Imaginext Super Hero Flight City playset. 4 Power Pads get the action started. Turn the top Power Pad on the Gotham City side to have kids’ favorite Super Hero take flight. Just load Superman or Batman into the flight pack and have him circle the city looking for trouble. (The Power Pad works just like a remote. How kids turn it determines how high or low or fast or slow the flight pack goes. It even provides 360-degree flying action!)
Spot trouble below? Turn the second Power Pad to reveal a projectile launcher that can do battle with any villain.”Ha, ha, ha. Hello, Batman!” Don’t forget about The Joker who has his own elevator and pie launcher that shoots 4 discs in a row by pushing the trigger. He could break into Wayne Manor through the secret door in back! Catch The Joker once and for all by activating the trap door on the landing pad. Now head down and log into the batcomputer – your mission is complete! (The Joker figure sold separately.) Superman and Lex Luthor have their own cool gadgets, too!
Turn the third Power Pad on the Metropolis side to turn the Daily Planet into a landing pad. And turn the fourth Power Pad to open up Lex Corp. and unveil another projectile launcher.
The Kindergarten Set (5 – 6 years)
Snap Circuits starting at $17.59 (5+ years)
These clever kits are the all-time-best-seller on our gift guides and another multi-award-winner that takes advantage of kids’ natural interest in building toys (like LEGOs) to teach the principles of electricity. The components aren’t intimidating, snap together simply, and can be used to create a bunch of cool projects.
The SC-300 set comes with 60+ pieces to create over 300 different electronic projects. The pieces include snap wires, slide switches, an alarm circuit, a music integrated circuit, and a speaker and are numbered and color-coded to make identifying them easy. These components combine to create working circuit boards just like the ones found inside televisions, radios, and other electronic devices.
FurReal Friends Torch, My Blazin’ Dragon $59.99
Another hot item in the tech toys genre this year is the newest Fur Real Friend(this sweet dog on a leash from the line is also a BIG hit with girls). Torch doesn’t hatch out of his own egg but he does breath fire – or at least flame colored mist- so pick you poison?! (Wondering how this works? One reviewer wrote, “The red misting he does is pretty impressive indeed. It’s a SUPER fine mist, combined with the red throat light, makes it look like fire and dragon smoke for sure.“)
Along with his signature party trick, Torch also makes a variety of cute little sounds when his nose is pet – chortling, gurgling, burbs, sneezes, purring sounds, meow like sounds, snoring – and turns his head and blinks his eyes. Parents also remark that he is markedly cuter than other robotic plush toys and this inspires nurturing type play in their kids. Also, because he doesn’t try to do 300 different things, he’s fairly low on the parent annoyance scale!
Hint: Make sure you buy C batteries as he doesn’t come with any.
Shopkins Mystery Edition 3.0 $34.99 (4 – 9 years)
Guess What?? It’s Back!!! The Shopkins Mystery Edition #3! Who knows what you will find inside! What we can tell you is that there are 40 Exclusive Shopkins and 5 backpacks that are found no where else! Plus if you are really lucky you may find a Limited Edition GOLD Lippy Lips!
Shopkins Happy Places House Playset $29.99 (4 – 9 years)
Shopkins has a new dollhouse out that, although it doesn’t look like much, is sure to please any Shopkins lover you have at home. It’s a great place for your child to play with all those Shopkins they’ve been collecting- arranging and re-arranging them to their heart’s content.
One reviewer wrote, “Heavy duty playhouse for Shopkins. My daughter received this for her birthday along with the individual room sets (bought separately) and she loves redecorating each room. Good quality. If your little one loves Shopkins this is a great addition for them.”
Our Generation® Sweet Stop Ice Cream Truck $99.99
Everyone loves the ice cream truck, and this Our Generation Blue Ice Cream Truck delivers for your kids’ 18″ dolls. It plays music and lights up to announce its arrival. Then kids can mix and match all sorts of ice cream treats for their dolls. Dolls sold separately. Ages 3 and up.
KidKraft Sparkle Dollhouse $136.99
Get ready to play with the most glamorous dollhouse on the block! Our Sparkle Mansion dollhouse is loaded with colorful artwork and fun details that young girls are sure to love. From the specially-designed curved roofs to the wooden backyard addition, this dollhouse has features you can’t find anywhere else!
Features include: 30 pieces of detailed doll furniture. Gliding elevator takes dolls from first floor to the second. Separate backyard area, complete with a swimming pool and a BBQ grill. Molded spiral staircase
Little Live Pets Snuggles My Dream Puppy $49.99
Hi! I’m Snuggles, your Dream Puppy! I move and feel just like a real puppy. Hold me in your arms and give me a hug. You wont be able to resist my big brown eyes. Feed me with my bottle and I’ll fall asleep in your arms and dream about you! I’m looking for someone just like you to be my best friend. I even come with an adoption certificate for you to fill in make me your own!
The Elementary Set (7 – 10 years)
Razor A5 Lux Scooter $62.99
The popular kick scooter in a deluxe size. With extra-large urethane wheels and a cool profile, it’s the smoothest ride around! The A5 LUX kick scooter is easy to fold and ready to go. Adjustable height handlebars. A great scooter for older kids – or mom’s looking to ride along with their young ones!
Spy Gear Video Walkie Talkies $45.99 (5 – 12 years)
Walkie talkies have always been a fun toy for kids to play with siblings or when friends are over, but this set really takes it up a notch. You can not only hear, but also see, the person you’re talking to at a range of up to 160 feet and WITHOUT any wifi or data required. Parents report that the video quality is good too.
I know my kids are going to think this is super cool. I think it’s going to get them up and moving both inside and outside and playing nicely together (something that doesn’t always happen around here these days). That’s more than enough for me!
SmartLab Toys Secret Formula Lab $29.99 (8+ years)
This is the science kit you always wanted as a kit, but didn’t really exist- a kid-friendly chemistry set that actually looks legit. The big fun here is in the apparatus. The beakers and test tubes are connected to each other via tubes and a plunger that make it possible to pump chemicals from one to the next and create lots of cool concoctions. Check out the video to see how it works.
I’m seriously considering this one as for my 8-year-old this year as I know it’s something he’ll have a lot of fun with on his own or with me. I also love that the kit comes with the chemicals required for the “40 epic experiments” and only requires the addition of basic kitchen ingredients, so we can play with it right out of the box.
This one looks like the rare STEM toy that will get kids excited about science in a way that involves something other than programming and technology. That gets a big gold star from me!
Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash Set $38.99 (2 – 12 years)
My 8-year-old son just got this for his birthday and I can tell you that the 2-year-old and 6-year-old (and, let’s be honest, the 35-year-old) in our house love it just as much as he does. The great thing about this particular Hot Wheels set is that it’s self-contained. Not meant to be connected to anything else, it’s enough fun all on it’s own.
As the name would suggest, the cars rocket around the four loops at crazy fun speed and smash into each other. Sometimes this happens almost immediately, sometimes they go for an exciting amount of time before their inevitable doom.
This is one of those rare toys that is fun to play all alone or during a play date with a group of friends. My son especially loves trying to predict which car will outlast the others and challenging himself to see how many cars he can get racing around the track before they crash.
I highly recommend this particular Hot Wheels set for the play value, price, and the fewer number of pieces making setup and take down easier and quicker than a lot of other sets.
VTech KidiZoom Action Cam $37.99 (6 years and up)
In a nutshell, this is a Go-Pro for kids… at a price that won’t give you a heart attack if something happens to it! I don’t know a school aged kid who wouldn’t love one of these and I love how it promotes creativity, learning to use technology, and being active. It also puts them in control of making their own videos without having to hand over your precious phone. What more is there to say?
Wonder Workshop Dash ($149.99) (8 – 14 years)
These friendly little robots are the hottest programming toy out there for elementary age kids so I couldn’t say no when I was offered a pair to review a few months ago.
My favorite part is how hands on they are – this is your child learning coding with real life robots, not glued to a screen. I’ve been thrilled with how they’ve excited both my 8-year-old son and my 6-year-old daughter about robotics and programming. The fun and approachable look and sound of these real life robots for kids (think Wall-E) makes them appealing to both boys and girls of various ages.
Programmable by a multitude of free apps you can download on your apple or android tablets or smart phones, these guys can be made to respond to your voice, navigate objects to complete an obstacle course, dance, sing and a lot more.
Probably the best part is that unlike most coding and programing toys, you don’t have to spend a ton of time learning how to use them in order to help your kids. Dash and Dot’s programing apps feature built-in challenge tutorials that teach kids how to program on their own from the very beginning of each program.
I had my doubts about how hands-off this would really be but I had the phone for all of 30 seconds before my 2nd grader was clamoring to take over… and then I never got it back.
I also love that the apps ladder up in skill level with the child and that different Dash and Dot apps serve different interests. My 8-year-old son is all about the Wonder App, which looks and plays a lot like a video game on the screen but takes it into the real world where, in order to complete various “Scroll Quests”, he has to program Dash or Dot to do things in real life in our living room.
My kindergarten daughter is still a little young for that but that didn’t stop her from engaging with these robots through the apps “Path” and “Go” which let her use the phone like a remote to drive them, program them to light up in all sorts of different colors, and program them to say anything she could think of by using her own voice.
She was even able to figure out how to write a program to make Dash take multi-step actions; go forward, say something she programmed, go in a circle, turn purple, go backwards and then stop.
Babies & Young Toddlers (0 to 2 1/2 years)
Fisher-Price® Classic Infant Trio Gift Set $29.99
All the classic toys every baby needs in one well-priced package.
Infantino Go GaGa Textured Ball 10-Piece Set $14.99
Balls are excellent for open-ended play and motor development for babies and younger toddlers – truly, every child should have a set. The varying textures, colors, and sizes of the balls in this pack make them extra great for sensory engagement.
VTech Sit to Stand Learning Walker $29.99 (9 months – 2 years)
This can be played with first on the floor and then grows with baby. The added advantage to this one is that it turns into a walker when your child is ready. My son latched on to this thing when he was ready to start walking around the house but not ready to do it on his own and he’s LOVED it for months now. It’s a nice multi-use toy for a great price and a real must-have.
Fisher-Price® Laugh N Learn Puppy and Pals Learning Table $39.99
Baby will find a new place (and tons of activities) to discover around every corner of this learning table. Head to the zoo and spin the roller to hear songs about animals – or press buttons to learn shapes in English & Spanish. Take a trip to the farm and open & close the barn door to be greeted by a different farm friend. At the market, press the keys to play the piano and learn about numbers, foods & colors.
Open & close the door to hear Puppy sing his ABCs, and flip the light switch to learn opposites. In the middle of the table, your little one can press the interactive button on the role play phone to make a “call” to Puppy or Sis, and light up a new place to visit! And there are hands-on activities all over town to keep baby busy, including sliders, spinners and more. You can even add legs for grow-with-me play that takes baby from sitting & playing to standing & cruising.
Figurines & Play Sets:
Finally, today’s a great day to buy a set of your child’s favorite characters. Chose from:
DreamWorks Trolls True Colors Collection $39.99
Fisher-Price® Little People DC Super Friends Exclusive $19.99
Fisher-Price Little People Disney Princess Figures 7 Pack $19.99
My Little Pony Power Ponies Pack $59.99
Paw Patrol – All Stars Pups Action Pack – Target Exclusive $49.99
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie – 6 Pack Exclusive $44.99
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