The 31 Best Toys for Kids

We've collected the best new toys for little ones and school-aged kids to play with, learn from, and let those amazing imaginations run wild. High five, Santa. The holidays just got easier.

When our little ones have dreams of being architects, we're more than happy to foster those aspirations. First stop is the oh-so-cool Roominate studio, where motors are wired and they can build bunk beds, a laptop desk, cupcake stand, spinning fan, carousel, elevator and more to complete their designs.

Any dino fan will love Boomer, the Zoomer Dino that can only be tamed by his owner. Boomer burps, bites and can sense interaction—and might respond with some Jurassic Park moves, roaring and spinning around.

Oh yeah, we remember these! Ranking right up there with Shrinky Dinks, Fashion Plates lets little designers choose outfits, textures, and colours. A very tactile experience, this is art and haute couture in the making!

Easy transformers for little fingers? Genius! Because the small fries love Rescue Bots but there's nothing more frustrating than a Transformer that is tricky to…well, transform. Smiles all around.

There's a whole lotta fun going in this melodious barn. The cow, pig, sheep or horse sing different songs depending who is on the barn floor. Other fun stuff includes lights that turn on at night, a swirling silo and much more.

Indoor snowball fights with six indoor snowballs included? A shield for hardcore defence? Now we're talking! This set offers hours of high-octane fun with a minimum of tears or ouchies. Let the games begin!

Got a kiddo who adores garbage day? This Bruder garbage truck has all the fun with none of the stink. This side-loader truck actually picks up the bins and lifts them like the pros do. We can't wait to play!

Well-known fact: little ones like things that spin, fit together, and make funny noises. So the Giggly Gears line from Little Tikes is all about hands on fun. We especially like the activity table that helps precarious standers find a sturdy stabilizer.

We heart Our Generation dolls for being a Canadian alternative to another popular doll line. And we double heart Shannon because she wears hiking boots, cargos and comes with campfire and camping accessories! This line-up just provides that not all dolls are prissy and these ones in particular offer loads of imaginative play and storytelling.

We adore the Lalaloopsy Colour Me collection! It comes with special markers to allow little artists to draw, colour and stamp their own designs on the doll and her pet—then it can be erased and the fun starts all over again.

A colourful cast of magical creatures take your tyke on an adventure where each critter shares the first letter of your child's name. This customized book is perfect for new readers or as baby's first Christmas gift. It even ships for free—all around the world. Now that's magic.

Oooooh, so much fun sensory stuff! Visual, tactile, and auditory, these blocks are fun and soothing for all.

Want a toy that will keep their attention for longer than one minute at a time, and last for more than one week of hard play? This sky city stands taller than 3 feet high and has switchable tracks for loads of fun.

Finally, all the fun of sand and none of the mess! Sands Alive is a manufactured sand-like substance that is 100% organic, non-toxic, and soft to the touch, just begging to be moulded, squished and transformed. Set comes complete with sand toys.

Take your Nerf battles to a completely different level. This armed spider can creep up on our opponent at our command and fire off darts in any direction we choose! Plus, it's got sturdy legs that can scurry over any terrain. Fun…and kinda creepy.

Nothing quite compares to a mother's arms, but this ultra soft swaddle with a gentle weight to mimic the slight pressure of a mother's hand comes pretty darn close. Perfect for the newest babes experiencing their very first Christmas.

If your kiddos have seen Guardians of the Galaxy, we bet their two favourite characters are Groot and Rocket. Since Rocket is a bit more, erm, talkative than Groot, there's loads of dress-up potential with this mask with movable pieces, controlled by our kiddo's own facial movements.

These Lil Chirpers Sorting Eggs tend to transfix the little ones. Patterns on the bottom make for great mental stimulation, and opening and closing the eggs is a fun lesson in fine motor skills.

Finally, a guitar that the wee ones can learn how to play. Chord Buddy attaches to the frets of the included guitar and helps the kiddos learn and progress faster. Songbook and DVD included—yes, they've thought of everything.

Plus Plus is a great new building system that offers a ton of possibilities. The consistent shape and varying colours make building a cinch and allows little imaginations to run wild. 2D, 3D, free form or structures, this one is a hit.

Finally, Dungeons and Dragons comes to life in a building set! KRE-O does the legend justice with knights, orcs and a whole lot of possibilities.

Yup, you can build the Ecto-1 car with LEGO. And it's fully loaded with fun paranormal detection equipment. And yes, the whole Ghostbusters team is included. Perfect for a Ghostbusters fan (…or their Dad?)

GoldieBlox is back, and this time she is totally poseable and going ziplining. We love that our little ones are learning physics and building through play, and this new offering takes education to new heights.

With the making of the new Star Wars movies comes yet another resurgence of love for the classics. And we do love this set of mini figures and vehicles, including a remote-controlled Star Destroyer! Darth Vader and Luke square off against one another with their minions, and watch out for the Energy Blast Balls!

We can personally vouch for the crazy popularity of this toy for a variety of age ranges (ahem—adults, ahem). This course is fast, twisty and lots of fun, kind of like our children! We also love that, like all Hape products, it is constructed with natural materials and water-based paints. Roll on!

DohVinci is what you get when you combine the consistency and decorating potential of frosting with the material composition of PlayDoh—a compound that you can control with a ‘styler' with a variety of tips to make lines, flowers, zigzags, and more! Let it harden for a permanent masterpiece and the potential for creating room decor, memory boards and pieces of art is astounding.

A tablet for kids that allows for active, body motion-controlled games? Over $300 of preloaded content, apps and games? All for $160? Sounds like heaven—but it's a reality with the Kurio Xtreme. We predict a sell-out winner.

Minecraft and LEGO, together at last. It's really not fair to the other toys, but our Minecraft addict adores creating well-known micro-worlds with the best building toy of all time. The recommended age is 10+ but those with any LEGO experience will have no trouble with this set.

Have a child who loves to rearrange her room every day? Let her try that design sense on the Littlest Pet Shop crew. Easy-to-slide panels make the room combinations seemingly limitless, and there are stickers to decorate after construction is complete.

Your future DIYer and crafter supreme will love creating her own works of art with these multicolour beads that join together—and you'll love that no glue or heat is required, only water.