Best Toys 2020
By GFM Editors
Tinkle Crinkle & Friends Activity Gym
This award-winning tummy time and play-on-back mat encourages baby to interact with charming Tinkle Crinkle characters through eye-catching colors, vibrant patterns, and stimulating sounds. Birth +. $89. www.gund.com
VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate Corkscrew Tower
Form a three foot corkscrew track or set up the tracks side by side for a dual-track racing experience. Place Rocky the Race Car on the launcher, then push the trophy to send the car zipping down the tracks on a fast-paced ride. Have an off-road adventure with diversions down a secret path with a bumpy road, a switch track, trap doors, and
off-road hazards. Kids can listen to songs as they play. Ages 1 +. $30. amazon.com
Cloth Books for Babies Set of 6
Full of adorable illustrations, this cute collection of washable BabyBibi books is certain to capture every child’s imagination and encourage counting, color, and letter recognition. Ages 3 mos. +. $20. babybibbi.com
Animated Bunny
This soft bunny has interactive buttons for a light-up tummy, moving ears that play peekaboo, songs, and phrases to help develop senses and thinking skills. Choose between day (stimulation) or night mode (relaxation): Ages 3 mos +. amazon.com
Hopping Shark
This soft and washable plush inflatable shark is ready for ride-on bouncing fun! Pump included. Supports up to 100 lbs. Ages 18 mos. +. $30. amazon.com
Blue’s Clues & You! Skidoo Into ABCs Book
Press the skidoo button to play a find-it game where kids will find letters and words in a variety of skidoo locations, just like in the show! Fourteen colorful pages invite kids to visit a farm, the present store, a haunted house, and more. Hear letter names, letter sounds, and the names of things in different locations by pressing the light-up buttons. Ages 2 +. $22. amazon.com
My First Safari Animals
This magnetic building set encourages fine motor skills and creativity. Kids can match animal parts or create a strange new animals by witching the connectors.
Build all the animals pictured here. Ages 1 yrs. +. $22. amazon.com
Penguin Karaoke Buddy
The penguin’s chest flashes along with the music as kids use the mic to sing along to the built-in melodies. Kids can choose an echo effect, applause, roaring crowd, animal sounds, pause, play, and skip. Ages 18 mos. +. $40. amazon.com
Elmo Magna-tiles
Young children love Elmo and love to build and learn through trial and error. These magnetic tiles can be used like a puzzle to form a picture or for free-play building fun. Ages 3 +. $40. amazon.com
Great Pretenders Golden Rose Princess Dress
Any girl who slips this stunning gown on will feel like a princess and be ready for dress up fun where her imagination can run wild and free! Sizes 3 to 8. $45. maisonette.com
Pretend Makeup Play the No-Mess Way
This 11-piece set includes a compact with mirror, blush, lipstick, lip gloss, glitter pot, eye shadow, nail polish, cosmetic bag, and three real brushes. All items are made from 100% safe plastic, foam, and rubber—so you won’t be cleaning up any misapplied lipgloss. Ages 2 yrs. +. $25. jaxojoy.myshopify.com
Sparkling Friends Ava the Fox
Touch her magical necklace, hair, eyes, and ears to change their color. She has over 100 fun, magical responses about her mood, feelings, and lucky colors. Sing a colorful duet with Ava by touching her mouth. Push Ava’s leg to wag her tail and trigger lights and responses. Brush her tail using the included brush and add some extra flair with two hair clips for you to share. Ages 4 +. $15. amazon.com
Fun Fort Building Kit
This STEM kit encourages engineering skills. It includes 52 connecting rods, 29 BPA-free multi-link spheres, and instructions with a building guide. Ages 4 +. $40. amazon.com
Pretend Play My First Purse Set
The stylish little girl’s purse comes with everything a little girl needs as she heads out to the store. Inside, she will find a wallet, cellphone, lipstick, face powder, four keys on a key ring, car key, ID card, play money, and three credit cards. Ages 3 yrs. +. $28. jaxojoy.myshopify.com
Breyer Mane Beauty Styling Heads
Girls love hair play and horses! They can create and bring to life their own vision of horse beauty by styling, grooming, and creating magnificent braids with the brush and accessories! Ages 5 yrs. +. $25. amazon.com
Just My Style All-in-One Jewelry Carry Case
Kids learn different jewelry-making techniques and can spend hours designing accessories! Packed with a variety of cording and beads, each jewelry piece can be uniquely detailed with colorful patterns, monograms, and fun textures. Ages 6 +. $30. kohls.com
GO! Firefighter
Build it, race it, and then use your imagination to customize your ride. The set includes 360 pieces in 8 different colors, 9 wheels, and 2 baseplates along with instructions to create a Fire Fighter. Download the free app for even more building ideas. Ages 7 yrs. +. $25. amazon.com
Courtney Doll, Book, and Accessories
Meet Courtney Moore ! She’s a total ’80s girl. At 18” she has blue eyes that open and close—and comes as pictured. She has a cassette player that opens to insert a mixed tape (with case) and features headphones that plug in. Four bangles that can be placed as you wish. She likes to wear a tube of pretend Lip Smacker lip balm around her neck and a plastic button that says “Maureen for Mayor” to show her support for her mom. She comes with the Courtney Changes the Game paperback book, plus her signature outfit. Ages 8 yrs. +. $140. americangirl.com
Slackers NinjaLine 36’ Intro Kit
The kit offers the versatility of moving the obstacles further apart as your skills improve and includes obstacles that vary in skill level. Change the order of the obstacles to create endless patterns. Easy installation and take down means that you can take your training with you to the park, to a friend’s house, or wherever you need to train. $100. amazon.com
Animal Crossing New Horizons
Players begin their journey by setting out for a deserted island where they work to create a thriving island while also simply enjoying the day-to-day slice of life activities the island has to offer. The game is easy to pick up and play, with no “winning” or “losing.” Players instead simply live life on their island as they see fit. Parents have the option to let kids play by themselves or buy a online subscription to play with up to eight friends. Platforms: Nintendo Switch. Rated E. $60. amazon.com
Port Royale 4
Boys will love this historical simulation of naval trade in the Caribbean during the age of European colonization and pirates. Players work to create trade routes between towns to ensure they have everything they need to prosper and be happy while taking care to defend themselves from opportunistic enemies on the high seas. Combat is only a small part of the game (players see nothing worse than cannons fired and ships sunk). Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One. Rated E 10 +. $60. amazon.com
Wireless Express Sing-Along Pro Bluetooth Karaoke Microphone & Speaker
It works with all karaoke apps using your Apple or Android smartphone, tablet, or
computer. Or use it independently without connecting. It has five built-in filters for high pitch, bass, volume, reverb, and accompaniment for lots of fun and full control. Comes with a USB charger and a high capacity battery for up to five hours of enjoyable wireless portable entertainment for kids and teens. $39. Available in colors boys will love too. maisonette.com
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
If you like beautiful environments where you can roam, explore, and collect without having to fight, this is it! Filled with cute animals, exploration, farming, and quests. It has a lot to offer in a truly peaceful environment, free from the darker aspects of some other games. Platforms: Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC . Rated E. $40. amazon.com
NOVEMBER 2020