With so many people looking to avoid shipping delays and beat the usual gift-buying crowds, holiday shopping seems to have started earlier than ever this year. So it's no surprise that everyone wants to know what the trendy toys are this gifting season, so you can get them before they sell out.
Stephanie Oppenheim, co-founder of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, joined TODAY to share the winners of this year's Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Awards. The company's experts run all their toys by a panel of kid-testers and take into account educational and play value, safety, age, parental feedback and more. So you can trust everything on their list is something your child might love.
Add these award-winning toys to your shopping cart if you're looking to "wow" the little ones on your list.
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Toy Portfolio Winners 2023 | Toy Portfolio Winners 2022 | More Toy Portfolio Winners
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Winners 2023
Best for older toddlers
Fisher Price MEGA BLOKS Musical Farm Band Sensory Block Toy
Oppenheim says these Mega Bloks "combine two favorite play modes:" building and making music. When your toddler builds the farm animal band, they will receive a variety of play from the 10 special sensory blocks (which make percussion sounds) to create their own musical notes. These blocks are compatible with other Mega Bloks toys for more fun.
Best for preschoolers
Fat Brain Toys Pretendables Backyard Pizza Oven Set
Your preschooler is ready for pretend play, suggests Oppenheim. "Giving them props for pretend is a great way to expand their language and ability to spin a story." Take this pizza oven set, for instance. With velcro attachments to connect each listen together to a pizza oven with a clicking dial, this toy is a clever way for them to host their own pretend pizza party.
Magna-Tiles Downhill Duo
There's a reason these Magna-Tiles are one of the most popular toys this year. And now, your child will enjoy the brand's new racing set that comes with two racing cars, drivers and tiles to create tracks for endless racing fun. To create the downhill ramp, they'll need to stack the tiles and follow with the four included ramps. If they want to create a longer racing track, Magna-Tiles offer additional tracks separately.
Best for older preschoolers & early school-aged kids
Creativity for Kids The Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft and Play Pictures
This set brings the popular caterpillar story to life with three foam picture boards of the caterpillar. Each photo has precut holes that are meant to be filled with the included colorful pom poms and are designed to ignite your little one's imagination without the glue or mess. It even comes with a storage bag for swift clean ups.
Creativity for Kids The Very Hungry Caterpillar Sticker Suncatcher Kit
Here's another option for mess-free art. This set comes with translucent stickers and seven suncatchers to transform your home windows into your child's masterpiece. Since the stickers are translucent, they're able to stack on top of each other to teach them all about color mixing. The suncatchers are able to attach to the window with the included suction cup.
MindWare Make Your Own Pet Dish Kit
This will be a treat for your little one (and family pet!) to make. The kit comes with a stainless steel dish, five wood dish panels, paint and other supplies for them to get creative. This set also teaches your little one how to take care of the pet dish, along with painting tips and tricks.
Best for the whole family
Fat Brain Toys Air Toobz
This is one of Oppenheim's favorite toys out of all the winners, solely because it can be constructed and enjoyed by all age groups. That includes parents, too! The Air Toobz comes with a motor that blows air into the direction you set the tubes in, teaching your little one the science of physics and engineering. There are 20 foam balls that are included, but parents can buy additional tubes and balls for more loops, tunnels and swirls for them to create.
EeBoo Indoor Scavenger Hunt
Oppenheim says this game will be enjoyed by early school age kids and preschoolers alike. "Since this is designed for younger children, they need only to find and point to the object found," she mentions. Children will be looking for common objects or their descriptors, such as if something is a specific color, shape, size and material. "In other words, this is a game that expands language and thinking with cards," says Oppenheim.
Stick Together Puzzle Face
This puzzle can be pieced together again and again to create a new image each time. You can capture a photo of a friend, yourself or any image of your choosing, and the app translates the picture into a code. The puzzle comes with 300 pieces that each come with a designated number and color for you or them to follow. Stick Together offers these puzzles in a single pack (like the one above), two pack, four pack and six pack for everyone to get their hands on.
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Winners 2022
Best vehicle toys
Fischer Price Hot Wheels Racing Loops Tower by Little People
Kids will enjoy a friendly game of racing and stunts with this Hot Wheels racing tower by Little People. In addition to the two racing tracks, kids can launch their cars through a 360-degree loop track, or the daring "ring of fire," and drive through the pretend gas station to refuel for the next race.
Monster Jam Official Mega Megalodon All-Terrain Remote Control Monster Truck
At over two feet long, this monster truck really lives up to its name. According to the brand, this remote control car can be managed from up to 250 feet away and features oversized tires to rollover any obstacle with ease. The brand also mentions this mega truck is lightweight, making it suitable for indoor play too.
Best toys for pretend play
American Girl Claudie Wells Doll
Claudie Wells is the newest addition to the American Girl historic doll collection; her story is based on growing up during the 1920's Harlem Renaissance. According to the brand, Claudie comes dressed in a 1920's-inspired outfit and her own book, "Meet Claudie," where kids can read and learn all about her special story. If you'd like to dress up Claudie, you can purchase her accessories separately. And if you're in the market for more than one of the American Girl historic dolls, you can choose another prominent figures from their ten other options.
Best games
Fat Brain Toys Heap-O-Sheep
You're probably familiar with counting sheep, but have you ever launched sheep? To play this family-friendly game, the first one to launch all of your sheep into the field wins. Oppenheim loves recommending games to promote family time and says kids will want to play this one again and again.
Best puzzles
Peaceable Kingdom Shimmery Christmas Tree Floor Puzzle
Coming with 49-pieces, this floor puzzle builds a festive three-foot Christmas tree. According to the brand, this activity allows children to explore motor and problem-solving skills, and comes with pieces large enough to make placing and grabbing easy for those tiny hands.
Best arts and crafts toys
Crayola Glow Fusion Glow-in-The-Dark Coloring Set
These aren't just your ordinary set of Crayola markers, they glow-in-the-dark to give your child an all new coloring experience. The kit comes with five markers, five deep sea themed coloring pages and two blank pages. Oppenheim even calls it the "coolest art supplies ever."
Creativity for Kids Big Gem Diamond Painting Light
Oppenheim says this gem painting light was a huge hit with their testers and she finds that school-age kids love projects that they can both work on and enjoy. With this craft set, kids can decorate their very own nightlight with sparkly gems to create planets and stars. After, they can see their work shine as it illuminates their bedroom walls.
Made By Me Paint Your Own Holiday Wooden Magnets
Oppenheim says this magnet paint set is a fun holiday project for kids to gift or keep for themselves once they finish. Coming with 10 holiday themed magnets and 12 acrylic paint pots, kids can mix-and-match and personalize each wooden magnet to their choosing.
More Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Winners
Best toys for babies and toddlers
Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Learning Bot
Babies who are starting to sit up on their own and toddlers alike will love this new robot from Fisher-Price. It is composed of three separate sections that can be combined to form the full robot or taken apart and played with separately to encourage interactive play. From the googly eyes to the mini ball game, it's sure to be a hit.
Manhattan Toy Playmate Friends Collection
Gift them their first hugger this year, plus an adorable included little pet. These plush dolls have options for both boys and girls and are also machine washable. Plus, the outfits are removable and interchangeable.
Best toys for preschoolers
Spinmaster Paw Patrol Ultimate City Transforming Tower
Parents of Paw Patrol fans know how big of a hit this toy will be. This three-foot tower is a replica of the tower from Adventure City and includes a command center, pup elevator, lights, sounds and everything else they'll need to create adventures of their own. Since it is so big, they can let their imagination run wild while playing with friends or family this year.
Dig It Up! Dinosaur Eggs by MindWare
The future paleontologist of the family will love getting to excavate dinosaur eggs — and then discovering what's inside. After soaking the eggs in water, they can get to work with the chisel and hammer to unearth the dinosaur inside (each kit includes a T-Rex, Triceratops and Stegosaurus). Once they're done, the included mat makes for an easy cleanup.
Best toys for early school years
SkyRocket Moji the Lovable Labradoodle
Didn't adopt a pandemic puppy? Moji is just as lovable, but doesn't require any housebreaking or grooming. Once you say her name, you'll watch her come to life; she'll listen to voice commands such as "sit" and "shake." An included deck of cards can be used to activate additional tricks, such as eating a treat, taking a bath and more.
Best crafts for boys and girls
Hey Buddy Hey Pal The Gift Box Ornament Decorator
This gadget makes for a great holiday craft. With it, kids can decorate a number of different ornaments with the colors and patterns they choose. After placing an ornament in the decorator, it will spin, and it only takes the touch of a marker to watch the designs come to life. Each set includes the decorating machine, three ornaments and eight markers, so additional ornaments will need to be purchased for future holiday seasons.
Creativity for Kids Magic Swirl Kaleidoscope
For a fun STEM activity, kids will love using this "magic" kaleidoscope. They'll learn how to construct a kaleidoscope and about light refractions as they piece it together. Kids ages 6 and older can create tons of cool scenes with the included swirl gel, glow-in-the-dark stickers, confetti assortment and more tools.
Creativity for Kids Color By Number Puzzles Jungle Kit
Puzzles soared in popularity in 2020, but they're not going anywhere. This kit allows them to get crafty, as they'll transform a black and white canvas into a colorful jungle scene — once they put all the pieces together, of course. The kit includes 24 washable markers, 100 puzzle pieces and a complete guide to help them along the way.
Toybox Starter Bundle
Oppenheim called this toy the toy of the future. It's a real 3D printer that kids will have a lot of fun using, with a bit of parental supervision (it uses heat to construct designs). It's easy to assemble and is controlled through an app on their phone, as they'll need to scroll through the catalogue in order to select a design. It requires a bit of patience, but the cool designs it can produce — such as the Scooby Doo Mystery Van — are worth every minute.
