Holiday Gift Guide 2024: Hottest Toys and Christmas Gifts for Kids
Looking for the best Christmas gifts for kids? Check out our ultimate holiday gift guide 2024, with the hottest toy suggestions for kids of all ages.
'Tis the season—it’s time to get serious about Christmas gifts for kids. The holidays will be here before you know it, and that means shopping. Lots of shopping. To help you find the perfect gift, we've talked to kids, toy experts, and parents to fill our gift guide for 2024 with some of the hottest toys of the season.
Whether your toddler loves Ms. Rachel or your teenager is dying for the latest Percy Jackson book, we’ve got the perfect gift for kids of all ages and interests.
For more gift ideas, check out the Mommy Poppins Holiday Gift Guide 2024, which has suggestions for cool stocking stuffers, baby's first Christmas gift, and more.
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The Melissa & Doug wooden play gym is our pick for baby holiday gift of the year!
Hottest Toys & Gifts for Babies 2024
Melissa & Doug Ocean Easy-Fold Wooden Play Gym
This new baby gym has an innovative quick-close button that makes it easy to take almost anywhere. The reversible mat is black and white on one side and color on the other, so that it can grow with your baby’s sense of eyesight. Five adorable ocean-themed toys complete the package.
The morepeas Everything Snack Cup is part gift for parents, but something your baby would love.
Morepeas Everything Snack Cup
Look, your baby will love the empty box and wrapping paper most of all, so a snack cup that allows them to snack as they're learning, and makes your life easier, is a gift for everyone. This adorable cup for babies six months and up is not just a snack cup, but a steamer and a dining bowl too. This is a gift that’s worth every penny.
The Skip Hop Baby Walker is a grows-with-baby must-have that provides years of fun.
Skip Hop Baby Walker
This new baby walker has over 40 play features, sounds, and lights, and can help your little one feel comfortable on two feet. It also grows with your little one, as the toy converts from a toy for babies, a walker for toddlers, and then to a shopping cart and finally a stroller for their dolls!
Our Big Book of First Words features illustrations and foundational first words that will live on your bookshelf for years.
Our Big Book of First Words by Tabitha Paige
Books are always good Christmas gifts for kids, and this new book of words created by certified speech-language pathologist Tabitha Page is perfect for a new talker. Not only does it cover foods, animals, and plants, but the illustrations are gorgeous, too.
The Baby Einstein + Hape Discovery Radio Toy Radio is one of the best toys of 2024.
Baby Einstein + Hape Discovery Radio Toy
This Montessori-inspired multisensory toy is designed to help babies ages six months and up explore everyday sounds and music. With a chic design, babies can turn the dial to see glowing lights, listen to 12 animal sounds, and move and groove to 30 classical music sounds. It's also retro-cute and affordable!
I mean, you can bring Ms. Rachel home!
Hottest Toys and Gifts for Toddlers
Ms. Rachel Speak & Sing Doll
One of the hottest Christmas gifts for kids in 2024, this adorable 16” Ms. Rachel doll has 16+ phrases and four songs from the hit show, and was designed by Ms. Rachel alongside early learning specialists.
FatBrain Toys PlayTab Activity Board has loads of games for years of fun.
FatBrain Toys PlayTab Activity Board
This is a hot toy in 2024, and it’s easy to see why. Choose from 11 boldly designed play tiles that offer challenges for motor skills, cause-and-effect discoveries, and more. The board itself only fits six, but you can buy more tiles and swap them out to keep playtime fresh.
Bring the excitement of CocoMelon home with the Transforming School Time Bus.
CocoMelon Transforming School Time Bus
CocoMelon is still a thing (sorry, parents), and this new school bus is one of the best Christmas gifts for kids who love the show. The bus transforms into a school room, plays different songs, and comes with two figurines. Kids can activate lights and sounds at the touch of a ladybug button.
Build anything from a cozy couch to a fun fort with the Cloud Castle set from Play Space by Battat.
Battat Cloud Castle Foam Fort Building Set
This fort-building set is at the top of Toy Insider’s Hot 20 Christmas gifts for kids, and once we got our hands on it, we couldn’t help but include it in our gift guide in 2024! The set includes a foldable base, two stairs, an arch, and a half sun, and kids can use them to create a reading nook, a fort, and so much more.
Cluck, flap arms, and tap into the power of giggles with the Sesame Street Chicken Dance Elmo Animated Plush.
Just Play Sesame Street Chicken Dance Elmo
Every year it seems like there's a dancing Sesame Street character, and this year's is Chicken Dance Elmo! Just press his foot to get him moving to the beat, telling jokes, and encouraging kids to play along. This silly toy always makes parents cringe until they see the delight on their toddler's face. It's worth every extra battery and annoying sound.
The Play-Doh all-in-one kids scooter and pretend play kitchen is everywhere this holiday season.
Hottest Toys and Gifts for Preschoolers
Play-Doh Pizza Delivery Scooter Playset
Kids can be their own boss with this fun toy from Play-Doh! Make pizza, put it in the takeout box, ride the scooter to deliver the “order,” and when done, store everything in the handy compartment under the seat. Hours of fun!
The Melissa & Doug Wooden Vending Machine makes a great gift for hours of screen-free play.
Melissa & Doug Wooden Vending Machine Play Set
Kids can sort the play food, restock the machine, and insert coins to get snacks delivered in the tray below. It even works with real snacks!
It’s party time with Peppa and friends on the Peppa Pig 2-in-1 Party Bus Playset.
Peppa Pig 2-in-1 Party Bus Playset
It’s a party with Peppa! This double-decker bus playset has three floors and comes with 13 accessories and three figurines that promise hours of pretend-play fun. If your little one loves Peppa Pig, this is a must-have.
hand2mind MathLink Cubes Numberblocks 1-10 Activity Set is a perfect counting toy this holiday system.
hand2mind MathLink Cubes Numberblocks 1-10 Activity Set
Kids will love working on the 30 math-learning activities linked to episodes from the popular show. Kids love it, it's truly educational, and the activity cards create loads of ways to play so kids don't get sick of it.
Cookeez Makery Freezy Cakez
One of the hot toys for 2024, this surprise reveal toy is fun for kids who love to cook! They will “mix” the ingredients, put the cake in the freezer, and when the timer goes off, they’ll get a new interactive plushie friend! Freezy Cakez plushie is interactive, too, with sound and reactions.
Dress Amaya in her mix-and-match fashions or mix-and-match with the other Rainbow High Fantastic Fashion playsets.
Hottest Toys and Gifts for 5-9-Year Olds
Rainbow High Watercolor & Create Fashion DIY Doll
Fashionistas will have a blast mixing and matching the two outfits and accessories that come with this bendable, poseable doll. Plus, any Rainbow High clothing will fit her, so there are plenty of opportunities for a fashion show.
LEGO set of the year: Gru and Minion house playset.
LEGO Despicable Me 4 Minions and Gru's Family Mansion
A LEGO set is always a good choice when it comes to Christmas gifts for kids! This new set for 2024 is Gru’s house and a treehouse for the girls, and it comes with minifigs of Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith, Agnes, and Baby, plus Mega Minion toy figures Mel, Jerry, and Tim.
Make your own mini replicas of your favorite potions from the Harry Potter.
MGA's Miniverse Make It Mini Potions Harry Potter
Miniatures are still popular, and this new line of Harry Potter collectibles is everywhere in 2024. Each package comes with everything kids need to make their favorite potions from the iconic Wizarding World, but they won’t know which potion until they open it!
Create a magical potion to release a Magic Mixies Pixie Supreme fashion doll.
Magic Mixies Pixie Supremes Magic Mirror
Clearly this Christmas it's all about kids taking a hand in making their own toys. Kids can wake up the magic mirror and brew a magical potion to create their very own pixie. The magic mirror has over 50 lights and sounds, the doll has two outfits and seven accessories, and after the reveal is over, the mirror will reveal your child’s fortune!
Construct your own Glow-in-the-Dark Mars Rovers with the Clixio Mars Rover pack.
Clixo Mars Rover Pack
This new set of magnetic building toys glows in the dark! There are 30 different pieces for kids to use when they create space vehicles, and the pieces are lightweight and stackable, so they’re perfect for travel, at a restaurant, or just about anywhere.
This life-sized game is a thoughtful and inclusive gift that everyone in the family can play, anywhere.
What's Next?: A Life-Size Game
Roll the jumbo die, select a prompt card, and get ready for lots of giggles with this fun family game! You create the game board, and you become the game pieces. Keeps kids moving and is very interactive. The prompts are easy to follow, so it’s perfect for a group with different age ranges, plus, there’s an expansion pack for kids with disabilities.
The iLive NightStar Projector is a party in a box, but also is a soothing night light. Awesome surprise gift for teens!
Hottest Toys and Gifts for Tweens and Teens
iLive NightStar Projector with Wireless Speaker
This wireless speaker and projector does double duty for teens. It can turn any room into a party, with cool mood lights and a speaker, that let's you play music and even change the lights with the music to set the scene. It also is a great way to fall asleep, with calming music, and muted star projections on the ceiling. Honestly, I thought my 17-year-old would use this for parties, and instead he uses it every night to fall asleep! (It automatically turns itself off after a certain amount of time.)
Forget D&D, this is the best interactive game for teens of 2024.
Morrison Game Factory
This narrative puzzle adventure is filled with riddles, codes, and mysteries waiting to be solved. Perfect for teens who love a challenge. Super unique and addictive, inspiring hours of play.
The Micro Kickboard is a strong yet extremely lightweight 2-wheeled scooter, and awesomely fun for kids.
Micro Kickboard
Kids love scooters, and this is one of the best. Strong but lightweight, there’s no assembly required. Simply unfold it and go!
Rick Riordan’s newest and much anticipated Percy Jackson adventure is out just in time for the holidays!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan
If your kid has already read the first set of Percy Jackson books, they’re going to want the latest tome in the series. Now, Percy is a high school senior, and he’s trying to get into New Rome University. Will he be able to get a letter of recommendation from the goddess Hecate? (I read this one already, before wrapping it for my kids. It's a good one!)
Phone, keys, wallet. Keep them close in Lululemon's versatile belt bag.
Lululemon Athletica Everywhere Belt Bag
Tweens and teens love this bag, so it’s no surprise it’s on our gift guide in 2024. Offered in 19 colors, they’ll be able to tote around their lip balms, phones, and other necessities.
The Kodak Printomatic camera instantly prints 2x3” photos! Your kid will be the life of any party.
KODAK Printomatic Full-Color Instant Print Digital Camera
Real pictures are so cool these days. This all-in-one digital camera is compact and allows you to take pictures while the previous one is being printed on the spot.
Join a jamboree of over 110 minigames and 22 playable characters—the most of any Mario PartyTM game to date.
Super Mario Party Jamboree
This new Nintendo Switch game has tons of mini-games that are perfect for family night. Go with the flow in Goomba Lagoon, search the mall for stars in Rainbow Galleria, or revisit the classics of Western Land and Mario’s Rainbow Castle. There are 22 playable characters to choose from, and there’s also a single-player mode.
rosyclo's Cloud Slippers are like walking on a cloud, perfect for indoors and out.
rosyclo Cloud Slippers
Kids can’t get enough of these comfy slippers! You can choose from almost 30 different hues, and they can be used at home or even out and about.
The ergonomic, stick-closed design of the JBL Vibe Beam fits so comfortably you may forget you're wearing them.
JBL Vibe Beam - True Wireless JBL Deep Bass Sound Earbuds
Kids at this age are figuring out what kind of music they like, and they love all the tech gear they can get their hands on. JBL makes great earbuds and they're affordable, so it's a win-win! These have up to 32 hours of battery life, are compatible with Apple and Samsung products, and are water resistant.
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