( Super Smalls $40) Our testers loved this kit that comes with three small frames to decorate with puff paint (four colors) and "gemstones" to gemify the frames. School aged kids love making things that they can display in their rooms as well as making gifts for others. Ages: Early School, Tweens Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2025 Shop this product on Amazon

( POPDARTS $24.99) Popdarts are a great family game for mixed ages. The set comes with two sets of suction tips that each player takes turns throwing at the red suction marker. The closer you get the more points you receive, the first player that has 21 points wins. You can play tossing the Popdarts on a table or onto a glass door. 5 & up. The company also makes more advanced sets. Ages: Infants Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2025 Shop this toy on Amazon

(Loveté $19.99 ) This fun new activity kit taps into the current trend of adding embellishments to your sneakers. The set comes with three pairs of laces, charms, jumping rings, pearl beads, letter beads, elastic and permanent stickers. There are also tutorials on line for each step in the kit. Marked 8 & up, but we think it will be most enjoyed by tweens. Ages: Tweens Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2025

(Horizon Group $14.99 ) Everything you need for creating necklaces and bracelets with more than 20 interachangeable charms that go on with easy to change lobster claws. There is a chain bracelet and necklace as well as elastic cord for making bracelets with more hundreds of beads (accent colors, alphabet beads and metallic beads). Would make a great holiday gift for jewelry lovers. Marked 6 & up. Younger kids will need adult assistance. Ages: Older Early School, Tweens Opp

( Creativity for Kids $18.39) A fun kit for introducing your child to the Japanese art of Origami. There are 60 printed papers with neon designs, a sticker sheet, craft string and step-by-step instructions. Even better, there's a YouTube instructional video. Marked 7 & up -- will need adult involvement. Ages: Early School Years Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2025 Shop this kit on Amazon

( LEGO $129.99) We are big fans of the Creator 3 in 1 series. It gives you the opportunity to use the same set to do three different builds. This is one of the largest sets we've ever seen. We're not sure anyone is going to take this set with over 1300 pieces apart but you could! The castle is a great build with multi-level towers, a gate that can be pulled up with "chains", there are also six minifigs as well as two horses for pretend jousting. Once the build is completed,

( LEGO $69.99) A fun multi-level, fully tricked out tree house that comes with 701 pieces - including four Friends and two animals. There's a sleeping area, a piano , a slide, a work station that includes a circular saw, a kitchen area (for making donuts). There's also a working pull-up chair for getting up to the next level. Our testers loved all the attention to details - just to name a few : mini carrots from the garden, mini ice cream cones, and a hardhat with a protect

( Tree Town Toys $15.99 each) Art Café is a really clever painting kit that includes a to-go coffee container with four lids. Inside the cup you'll find three acrylic paints, a wooden stick for pulling the paint and instructions. We love open-ended painting kits and this one introduces kids to a painting technique that can be used on other materials. There are three sets with different color palettes: dreamy colors, beachy colors and cheery colors. Note-- because these use

(Horizon Group $22.99 ) A wow-wee kind of bead kit with 800+ beads that come in a fun round plastic case that spins. There's a rainbow of colors here as well as metallics and alphabet beads. Set comes with enough elastic cords to make 25+ bracelets. A great holiday gift for 8 and up. Our testers also loved the STMT D.I.Y. Personalized Jewelry Studio ($24.99) that is chockfull of color beads, cord, initial beads, pearl beads-- to make more than 50 pieces of jewelry. The cas

( Creativity for Kids $25.95) If scratch art fans and unicorn fans were to have a dream toy -- this would be it! The deluxe set comes with 20 scratch art boards - some with pre-drawn images and others with just frames. If you're new to scratch art, it's a lot of fun. The kit comes with two plastic styluses that you use for scratching off the black top to reveal the colors below. Now what makes this kit especially special, it also includes a small unicorn vacuum for picking u