(Thames & Hudson $19) A lovely art kit that introduces kids to the work of Henri Matisse. The set includes 4 stencil sheets, 3 picture pockets, 20 sheets of two-sided paper and a wonderful activity guide. With these stencils and papers -- your child can create their own collages inspired by Matisse. 5 & up. Ages: Early School, Tweens Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award 2026

(Melissa & Doug $24.99) Our testers loved this oversized floor puzzle with 48 pieces. When completed the puzzle is 3 feet x 2 feet. The puzzle also received high marks for featuring a unicorn -- actually two unicorns in a woodland setting with a castle and rainbow in the background. The glow-in-the-dark pieces added to the fun. Marked 3 & up but will be even more enjoyed by the 4 and up crowd. Working on a puzzle together is a great way to build your child's ability to prob

(Stickerbox $129.00) AI has entered toy world with the new Stickerbox Printer. Say what you'd like to see printed and voila, the red Stickerbox cube will produce a black and white sticker with what you said. So ask for a elephant having an ice cream cone -- and that's what comes out. We tested this out at a family party so we could test lots of different ages and voices -- and it really works. The printer comes with four rolls of paper, colored pencils and a USB charger. Yo

(Playmobil $19.99 each) Take your pick of your favorite vehicle. While parents may enjoy building a small Porsche, most of our child testers picked by their favorite color! These are fun small builds to do together. They range in piece count -- from 25-31 pieces. Once put together, your child has a fun vehicle to enjoy. Each comes with one mini fig. Marked 5-99. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Awards 2026 Shop these products on Amazon

(Tree Town Toys $34.00) Hands down, Spin Animator Studio is one of the best toys of the year. Building on the concept of a zoetrope where you spin a strip of graphics to give the illusion of animation, this spinning animator takes that experience to the next level. The set comes with premade strips that are done in color, black and white strips with pre-made art and then blank strips so that you can create your own. There is a knob on the side to put the strip in motion. Com

(Educational Insights $22.49) A engaging art platform for creating your own graphic novel pages. The artwork is from graphic novelist Brady Smith. The set comes with a light up tracing board, 400+ traceable images, blank pages, pages with images and frames and five colored-pencils. A fun way to explore the art of writing and illustrating graphic novels. Also any toy that brings kids back to books is a winner in our view. We would suggest adding other colored pencils for more

(Playmobil $99.99) We are for any kit that encourages girls to build. The Waterpark is a fun and active theme. Playmobil provides a great parent-child play opportunity given that younger kids will need adult assistance putting the setting together. Once it's been assembled, the setting is ideal for pretend play and language development. Also fun, not Barbie related but will appeal to the same audience, is their new Animals & Friends Hot Air Ballon which features a female b

(Mindware $24.95) Here's a fun and fast-paced game that our preschooler testers love to play. The game comes with five plungers which adds a new dimension to this match game. Set out one set of cards on the table face up so everyone can see them images on the cards. As each player takes a turn flipping a card over from the draw pile -- the race is on to find the match. The first to plung and claim the match, wins the pair. Ages: Preschool, Early School Oppenheim Toy Portfo

(Educational Insights $26.79) Here's an innovative and engaging kit for parents and kids to explore together. The box comes with everything you need to create vehicles with cardboard boxes you have a home. The set comes with two tools for making it happen - one for punch a hole in the cardboard (a better activity for the grown up in the room) and a screw driver for the plastic bolts that are included. There are wheels, license plates, and details for personalizing your vehicl

(Basic Fun $24.99) Not the traditional Lite-Brite with pegs, but a really fun drawing platform that our testers enjoyed. The clear acrylic "glowboard" comes with five markers, 3 backgrounds and stencils. Our testers were more interested in adding their own creations. The board comes with feet so it can stand up, but we recommend drawing on the board when it's flat. Once you've added your drawing -- you can adjust the lights so they flash between different colors or you can pi