Popular Gifts for Toddlers, From STEM Toys to Activity Tables

Just a couple years ago, your baby didn’t care about presents. Sure, she opened them, sucked on them, and maybe played with them, but she didn’t fully understand the true art of gift-giving, and — if we’re being honest — wouldn’t have missed it if you never gave her anything at all.

Finding the best gifts for toddlers is a whole new ballgame. In some ways, it’s a lot more fun: Now that your baby is a toddler, she actually plays with her toys — and you can get down on the floor and play right there with them. But the challenge is that toddlers have opinions now — a lot of opinions — so not just any toy will do. We scoured the toy aisles to find gifts that your toddler will play with more than the box it came in. (And hopefully you’ll have some fun with them, too. Hey, we won’t tell if you keep playing after they go to sleep.) Whether you’re looking for board books, building blocks, educational toys, snuggly soft friends or toys that feature their favorite characters from TV and the movies, here are the best gifts for toddlers for 2020. (And if you’re still looking, we’ve got the best gifts for babies too.) And for more ideas for toys for kids of every age, check out the Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards.