23 Top Toys Under $25 from Amazon, Walmart and Target This Holiday Season
Making the little ones happy this holiday season can be tough, especially with time or budget constraints. Fortunately, you can save money while still putting a smile on your loved ones’ faces when you shop for items that are under $25.
Lower-cost items are so popular that Walmart, Amazon and Target publish lists of the hottest gifts of the holiday season every year. And this year, the items on these lists are excellent.
We took a deeper look into the top-selling toys under $25 this year and put together this list to give you an idea of what’s out there. And, bonus, you can often find coupons or discounts to help you score these toys under $25.
Note: Prices listed were sourced online in November and may fluctuate throughout the season.
23 of This Year’s Best Toys Under $25
Reduce holiday stress and keep your bank account stable with this year’s top toy choices under $25. Gifts on this list include award-winning toys that have great reviews and a history of being the items kids really want to see for the holidays this year. Select one of these, and you can trust these toys won’t get lost in a sea of wrapping paper but instead make it to a kid’s favorite toy pile.
Best Toys Under $25 for Babies and Toddlers
1. Coodoo Magnetic Tiles, 40-piece set
Coodoo magnetic tiles are an excellent choice for young children and toddlers who enjoy building. These magnetic tiles come in several shapes and quickly snap together to make houses, castles and more. They help develop children’s critical thinking skills, focus, coordination and more, making playtime educational.
2. Munchkin Float & Play Bubbles Baby and Toddler Bath Toy
Young babies can’t have many toys due to the risks, but one of them that is particularly baby-friendly is the bath toy. Munchkin makes these Float & Play Bubbles baby and toddler bath toys to make bath time more entertaining and educational. The bubbles are intended to stimulate a baby’s senses, such as touch and sight.
3. Coolplay Baby’s First Non-Toxic Soft Cloth Book Set
Cloth books are a good way to introduce colorful pictures and words before babies are old enough to handle heavier, more structured books. These non-toxic soft books are colorful, squishy, and entertaining, making them great for young children between 12 and 18 months.
4. LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book, Green
There’s always time for learning, and turning learning into playtime is a great way to make it stick. With LeapFrog’s Learning Friends books, over 100 age-appropriate words are taught to children by Turtle, Tiger and Monkey. Touching the words plays them out loud, and there are sound effects, too. This toy is available in English and Spanish, which is great for bilingual households.
5. Little Tikes Creative Chefs Cookie Kit With Make-It Mix Play Sand
Young toddlers learning about food, cooking and daily life will enjoy playing with this play set. It has 11 accessories for realistic pretend play, using packages of “cookie mix” (that’s the magic play sand) to mold cookies for “baking.” With a rolling pin and cute picture-only recipe, it’s sure to be a hit…just don’t let them actually take a bite of what they make.
Best Toys Under $25 for Preschoolers
1. Squishmallows Pikachu Holiday 14” Plush
If there’s one thing that has spanned generations, it’s Pokemon. Squishmallows is back this holiday season with a holiday-ready Pikachu prepped for winter snow with his own blue hat. “Pika Pika” this toy for the Pokemon lovers in your life.
2. FAO Schwartz Fifth Ave. Handbag and Accessories
Young children like to emulate their parents, which might include carrying their own bag, sunglasses, “credit card” and “smartphone.” This accessory set has a usable purse and play versions of common items used in daily life as an adult, letting kids get in on imaginary playtime.
3. Mini Brands Garden Collectible Capsule
This Mini Brands garden collectible capsule is a fun way to add a stocking stuffer to your favorite kid’s holiday gifts at a decent price. Inside each mini ball is a collectible garden item (plastic, of course). There are 18 different plans to collect and build, including flowers, orchids and succulents.
4. Wild Manes Candi’s Pink Sugar Crush Carnival Cart
For kids who love horses, this Wild Manes set is a good choice. There is an articulated horse doll included, and it comes with a brush and cart that pulls along behind it. Candi (that’s the horse) wheels along the Sugar Crush Carnival, which is complete with soda, popcorn and other carnival treats.
5. Melissa & Doug Sticker Wow!
Melissa & Doug do it again with this Sticker Wow! pack. With polar bears and penguins, this value pack is a simple crafting kit with activity pads and sticker stampers that are great for parties and quiet time. Activities inside include counting, matching, numbers and more.
6. LCD Writing Tablet for Kids
This LCD writing tablet for kids is 8.5 inches tall and makes it easy to draw without the mess of individual papers, crayons, markers or pencils. The doodle pad has no harmful chemicals, and it can be wiped clean with just the push of a button — no mess, no stress.
Best Toys Under $25 for Elementary-Aged Kids
1. LEGO Creator 3 in 1 Peacock, Dragon, Butterfly
Every year LEGO releases entry-level Creator sets that can expand a growing collection. This set features a three-in-one design with a peacock, dragon and butterfly, perfect for children who enjoy imaginative play.
2. Barbie World Game Room Set
The Barbie World Game Room Set is an easy pick for elementary kids who enjoy collecting Barbie items. This set comes with 19 dollhouse accessories, such as a foosball table and beanbag chair. So, if a Barbie mansion is looking for an upgrade, this is a great pick to get started.
3. Rubik’s Cube Squish Cube
This is a class 3×3 Rubik’s Cube, but it has a squishy texture that makes it oddly satisfying to give it a spin. The soft foam toy still has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 combinations, but there’s only one solution. That’s the right gift to keep kids busy!
4. Pickleball Blast
Pickleball blast lets kids get into the fun of pickleball at home. This countertop game is a two-player masterpiece with a wiggling pickle that you have to hit to knock over spinning tops. Knock out all three, and you win the game.
5. Barbie Mini BarbieLand Fashionistas Dolls
Kids who collect Barbies will get a kick out of this clever design. Fashionista dolls, now pint-sized, are inside toy lipstick tubes, hiding the exact doll inside until she’s twisted up as a surprise. The full doll is 1.5 inches tall. At an affordable price, you can splurge on a couple for the kids in your life.
6. Kinetic Sand
With a pound of play sand, a stamper, and five tools, kids love the Kinetic Sand SquishMotion playset. There are three colors of sand inside, and three stampers create different designs like sunshines and stars. Make unique shapes and then squish it all up and start again.
Best Toys Under $25 for Tweens
1. Star Wars Force N Telling Vader
There’s nothing wrong with getting your fortune told by the Dark Side…right? This little Vader is dipping his toes into using the Force for good with 40 different responses, some neutral, positive or negative. Just press down on his helmet, and he’ll light up before chatting away about the next fortune.
2. Mr. Beast Lab Mutators Gold Panther
For tweens who are into watching Mr. Beast, this Mutators Gold Panther is a good choice. It requires kids to experiment with purple ooze to get their panther to emerge from the chamber, a clever activity that slowly reveals the item they’re getting inside. Kids will love the slow reveal!
3. Hello Blink Sticker Maker
Kids love making their own crafts, and what would be better than making stickers? Ceaco makes it easy with this sticker maker that lets kids design and print custom sticker art. No ink is needed — the printer uses thermal tech to print up to 80 stickers.
4. Marvel Spider-Man Super Web Slinger
Tweens and older children into cosplay or the Marvel Universe will love this Spider-Man toy. By wearing the globe and attaching the web-slinger, kids can shoot out web fluid (which appears to be like Silly String) and live their Spider-Man dreams.
5. Nerf N Series Pinpoint Blaster, Clip and 18 Nerf N1 Darts
Tweens and teens alike will love this Nerf Blaster, which comes with 18 N1 darts designed for extreme accuracy, distance and speed. Kids will love popping out from behind sofas to wage living room warfare, and parents appreciate that the darts are soft enough to play safely.
6. Cool Maker Go Glam Nail Studio
This is right about the age when tweens start to want to get their nails done, so why not make it easier to do them at home? The Cool Maker Go Glam nail studio has guides to help paint the nails easily, and there are cool stickers that will make nails sparkle with holographic hearts, butterflies and more. Stamp up to 200 nails — that’s enough for a couple of sleepovers or to share with siblings.
All these toys have excellent price points, and they’re sure to put a smile on your favorite child’s face. Whether you stick with crafty gifts or go for digital drawing supplies, these picks under $25 are a great place to start your shopping list.
