Every year, hundreds, if not thousands, of new toys are released. With that inventory, how on Earth is anyone supposed to know what's worth buying, and what their kids will really love? We've asked ourselves those same questions, which is why we decided to test everything we thought would be popular — or super cool — this year in order to find the very best toys of the year for 2022.
How we did this will require pulling back the curtain on the toy industry and publishing a little bit. We start getting toy previews generally between 4 and 6 months before they are in stores. Many times, people in publishing, specifically parenting editors, see toys even before they can tell anyone they exist. We sign NDAs, the images are watermarked, and all videos are encrypted — all of which is pretty cool, albeit a little intense. Then, a few months before they're released, we can request samples to test, or sometimes they're just sent to us.
This year, our parenting editor employed a group of children of varying ages to test each toy in order to find out what best resonated with kids, or, in other words, what really wow'd them and held their attention — and the results were pretty wild. Some of the toys we could've predicted, but some, like the best STEAM toy, came out of left field and shocked us.
Every toy on this list has been tested and chosen by children in the age groups for which the toys were designed. Our parenting editor then chose toys at different price points to compile this list without usurping choices if they were unanimous (as was the case in the Best Overall and STEAM categories, among a few others).
And as an aside, every toy that was sent to us was donated and will go to kids who would likely not otherwise get the opportunity to have them.
The Toy of the Year 2022
If you remember the absolute wilding out children did last year over Moose Toys' Magical Mixies Cauldron, you won't be surprised that this is the toy of the year, which this year has spawned the Magical Mixlings, which is on our Best of the Best 2022 list. But the Magical Mixies Misting Crystal Ball? It is in a league of its own. There was really nothing that came close to its greatness, making it the obvious choice for Best Products' Toy of the Year 2022.
It’s a crystal ball that mists using glycerin (aka soap’s number one ingredient), and kids use the included wand to do some “magic” to reveal their magic-8-ball-esque plush inside. And unlike the cauldron, you can use this toy over and over again, which never gets old because the fortune-telling plush has over 80 sounds and reactions — all you have to do is reset it. Plus, you can use it as a night light.
This toy made kids over 10, who normally turn their noses up at toys that aren't virtual, absolutely lose their minds. The 6- to 9-year-olds? Forget about it. It was pandemonium once they got it out of the box.
And this toy will sell out, so get it now.
Play Set of the Year
Have you ever seen a group of 4- to 6-year-old kids play calmly for 45 minutes straight? We have — and it was when they were playing with this Wiltopia Animal Hospital play set from Playmobil. It was a sight to behold, so of course, it's our pick for Play Set of the Year.
This is just one piece of the larger Playmobil Wiltopia ecosystem, but like everything Playmobil, it's impressive and it's built to last. When your kids age out of it, you could keep it for your grandbabies or pass it onto another family.
Our little testers marveled over the outdoor enclosures, the animal clinic, the boat dock, and the pulley system. They loved how you can interact with the Wiltopia app, and we loved how much they learned about animals and the environment. We also love that it’s made with, on average, over 80% sustainable materials.
If you've seen the ever-popular O Cedar spin mop, this set takes that idea and makes it fun and interactive for children, hopefully imbuing a love of cleaning (not likely, but we can dream). The bucket lady sings to you, it makes sounds when you push the lever, and it introduces numbers in a fun, approachable way. It comes with a dustpan and brush, bucket, mop, rag, and spray bottle.
Our parenting editor started gifting this toy to every child they know. It's affordable, kids love it, and it's a must for toddlers and preschoolers.
Game of the Year
Our Game of the Year, Hand-to-Hand Wombat is a ridiculous cooperative game where you play with your eyes closed to try to topple one another's stacks. You can play separately, or you can all team up against someone — usually the parent — to knock over the stacks that you build — with your eyes closed. Now, we're not saying that this isn't just a game for kids and could also be a hilarious drinking game ... but we're not not saying it.
If you take everything you love about There's a Yeti in my Spaghetti and combined it with Jenga, you get Catch the Moon. It's a game of stacking, using light plastic ladders. You roll the dice to determine who begins stacking, and every time you cause it to fall, you earn a raindrop. Once all the raindrops are gone, the person with the fewest raindrops wins. It's a bit more challenging to play than Hand-to-Hand Wombat, but also a bit less rowdy.
Doll of the Year
Disney Junior's hit show Alice's Wonderland Bakery is wildly popular, up there with Bluey and Gabby's Dollhouse. This doll and magical oven set are such a perfect recreation of the show, absolutely true to the feel of the cartoon, complete with the sounds her bakery makes made it immediately stand out among the competitors. The fact that it's one of the larger dolls that come with an activity center, and that it's only around $40, made this our clear winner for Doll of the Year.
Cry Babies First Emotions are just so involved, it's hard not to love them. You can tickle their bellies and make them laugh, rock them to sleep, calm them when they cry real tears, and delight in her myriad facial expressions. This doll comes with a pacifier, rattle, sippy cup, and hairbrush — and kids 4 to 8 had an exceptionally great time playing with her.
Baby Toy of the Year
Our testers loved this traffic activity walker from Little Tikes so much, you could barely tell that none of them even have their learner's permit. But seriously, Little Tikes activity walkers are hugely popular in any incarnation, but the 9- to 18-month-old babies who tested several baby toys, really loved this the best, making it the Baby Toy of the Year.
Our mini testers delighted in the sit/stand/walker style of it, while parents love how versatile it is. The kids were positively gleeful over the ABC and 123 buttons, the turn signals, the headlight, and the sliding cars on the front.
The CoComelon Ultimate Learning Bus is an interactive toy that is a push/pull toy, a counting toy, a color toy, and an alphabet toy. Your baby drops tokens into the bus, and that token makes the bus say certain phrases. “A is for apple, C is for cow,” and things like that. Plus, it has a song wheel, and the wipers really do work.
This baby toy won our runner-up spot because it skews a little older and the batteries die pretty quickly. But if you have a baby or toddler, you know CoComelon — and you know your child will love this toy. It's going to sell out as fast as the crystal ball, so add it to your cart immediately!
Outdoor Toy of the Year
Twister is a wild game to begin with, but when you turn the playing field into a sprinkler like a slip and slide, it gets even wilder. Every single kid who tested this toy fell madly in love with it, making it an easy choice for Outdoor Toy of the Year.
Even toddlers and preschoolers that are wary of scooters and bicycles will love this light-up scooter from Little Tikes thanks to how brightly the stick lights up. It's not just a solid light, either — it pulses and races. One feature the parents really love is that it has a rocking axle on the front wheel that helps kids learn how to turn with more ease and balance.
Pre-School Toy of the Year
If you ever want to see a 3-year-old light up with joy, get them the Dance and Play Bluey. She's 14 inches tall, super soft, sings four different songs, and has 55 different phrases to engage your little one. She also plays her favorite games: statues, dance, and copycat. Another bonus of this toy? It's already gone on sale twice, making it more affordable than many other toys.
Do you remember the rinky-dink soft-serve Play-Doh machines of the ’90s and early aughts? This is the exact opposite of that. This is a whole ice cream truck station with a soft-serve press, a machine that makes Play-Doh sprinkles, a scoop, a play fridge, and more. Yeah, your kids are going to make swirl ice cream that will inevitably combine two colors, but this toy just makes the inevitable that much cooler.
Steam Toy of the Year
This isn't your everyday magnet toy — it's an entire architectural magnet system complete with squares that the kids can color on to complete their vision. When we got this set into the hands of the 7- to 13-year-old testers, the dynamic play they engaged in was incredible, making it clear to us rather quickly that this was the STEAM Best Products' Toy of the Year.
This set comes with 32 square magnet tiles, eight triangle magnetic tiles, two Oggs characters (silly little men) with five accessories, two Oggs cars, 20 interactive pop-in panels, two ramps, two tubes, two mega jumps, eight bridge clips, eight edge frames, one comic card, and 12 paperboard panels.
Coding and robotics are bigger than ever, but not all of the kids’ kits are that kid-friendly. In fact, of all of the coding and robotics toys we tested, this one from Thames and Kosmos is the only one that kids stuck with. And they didn’t just stick with it — they played with it for hours, working it until they figured it out, could change the robot on a whim, and generally just mastered the concepts. It’s a build/code robot toy that’s basic enough for most elementary students, but can be complex enough for tweens.
Car Toy of the Year
There has never been a more ridiculous car toy, ever — and that's exactly why kids love it so much. It's a remote-control shark (on wheels) that chomps as you operate it. The testers could not get enough of those toys, finding much delight and humor in chomping after everyone, including the family cat.
Get ready to watch your kids perform tricks with this car toy of the year runner-up. The Air Hogs Jump Fury is a two-sided foam wheeled, flipping remote-controlled trick car. It doesn't hurt your furniture, your feet, or even those pesky cats, though they do hate them every bit as much as the shark.
Building Toy of the Year
If you have seen Thor: Love and Thunder, you know the Goat Boat. It's the weird space/boat/rocket ship that uses the power of Mjolnir to trek Thor and friends across the galaxies — and this Lego set makes the whole thing even cooler. Kids loved putting it together, and so did the parents. It's 564 pieces and comes with Thor, Mighty Thor, Valkyrie, Korg, and Gorr.
We know. Another Lego set from the same franchise? We didn't think this would happen either, but the children have spoken. The reason this is the runner-up and not the winner is that it's slightly more complicated, and lacks versatility for young builders.
This bad boy has lots of moving parts, and getting the balance right as you construct it isn't the easiest, but it's super fun when age-appropriate. It's a buildable, moveable action figure with only 476 pieces, and it comes with a fake cassette and an ID.
Best Interactive Toy of the Year
Updated and fun, the Geosafari Jr. talking microscope is not new to the scene, but this version has been updated with multiple languages, making it more accessible than ever. It's an exciting talking microscope that works with actual slides that kids don't break, and an interactive interface with Bindi Irwin that kids really responded to. For under $40, it's hard to beat, and again, it's accessible in a way other talking microscopes are not.
Poppy is about the cutest dang bunny you've ever seen. She hugs your arm, has over 50 reactions, and you can feed and cuddle her. What kids loved the most about this toy was that if you feed her too much, she gets a little gassy, giggles about it, and her cheeks and nose light up. The only reason this adorable bunny didn’t win Interactive Toy of the Year is because changing the batteries is a bit of a pain, and they die pretty quickly.
Playhouse of the Year
Many parents love Bluey as much as their kids do. It’s no wonder that their new, foldable Ultimate Lights and Sounds Playhouse would be an instant hit. Once you open the house it’s a generous 17 x 30 inches, with bedrooms, a living room, their dining room, and yes, the ever important potty. which my preschool tester liked to remind me that when you place the included Bingo on the potty, you need to sing “One Man Went to Mow,” and then proceeded to sing it no fewer than 15 times in a row. (Bluey and Chatterbox remained outside.)
And what's really cool (according to our very picky audience), is that it lights up, and when you press the octopus, it says over 50 sounds and phrases! Everything you see is included, so your kids will get hours and hours of play from the Ultimate Lights and Sounds Playhouse.
Playhouse of the Year Runner-Up
Little Tikes Little Tikes Real Wood Stack ‘n Style Dollhouse
Now 36% Off
A problem of many playhouses is that they’re designed for one specific sort of doll, whether it’s Bluey, Barbie, or L.O.L. Surprise. That’s not the case with this stunning, all-wood, modular dollhouse from Little Tikes. It will hold any 12-inch doll, comes with 14 accessories, including the favorite Little Tikes Cozy Coupe (in miniature).
Our testers loved that you could customize and stack this house in so many different ways, making multiple houses, a big ranch, or a classic Victorian. It's designed so that each room is its own unit, made to be moved around.
This toy is heirloom-quality, but it is a bit of a spend, so that's why it's the runner-up and not the playhouse of the year.
