The preschool years are pure magic, fueled by everyday investigations and pretend-play experiences. In this collection, you’ll find our favorite play materials that support STEAM learning and imaginative play. These gifts will inspire your preschooler to move, create, explore, and pretend.
When it comes to celebrating holidays as a family, it’s the little things our children will remember most. Our 24 Invitations for Holiday Play and 8 Invitations for Hanukkah Play offer meaningful, festive ways to play all winter long! Whether you’ve got toddlers or teenagers, these play prompts will inspire the whole family to create, move, and imagine. This year, give your family the gift of quality time spent playing together.
Swingly Farmer’s Market Doorway Set
As parents living in NYC we were so excited to discover Swingly, a company that creates stunning doorway play scenes and storefronts to fit any space. Every Swingly design encourages imaginative play and inspires children to think creatively. Through play with these chic storefronts children will not only flex their imaginative muscles but they will also begin to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Trust us, these storefronts make the perfect gift for the kidpreneur in your life!
Lovely Little House House Toy Display Shelf
Lovely Little House display shelves are the perfect piece of playful decor for any room! Created from natural timber, this house shelf (also available as a castle) is the ideal place to display loose parts, peg dolls, mini plush friends or any collection that your little one has collected on his or her adventures. Curate your very own “House of Miniature” and create the perfect shelfie!
Father’s Factory 35MM Vintage Style Wooden Toy Camera
Delight your budding photographer with this stunning wooden toy camera from Father’s Factory. Each camera is made from Walnut, a durable wood that will last through any play adventure. Designed to spark imaginative play, the camera comes with a kaleidoscopic lens, magnetic detachable flashlight and a clickable shutter button. Powered by imagination, this wooden toy encourages children to observe and document the world around them. It’s a must-have for family adventures, big and small!
Coral Pram Carriage and Micro Bunny
Oh the places this stroller will go! Get ready to take your small friends for amazing rides in this beautifully detailed Coral Pram Carriage with a Micro Bunny from Maileg. This charming tiny bunny is happy to be trotted around town dressed in a striped linen blend suit. Every pram carriage is lovingly hand-assembled and painted making them all unique and one of a kind.
A BIG block set to provide lots of STEAM play! Featuring long pieces, short pieces, rooftops, tunnels, and more, the Guidecraft Notch Block Set is a stunning, 89 piece block play system that is made from sustainable FSC-certified eucalyptus wood. Each block’s smooth sanded edges and notches easily interlock, allowing your little one to build big, exciting structures while developing their basic motor and problem solving skills!
The Little Dome by Lily & River is one of our ultimate gift picks for the holiday season. Handcrafted out of premium materials, this indoor wooden climbing dome provides the best play space for kids that love to climb! The Little Dome is designed to enhance your child’s motor skill development, balance control, creativity, and so much more! As your child plays, invents and explores this set transforms with their imagination. Little Dome can quickly become a summit adventure on Mt. Everest, a cool cave to hide in, or an indoor playground.
Meet the ideal first guitar for children. The Loog Mini guitar is a real guitar crafted out of wood with three low-action, nylon strings for easy playing. Designed for little hands, the Loog Mini is about the same size as a ukulele but plays and sounds like a classical guitar with standard tuning and perfect intonation, so anything kiddo learns on the Loog can be applied to a 6-string guitar. The Loog Mini is a real instrument that helps young children acquire skills that will stay with them forever, from fine motor to listening to perseverance.
Rainbow of Bubbles by Dabble & Dollop
Does your child love to conduct their own science experiments or get messy in the kitchen? With this Rainbow of Bubbles set your child can create over 125 unique scent combinations- a squeaky clean way to unleash the little scientist and chef within! Made of 100{4f792f363afed9c900b534cfe6697e8ab2a0aadebc794c4863eaec3a4d1e325b} naturally derived, plant-based ingredients, each bottle can be used for shampoo, body wash, and bubble bath. This Rainbow of Bubbles set includes all seven Dabble and Dollop 3-in-1 scents, a custom silicone mixing bowl, and a 12-page recipe book. This is one vibrant gift that the whole family will love!
Calling all vehicle lovers! Whether your little one already has an extensive Candylab collection or is just getting started, this Magnetic Parking Garage has the ultimate wow factor. Made of fully functional solid beech wood, this Magnetic Parking Garage includes 21 parking spots that magnetically hold Candycars, vans and food trucks. The best part? The vehicles stick to their own spot, are neatly aligned, and will stay put when the garage is being moved from one playspace to another.
This magnetic Town Maze allows your child to problem solve on the go! The colorful balls are trying to find their way “home” in this magnetic maze. Help them navigate through the city by dodging roadways that are blocked! Bring your Town Maze along in the car, to the doctor’s office, or to a restaurant.It’s the perfect screen-free travel toy, as it’s all one piece and the magnetic wand is attached by a string.
Move over training wheels, the Banwood 1st Go Balance Bike is the perfect first bicycle for a preschooler. A balance bike allows a child to start slowly with both feet firmly on the ground and then gradually (and effortlessly!) learn how to glide and balance, the key skills needed to ride a bicycle. Banwood bikes are built to last and are beautifully designed with an understated, retro style.
Organic Gray Goose Warming Pillow
With a focus on craftsmanship, organic materials, and sustainable practices Senger Naturwelt makes beautiful, heirloom quality toys. This cuddly goose, made of organic cotton and wool, is one of their most coveted plush friends. Inside the belly is a removable pouch filled with cherry stones that can be heated or cooled. Although it is safe enough for babies, this warming goose is incredibly soothing for children of all ages to ease belly aches, or warm cold toes in the winter.
Children as young as four will enjoy learning to sew with this beginning sewing kit from Little Explorers Play. We love this kit for young children because the focus is on the creative process rather than a final goal or design. The kit includes everything you need to get started, including a wooden embroidery hoop, burlap, four colors of yarn and a sturdy (and not-too-sharp!) needle.
Need a gift that will wow a little transportation buff? Head over to Happy Little Door on Etsy to customize a festive, hand-painted wooden plane with a child’s favorite colors and patterns. The child’s name becomes the name of the airline on the side, and you can specify their birth date (or another meaningful number) to be painted on the tail wing.