50 toys that promote creativity and learning and cost under $ 25

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When it comes to choosing toys for our kids, we are all looking for the same thing – quality, durability, and not too costly. Whether you are looking for toys for Christmas, birthdays or any other occasion, you want to know that the toys you choose won’t just end up adding to the clutter. So how do you get good meaningful toys for your kids – toys that promote creativity and learning – without ruining your budget?

This article will help you:

• Choose affordable and educational kids’ gifts 

• Decide what toys you can get your child for under $ 25

• Choose the best educational toys that cost under $ 25 for kids of all ages

What are the best toys for all ages that cost under $25?

Every year, several toys make it to the list of the “most coveted toys” or the “coolest toys”, but what really makes a good toy? Good toys do more than just distract kids. They:

• Help them strengthen their fine motor or gross motor skills

• Reinforce their visual perception skills

• Help them work on their hand-eye coordination

• Teach them to cooperate with others

• Help them learn new things about something, and so on.

Choosing toys for your kids is not really about how much those toys cost – it’s really about what those toys can do for them.

Here are just a few things to keep in mind when choosing your kids’ toys:

• Good toys are durable, meaning that your child can play with them for years

• The best children’s toys are designed for a specific purpose

• Good toys encourage active play and help your kid ask questions: Can I put this here? What happens if I turn this over? Can I remove this part?

• The best toys for kids are safe. They are sturdy and privilege environmentally friendly products, irrespective of whether they are made of wood, plastic or any other materials

• Good kids’ toys reinforce the development of skills such as, resilience, creativity, independence and problem-solving

A guide for choosing awesome gifts for kids on a budget

Before giving you an age-by-age guide for the best toys under 25 dollars, here are a just few tips if you are looking for a toy that is awesome, educational and not too costly.

The best toys for toddlers and young kids are those that help them have fun while developing specific skills such as hand-eye coordination, the strengthening their small muscle groups (fingers, wrists, hand), color or shape recognition, etc. If you are buying toys for kids under three, focus on toys that help them work on the development of such skills.

Toys provide an opportunity to help your child discover new passions: You know that your son loves robots. Everyone gets him robots as a gift. You want to get him that new robot he’s dying to have. I get it. But Christmas, birthdays and other occasions are an opportunity to use toys to introduce him to something new. If you really feel like you should get a robot, why not try a robot that he has to build himself?

Is your child struggling with any issues? Are they struggling to focus and concentrate? Or perhaps they have a hard time unleashing their creativity. Good Christmas and birthday gifts can help your child work on issues they may be struggling with and have fun doing it!

What toys can you get for under 25 dollars?

There are awesome toys for kids that cost 20 dollars. There are thousands of great toys that will teach your kid important skills without ruining your budget. In this guide, the toys are separated depending on your child’s age. That said, it is important to consider your child’s actual development when choosing their toys. Some kids will be more comfortable playing with toys that are not in their category, and that’s perfectly okay. Also, this is just a rough guide – an eight-year-old can play with and appreciate a toy in the five- to six-year old category.

Best toys under $25 for kids under 3

1) Mega Bloks (from about six months)

Why you’ll love this toy

Bloks are the ultimate toy for kids and they cost under $25 dollars. They are one of the toys that your child can play with earliest. They can help them:

• Develop their finger muscles

• Work on their critical thinking skills

• Work on their hand-eye coordination

• Unleash their creativity

• Start working on concepts such as color recognition due to the bloks’ vibrant colors

What you child can do with this toy:

• As soon as your baby can grasp objects, you can help them develop their fine motor skills by giving them a blok to hold in each hand.

• From around 12 months, your baby can start placing one blok on top of the other or banging the bloks

• Older kids also get to work on their fine motor skills by building whatever they can imagine

2) Wooden Peg Board Beads (from 12 months)

Why you’ll love this toy

• The beads are sturdy

• They are great toys to teach your kids about color recognition, sorting and hand-eye coordination

What your kid can do with this toy

• Play matching and sorting games

• Place and remove beads in the board

• Use the child-friendly tweezers provided to practice their fine motor skills

3) Hola baby piano (from 12 months)

Why you’ll love this toy

• It will help your child strengthen their fine motor skills

• It has many different options which increase your child’s opportunities for learning

• It’s easy to hold and grip

What you child can do with this toy:

• Press the buttons with their fingers to hear music notes and animal sounds

• Practice six hand movements: turn the trunk, rotate the ball, pull the string, flip the page, grasp the beads, and twist the knob

• Explore the different parts

4) RUYU Classic Wooden Rainbow Stacking Rings (from around 12 months)

Rainbow stacking rings are a classic and affordable toddler toy.

Why you’ll love this toy

• Its vivid colors will keep your child hooked

• It will helps develop your child fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination

• It will teach them color recognition

• The finishing is great (child-safe)

• It’s cute

What you child can do with this toy:

• Stack the rings onto the ring stacker

• Manipulate the rings – for example, if your child can’t stack the rings yet, have them pass them to you then show them how to stack them

• Use both hands to explore and play with the rings

5) Wooden Rainbow Stacker (from 18 months)

Rainbow stackers are one of the best stacking toys that are perfect for your child’s early development. They are a common feature in many Montessori classrooms. The good news is that you can get good quality rainbow stackers that cost under $25.

Why you’ll love this toy

• They are easy for little children’s fingers to manipulate

• They are open-ended toys, meaning that your child can play with them in many ways

• They are colorful so they will attract your child’s attention

• They are made of non-toxic wood

What you child can do with this toy:

Stack the arches and develop their fine motor skills as they learn about balance

• Make mountains by pushing the arches under each other

• Play with them in any way they choose – build bridges or tunnels, use them as stands for their small toys (peg dolls, small cars, animal figurines, etc.)

6) Fat Brain Toys InnyBin Baby Toys (from 18 months)

 

We love almost all of Fat Brain’s toys, and this one costs under $25.

Why you’ll love this toy

• It’s great for developing your child’s fine motor skills

• It will help your child learn color recognition

• It provides your child with a tactile experience

• It’s a 2020 Toy of the Year Finalist

• It’s beautiful and simple

What you child can do with this toy

• Push the shapes provided through the elastic bands

• Experiment with the different shapes

• Pull out the shapes and put them back in
  

7) HABA Town Maze Magnetic Puzzle Game (from age 2)

Why you’ll love this toy

• It will help your child develop their fine motor skills

• It will foster their concentration and strategic thinking skills

• They make great travel toys

What you child can do with this toy:

• Match the colored balls with their garage
• Your child can use the magnetic stylus to move the balls, count them or sort them

8) Bee to Hive Matching Game (from age 2)

Why you’ll love this toy

• It will help your child strengthen their fine motor skills

• The tweezers provided will help your child practice their pincer grasp

• It comes with a storage box which is great for reducing clutter

• Your child will love the cute brightly colored bees

What your kid can do with this toy

• Grab the bees’ wings using the tweezers provided to match the bees to their hives

9)      Peaceable Kingdom Monkey Around Game (from age 2)

Why you’ll love this toy:

• It will help your child practice their hand-eye coordination

• It is great for helping your child build their vocabulary

• It will help your child start working on their emotional intelligence skills

What you child can do with this toy:

• Use the 40 different cards provided to do simple and fun movements that help them learn

• Play with you and learn at the same time

10) Pounding Bench Wooden Toy With Mallet (from age 2)

Why you’ll love this toy

• It will help your child practice their fine motor skills

• It is made from high-quality materials

• It is safe as the pegs are non-removable

• It will help your child work on their visual perception (colors)

What you child can do with this toy:

• Use the mallet provided to pound the pegs

• If they are old enough, they can name each color as the pegs go up and down

11) The Magnetic Worm Game (from age 2)

The magnetic worm game is great for early child development and it costs under $25.

Why you’ll love this game

• It will help your child work on their hand, finger and wrist muscles

• It is made with safe materials

• It is colorful to attract your child’s attention

What your kid can do with this toy

• Use the mouth of the mother bird to grab the worm out of the tree hole

• Feed the worm caught to the baby bird

Toys that promote creativity and learning in 3- and 4-year-olds and cost under $25

12) A peg doll set (from age 3)

Why you’ll love them

• The dolls will help your child develop their fine motor skills

• They will help them engage in open ended play

• Pegs are perfectly sized for little fingers

• Painted peg dolls are great for teaching color recognition

What your child can do with them

• Role playing

• Imaginative play

• Sort painted peg dolls by color

• Use them to learn basic counting

13) Kid’s cleaning set (from age 3)

Why you’ll love this set

• It will help your child practice their fine motor skills

• Your child will get a child-sized broom, mop, brush, duster, and dustpan that they will enjoy imitating you with

What your kid can do with this set

• Hours of imaginative play

• Perform age-appropriate tasks around the house. These chore cards can help you determine which age-appropriate tasks your kid can perform.

14) Safari animal figures (from age 3)

Why you’ll love this toy

• The animals are realistic-looking

• Great for open-ended play

• Easy for your child’s fingers to manipulate and therefore strengthen their finger muscles group

What your kid can do with this toy

• Use the animals for imaginative play

• Matching games – if you get different sets, they can match baby animals with their parents

15) Petit collage floor puzzle (from age 3)

What you’ll love about this toy

• The big sturdy pieces that are perfect for little hands

• The bright detailed illustration

• It will help develop your child’s fine motor skills

• It will help develop your child’s visual perceptions skills

What your child can do with this toy

• Build the puzzle and work on the development of their hand-eye coordination skills

16)  Wooden Building Blocks Set (from age 3)

We love Melissa & Doug toys, and many of their toys cost under $25.

What you’ll love about this set

• The brightly-colored durable wooden blocks

• The blocks are durable and safe

• The finishing is great

• Stimulate open-ended play

• It will help your child develop their fine motor skills

What your kid can do with this set

• Build blocks and knock them down

• Use the blocks to practice stacking

• Sort the blocks according to their colors

17)  Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck Magnetic Dress-Up (from age 3)

Why you’ll love this toy

• Your child gets lots of magnetic pieces they can use to play dress-up

• The magnetic pieces are interchangeable, meaning that your child can create many different outfits

• It’s sturdy

• Helps develop your child’s fine motor skills

What your kid can do with this toy

• Use the magnetic pieces to dress up the dolls

• Interchange the pieces to change the outfits

• Play pretend games

18)  Wooden Magnetic Fishing Game (from age 3)

Why you’ll love this toy

• It is great for learning the alphabet and color recognition

• It is a high quality toy

• It is great for developing your child’s fine motor skill

What your kid can do with this toy

• Use the wooden fishing pole to match colors and letters with the corresponding fish

• Compete with siblings or friends to see who catches more fish

• Make up their own games

19)  Jackinthebox Farm Craft kit (from age 3)

Crafts are a great gift idea for kids, and this one is very budget-friendly.

What you’ll love about this toy

• It proposes craft projects that will give your child a hand-on experience

• It uses high quality materials

• It will give your child hours of play

What your child can do with this toy

• Make farm animal masks

• Make a cow notepad

• Make a farm puzzle

• Use the stickers to unleash their creativity

20) Wooden Lacing Beads (from age 3)

Why you’ll love this toy

• The brightly colored wooden beads will attract your child’s attention

• The variety of shapes and colors will help your child start working on shape and color recognition

• They are easy to manipulate for little hands so they will help your child develop their fine motor skills

• They will help your child work on their hand-eye coordination

What your child can do with this toy

• Thread the beads to make their own creations

• Sort and match beads

• Manipulate the beads – pick them in their hands, turn them around, rotate them, etc. All these activities help strengthen their finger, wrist and hand muscles.

21)  Coogam Wooden Geoboard (from age 3)

Why you’ll love this board

• It is easy for little fingers to manipulate

• It will help your child work on their fine motor skills

• It has a safe finishing to ensure your child does not hurt themselves

• It encourages your child’s concentration

• It is easy to travel with so it will keep your child occupied on trips

What your child can do with this board

• Use the colored rubber bands to develop multiple geometric shapes and patterns

• Imagine and create different 2D shapes and patterns with the material provided

• Use the material provided to make letters

22)  Zobmondo!! The Ladybug Game (from age 4)

What you’ll love about this toy

• It is a great game for the entire family

• It teaches basic math concepts

• It uses a clever combination of colors, numbers, words and symbols

• It is a great first board game

What your kid can do with this toy

• Help the ladybugs find their way home while avoiding the praying mantis and collecting aphids to feed the ants

Awesome educational toys that cost under $25 for 5- to 6-year-olds

23)  Snap Circuits Beginner (from age 5)

Why you’ll love this toy

• Your child can build over 20 projects

• It will help them sharpen their problem-solving skills

• It has extra safety features

What you won’t like – requires batteries

What your child can do with this toy

• Unleash their creativity making the 21 different projects proposed

• Use the materials provided to make their own projects

• Create light shows

24)  ThinkFun Yoga Spinner Yoga Game (from age 5)

What you’ll love about this toy

• It will help your child practice mindfulness

• It will help your child work on their balance and flexibility

• It encourages healthy physical activity

What your child can do with this toy

• Spin the spinner and perform the pose on the corresponding Yoga Pose Card. Hold steady for 10 seconds to keep that card. The first player to win a card in each color wins the game.

25)  Scrabble Junior Game (from age 5)What you’ll love about this game

• It will teach your child about letter recognition

• It has two different sides – a beginner side and an advanced level side

What your child can do with this toy

• Match letters

• Use a model to reproduce the words they see

• As your child grows older, they can start creating simple words

26)  ThinkFun Balance Beans Math Game (from age 5)

What you’ll love about this game

• It strengthens your child’s reasoning and critical thinking skills

• It is a fun award-winning game that teaches elementary algebra concepts to your child

• It has multi-level challenges

What your child can do with this toy

• Place the colorful beans provided on the seesaw to keep it from tethering

• Do multiple challenges that become increasingly difficult as they play

• Progressively use math and reasoning skills to determine how many beans are required to balance the seesaw

27) Spot It! (from age 6)

What you’ll love about this toy

• Its price 😉 – this is one of our favorite games and the one that cost way under $25!

• It will help your child sharpen their concentration, visual perception and observation skills

• They are many different options available so you can pick a theme depending on what your child likes (Harry potter, camping, beach, Halloween etc.)

• It is a great family game

What you won’t like – it’s small so might work better as a stocking stuffer

What your child can do with this toy

• Spot matching symbols fast and be the first to call them out!

28)  Light-Up Terrarium Kit for Kids (from age 6)

What you’ll love about this toy

• It comes with lots of accessories

• It has additional dinosaur posters and stickers your kid can use

• It is a good quality product

• It will stimulate learning in a fun way

What your child can do with this toy

• Plant the seeds provided and watch them grow

• Care for the plants as they grow (spray surface with water, turn terrarium toward the sun, etc.)

• Imaginative play with the 5 dinosaur figurines provided

• Use the fact-filled cards to learn more about dinosaurs

29) Jenga (from age 6)

What you’ll love about this toy

• It helps develop your child’s fine motor skills

• It teaches your child about balancing

• It helps your child practice focus and concentration

• It is a great toy for practicing stacking

• Your child can play with it alone or in a group. This is one of our favorite family games that everyone enjoys

What your child can do with this toy

• Create a tower with the blocks, pull out a block and place it on top without letting the tower fall

• Stack the blocks

• Imagine and create whatever they feel like with the blocks

30) Mouse trap (from age 6)

What you’ll love about this game

• It will help your child practice strategizing

• It is a fun game the entire family will enjoy

What your child can do with this game

• Get their mouse around the game board without getting trapped

• Use the trap to capture opponents’ mice

• Use strategy to avoid getting trapped

• Play this fun and exciting game with family and friends

31) Qwirkle Board Game (from age 6)

This award-winning game costs under $25 dollars.

What you’ll love about this game

• It has a beautiful finishing and bright lovely colors

• It will help your child practice strategizing and think forward

• It will help your child work on their planning skills

• It is a fantastic game for families. This is the game our family takes everywhere because everyone loves it!

What your child can do with this game

• Build lines by matching tiles based on their color or shape

• Strategize to build the longest lines possible to score maximum points

32)  Magic Tricks for Children (from age 6)

What you’ll like about this toy

• It has easy-to-master magic tricks for your child

• It will provide hours of endless fun

• It is perfect for both beginners and budding young magicians

• It has all the accessories your child needs to perform “professional” magic tricks

• It comes with all the props which are designed to enable your child to develop their fine motor skills

What your kid can do with this toy

• Learn up to 125 different magic tricks and illusions

• Perform magic tricks for friends and family

Get access to online resources to learn additional tricks they can do with everyday objects at home 

33) Pictureka! (from age 6)

Why you’ll love this toy

• The entire family will enjoy this game

• It will help your child work on their concentration

• It will help your child work on their visual perception skills

What your child can do with this game

• Compete against family or friends to find pictures fast and be the first to shout “Pictureka”!

34) Painting Kit (from age 6)

What you’ll love about this set

• It includes everything your child needs to unleash the artist within

• It will help your child work on their fine motor skills

• It is ready for wall hanging so you can easily display your child’s artwork

• It uses high quality products

• It comes with its own storage kit

What your child can do with this set

• Unleash their creativity on the canvases provided

• Use the mixing tray palette to explore with the 12 different vibrant paint colors

• Use the color mixing chart provided to learn more about different hues

35) MAD SMARTZ (from age 6)

Why you’ll love this toy

• It will help your child cope with issues such as social skills, empathy and anger management

• It provides your child with coping strategies when faced with difficult situations

What your child can do with this toy

• Respond to questions and review tips cards which will help them process different emotions and make it easier to deal with issues such as trauma, anger, anxiety and fear

Educational toys under $25 for 7 to 10 year olds

36) Blokus Game (from age 7)

What you’ll love about this toy

• It will teach your child to strategize

• It will make a great game for family game night

What your child can do with this toy

• Practice strategizing with family, siblings or friends as they try to perfect their strategy while blocking opponents.

37) The World Game – Geography Card Game (from age 8)

What you’ll love about this toy

• It will teach your child about the different countries

• It is a fun educational game for the entire family

• The more your child plays, the more they learn about the different countries

What your child can do with this toy

• Learn about different countries and their location on the world map

• Learn to identify the flags of different countries

• Learn the capital cities of different countries

38) Fossil and Gemstone Dig Kits (from age 8)

What you’ll love about this game

• It is an educational activity which will teach your child about gemstones and fossils

• It comes will all the tools your child needs to dig and unearth treasures like a real pro

• There is a guide that teaches your child about each of the specimen they discover

• Your child gets genuine gemstones and fossils

What your child can do with this toy

• Dig and discover gemstone and fossil specimens

• Learn about the specimens discovered

• Use the tools provided – chisel, brush, magnifying glass – for their own discoveries

39) Mega Fossil Dig Kit (from age 8)

Why you’ll love this kit

• Your child will get to discover genuine fossils
• It provides hours of educational fun

What your child can do with this kit

• Dig for dinosaurs, sharks, brachiopods, mosasaurs, ammonites and other fossils

• Use the tools provided to learn about paleontology

• Use the learning guide provided to learn about how fossils are formed and to learn more about each specimen discovered

40) Clue Junior  (from age 8)

Why you’ll love this kit

• It will help your child use strategy

• It is a great game for the entire family

What your child can do with this kit

• Use strategy and elimination to solve the mystery of the broken toy: what toy was broken, who broke it, and at what time was it broken?

41) Magic Chemistry Set (from age 8)

Why you’ll love this kit

• It proposes 10 science experiments your child will enjoy

• It uses kid-friendly illustrated instructions

• It has all the tools your child needs to start doing experiments immediately

What your child can do with this kit

• Try out 10 science experiments

• Perform the different science experiments in front of family and friends. All the experiments are designed to be performed as a magic trick.

42) Suspend Family Game (from age 8)

Why you’ll love this toy

• This award-winning game is easy to set up and play

• It will help your child practice hand-eye coordination

• It will teach your child about concentration and balance

• It can be played alone or as a group

What your child can do with this toy

• Hang rubber-tipped wire pieces on a tabletop stand and keep adding the pieces without making them fall

43)  Om Nom Nom Board Game (from age 8)

Why you’ll love this toy

• It will teach your child to think and strategize

• It is great for the whole family

What your child can do with this toy

• Capture the predators and prey without getting caught

44) Paper Craft Kit (from age 8)

Why you’ll love this toy

• This craft kit will help your child create DIY activities they can place in their rooms

• Everything your child need to start creating is included in the kit

• It has easy-to-follow instructions

What your child can do with this toy

• Unleash their creativity by creating different objects

• Use the items provided to create other objects using objects they can find at home

• Customize their creations

45) Tabletop robot (from age 9)

What you’ll love about this toy

• It will give your child a hands-on opportunity to build their own moving robot

• It has easy-to-follow instructions

• It will introduce your child to scientific concepts in a fun and creative way

What you’ll like less – needs batteries

What your child can do with this toy

• Build their own robot that can sense the edge of the table so won’t fall over the edge

46) Gravity Magnetic Levitation Science Kit (from age 9)

What you’ll love about this kit

• It will teach your child about scientific concepts through fun hands-on experiments

• All the materials required to perform the experiments are in the kit

What your child can do with this kit

• Experiment with different activities to learn about gravity

47) Rubik’s Cube (from age 9)

Why you’ll love this toy

• It will help your child practice their puzzle-solving skills

• It can help your child practice keeping focused

• It can act as a back-to-calm tool for stressed kids

What your kid can do with this toy

• Twist, turn and rotate it to find the only possible solution

48)  Rocket Launcher (from age 9)

 

 

Why you’ll love this toy

• This award-winning toy is guaranteed to get and keep your child outside!

• It requires your child to be physically active to work

• It is easy to transport so your child can take it elsewhere

What your kid can do with this toy

• To power the rocket launcher, your child needs to stomp and jump on it then watch how far it can go

49)  Crystal Growing Kit (from age 10)

Why you’ll love this kit

• It has everything your child needs to perform several crystal growth experiments

• It will teach your child the basics of geology

• It comes with complete instructions for each experiment

What your child can do with this kit

Perform the seven different crystal growth experiments

50) The haunted mansion board game (from age 10)

 

 

Why you’ll love this game

• It has a unique gameplay that will please older kids

• It is a fun family game

What your child can do with this game

• Collect matching sets of ghost cards (collect the most sets to win)

• Explore all the rooms of the ghost-infested manor in search of spirits

• Avoid the hitchhiking ghosts
  
  What great toys for kids under $ 25 did we leave off the list? Please let us know in the comments section below.

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