Tag: social

Becoming a parent is like living on a whole other planet. On the one hand, you have to navigate taking care of a small human, and on the other hand, you’re trying to keep up with the demands of a home that’s not going to clean itself. Balancing the two is where things start to get tricky.
Before I had my son, cleaning up was relegated to weekends and only took up to a few hours tops. I didn’t fully grasp how hard it would be to do this with an adorable toddler running amuck all over the house. Case in point: Their hands are always sticky, and they love to leave a trail of toys behind them (I’m looking at you, building blocks).

1. Stay calm and remove crayon from your walls.

This is first on our list because there’s nothing quite like finishing up a day of deep cleaning to find your child has drawn their latest masterpiece all over your walls (been here too many times to count). Before you go into a full blown panic attack, rest easy knowing that there is a safe, non-toxic way to remove crayon from your walls.

2. Organize your kid’s artwork using a drying rack.

As a mother to a miniature painting aficionado (aka toddler), I know firsthand how coloring pages can end up all over your living room floor and pretty much anywhere that’s been recently tidied. Picking up strewn coloring pages gets annoying, let me tell you.

3. Wash baby clothes in mesh lingerie bags.

Babies have the teeniest, tiniest of clothes that love to get tangled (and lost) in your washing machine and dryer. More specifically: baby socks and hand mittens (where on earth do they go?).

4. Pick up glitter with your lint roller.

Ah, childhood, that magical time when small humans spread sparkly powder all over their families’ furniture and clothes. While we love our children’s artwork, we’re not a big fan of the glitter cleanup.

5. A Genius Way to Clean Up All Your Kid’s Toys

You have to love a hack that is so obvious you don’t know why you didn’t think of it before. Washing your child’s toys of all those yucky germs is tiresome and time-consuming (they’re going to get dirty again STAT).

6. Get rid of food-coloring stains with this clever trick.

For my son’s first birthday, we had studio pictures taken of him sticking his angelical face into a very large, blue smash cake (side note: These are spectacularly fun and something every parent should try!). However, getting the blue food coloring off his tiny face and hands was a challenge. Needless to say, water and soap alone weren’t cutting it.

7. A magical pacifier that stays clean.

Who doesn’t love the ease of calming a crying baby with a pacifier? What we don’t love so much: Worrying about all those yucky (and scary) germs considering baby’s favorite pacifier gets dropped all over the place. If only there was some magical pacifier that would close when hitting the floor. Well, you’re in luck, because such an item exists!

8. This instant stain remover is your new BFF.

Taking your kids on a picnic or out for dinner? Expect disaster to strike.
Just kidding…sort of.

9. A Smarter Way for Messy Snacking

Speaking of stains, why not avoid them altogether by dipping your child in a bath while eating their popsicles, ice cream cones, or peanut butter? Place these gooey snacks in a cup and keep them secured on a bath caddy. This way, they can enjoy a yummy treat without all the added mess.

10. A Portable Placemat That Catches Messes

I’m a big believer in avoiding cleanups by preventing them in the first place. That’s why I was thrilled to come across Benedict Harry’s Reusable Silicone Baby Food Placemat. Take it anywhere and the built-in scoop compartment catches the mess as it falls always. This means you’ll spend less time cleaning up fallen foods from the floor (which comes especially handy when eating out) and more time enjoying your meal.

11. Create a water-resistant outdoor play table.

Have a wooden picnic table you don’t want getting stained by art supplies? Rather than fret over potential spillage, try covering it with oilcloth to protect against paint leaks.

12. Wipe away dirty pots and pans in a breeze.

It’s no surprise no one likes to do the dishes—but even worse? DIRTY POTS AND PANS. I’ve had my fair share of scrub-filled afternoons that could have been easily avoided with this life-changing hack. According to Mike Sphor at Buzzfeed, placing a dryer sheet in a dirty pan before soaking overnight will make it easy to wipe away the baked-on crust in the morning.

13. Prevent gooey popsicle messes.

My sweet munchkin of a toddler loves popsicles. Problem is, as soon as I place one in his tiny eager hands, it’s already melting away onto his palms, shirt, and pants.

14. Simply Clean: A Book for All Your Organizing Needs

Whether you’re a working mom or a stay at home mom (or, like me, some hybrid of the two)—you probably want to spend less time cleaning and more time with your little one.

15. Keep laundry (and the rest of your life) smelling fresh.

Nothing is more delightful than opening a drawer full of clothes and having the fresh scent of lavender waft all over the room. Your own DIY sachets are perfect for keeping kids’ clothes and gym bags smelling fresh. Just put in a few dried lavender leaves dotted with essential oil in a mesh bag and voila!

16. Peroxide is your friend.

As a non-toxic, all-natural chemical, hydrogen peroxide can perform countless wonders that range from disinfecting food prep surfaces to getting rid of burnt spots on pots and pans to—you guessed it—cleaning kids’ toys!

17. A Chore Chart for Fun Cleanups

As they say: The best defense is a good offense. In other words, let the kids in on the housecleaning action! Create good habits by teaching your small humans the importance of a clean and tidy home. The Roscoe Learning Responsibility Star Chart can help you make it a fun experience by giving kids a visual reward system that they can work toward achieving.

18. This Instant DIY Home-Freshener

Got a stinky-smelling house and guests arriving any minute? Don’t panic, redditor jimothywhite gives us this fabulous tip: “Put two caps full of vanilla extract (you can use other oils, such as lemon and lavender) in a coffee cup (or oven-proof dish), then place it in the oven at 300 degrees for one hour. The smell will start to spread after around 20 minutes and encompass the whole house after the hour duration. Should last for at least a day.”

19. Remove stickers with this clever trick.

Confession: As a child, I collected all manner of stickers. I picked them up from road trips, those little toy machines at malls, and pretty much everywhere you can imagine. That’s right, I was that kid. But I also took it a step further and stuck all of these treasures on my wooden drawer cabinet. When it came time for my parents to sell it, there was no way these suckers were coming off. If only they’d known about this one small miracle hack: coconut oil.

20. Baby Wipes: The Mother of All Hacks

You know how in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the father of the bride-to-be is always using Windex as a cure-all for everything—ranging from glassware to a random pimple? That’s how I feel about baby wipes. Basically, there is nothing they can’t do.
Here are just a few of the things you can do with these multi-purpose wipes to make your life easier: Wipe off dust, get rid of deodorant marks on your clothes, use for quick oil stains, clean your kid’s toys, and sanitize germ-ridden public areas.

Work days would be so much better with mandatory afternoon naps and break rooms filled with fun toys and games instead of the lingering scent of your coworker’s tuna casserole.
While you sadly can’t turn back time and take all those naps you refused as a kid (seriously, what were we thinking?), you can take a break from being a grown-up with grown-up responsibilities with these 40 kids’ products that are so fun, you won’t want to go back to work.

1. Never miss snack time again with this must-have item.

One of the best things about being a kid? Snack time. Let’s be honest; who didn’t love chowing down on peanut butter crackers or an ice cream sandwich two hours after lunch? But as adults, we’re lucky if we get to snarf down a sad desk lunch, much less take time for nutritious snack breaks throughout the day (and no, the six cups of coffee you had before lunchtime doesn’t count).

2. Everyone needs snug-as-a-bug jammies.

Kids jammies are so stinking cute, especially if they’re the one-piece variety (bonus points for footies). But as an adult,  our go-to jammies are decidedly not cute; your hubby’s tatty old gym shorts and that oversized t-shirt you’ve been rocking since college could definitely use an upgrade.

3. Bowl a lucky strike with this fun lawn game.

Bowling is so much fun when you’re a kid. Somehow as a child, you don’t think about the fact that hundreds of people have worn those same stinky bowling shoes before you, and you aren’t at all bothered by the fact that an extremely sticky substance is all over your fingers thanks to a dirty bowling ball.

4. This game takes rubber chickens to a whole new level.

We’re not sure why the rubber chicken is still a hallmark of those slapstick comedy routines kids (and a lot of adults) think are so hilarious, but they are. Keep the comedy routine going with Flickin’ Chicken, a hilarious lawn game from Haywire Group that’s sort of like a rubber chicken version of horseshoes.

5. Are you afraid of the dark?

Kids aren’t the only ones who need nightlights! Admit it: you hate stumbling to the bathroom in the dark at midnight, and sometimes you sleep with a closet light on after watching a particularly scary movie.

6. If you build it…

Your kid might have built an electric motor for her science fair project, but you’ll also love this Tinkering Labs Stem Kit that allows you to build endless motors, robots, and even working cars. Even better, you can combine the kit with existing LEGO sets and other toys to create unique projects.
Maybe the most fun thing about this toy is the challenge cards that come in each kit, prompting kids and adults alike to challenge their creativity by “building projects that can scramble an egg” or draw curvy lines.” What does that look like? You get to decide!
Tinkering Labs Stem Kit, $59 on Amazon

7. Do you want to build a snowman?

Remember those epic neighborhood snowball fights you had as a kid? Now, bundling up and trudging out into the cold only to get pelted with more cold snow doesn’t seem so fun. We’d much prefer staying inside and sipping hot cocoa, thank you very much.

8. These aren’t your average pancakes.

Have you seen those epic meal creations some moms make for their kids? Who has the time for that? When you’re a grown-up, the only person who’s going to turn your food into a work of art is, well, you.

9. Bring on the rain!

Kids love splashing through puddles and playing in the rain; you will too with these too-cute Stephen Joseph Pop-Up Umbrellas in a wide variety of kids’ favorite things: sharks, unicorns, mermaids, and more.

10. Secretly, you’re a mermaid.

Kids aren’t the only ones who will love this cute-as-a-button 4M Mermaid Doll-Making Kit (which also comes in fairy, princess, and ballerina, if mermaids aren’t your thing).

11. Light up the room with a dinosaur.

Kids love dinosaurs because they’re giant, they roar, and they’re extinct—so how scary can they really be? But we’re grown-ups, and we love learning all about our prehistoric friends just as much as our kids.

12. Bring back the ’90s with this throwback gem.

Every middle-school-aged girl wanted for Christmas in 1994 was a Polly Pocket compact. Like most kids in the ’90s, we lived for Polly Pocket and her pint-sized friends and accessories.

13. Cuddle up with the cutest (plush) animal in the world.

Kristen Bell isn’t the only one who loves sloths. But unless you’re planning on breaking some international exotic animal importation laws, keeping a real sloth is probably out of the picture.

14. Unleash your inner Mozart.

Kids love, and we mean love, any toy that makes an inordinate amount of loud noise. Most parents spend almost an equal amount of time trying to keep raucous music-making to a minimum, but the MukikiM Rock and Roll It Piano is a toy that both adults and children will love to play.

15. Turn weeknight dinners into a game night with this fun accessory.

Has your kid ever refused to eat because they didn’t like the plate the food was served on or that their favorite fork was in the dishwasher? Keep toddler tantrums at bay with this Fred & Friends Dinner Winner Dino Tray.

16. Ahoy, mateys!

Kids love to play pirates, always on the search for buried treasure and adventure.

17. This kids’ toy is a great stress reliever.

Remember Bozo Bop It? The slightly terrifying clown kids loved to knock over, but wouldn’t stay down?

18. It’s the picture-perfect toy.

Much like a rotary phone, kids these days probably have no idea what an old-school 35mm camera is, much less the joy of getting back a roll of film from one-hour photo. Kids these days prefer to snap selfies on their phone instead.

19. How does your garden grow?

By LED light, of course. This teeny Mini Explorer Light-Up Terrarium Kit includes everything you need to cultivate your very own miniature garden: chia and wheatgrass seeds, soil, river rocks, and even a miniature ceramic rabbit to live in your garden!

20. Sorry, Girl Scouts. I make my own cookies now.

Now you can have girl scout cookies all year long with the Wicked Cool Toys Girl Scout Cookie Oven. Just like the Easy-Bake Oven of your childhood, you can watch your delicious cookies bake under the glow of some magical baking wizardry (or a 60-watt light bulb).

21. Pass the pigs, please.

Never heard of Pass the Pigs? Allow us to introduce you to this hilarious, easy-to-play game in which miniature pigs take the place of dice in a livestock-inspired version of Yahtzee.

22. Like a Nerf toy, but so much better.

Getting pelted with foam arrows is totally fun, but you know what’s even better? Getting pelted by edible marshmallows with this marshmallow shooter from Marshmallow Fun Company.

23. Ride through the airport in style.

Ok, so you might get some odd looks in the airport if you’re seen scooting around on a Trunki Original Ride-On Suitcase.

24. Play chess with your favorite video game hero.

Mario is beloved by both today’s kids and ’90s-era grown-ups whose first video game experience was playing Mario on the original Nintendo system.

25. Who doesn’t love bathroom humor?

For whatever reason, kids loooooove poop jokes, which is why they love the LOOPY Fishin’ for Floaters Bath Game, in which, you guessed it, kids fish for fake poop in their bath water.

26. This toy won’t break the bank.

Have a fresh piece of gum anytime with the Carousel Medium Gumball Bank. Its compact size (right at 12 inches) is perfect for keeping near your desk when you need a fresh piece of gum; if you’re industrious, you might even start a side hustle selling gum to coworkers.

27. These monsters are totally cute, not scary.

Ok, so they aren’t really a kids toy, but these Mitten Monsters Cooking Mittens were too cute not to include on this list. These oven mitts are 100% cotton with a quilted liner for extra heat protection.

28. Light the way with this fun bike accessory.

Bike safety is important for everyone, and it’s easy with Brightz Wheel LED Bicycle Lights.

29. In a galaxy far, far away…

Whether you’re more of Ray or a Poe, everyone’s favorite adorable bot in the Star Wars universe, BB-8, can be your very own with the LEGO Star Wars VIII BB-8 Building Kit.

30. Remember ’90s cartoons?

Nineties babies will love revisiting a certain fourth grader with a distinctly football-shaped head and all his friends with these Hey Arnold! action figures.

31. The magical world of Disney just got even better.

Who doesn’t love Codenames, the fun party game in which teams compete to get all the codewords on the board before their opponents?

32. Who ya gonna call?

Even with the recent release of the excellent female-driven Ghostbusters reboot, this is one toy that we think was created with adults in mind. The PLAYMOBIL Ghostbusters Firehouse lets you recreate the magic of the movie with all your favorite characters including Janine and Egon.

33. Make sure you stock up on hard tack.

Adults of a certain age all wax nostalgic about spending countless hours in their school’s library playing Oregon Trail, desperately trying to keep their family alive on the perilous trek west. The computer game lives on in Oregon Trail: The Hunt For Food Card Game, which can be played anywhere.
 

34. Accio, books!

Can you believe it’s been 20 years since we were introduced to a young wizard with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead?

35. Play with Duke Silver’s alter-ego.

That’s right, folks. Dolls might be a kids’ toy, but action figures are for grown-ups, and we’re living for this Funko Pop Television Parks and Recreation Ron Swanson Figure.

36. Kids aren’t the only ones who can have a ball (pit).

There is nothing more fun than diving head first into a plastic ball pit and rolling around like Scrooge McDuck on a pile of gold coins. Alas, most ball pits are pint-sized, meaning adults can’t get in on the fun. You can, however, get creative and make your own ball pit with a couple sets of Click N’ Play Value Pack of 400 Hundred Crush Proof Plastic Balls and an inexpensive inflatable swimming pool.

37. Tag, you’re it!

Getting hot and sweaty right before math class in an intense game of playground tag or dodgeball was so much fun as a kid. Combine the two with the safe and fun Diggin Active Dodge Tag game, which comes equipped for two players to go head-to-head with mesh vests and six plush dodge balls.

38. Gotta catch ‘em all!

Are you still trying to nab the latest Pokémon in town on Pokémon GO? If so, you’ll love Pokémon Mad Libs, a Pokémon-inspired take on this zany classic.

39. Keep cool during the hot summer months with this fun toy.

This summer heat has been one for the books, and even though Pumpkin Spice season is upon us, it’s still steamy outside. While you may not be able to paddle around in this Intex Mystic Unicorn Inflatable Spray Pool, it’s the perfect backyard accessory to dip your feet in and stay cool when you just don’t want to make the trek down to the community pool.

40. Play a game that glows in the dark.

Capture the flag is a super fun summer camp staple. You might be too old to go back to camp, but you can still capture that summer camp feeling with Capture the Flag REDUX Glow-in-the-Dark Game.

Work days would be so much better with mandatory afternoon naps and break rooms filled with fun toys and games instead of the lingering scent of your coworker’s tuna casserole.
While you sadly can’t turn back time and take all those naps you refused as a kid (seriously, what were we thinking?), you can take a break from being a grown-up with grown-up responsibilities with these 40 kids’ products that are so fun, you won’t want to go back to work.

1. Never miss snack time again with this must-have item.

One of the best things about being a kid? Snack time. Let’s be honest; who didn’t love chowing down on peanut butter crackers or an ice cream sandwich two hours after lunch? But as adults, we’re lucky if we get to snarf down a sad desk lunch, much less take time for nutritious snack breaks throughout the day (and no, the six cups of coffee you had before lunchtime doesn’t count).

2. Everyone needs snug-as-a-bug jammies.

Kids jammies are so stinking cute, especially if they’re the one-piece variety (bonus points for footies). But as an adult,  our go-to jammies are decidedly not cute; your hubby’s tatty old gym shorts and that oversized t-shirt you’ve been rocking since college could definitely use an upgrade.

3. Bowl a lucky strike with this fun lawn game.

Bowling is so much fun when you’re a kid. Somehow as a child, you don’t think about the fact that hundreds of people have worn those same stinky bowling shoes before you, and you aren’t at all bothered by the fact that an extremely sticky substance is all over your fingers thanks to a dirty bowling ball.

4. This game takes rubber chickens to a whole new level.

We’re not sure why the rubber chicken is still a hallmark of those slapstick comedy routines kids (and a lot of adults) think are so hilarious, but they are. Keep the comedy routine going with Flickin’ Chicken, a hilarious lawn game from Haywire Group that’s sort of like a rubber chicken version of horseshoes.

5. Are you afraid of the dark?

Kids aren’t the only ones who need nightlights! Admit it: you hate stumbling to the bathroom in the dark at midnight, and sometimes you sleep with a closet light on after watching a particularly scary movie.

6. If you build it…

Your kid might have built an electric motor for her science fair project, but you’ll also love this Tinkering Labs Stem Kit that allows you to build endless motors, robots, and even working cars. Even better, you can combine the kit with existing LEGO sets and other toys to create unique projects.
Maybe the most fun thing about this toy is the challenge cards that come in each kit, prompting kids and adults alike to challenge their creativity by “building projects that can scramble an egg” or draw curvy lines.” What does that look like? You get to decide!
[link-button href=”https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M5GJFQ1″]Tinkering Labs Stem Kit, $59 on Amazon[/link-button]

7. Do you want to build a snowman?

Remember those epic neighborhood snowball fights you had as a kid? Now, bundling up and trudging out into the cold only to get pelted with more cold snow doesn’t seem so fun. We’d much prefer staying inside and sipping hot cocoa, thank you very much.

8. These aren’t your average pancakes.

Have you seen those epic meal creations some moms make for their kids? Who has the time for that? When you’re a grown-up, the only person who’s going to turn your food into a work of art is, well, you.

9. Bring on the rain!

Kids love splashing through puddles and playing in the rain; you will too with these too-cute Stephen Joseph Pop-Up Umbrellas in a wide variety of kids’ favorite things: sharks, unicorns, mermaids, and more.

10. Secretly, you’re a mermaid.

Kids aren’t the only ones who will love this cute-as-a-button 4M Mermaid Doll-Making Kit (which also comes in fairy, princess, and ballerina, if mermaids aren’t your thing).

11. Light up the room with a dinosaur.

Kids love dinosaurs because they’re giant, they roar, and they’re extinct—so how scary can they really be? But we’re grown-ups, and we love learning all about our prehistoric friends just as much as our kids.

12. Bring back the ’90s with this throwback gem.

Every middle-school-aged girl wanted for Christmas in 1994 was a Polly Pocket compact. Like most kids in the ’90s, we lived for Polly Pocket and her pint-sized friends and accessories.

13. Cuddle up with the cutest (plush) animal in the world.

Kristen Bell isn’t the only one who loves sloths. But unless you’re planning on breaking some international exotic animal importation laws, keeping a real sloth is probably out of the picture.

14. Unleash your inner Mozart.

Kids love, and we mean love, any toy that makes an inordinate amount of loud noise. Most parents spend almost an equal amount of time trying to keep raucous music-making to a minimum, but the MukikiM Rock and Roll It Piano is a toy that both adults and children will love to play.

15. Turn weeknight dinners into a game night with this fun accessory.

Has your kid ever refused to eat because they didn’t like the plate the food was served on or that their favorite fork was in the dishwasher? Keep toddler tantrums at bay with this Fred & Friends Dinner Winner Dino Tray.

16. Ahoy, mateys!

Kids love to play pirates, always on the search for buried treasure and adventure.

17. This kids’ toy is a great stress reliever.

Remember Bozo Bop It? The slightly terrifying clown kids loved to knock over, but wouldn’t stay down?

18. It’s the picture-perfect toy.

Much like a rotary phone, kids these days probably have no idea what an old-school 35mm camera is, much less the joy of getting back a roll of film from one-hour photo. Kids these days prefer to snap selfies on their phone instead.

19. How does your garden grow?

By LED light, of course. This teeny Mini Explorer Light-Up Terrarium Kit includes everything you need to cultivate your very own miniature garden: chia and wheatgrass seeds, soil, river rocks, and even a miniature ceramic rabbit to live in your garden!

20. Sorry, Girl Scouts. I make my own cookies now.

Now you can have girl scout cookies all year long with the Wicked Cool Toys Girl Scout Cookie Oven. Just like the Easy-Bake Oven of your childhood, you can watch your delicious cookies bake under the glow of some magical baking wizardry (or a 60-watt light bulb).

21. Pass the pigs, please.

Never heard of Pass the Pigs? Allow us to introduce you to this hilarious, easy-to-play game in which miniature pigs take the place of dice in a livestock-inspired version of Yahtzee.

22. Like a Nerf toy, but so much better.

Getting pelted with foam arrows is totally fun, but you know what’s even better? Getting pelted by edible marshmallows with this marshmallow shooter from Marshmallow Fun Company.

23. Ride through the airport in style.

Ok, so you might get some odd looks in the airport if you’re seen scooting around on a Trunki Original Ride-On Suitcase.

24. Play chess with your favorite video game hero.

Mario is beloved by both today’s kids and ’90s-era grown-ups whose first video game experience was playing Mario on the original Nintendo system.

25. Who doesn’t love bathroom humor?

For whatever reason, kids loooooove poop jokes, which is why they love the LOOPY Fishin’ for Floaters Bath Game, in which, you guessed it, kids fish for fake poop in their bath water.

26. This toy won’t break the bank.

Have a fresh piece of gum anytime with the Carousel Medium Gumball Bank. Its compact size (right at 12 inches) is perfect for keeping near your desk when you need a fresh piece of gum; if you’re industrious, you might even start a side hustle selling gum to coworkers.

27. These monsters are totally cute, not scary.

Ok, so they aren’t really a kids toy, but these Mitten Monsters Cooking Mittens were too cute not to include on this list. These oven mitts are 100% cotton with a quilted liner for extra heat protection.

28. Light the way with this fun bike accessory.

Bike safety is important for everyone, and it’s easy with Brightz Wheel LED Bicycle Lights.

29. In a galaxy far, far away…

Whether you’re more of Ray or a Poe, everyone’s favorite adorable bot in the Star Wars universe, BB-8, can be your very own with the LEGO Star Wars VIII BB-8 Building Kit.

30. Remember ’90s cartoons?

Nineties babies will love revisiting a certain fourth grader with a distinctly football-shaped head and all his friends with these Hey Arnold! Action Figures.

31. The magical world of Disney just got even better.

Who doesn’t love Codenames, the fun party game in which teams compete to get all the codewords on the board before their opponents?

32. Who ya gonna call?

Even with the recent release of the excellent female-driven Ghostbusters reboot, this is one toy that we think was created with adults in mind. The PLAYMOBIL Ghostbusters Firehouse lets you recreate the magic of the movie with all your favorite characters including Janine and Egon.

33. Make sure you stock up on hard tack.

Adults of a certain age all wax nostalgic about spending countless hours in their school’s library playing Oregon Trail, desperately trying to keep their family alive on the perilous trek west. The computer game lives on in Oregon Trail: The Hunt For Food Card Game, which can be played anywhere.
 

34. Accio, books!

Can you believe it’s been 20 years since we were introduced to a young wizard with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead?

35. Play with Duke Silver’s alter-ego.

That’s right, folks. Dolls might be a kids’ toy, but action figures are for grown-ups, and we’re living for this Funko Pop Television Parks and Recreation Ron Swanson Figure.

36. Kids aren’t the only ones who can have a ball (pit).

There is nothing more fun than diving head first into a plastic ball pit and rolling around like Scrooge McDuck on a pile of gold coins. Alas, most ball pits are pint-sized, meaning adults can’t get in on the fun. You can, however, get creative and make your own ball pit with a couple sets of Click N’ Play Value Pack of 400 Hundred Crush Proof Plastic Balls and an inexpensive inflatable swimming pool.

37. Tag, you’re it!

Getting hot and sweaty right before math class in an intense game of playground tag or dodgeball was so much fun as a kid. Combine the two with the safe and fun Diggin Active Dodge Tag game, which comes equipped for two players to go head-to-head with mesh vests and six plush dodge balls.

38. Gotta catch ‘em all!

Are you still trying to nab the latest Pokémon in town on Pokémon GO? If so, you’ll love Pokémon Mad Libs, a Pokémon-inspired take on this zany classic.

39. Keep cool during the hot summer months with this fun toy.

This summer heat has been one for the books, and even though Pumpkin Spice season is upon us, it’s still steamy outside. While you may not be able to paddle around in this Intex Mystic Unicorn Inflatable Spray Pool, it’s the perfect backyard accessory to dip your feet in and stay cool when you just don’t want to make the trek down to the community pool.

40. Play a game that glows in the dark.

Capture the flag is a super fun summer camp staple. You might be too old to go back to camp, but you can still capture that summer camp feeling with Capture the Flag REDUX Glow-in-the-Dark Game.

Buying presents for kids shouldn’t be nearly as hard as it is. They’re kids! They love toys! That’s what makes being a kid so much fun.
But if you’re a parent, godparent, auntie, uncle, grandparent, or really just anyone who has ever bought a present for a kid only to ask them what they think of it about a week later, you know all too well the frustration of spending countless hours (and plenty of cash) trying to make that special kid in your life happy, only to see it all go to waste.
So do you give up? Of course not.

For the Growing Athlete

They haven’t seen a ball they weren’t itching to kick, and they’ve been running since the moment they got up on two feet.
The studies show that activity is good for kids, but it’s even better if they learn to love playing different types of sports, in part because they’re more likely to stick with exercise as they grow up. Fuel their passion for sports with toys that offer them a variety of options, from biking to stomping to everything in between.

1. Go extreme.

They may not be X-Games ready, but their toy box will be.

2. Put a lid on it.

Is a bike helmet a toy or a toy accessory? It turns out it can be both! This kid-sized helmet will keep their noggins safe while they’re rolling around the block on their favorite wheels.

3. Get in the swing of things.

It swings. It spins. And it lets them do both at the same time, plus the super spinner swing is rated for 200+ pounds, so little kids can invite a friend (or two) along for the ride!

4. Bounce around.

Save money—and a trip to the local playland—with a blow-up bounce center they can use any time they’re feeling like Tigger.

5. Add a few steps.

Romper Stompers were a big hit a few decades ago, but this generation has their own version, and they’re a whole lot more fun.

For the Next Steve Jobs

They’re always tinkering, and they figured out how to make Siri do their bidding by the time they were 2. What could possibly keep your future engineer engaged for more than five minutes? Play!
The science is solid on this one: The more time kids spend playing when they’re young, the bigger brain boost they’re getting. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have found that all that time kids spend pretending helps them develop cognitive skills that they can use as they grow up…and turn all that tinkering into a possible career.
From bath time to slime time, here are a few STEM toys to give your little scientist a serious boost in brain power.

6. Rain on the parade.

Bath time is playtime when you’re a kid, but it can be learning time too.

7. Head down to Main Street.

Architectural design and structural engineering meet kids right where they are with Wonderhood, a toy brand that pairs every toy set with an activity journal that serves up design and building challenges for kids to solve.

8. Let them rule the room.

Designed for elementary schoolers, this kit gives kids the tools they need to build some high-tech inventions to keep pesky little brothers and sisters far away from their stuff.

9. Get in gear.

Head back to the bathroom and cue the lesson in hydroelectricity. The pipes in this toy can be used together or separately, with mechanisms that will do all sorts of gymnastics when the water flows through them, showing off the secrets behind the energy produced by water.

10. It’s slime time.

Psssst, come closer. Don’t let the kids hear, but making slime isn’t just fun. It can be an educational scientific adventure too.

For the Animal-Lover

Pets can help kids feel less stressed, help them develop empathy, and even help their health. Of course, if you’ve got a kid who loves animals, you know their bedroom would be a zoo if you’d let them have their way. But there are only so many animals you can adopt.
Good thing you can indulge your future veterinarian’s love of all things furry and feathered with some new toys that might ward off the begging for yet another kitty or puppy (or bird or lizard!), at least for a little while.

11. Build a friend.

Tiny hands will make quick work out of turning these block sets into a cat, dog, and baby bird. Combining a basic engineering education with creations that make for fun imaginative play, this animal DUPLO set comes with small “food” blocks so your little one can practice feeding their “pets.”

12. Clean things up.

Bath time is a lot more fun with an animal friend. This little dolphin is awfully hungry, and it’s your kiddo’s job to feed them their favorite treat…soap! (Not to mention the little critter doubles as a bath time friend and a sponge to get them squeaky clean.)

13. Give them their wings.

Butterflies offer kids a fascinating look at how some animals develop—from little caterpillar to cocoon to beautiful butterfly.

14. Let them wash the dog.

Er, let’s clear this up right away. Your bathroom will be safe from suds even after the kids get done cleaning behind Fido’s ears…at least if Fido is the dog in the Soggy Doggy board game.

15. Bring out the blocks.

Toddlers can take off on an adventure under the sea without ever leaving their playroom, thanks to this wooden block set. Handcrafted in the United States and printed using non-toxic, mouth-safe inks, each block features a letter of the alphabet and a close-up of a sea creature with a name that begins with the corresponding letter.

For the Budding Artist

So, their finger paintings scream Frida Kahlo, and when you clean out their pockets before you throw those tiny jeans in the washing machine, their collections are worthy of a MOMA exhibit.
Art has been shown to help kids with everything from developing better social skills to learning to regulate their own emotions. And of course there are fine motor skills, math basics, and even language being developed while they scribble and doodle.
It’s time to foster the artist within.

16. Bring on the action.

Remember Fashion Plates? They’re baaaaack, but there’s a twist!

17. Open the can.

And open up their adventures! A can full of craft supplies, from air-dry clay to google eyes, feathers, pipe cleaners, felt, pom poms, popsicle sticks, scissors, and more lets your little artist loose to find themselves.

18. Roll out the fun.

A fresh sheet of paper is like a new day: There are no mistakes yet! Grab their crayons, markers, or paints, and roll out a pristine white piece of paper for them to begin their adventures.

19. Make mealtime playtime.

Whether they’re out to eat with the family or sitting around the dining room table waiting for dinner to come out of the oven, color-your-own placemats give little artists space to doodle and dream.

20. String it up.

Unicorns may not be real, but there’s plenty of magic in creativity, and making their own unicorn out of string art will work kids’ concentration and motor skills. Not to mention they get a pretty darn cool piece of art to hang on their walls when they’re done.

For the Mini Musician

Quick! What’s your favorite child’s favorite song? Most kids have one, even if it’s one they made up themselves. (And honestly, those are often the best!)
The more kids are exposed to music the better, scientists say. It helps with their auditory processing, helps them develop their brains, and a whole lot more. So why wouldn’t you indulge that love at playtime?

21. Snap to it.

It’s Memory for musical kids! The faces of these cards feature musical notes, putting players’ memories to the test along with their recognition of their music.

22. Let the dogs out.

Imagine if Elvis could have played a dog-shaped guitar when he told the world that you ain’t nothing but a hound dog? Kids don’t have to imagine it, thanks to this canine contraption.

23. Make bath time music time.

Get them started on their shower singing early with a music set created for bath time.

24. Do it up “Big” style.

If you can remember Tom Hanks dancing on the giant piano in Big, you had some pretty great childhood moments. Share them with your favorite kiddo in the form of their very own dancing piano!