40 Best Toys for 1-Year-Olds Who Love to Play
These are the toys that toddlers are loving right now.
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One-year-olds are no longer the infants content to just lie down and play with whatever's in their grasp. "One-year-olds are at a period in their development when they are becoming increasingly powerful and competent—evidenced by the fact that they are starting to walk and talk," says Rebecca Parlakian, a parenting expert from Zero to Three, an organization that focuses on kid development during the early years. "They are also really interested in big questions like, 'How does this work?' 'What does it do?' And, 'What happens if I do this?'”
Our favorite gifts for kids this age help them explore and find the answers to these questions. That's still a lot of options. To help find the best toys and gifts for 1-year-olds in 2025, the Good Housekeeping Institute tests toys year-round to make sure they're safe and have the power to withstand the love of from a toddler. Then, the best toys are shipped off to actual 1-year-olds and put to the real test. When all was said and done, these toys, which include current and former Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award winners, rose to the top.
Best Deal
Just press the button and colorful balls pop out from the elephant's trunk, leaving toddlers free to run, chase the balls, and put them back in again. It'll help them get their energy out while working on their gross and fine motor coordination. It includes four easy-grasp balls and also plays six fun songs. Ages 9 months+
Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn 4-in-1 Activity Table & Easel
Testers reported their 1-year-olds were really engaged with this toy, which isn't surprising since there's many ways to play. On one side, there's a busy board with lights, sounds, and buttons to press. Then it converts to a kid-sized drawing table or easel. "This has been a time saver for sure and really lets me do quick chores," one parent tester said. "I feel like it also helps her strength and balance and she still develops her legs." Ages 6 months+; 3 AA batteries required (not included)
Each square tile on this busy board has something to engage kids' brains, be it a gear to spin, a button to press or a texture to feel. But, to keep them from getting bored, the tiles can swap out—they attach magnetically—to make the toy feel fresh. It comes with six tiles, but extra tile sets can be purchased separately. And now, there's also PlayTab Go, which lets kids bring two tiles with them and comes with a ring to attach to a car seat or stroller. Ages 1+
Melissa & Doug Wooden Shape Sorting Grocery Cart
This is a push toy, a walker, a role-playing item, and a shape-sorter all in one! Early walkers love pushing around the grocery cart, just like their parents do. (It even comes with a little coffee cup to make it more realistic!) Then, food pieces on geometric shapes fit through the holes in tie sides of the cart, acting as a shape-sorter. The same pieces also fit into puzzles that store in the cart. And, after "checkout," they can play with the pretend food just like in a kitchen set. Ages 1+
There's a lot of flexibility built into this toy: The panels can be separated and re-arranged, depending on what the little ones want to do. Each tester reported their child had a different favorite panel or function, be it the pretend phone, the piano keys, or the buttons. "I love that it has so many different configurations and could essentially be considered four toys in one," one parent said. Ages 3 months+; requires 3 AA batteries (not included)
Radio Flyer Busy Buggy
Beep, beep! While your little one is working on their leg muscle strength, you can still push them around on this previous Toy Award Winner. Then, as they become a more confident walker, they can propel themselves. There are also lots of little features that spin, click and otherwise make noise to keep them interested. Ages 1+
VTech Smart Shots Sports Center
Start a sporty toddler off with soccer and basketball with one toy. The set lights up and makes sounds while also keeping track of the baskets and goal on a light-up scoreboard. Ages 1+
Ms. Rachel Official Speak & Sing Doll
Parents' favorite YouTuber is now available in the most adorable soft doll. Just like in the show, this 16-inch doll, which won a Good Housekeeping Toy Award, sings a handful of educational songs and says sweet, encouraging phrases. Ages 6 months+
They'll be making their own mini masterpieces in no time with these egg-shaped crayons, which are easier for small hands to grasp. They'll get 12 colors in the pack, which will get them scribbling, coloring, and working on their pre-writing skills. Ages 1+
The innovative shape of these toys means they can do more than just stack into a straight tower. Rounded and uniquely weighted, these toys can also stack, spin, balance, wobble, tilt, and roll, and kids can work on their motor skills by nesting them in different ways. Ages 6 months+
Skip Hop Explore & More 4-in-1 Activity Walker
This toy is intended to grow with a child: It starts off as a lay-flat item to use during tummy time, turns into a walker for kids taking their first steps, and then converts to either a grocery cart or stroller for older kids getting into pretend play. All in all, there are more than 40 play features, including buttons, spinners, lights, and songs. Good Housekeeping Institute parent testers liked how siblings could interact with the toy in different ways. Ages 6 months+
Toddlers love taking after their parents and taking care of their own babies. With this set of six dolls, there's a lot here to love! Each snuggly soft babe comes with a removable outfit, so your toddlers can mix and match while practicing their fine motor skills when dressing and undressing their dolls. Ages 1+
Car kids will thrill to seeing this play set's van drive through the different levels and courses in this car track. There are also places for them to flex their imaginative muscles, like a gas station and car wash, and certain points along the course trigger sounds and other fun phrases. Ages 1+
'Hello Hello Colors' Board Book
Good Housekeeping Institute testers loved the way this book used beautiful illustrations of animals to teach kids their colors. The end offers another look at ever animal, plus information about whether or not they're endangered. "My 3-year-old absolutely loves sitting there describing all the items of that color on the pages after we read the words," one parent said. Ages 1–4
Fisher-Price Flap & Wobble Penguin
Parent testers reported that their kids couldn't get enough of this toy, and loved turning it on themselves. When they did, they were rewarded with flapping wings and up to 10 minutes of music. And though we tested this with toddlers, babies can also use it as a tummy-time toy, since it's suitable to use from birth. Ages 0+
Six boxes of different sizes, six animal friends, yet so many ways to play. Kids can stack the different sized boxes vertically and match each animal to its preferred house. Or they can arrange them horizontally to make a village for imaginary play. When that's done, they can use the animals as finger puppets, practice counting the boxes and animals, use the boxes to make other structures—and knock them down again. Ages 1+
Foldable Triangle Climber with Ramp
This one impressed the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute because of how easy it is to adjust the height of the ladder (and the difficulty of the climb). They also liked how you can fold it to store it away when it's not in use. It also comes in a neutral wood color. Ages 6 months+
They'll work on balance and coordination when they push themselves along on this wooden ride-on toy. The wheels are rubberized, so they can use it indoors without damaging floors. Ages 1+
These carrots aren't just cute—plucking them out of their holes works on that all-important pincer grasp. Then, it becomes a matching game to get the right carrots into the right-size holes again. Ages 1+
LeapFrog 4-in-1 Learning Hamburger
Good Housekeeping Institute parent testers said their kids loved assembling the burger pieces and watching them spin down the pole. But when they get tired of stacking, kids can pop out the shapes in the center of the ingredients and use them as a puzzle, or take the onion, cheese, lettuce, and tomato and play ring toss. Ages 1+
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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