How We Picked the Winners

With a slew of toys bombarding store shelves at the holiday season, it’s hard to know which presents will be a hit. To make your gifting easier, we spent months researching, testing, and ranking holiday toys to come up with this list. Find the winners in our Best for Baby category below. (To see our full list of 50 winners, click here).

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1. Rattle Buddy

Infants were drawn to the noise made with this hand-knit Finn + Emma Rattle Buddy while parents were pleased that it wasn’t too loud. The dangly arms and legs were easy for small hands to grab on to, and one tester liked that even when her daughter chewed on it, no lint got in her mouth.

2. Baby Fox

The Yoee Baby Fox proved to be best for parent-and-baby playtime. Parents enjoyed using the long and soft tail to tickle their babies, while little ones were intrigued by the crinkle sounds and silicone teether.

3. InnyBin

Babies pulled and pushed the colorful blocks in and out of this stretchy Fat Brain Toys Co. InnyBin, problem solving along the way. One mom raved about the toy’s durability and unique textures.

4. Sensory Balls + Beads

Stack, roll, and twist together these Lalaboom Balls + Beads to engage your baby in educational play. One tester’s one-year-old could put some pieces together on his own, while her toddler liked that it could be taken apart and put back together in different ways.

5. OombeeCube

Since all of the shapes are attached to the Fat Brain Toys Co. OombeeCube, parents didn’t have to worry about losing the different pieces (and cleanup was a breeze). Testers were fans of sorting the squishy silicone pieces, and yes, they found delight from putting them in their mouths.

6. Turtle Ball Pit

For all of our tiny testers, unpacking this Melissa & Doug Turtle Ball Pit resulted in love at first sight. A highly-pleased parent said her daughter played in it for more than 20 minutes; unheard of for busy little babes.