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For Cyber Monday this year, I decided to try something different. Instead of wading alone through the sea of questionable toys, gadgets, and gizmos that go on sale, I called Mallory Kennedy, a pediatric occupational therapist and store owner based in Portland, Oregon. The sensory nest. Together, we looked at the list of the most popular Cyber Monday toy deals from major retailers.
She wanted to find toys that were, in short, not trash, that would help her children develop and that would not turn into blinking trash in a few days. We tested them playing with our own children. If our children didn’t like them, I’m not going to recommend them for yours. that’s in addition to the years of continuous testing carried out by the WIRED Gear team. Our recommendations are also compared to our buying guides and gift guides and use a suite of price tracking tools to identify the best deals. Happy Christmas shopping! Be sure to check out our Cyber Monday live deal tracker for more information.
WIRED Featured Offers
WIRED’s Cyber Monday 2024 Coverage
The best toy offer
Photography: Particles
This is probably one of the best toys I’ve ever tried (and one that should be included in the next update of our Best STEM Toys for Kids). The Bluetooth-connected portable board has pieces that feel wonderfully matte and heavy to play with. It connects to the GoChess app on your phone, which is integrated with Lichess and Chess.com. You can play against other people or receive AI-enabled hints in person, and the pieces light up. My 7 and 9 year olds have been playing against each other for weeks, as an AI’s suggestions are much less annoying than Mom’s.
Other toy offers
Photography: Tonies
The Toniebox is the best speaker for younger children. It is a durable, soft, Wi-Fi connected cube. When your child places different “Tonie” figures on top of the cube, it plays songs and stories associated with Tonies. Your kids will also play with the Tonies as toys, and you can also have grandparents or other family members record up to 90 minutes reading to kids or other audio messages.
Photography: Amazonas
The Yoto is the best speaker for (slightly) older kids and has some differences from the Toniebox. There’s a pixelated clock display and the content is a bit more varied; For example, you can get sleep sounds, kids radio, and a daily podcast, plus stories and songs. This version is the small and even more portable version of the larger one we tested.
Photography: Amazonas
Toy instant cameras differ from higher quality ones because the lenses are plastic, not glass. The image quality is noticeably worse than the Instax cameras I’ve tested. However, if your child is 5 years old, he will be delighted. The battery lasted an entire afternoon of photography, the prints are on BPA-free paper, and there are even some games on board.
This is a small but significant discount on a set of markers that my 9 year old is currently obsessed with. It’s water-based ink, so it will cause much less damage to whatever surface your child is drawing on (I hate knowing this) and it’s dual-tipped, with a fine line tip for intricate line work and a broader tip. . to fill things in. The pigment flows smoothly and evenly. This will be great if drawing Christmas cards by hand is in your game plan.
Clay is also part of our guide to the best STEM toys, but my kids like the air-dry version better than the polymer one because it’s super soft and lightweight, and you don’t need to bake it. It’s not as strong or heavy as the polymer version, but it also resists creating little spots on mushrooms, clogged TVs, or whatever.
Photography: Amazonas
Amazon and Walmart are full of these little kits that promise to entertain kids and teach them skills at the same time. Of the ones I called, this was the biggest hit and will provide hand soap for your reluctant guests for years to come! Melt the soap blocks in a microwave-safe bowl and mix with any fragrances, glitter, or dyes you like. Even if you make a mess in the sink, it cleans up easily, because it’s soap!
Image: loogguitars.com
Playing music has also been shown to stimulate neural development (and is fun, too). Loog Guitars is currently running a sitewide Cyber Monday sale for 40 percent off. My children are currently trying the Beatles + Loog electric guitar set And the company even sent the little amplifier! This is a bit of a cheat because my kids already play piano and violin, but they find Loog’s music instructions fun and easy to follow. (It’s also an excuse to use the iPad, grrr.)
Guardian Bikes is currently holding a Cyber Monday Sale. If your child is learning to ride a bike, I highly recommend purchasing one that is lighter than the ones from Target or Walmart. A Guardian or Woom bike isn’t much more expensive and weighs about 10 pounds less. Guardian also has a patented SureStop braking system, meaning the rear wheel will always brake before the front wheel, so your child will never roll over. It works, and I know this because I gave it to a 20-year-old idiot to test in an empty parking lot and he couldn’t turn it over.
Photography: Amazonas
This rock tumbler is perfect for any aspiring rock hunter, and we say so in our STEM toy buying guide. The kit includes four levels of sand, plus a bag of rough gemstones so they can start spinning over the Christmas holidays. According to Amazon reviews, some adults who have been putting rocks in their pockets for decades also use and like this glass.
You may have noticed sensory toys showing up at your kids’ school and goody bags; As the name suggests, they help children stimulate one or more of their senses, which helps them develop their motor skills and just generally calms them down. Both Mallory and my children love these toys, which also teach color recognition and counting. However, my kids are 7 and 9 and they popped them almost immediately with their giant ham hands. (They have lasted almost a year in Mallory’s office.)
Photography: Esfero
Okay, I know I said I hate blink-and-blink one-trick ponies, but I make an exception for Sphero because the company’s toys are adorable. My colleague Simon Hill’s wife uses this coding ball as a classroom aid to teach basic coding skills to children ages 9 and up. He is adorable and can move and navigate mazes via infrared communication.
Construction toy deals
Photography: Clixo
Any construction toy is great for encouraging creativity and hand-eye coordination. Reviewer Simon Hill tested Clixo sets with his family and found the pieces to be durable, flexible, washable and colourful. You don’t need a flat surface to build, so you can play with them anywhere. they also enter themed sets They have pieces that glow in the dark.
Photography: Amazonas
Magna-Tiles may be expensive (a little less expensive now) but the return on investment is amazing. We bought our daughter’s first set when she was 2 or 3 years old and enjoyed making little 2D ice cream cones or hats. He is now 9 years old and still takes out the trash regularly. There are also a ton of different themed sets (also for sale) if you need more specialized parts for racing or jungles.
Photography: Amazonas
We’re documented Lego fans here and Lego recently announced a multi-year collaboration with F1. Can’t wait until January to get your hands on the new Lego City F1 sets? Whet your appetite with pre-existing Lego Speed Champions sets. Give me an Oscar Piastri minifigure! Give the people what they want!
As I wrote in our Lego gift guide, my 7-year-old son is currently obsessed with Star Wars. Sale events are always a good time to stock up on the more expensive games, as $160 for full retail price is a little out of my budget for a second grader. This one has spring-loaded shooters and seven minifigures, and I hope it brightens your year and also ruins my life.
Lego is having a Cyber Monday Sale. While this doesn’t exactly help me get my Marvel-obsessed son back avengers towerMany of the offerings are very cute and seasonal. How cute is this crown? And how much better is it to build one than to buy one in the store?
Wooden building blocks are always a great idea for younger children as they encourage imaginative play and motor skills. This is a great 75 piece set that will entertain a little one for a long time. Be sure to choose those that are ASTM certified and made from 100 percent wood, as there is a high chance that they will end up being chewed on by humans or animals.
Game offers
Photography: Amazonas
Reviewer Simon Hill notes that this is the simplest game to start with in his roundup of the best board games. It was designed by a German psychologist and you can change the maze by pushing a tile to put another one in and remove another one each turn.
Inspired by the Royal Palace of Évora in Portugal, with its Moorish blue and white ceramic tiles, this board game challenges you to make mosaics by combining tiles with different patterns and colors to accumulate the highest possible score. One of the best family board games for all tastes, Azul is easy to understand but supports many tactical approaches and has surprising depth. The beautiful tiles and other components are of high quality and filling your board is deeply satisfying. The game moves quickly and you can complete a game in less than an hour, but you’ll probably want to play again right away. —Simon Hill
Photography: Simon Hill
Simon notes that this game is more fun than it looks, which is just as well, since it’s mostly about capitalism, business expansion, and executing mergers and acquisitions. It looks lovely and you don’t find out who wins until the end when you cash out your shares. It was a surprise hit with Simon’s children.
I know this is in our game deals post, but this is the Christmas gift I promised my kids. I somehow completely ruined our old Switch (this is less tragic than you might expect, given that I still had the first one from 2017) and we needed to replace it so we could still have Nintendo Family Night. It’s pretty rare to see Nintendo lower the prices of their consoles, so you should jump on this one if you’re looking too.