Holidays

The Best Toys of 2022

December 7, 2022

TFK editors

TIME for Kids editors rounded up some of our favorite toys of 2022. Our picks offer many new ways to play. Read below about the year’s best toys.

Get Active

FROM LEFT: COURTESY BANDAI NAMCO; COURTESY BUFFALO GAMES & TOYS

Get moving with Vital Hero, by Bandai Namco. This wearable band takes you on missions. They involve running, squats, and shadowboxing. Raise and train a Digimon on the device. With each successful mission, the character evolves. Fight solo battles with other creatures. Or transfer your character to a friend’s device and duke it out.

Bubble-popping goes electric with Pop It! Pro. It’s a light-up fidget game by Buffalo Games & Puzzles. Pop the lighted bubbles fast. Then play through each level before time runs out. The multiplayer mode will keep your family busy for hours.

Get Building

FROM LEFT: COURTESY HEXBUG; COURTESY THAMES & KOSMOS

The Candy Vending Machine is from Thames & Kosmos. It combines tinkering with treats. You can build the machine yourself. Stock it with goodies. Then send coins down customizable tracks to unlock the contents. It’s a fun, hands-on experience.

For something more creative, check out Hexbug’s Vex Robotics Art Start. This STEM-based drawing machine allows young artists to design geometric patterns. You can put it together yourself. Its adjustable beams and gears let you create different designs every time.

Get Creative

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: COURTESY PLAYMONSTER; COURTESY EAT2EXPLORE; COURTESY SPIN MASTER

The Kinetic Sand Swirl N’ Surprise, by Spin Master, promises colorful fun. The set comes with two pounds of bright sand and a swirler machine. There are tools for shaping your sand-art creations. The sand is squishy. It feels good when you play with it. And cleanup is easy.

Eager to get outdoors? The Craft-Tastic Nature Scavenger Hunt Potions kit, by PlayMonster, will get you collecting natural ingredients to make seven “magic” potions. The kit includes a magnifying glass, tweezers, and reusable bottles. There’s also a handbook on what to look for.

If you’re hungry to learn about different cultures, you’ll savor Eat2Explore kids’ global cooking boxes. Each kit explores a country’s or region’s cuisine and contains key ingredients, plus a shopping list and recipes. A country guide and foodie passport add to the experience.