Is the child in your life obsessed with a particular toy, topic, or play pattern? If you’re a parent or caregiver looking for the perfect holiday gift for kids with all sorts of interests, Melissa & Doug has got you covered!
From cooking and crafts to dinosaurs and PAW Patrol™ and everything in between, Melissa & Doug has curated a complete holiday gift list based on common childhood interests. Plus, you can find even more gift options in our complete Holiday Gift Guide!
For Kids Who Love Animals
If you have an animal lover at home, give them everything they need to examine and treat pretend pets with this Veterinary Toy Play Set! This pretend play set includes everything little vets 3 and up need to make house calls, including a reusable examination checklist and handy tote bag.
Check out these animal-themed gifts:
Wooden Fold-and-Go Barn Toy, 3+
Farm Cube Puzzle, 3+
Giraffe Giant Stuffed Animal, 3+
National Parks Alphabet & Animals Cube Puzzle – 24 Wooden Block Pieces, 2+
For Kids Who Love to Cook
Mama mia, it's pizza time! Create fresh-baked pizza, made to order, with the unique 34-piece Top & Bake Pizza Counter - Wooden Play Food Set! Start with felt sauce and cheese on the wooden crust, choose from wooden toppings (pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, and peppers), then "bake" in the pizza oven built in to the storage and serving counter. Pieces stick together with self-stick tabs and can be sliced with the rolling wooden cutter. The set comes with a grated cheese shaker, a wooden paddle, pizza box, a reusable menu for placing orders, a guide to help with pizza prep, and play money to pay for your order!
More gift ideas for little cooks:
Stainless Steel Pots & Pans Play Set, 3+
Fill & Fold Taco & Tortilla Set, 3+
Slice & Stack Sandwich Counter, 3+
Food Groups, 3+
Bake & Decorate Wooden Cupcake Set, 3+
Wooden Cool Scoops Ice Creamery, 3+
Deluxe Grill & Pizza Oven Playset, 3+
Disney Snacks & Popcorn Wooden Food Counter, 3+
For Kids Who Love Dinosaurs
Imagine a landscape full of dinosaurs! Children love using the 8 detailed dino stamps and a two-color inkpad in our Wooden Stamp Set - Dinosaurs! It's fun creating countless scenes, and coloring in the pictures with the 5 colored pencils! This well-crafted set is conveniently contained in a sturdy wooden box for organizing and storage. It's a tremendous value that children will use over and over again! Washable, non-toxic kid-friendly ink.
Explore even more dino-mite gift ideas below:
Puffy Sticker Play Set - Dinosaur, 4+
Habitats Reusable Sticker Pad, 3+
Land of Dinosaurs Floor Puzzle, 3+
For Kids Who Love Crafts
Sticker WOW! is a fun-filled activity that lets kids stamp out stickers as they play, create, and learn. It’s a whole new way to play with stickers, featuring an innovative, one-of-a-kind design that features character-themed sticker stampers with 300 stickers and activity pads for mess-free fun anywhere. Kids can engage in creative, skill-building play, using the sticker stampers to engage with the included activity book or creative art projects. Sticker WOW! also features separate Refill Packs that are compatible with any Sticker WOW! sticker stamper. No matter what your child’s interest, there’s a variety of sticker stamper characters to choose from…collect them all!
Melissa & Doug Sticker WOW! Collection
Sticker WOW! Sea Turtle Bundle
Sticker WOW! Refills Surprise Pack
Sticker WOW! Refills Pets Pack
Sticker WOW! Refills Favorite Things Pack
Sticker WOW! Refills Dinosaur Pack
Skills: C-grip strength, fine motor skills, creative expression, number & letter recognition.
Keep the creativity flowing with these fun gift ideas below:
Created by Me Flower Fleece Quilt, 6+
Created by Me! Jewelry Box Wooden Craft Kit, 4+
Created by Me! Bead Bouquet Wooden Bead Kit, 4+
Deluxe Double-Sided Tabletop Easel, 3+
For Kids Who Love the Ocean
Make baby’s tummy time extra special with the Ocean Tummy Time Triangle, an engaging, double-sided folding cloth baby toy! Three fold-out panels with adorable ocean-themed graphics and friendly characters lie flat or fold and connect into an upright pyramid. One side features high-contrast black and white graphics, great for important visual stimulation during baby’s first months. The other side includes colorful sea creatures with developmentally appropriate features. The Tummy Time Triangle helps babies stay engaged and strengthen muscles during tummy play. Encourages gross motor development, visual and tactile stimulation, and interaction with caregivers.
Dive deeper into ocean life with these swell gifts below:
Ocean Easy-Fold Play Gym, Infant & up
Giant Sea Turtle Stuffed Animal, 3+
FlipFish Baby Toy, 1+ months
For Kids Who Love Outer Space
Piece together 48 sturdy jumbo cardboard jigsaw pieces for an experience that’s out of this world with our Outer Space Glow in the Dark Puzzle - 48 pieces! Assemble the detailed and colorful space scene in a brightly lit room. When the 3-foot by 2-foot puzzle is complete, turn out the lights and watch as hidden pictures and details appear in glow-in-the-dark ink! (NOTE: The puzzle must first be exposed to bright light to activate the glow-in-the-dark feature.)
Skills: Great for storytelling and sparking imaginative play, motor skill development, and encourages problem-solving and critical thinking
These other gift ideas are absolutely out of this world:
Water Wow Bundle: Dinosaur, Adventure, and Space, 3+
Sticker Collection Book: Dinosaurs, Vehicles, Space, and More, 3+
Jumbo 50-Page Kids' Coloring Pad - Space, Sharks, Sports, and More, 3+
Solar System Floor Puzzle 48 Pieces, 3+
Astronaut Role Play Costume Set, 3+
For Kids Who Love Makeup & Beauty
Cut, trim, shave, and style with pretend play shaving essentials for a trip to the barber with our Barber Shop Play Set! Kids can check their look in the hand mirror that flips to stand as they finish with textured pomade in a tub, comb, and brush. Includes a reusable double-sided activity card. Everything stores in a sturdy zippered shaving kit for easy cleanup. The included trimmers vibrate when the tab is pulled—no batteries required! Encourages creative play, promotes fine motor development and language skills.
Complete the experience with these makeover upgrades:
Love Your Look Makeup Kit Play Set, 3+
Love Your Look Nail Care Play Set, 3+
Jewelry and Nails Glitter Stickers Pad, 4+
Water Wow! Makeup & Manicures, 3+
For Kids Who Love PAW Patrol™
Rev up playtime and have hours of imaginative adventures in the driver’s seat of our PAW Patrol™ Rescue Mission Wooden Dashboard! Slide one of the three double-sided mission cards into the windshield of the wooden dashboard and set the dial to show who needs help. Press buttons to choose the pups for the mission and hear multiple phrases for each, then press the paw print "mission start" button to hear Ryder give mission instructions based on the pups chosen for the job - there are hundreds of possible combinations, and kids can choose to hear him in English, French, or Spanish! Turn the removable key to hear the engine rev and shift the gear to "D" to start the scrolling GPS - turn the steering wheel to keep the vehicle on the GPS track! Other features of the interactive dashboard include a horn that beeps, a siren button, blinkers that click, and a microphone for voice recording and playback!
Add on these extra gifts for more PAW Patrol™ adventures:
PAW Patrol™ Wooden PAW Patroller Activity Center, 3+
PAW Patrol™ Rescue Mission Wooden Dashboard, 3+
PAW Patrol™ Match & Build Mission Cruiser, 3+
PAW Patrol™ Pup Pack Backpack Role Play Set, 3+
PAW Patrol™ Jumbo Cardboard Blocks, 3+
PAW Patrol™ Puffy Sticker Book, 4+
PAW Patrol™ Magnetic Pretend Play, 3+
PAW Patrol™ Poke-a-Dot Alphabet Adventure, 1+
For Kids Who Love To Play House
Little kids love imitating adults—and it’s a critical pretend play activity for both boys and girls. This Kids Dust! Mop! Sweep! Cleaning Set has all the housekeeping tools kids 3 and up need to keep it clean!
Keep the pretend play going with these fun picks below:
Scoop & Serve Ice Cream Counter, 3+
Fill and Roll Grocery Basket Play Set, 3+
Mine-to-Love Baby Doll, 18+ months
For Kids Who Love To Play Rescue
If your little one loves to rush to the rescue, give them everything they need to look the part with this official Fire Chief Role Play Costume. This gift for kids 3 and up includes everything they need in an emergency: a bright red, machine-washable jacket trimmed with reflective material, a fire chief helmet, a "fire extinguisher," a bullhorn with sound effects, a shiny badge, and a name tag to personalize.
Did someone call 9-fun-fun? We’ve got even more rescue gift ideas below:
Classic Wooden Fire Truck Play Set, 3+
Police Officer Role Play Costume Set, 3+
Giant Fire Truck Floor Puzzle - 24 pieces, 3+
For Kids Who Love To Play School
Help spark creative expression in your budding artist with the generously sized Deluxe Magnetic Standing Art Easel, featuring both a magnetic chalkboard and a dry-erase board. The removable plastic trays mean that kids have loads of easy-reach art supplies (not included) at their fingertips. Plus 39 letter and number magnets that are great for extended play! Please note: this easel can hold either an 18" wide or 12" wide paper roll (not included).
A real pretend teacher needs these essential school supplies:
Ms. Rachel Wooden Learning Blocks, 2+
School Time Classroom Play Set, 4+
Blue's Clues & You! Wooden Pull-Back School Bus, 3+
The Wheels on the Bus Sound Puzzle, 2+
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Looking for more of the best Christmas and holiday gift and toy ideas for kids of all ages? Check out these blog posts:
Best Toys for Babies and 1-Year-Olds
