For those parents & caregivers looking for the hottest new toys of the year during their holiday shopping this season, Melissa & Doug has curated this special Living Playfully blog just for you!
We periodically release new toys throughout the year, but during the holiday season, they tend to expand in popularity because there’s so much more focus on quality toys and play for gifting purposes.
In case you missed them during the year, we now present Melissa & Doug’s top new toys from 2025 that should be considered top candidates for your holiday gifting wish list. Scroll on for a deeper dive into the hot new toy releases that will make great holiday gifts for kids this season. And if you want additional help with your holiday shopping, visit our Holiday Gift Guide and let it guide you to the perfect gift for you.
Shop Melissa & Doug's top new toys from 2025, perfect for the holidays!
Wooden Gingerbread House Play Set – Winter Frost
Why kids will want it: Fit together, decorate, and play with the re-buildable Melissa & Doug winter wonderland wooden gingerbread house! Decorate with reusable wooden accessories and “icing” cords that cling to hook-and-loop tabs for a mess-free, festive, pretend play celebration anytime! The cool blue sturdy wooden house stands about 6 inches tall when assembled; no tools required; hook-and-loop tabs keep pieces together. The panels are double-sided, with cozy interior artwork on one side and a snowy exterior on the other. Self-sticking decorations include wooden play candies, lollipops, windows, door, and chimney. Pieces store neatly in a decorated package for easy cleanup.
Fun feature: More than just a decorating activity, play pieces, including a fox, bear, penguin, tree, and a reversible pond/snow field, offer countless hours of playtime possibilities.
Skills at Play: Encourages creativity, problem-solving, fine motor skills, sorting, matching, counting, and color recognition.
Ages: 3+
Simmer & Stir Stovetop Play Set
Why kids will want it: Satisfy hungry imaginations with Melissa & Doug Water WOW! color-changing play food stir fry! Little chefs can pretend to simmer mushrooms, carrots, and broccoli, sauté chicken, shrimp, and beans, and steam double-sided disks of rice, soup, spaghetti, and mac and cheese.
Fun feature: Drop play food into the pot or onto the stovetop griddle, squeeze water from the spoon or drip from the olive oil bottle, and watch colors change as food magically “cooks”! Let the pieces dry and cook with water again and again!
Skills at Play: A fun, engaging way for kids to practice important developmental skills, such as fine motor skills, sorting, counting, and imaginative play, and to demonstrate cause-and-effect.
Ages: 3+
Flip & Fry Grill Play Set
Why kids will want it: Grilling and frying has never been so fun! Satisfy hungry imaginations with Melissa & Doug Water WOW! color-changing play food. It’s the kind of kid-powered play that builds independence and confidence! Bonus Recommendation: The Flip & Fry Grill Play Set took home a Good Housekeeping Award for Toy Toy of 2025!
Fun feature: Flip pretend burger, veggie burger, or pancake on the grill and griddle, squeeze water from the spatula when flipping, and watch colors change as food magically “cooks”! Add water to the fryer and play chicken tenders, onion rings, and fries to the fry basket to “deep fry” more treats. Serve with felt fixings and burger buns that reveal ketchup and mustard when water drips from the condiment squeeze bottle. Let the pieces dry and cook with water again and again!
Skills a Play: A fun, engaging way for kids to practice important developmental skills, such as fine motor skills, sorting, counting, and imaginative play, and to demonstrate cause-and-effect.
Ages: 3+
Beauty Kiosk Vending Machine
Why kids will want it: Perfect for mess-free, imaginative pretend play, this innovative wooden vending machine play set is packed with features and fun, including realistic-looking pretend play toy makeup accessories for eyes, lips, and face that let budding makeup artists imagine different looks and practice daily skin care and makeup routines! There’s a sign that can be personalized, and a reusable activity card for keeping track of what to stock, order, and how the pretend play beauty items are used. The sturdy kiosk measures 17 inches high x 12.5 inches wide x 5.5 inches deep, and requires no assembly. All the pieces store in the vending machine for easy cleanup. NOTE: No color is transferred; cosmetics are pretend play only.
Fun feature: Open the back of the kiosk and stock it with nine double-sided play beauty accessories, including wooden lipsticks, pretend eye shadows, flip-top lotion tube, and double-sided pouches. On the front, select an item, insert a color-matching play coin or bank card, press the corresponding letter and number button, and the play makeup drops into the collection drawer! No batteries required!
Skills at Play: A fun way to teach cause-and-effect and encourage imaginative play, sorting, color-matching, counting, letter recognition, and other early learning developmental skills.
Ages: 3+
Spray & Shine Car Wash
Why kids will want it: Little drivers will have good, clean fun with the Melissa & Doug Spray & Shine Car Wash! Spray the jumbo-sized red sports car with ice cold water from the car wash basin using the built-in pump sprayer, and watch the “dirt” magically disappear! Make it sparkle with the sponge, squeegee, and play soap bottle, wipe with the towel, and shine with the battery-free buffer – just pull the tab to make it shake! Drive away through the car wash drying rollers and hit the road for imagination-fueled car-zooming adventures!
Fun feature: Rinse it with warm water to make the dirt re-appear—time to head back to the car wash to rinse and repeat! Note: The car should not be exposed to direct sunlight and may change back to “dirty” after a time. Color changing is heat dependent, so be sure to add ice cubes to the car wash basin to clean and to use warm water to make dirt reappear.
Skills at Play: This durable color-changing pretend play toy promotes open-ended imaginative pretend play that helps boost important developmental skills for preschool boys and girls: encourages storytelling, motor development, and understanding of cause-and-effect.
Ages: 3+
Feed, Walk & Poo Pup Play Set
Why kids will want it: This wooden pull-toy from Melissa & Doug is sure to have little animal lovers zooming around the room and giggling with joy! Feed the adorable pooch one of the three wooden dog “treats” (bone-side up), then use the attached leash to take it for a rolling stroll. After about eight feet (2.4 meters), the piece magically flips over inside the pup and comes out poo-side up!
Fun feature: Treats store in a fun reversible bag that doubles as a poo bag for cleanup!
Skills at Play: Help teach kids responsible pet care, and the concept of cause and effect, while encouraging movement, building confidence, self-esteem, and motor skills, and fostering curiosity and imaginative pretend play.
Ages: 18 months+
Blockables Dinosaur Play Set
Why kids will want it: Melissa & Doug Blockables™ are connectable, stackable, and playable! Easy-to-grasp smooth, colorful wooden blocks fit together in a snap with large connectors that even little hands can push in and pull out. An illustrated guide shows how to arrange and link the Blockables™ to create multi-textured dinosaurs: T-rex, apatosaurus, pterodactyl, plesiosaurus, triceratops, stegosaurus; or kids can use their imaginations to mix, match, and combine pieces to make unique figures and play their own way!
Fun feature: Kids can easily expand their collection -- the 69-piece Dinosaur Play Set is compatible with all other Blockables™ play sets. The packaging folds out to convert into a fun play space and pieces store in the sturdy corrugated box with a soft handle for easy cleanup and portability.
Skills at Play: Designed to promote and support important developmental benefits for kids, Blockables encourage fine motor, problem-solving, and matching skills, introduce storytelling, and help build self-esteem as kids build and create their own toys again and again.
Ages: 2+
Make & Bake Pies Play Set
Why kids will want it: Feed hungry imaginations! The Melissa & Doug 27-piece pretend play pie-making set has everything kids need to prep, put together, and “bake” deliciously imaginative play pies.
Fun feature: Roll a squishable, moldable fabric pie crust dough flat with the wooden rolling pin, then press it to form-fit into pie tins. Fill with double-sided puffy fabric filling for meringue or crumble-topped pie; with sliceable wooden fruit for blueberry, cherry, peach, or apple pies; or with double-side textured filling from a play can for pumpkin or cherry pies! Top with a lattice crust and pop a pie into the sturdy wooden play oven with built-in cutting board to “bake”! Top creations with shaped whipped cream dollops for scrumptious-looking play pies!
Skills at Play: Pretend food play with this robust set filled with fun details is an engaging way for budding chefs to boost motor skills, learn to follow directions, practice counting, sorting, storytelling, and communication skills.
Ages: 3+
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For more great toy content from Melissa & Doug, click through the links below:
Melissa & Doug Shop Toys by Age
Shop Melissa & Doug Holiday Gift Guide
Shop Melissa & Doug New Arrival Toys
Shop Melissa & Doug Best-Selling Toys
Shop Melissa & Doug Holiday Stocking Stuffers
Shop Melissa & Doug Learning Toys
