How we pick

Every guide here ranks five gifts. This is what decides the order, and where the numbers on each card come from.

What the order is based on

Prices

Each price is what the gift cost on the date at the top of the guide. If the store price has moved since, the store price is the one you pay.

The catch

Every card has one. A toy with no catch is a toy nobody has used.

Gift guides

A smiling grandfather pointing at the page while his grandson writesGrandparentsThe best gifts for grandkids in 2026Five gifts grandkids still use long after the bow comes off. The best one costs under $30.A smiling boy in red pajamas on Christmas morning holding up the Number copybookChristmasThe best Christmas gifts of 2026Five Christmas gifts kids still use after the tree comes down. The best one costs under $30.Twin girls laughing as they hold up their Alphabet and Number copybooksBy ageThe best Christmas gift for 3 to 6 year oldsAges three to six are the years kids learn to write. This gift is made for exactly that.A girl tracing numbers in her copybook on an airplane tray tableScreen-freeThe best screen-free gifts of 2026Five gifts kids pick over the tablet. The best one costs under $30.A grandmother and her granddaughter smiling in a mirror selfie, the girl holding the Alphabet copybookGrandparentsGive a gift that counts: Grandma's 5 best picksFive gifts grandkids use, love and remember. The best one costs under $30.A smiling girl sitting in the grass holding a pocket microscopeScreen-freeScreen-free gifts that beat the tabletFive gifts that pull kids away from the screen. The best one fits in a coat pocket.A grandfather helping his grandson write at a garden tableComparedLearning gifts compared: which one is best?Five popular learning gifts side by side, and the one I would buy.The Alphabet copybook and pen unwrapped from brown paper under a Christmas treeGift catalogThe 2026 Holiday Gift Catalog for grandkidsSeven gifts kids really use, sorted by price, with the ages they fit.A boy looks at a pink flower through a pocket microscope while his grandmother laughs beside himGift guideThe gift they'll show everyoneThey'll take it everywhere, and tell everyone it came from you.A boy laughing at the kitchen table, a pocket microscope standing on a red leaf in front of himGift guideThe science toy they keep playing withMost science kits get one afternoon. This one is still in their pocket a month later.A boy lying on the lawn, looking at a leaf through a pocket microscopeGift guideThe gift that beats the tabletFinally, something that beats the screens.A boy lying on the sidewalk with a pocket microscope pressed to the concreteGift guideThe hidden treasure under their feetIt's been right under their feet the whole time.