Save Some Money With These 28 Toys Under $25

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

Half the time kiddos would rather play with the boxes they came in, so there's truly no need to spend an arm and a leg on toys.

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Check out a TikTok of the globbles in action.

Promising reviews: "This is great to keep in the diaper bag for on the go— restaurants or airplanes. My toddler has asked for these 'sticky balls' daily since we got them. They are super easy to rinse with water and make them sticky again! Definitely recommend for toddler age!" —Kelly

"My 15-year-old asked for these after seeing them on TikTok. I got them as a stocking stuffer thinking they’d be tossed aside. Unbelievably he and his 17-year-old brother have spent time lying in the floor, tossing them up to the ceiling, and waiting for them to fall so they can catch them. I never expected them to get this much use. Bonus is they’re off their phones and in the family room with us." —Amazon Customer

Get a set of six from Amazon for $9.85 (also available in 16 count).

Recommended for ages 3+.

Promising reviews: "Cheap and toddlers love! My grandson loves these lol. Cheap plastic makes noise and is flexible bending etc. Great for bath time or whenever." —Leita C.

"These are fun for kids of all ages. My grandbabies love them because they can hold them in their baby hands. They are brightly colored and flexible. Unlikely to hurt anything. Older kids like them for the noise they make when they are stretched or closing. They create long chains (they attach to each other) and wild twisty things. All in all, a good toy for this grandma to have in her house." —Katy

Get a four-pack from Amazon for $5.99+ (available in three sizes and two quantities).

Promising reviews: "Happily surprised that the positive reviews about this product are true! Only play foam my toddler and I can both enjoy. He loves how easily foam keeps shape, the fun colors, and surprise inside every case. I appreciate that the small foam balls rarely separate or dry out. Great creative gift for children. A win for all!" —MissKrissy

"These are amazing for creative sensory play! I love that the foam is non-toxic and that it doesn't stick to everything. My kids have left it out numerous times and it never, ever dries out. And the little pet pals are just the cutest. The kids were so excited to see which ones they got and literally spent hours playing with them and the foam. These would be perfect for stocking stuffers!" —NYMommy

Get a pack of six from Amazon for $23.99.

The kit comes with a paintbrush, 18 special pieces of paper, and six clear paints that change colors when they hit the paper. The brush lights up to indicate what color is currently on the brush.

Promising review: "I saw this everywhere and wanted to get it for my kids. My kids love this magic light brush paint set. It's perfect for toddlers who want to paint but you don't want the whole mess. The only problem I found was the yellow after a few swipes wouldn't make yellow anymore no matter how much I rubbed the brush on the palette. It would be an orange-brown color. It wasn't a deal breaker for us. Overall, it's fun, and the kids love it." —Ashley

Get it from Amazon for $24.49.

Also available in a fun finger-painting version!

Promising review: "I LOVE this thing! I bought it before my daughter was born because of high reviews. It's a reasonably priced toy, and my daughter has been using it since birth. Whenever she's having a meltdown, I break it out of the diaper bag, and she's all better. :) I actually memorized the songs and order, and they're pretty catchy. Not annoying and overbearing like other toys. I don't know what I would do without it!." —uhhdorkable

Promising review: "The best baby distractor EVER! Every person with a child must have this toy! I had about five tucked in various places in case one got lost. My son loved them from basically birth and sometimes it would distract him for hours of non-crying! (Heaven for a new mother) Of course, in the beginning, you have to keep pushing the button for them, but compared to swinging him in his car seat, that was easy! Then, when he got older, he would spend entire car rides just playing with this one toy. I give it to everyone I know who has a baby." —NH-Mommy

Get it from Amazon for $8.88.

Reviewers say this is a great toy for all ages — from 3–12.

Promising reviews: "I got this for my 5-year-old for Christmas and she really enjoys trying to figure it out. Colors are vibrant, wood isn't too thick or too thin, and it's a nice size as well. She was thrilled when she finally figured out a combination to complete the puzzle. Great gift for a kid especially given all the screen time kids have now. Gets their brains working!" —lr

"I was looking for stuff that will keep my kids entertained without electronics and this is one of the things I got them. From my 5-year-old to my 10-year-old, they’ve all sat down and played around with it. It’ll be a great road trip game as well. Small. Compact. Has a bag to carry the game." —MGS

Get it from Amazon for $8.99.

Promising reviews: "This item was exactly what I needed for some of the younger children because handling the rubber bands helps develop their fine motor muscles. It also encourages imagination and creativity and counting. They make designs and love it. For older ages there are cards with designs for them to try and duplicate. Young children can also make shapes and letters thus developing math and literacy skills. This is a sturdy, well-made geoboard." —Kathleen Loden Barbuti

"Bought the geoboard for my 4-year-old grandson who enjoyed making his own pictures and designs. As a retired math teacher, I can tell you that geoboards are great hands on learning tools for children of any age. My seventh-grade students loved when our lessons involved 'playing' with geoboards!" —anne porter

Get it from Amazon for $19.99.

The set comes with 36 playing cards, 264 playing chips, caller's mat and cards, and a storage box. This version is a fun twist on the classic, but instead of calling out numbers, the leader calls out words (there are 46 most-used words), players search their cards for a match and place a red chip on the match. Once a player has covered the spaces on their card needed to win, they call BINGO!

Promising reviews: "Me and my toddlers had a ball playing sight word bingo. It definitely helped my kindergarten with her sight words and made her more comfortable. Would recommend." —Ali coker

"Getting my daughter to do sight words has been a nightmare lately, she pretends she has no idea what anything is and refuses to sit down and try. But, with this game, she wants to play for hours!!! I give her two cards and we all play together as a family, she thinks it is the best game and it really is helping her learn her sight words!! Finally something that gets her excited about learning!!" —Rebecca

Get it from Amazon for $11.69.

Promising review: "This game is HILARIOUS. My kids love playing with it and taking turns hiding it. (8, 6, and 3 years). They all think poop is funny and run around yelling 'Silly Poopy, where are you?' It keeps them busy for at least half an hour at a time and they leave me alone. Also? It's pretty durable. I found it outside in my garden in the 20-degree winter weather. I guess my 8-year-old left it out there for a few days. It also gets thrown down the stairs and Silly Poopy just keeps on giggling and having fun." —Adele

Get it from Amazon for $12.99.

Promising review: "These are absolutely the best for preschooler aged children. There is no need for adjustment. You just look into the binoculars and see a clear image. My son used these this past summer for getting a closer look at the hummingbirds at our feeder. We also took these with us on nature walks. He really enjoyed using them and after a full summer's use, they are still in great shape. Anything that makes a child curious about nature and the environment gets a A+ in my book." —Rachael P.

Get it from Amazon for $9.69+ (available in two colors).

Pass out all the cards to the players and keep all the stacks face down. Everyone takes a turn putting a card down in the middle, while saying "taco," "cat," "goat," "cheese," and "pizza," in that order. If the picture on your card matches the word that's said, everyone races against each other to slap their hand on the central pile of cards. Whoever is last must take the pile of cards and add them to their stack, and the person who runs out of cards first wins! And it's made by a small biz!

Promising reviews: "What a great game for all ages! My toddler could understand how to play with her siblings! So much fun! We keep coming back to it!" —rainsmiles

"The title says it all! You must buy this game if you’re looking to get your kids off their butts, computers, phones, or TV! My children sat for hours, five to be exact, just playing this and laughing. It was a lot of fun for my husband and I to hear them not fighting and doing something together. Loads of fun!! We even loved playing with them!! 🥰🤘" —Melinda Haiden

Get it from Amazon for $9.84.

Promising reviews: "Gave as a gift to a 4-year-old. She loved coloring her own and was able to use the 'puffer maker' just fine on her own. Gave a few hours of fun to the whole family!" —Colleen A Frawley

"Great solo kit for my 8-year-old. I went on a craft kit spending spree when they closed the schools since I must continue working (I work from home everyday already) and do not want video games raising my 8-year-old for the next several weeks. So far this was the BEST kit of the ones I purchased. Here is why. She can work at the desk beside me solo (as in without interrupting me every few minutes for help, as with some of the other kits we have tried). She got the hang of how to assemble and cut these out by herself with minimal instruction, but with lots of fun and spent a good amount of the day working on them. I am happy with the time to money investment ratio." —MamaJJ

Get it from Amazon for $19.99.

Promising review: "My 4-year-old was starting to cut everything it seemed like in the house. I ordered this activity book that came with scissors and it was a hit; she would sit quietly and cut her pages, and after we would put the puzzles together or hang them on fridge. 10 /10!! ✂️." —Miss Tracie

Get it from Amazon for $5.49.

The set comes with a storage tin, rolling pin, wee knife, pizza/dough cutter, mixing spoon, three wee spoons, mixing bowl, pizza/pie pan, pie server, sheet pan, silicone cake and cupcake molds, two silicone finger mitts, and 48-page recipe book.

Promising reviews: "My 3-year-old granddaughter loved these! She uses them to roll out, cut and serve tiny portions." —Claudia Grandy

"This keeps my daughter busy for HOURS! My daughter saw this online somewhere, and she asked for it as a birthday gift. I expected it to be cute, but not useful. As it turns out, I was completely wrong. She has regularly made mini chocolate chip cookies, and she'll be doing mini calzones tomorrow. It's adorable and the recipes totally work. She and her friends LOVE it." —Elura C. Kish

Get it from Amazon for $22.99.

It comes with six design templates to follow, including a boat and unicorn, but obviously your kiddo can use their imagination to create designs of their own! And don't worry, the LED bulbs are designed to not get hot.

Promising reviews: "I wasn't certain how my 4-year-old grandson would react to an old fashioned light brite compared to his tablet and high tech toys. He was intrigued immediately upon opening and loves it! This classic is still a winner!" —twilla

"Y’all, talk about a throwback gift! I got this for my daughter for Christmas in 2019 — and within the first day she and I both played with it for hours! To say it’s her favorite might be an understatement. And it totally takes you back to your childhood. Get it you won’t regret it!" —Danielle Lavender

Get it from Amazon for $14.35.

Promising review: "This tablet has entertained my 4-year-old grandson for hours at a time. He loves that he can erase at will and that the drawings are multicolored. I highly recommend this item for 18-months-old and up. I bought a pink one for our 18-month-old granddaughter, and she too is just enthralled with it and the 'power' she has to erase, create, erase, create! They loved them so much, that we bought another set of two different colors so that they would have them at home as well as at 'Grammy's.'" —Kindle Customer Red Heart

Get it from Amazon for $13.99+ (available in two sizes and four colors).

These black sheets of paper have a matte coating that they can scratch away to reveal the rainbow design underneath. This set comes with 50 sheets, five wooden styluses, four colorful stencils, and one brush.

Promising review: "I can not give these enough stars! These are the best thing ever, they keep my 5-year-old entertained for hours!" —turbo1795

Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in two versions).

I'm gonna go ahead and recommend wearing helmets too!

Promising reviews: "Great buy, fits the grandkids, great gift for toddlers who never sit still, she ran into walls with no harm just good fun with lots laughs." —Melissa M Murray

"Absolutely hilarious to watch! I got these for my kids (7 and 8) because i thought it would be a perfect way to blow off steam and get out some energy... It was great! They ran at each other pretty hard, but it didn't pop and no one got hurt! If your kids do a lot of bickering like mine do...Get these! 😅" —Sky

Get a pack of two from Amazon for $19.79.

Promising reviews: "My toddler loves these, they work very well and keeps her busy for a good hour." —Yasmine S.

"My 5-year-old nephew wanted a parachute so bad, but we didn't want him jumping off the roof of the house, so I found these toys and he LOVES them! The boys have contests and make up games on who's chute goes farthest or highest and they play play play! It's awesome!" —Amazon Customer

Get a pack of four from Amazon for $7.99+ (available in three styles).

Promising reviews: "My 3-year-old loves to play with his airplane in our backyard. It's become an almost daily activity. These are great airplanes. Well made and we love the way they do loops" —Sarah Y from Atlanta

"Wow!!! These things REALLY work as advertised!! To be honest, my expectations were pretty low. But I was very pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong! The looping mode is so awesome, the kids and adults were giddy with excitement! It’s also very durable — can handle hitting the ground pretty hard without taking any damage. Definitely best airplane toy I’ve ever played with." —kliles

Get a pack of two from Amazon for $9.49+ (available in two colors and different quantities).

Promising reviews: "They are great for young kids, especially toddlers to learn to throw a frisbee and the they don't hurt as much when you get accidentally hit with one. Recommend for all ages." —Karina

"I got these to help my grandson burn off some energy and we have such a great time with them! They're easy to use and glide so beautifully through the air. We have fun trying different ways to throw and catch them." —phausner

Get a pack of two from Amazon for $14.99 (available in seven color combos).

This set includes four high-flying stomp rockets and an adjustable rocket launch stand.

Stomp Rocket is a small business creating fun blaster toys that are powered by kids!

Promising reviews: "We got this for our toddlers (1- and 3-years-old) and they both love it so much. They are both able to assemble and play with it by themselves which is a huge bonus. Perfect toy for the price." —Nash

"The assembly is EXTREMELY easy. The rockets launch well above my two-story home that I have to make sure it’s not too close so one doesn’t land on the roof. It’s actually fun for the adults as well. My son loves to watch me really launch one. This is a great outside activity for any boy or girl. You don’t have to chase the kids around and they get plenty of exercise running to get the rockets after they’ve landed. Fun for everyone. Well worth the 20 bucks I spent on it." —Geno

Get it from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in four versions and rocket refill packs).

Mollybee Kids is a small, family-owned small business based in Pennsylvania.

Promising review: "A must-have. My 2-year-old son is obsessed. Always asks to play 'find you' game LOL. Then we play it and every option on the game he actually thinks really hard then says, 'Come on, Mommy,' and runs me through the house to find the object. Highly recommended from a mom of four." —Britney bansley

Get it from Amazon for $12.99 (available in three versions).

This comes with supplies to make five necklaces — five charms, five necklaces, and 150 beads.

Promising review: "My 4-year-old daughter and I just opened this up and made EVERY necklace, with plenty of beads to spare. May I just say how wonderful of a surprise this was. This is a great activity to have that special mommy-daughter time." —Jessica Richardson

Get it from Amazon for $12.99 (available in 15 other versions).

It can hold up to 250 lbs and can be used both indoors and outdoors (though reviewers note if you are going to use it outside try to stay away from concrete). Flybar is a small business that creates fun toys and activities for kids.

Promising review: "Our 4-year-old loves this toy! It's really fun for her and great for developing balance and large motor skills. The fact that it burns off some of her boundless energy is an extra plus. There's a built-in squeaker (which kids enjoy and adults learn to block out). Nice that it's an indoor/outdoor toy! Definitely a good value for the money." —L J Wessling

Get it from Amazon for $12.99+ (available in 16 colors).

Promising review: "I bought this flower garden as a gift for my 3-year-old daughter. She absolutely loves it! She has always enjoyed blocks and this is something different that has kept her engaged for hours! We highly recommend this product to others!!" —Ashley Petersen

Get it from Amazon for $14.98+ (available in five versions/sizes).

Promising review: "My two toddler boys LOVE this set so much! The container helps keep the mess contained. It's really cool how the dump truck has slots to make bricks with the sand. It's a great toy that has given my two boys endless amounts of joy." —Sophia

Get it from Amazon for $22.49.

Let Loose Moose is a small business creating fun toys and activities for kids.

Promising reviews: "I recently purchased a set of two of these for my rambunctious toddlers. Let me tell you it has done wonders to tire them out, save my poor white baseboards, and overall provide some entertainment for the whole family. Honestly at first I did not have much hope for these in regards to durability or the foam on the outside but I am pleasantly surprised! Also a two-pack at just under 19 bucks? I couldn't take more than one kid to the movie theatre for that let alone only get 1–2 hours of entertainment out of that! Worth every penny." —Joshua

"These are so fun! This is the perfect toy for my high-energy 8-year-old boy, he loves getting to play soccer in the house and I love that nothing gets broken. These work really well and are definitely a good value; it’s great that you get two with the purchase." —Britni

Get a pack of two from Amazon for $19.99 (also available as a one-pack and a deluxe version).

The reviews used in this post have been edited for length and clarity.