Best Christmas Toys of 2025: what's still worth it?
🌟 Toniebox 2 Classic Set | £110
🌟 Bluey Family Mega Celebration Home Playset | £80
🌟 LEGO Disney 101 Dalmatians Lucky & Penny | £20 £13
🌟 Bitzee Hamster Ball | £18
🌟 Sylvanian Families Skytop Fairy Castle | £62
The biggest Christmas toy trends for 2026
Portable versions of established favourites
Brands are taking toys parents already recognise and making them easier to use away from home. CATAN - On the Road turns the family board game into a 120-card standalone game. Toniebox Lite offers a smaller, lower-price version of Tonies' audio player. Yoto Mini 4th Gen has been toughened up for travel, while MAGNA-TILES microMAGS Travel Treehouse brings magnetic construction into a portable format.
Screen-free play is still doing the heavy lifting
Despite plenty of electronic toys on the lists, the strongest trend is not simply more screens. John Lewis is talking about a 'Great Play Revival', with collaborative building, role play, imaginative storytelling and family play all featuring heavily. Tonies, Yoto, CATAN, MAGNA-TILES, LEGO, Connetix, Plus-Plus and traditional wooden role-play toys all fit that mood.
Nostalgia is everywhere
Tickle Me Elmo is back for 2026. Mini Brands has a tiny working vinyl player. Pokémon is heading into a major anniversary year. Meccano is leaning into premium construction. CATAN and Articulate have new formats. In other words, quite a few gifts this year may make parents say, 'Oh, I remember that,' before the child has even opened the box.
Interactive toys are getting bigger... and stranger
furReal Gabby the Grow & Roar Tiger, Primal Hatch Megalodon, Peppa Pig Ready, Pedal, Go Peppa and other interactive toys show that movement, sound and reveal play are still key Christmas hooks. The better examples have a clear play pattern beyond the initial novelty.
Big licences will do a lot of the selling
Toy Story 5, Bluey, Peppa Pig, KPop Demon Hunters, Pokémon, Paddington and The Gruffalo all appear across retailer predictions. This is good news if your child has a firm favourite, and less good news if they discover said favourite two days after every retailer has sold out.
Kidult gifting keeps growing
The Entertainer's number one pick is an 18+ Meccano Aston Martin F1 model. John Lewis includes LEGO Icons. These are toys, technically, but they are also adult gifts, display pieces and quiet proof that Christmas toy shopping is no longer just about preschoolers and primary-school children.
For the most popular toys, you may want to consider buying sooner rather than later. Whilst prices can fluctuate on the run-up to Christmas, it's unlikely you’ll see any huge discounts on toys that are selling fast.
You can sign up for price alerts and notifications across stores such as Amazon and Argos. However, there is a genuine risk that the most in-demand items will sell out long before December. If the toy is at the top of your child’s Santa wishlist, you may not want to take that risk.
Should I order Christmas toys online?
Ordering online can certainly take the pressure out of Christmas shopping and allows you to pick up your toys discreetly and without having the kids in tow. Many brands offer free postage with a minimum spend, so when you factor in the cost of parking at your local shopping centre, it’s often the cheaper option too.
A word of warning, however - be careful if you have an Alexa at home. Whilst notifications are hidden when ordering close to Christmas, this isn't done as standard in earlier months. Be careful surprises aren't ruined by curious kids!
How can I save money on Christmas toys?
Firstly, check out our Mumsnet Christmas forum for the bargain-hunting threads. Secondly, keep an eye out for deals as the countdown to Christmas continues - there are always huge discounts on toys across several top retailers around Black Friday.
It pays to shop around too. Toys can vary in price between retailers so it's worth checking a few sites before committing to your choice, factoring in any additional postage charges and delivery time frames before you checkout.
This Christmas, you may want to set a budget and stick to it. Remember that for many young children, too many toys can be overwhelming. You can most likely cut back without reducing their level of enjoyment. Many families are also making kids aware of the cost of living crisis, explaining that even Father Christmas’s budgets may be a little tighter this year.
Where can I donate toys this Christmas?
There’s no doubt that this Christmas is going to be tough for many families. If you’d like to help others have a magical Christmas, you can donate toys to others using the following schemes:
Birmingham Children’s Hospital - The Celebration Toy Fund purchases toys and games specifically for children who are staying in hospital over Chrsitmas, Diwali or Eid. Donate here.
Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal - donate new, unwrapped toys and gifts for children who might not otherwise receive a Christmas present. Find your local centre here.
Kids Out Charity - helps kids seeking refuge from domestic abuse. Learn more here.
Action for Children - an annual secret Santa to help vulnerable children. Learn more here.
About the author
Jenny Wonnacott is a Baby & Child Content Editor at Mumsnet, specialising in writing, editing and optimising several content pages related to all stages of parenting and pregnancy. As a parent of three school-aged children, Jenny is passionate about making Mumsnetters' lives easier through rigorous research of all items recommended in reviews and buyers' guides such as this one.
Jenny has been the editor of the Best Christmas Toys page since 2023 and has attended several toy-focused trade events over the last few years with a focus on finding and testing the best toys for kids of all ages. She also edits several key toy-focused pages for Mumsnet, including the best family board games and the best kid's Advent calendars.
How we chose our recommendations
We regularly scour newly released Christmas 2026 toy prediction lists from top retailers and update our guides as soon as they’re available. We also keep a close eye on recommendations and insights shared by parents on the Mumsnet forums. In particular, we looked for toys that children already own and love, as well as those topping Christmas lists for this year. By combining these real parent experiences with a touch of insider industry knowledge, we’ve pulled together our guide to the best Christmas toys.
Why you should trust us
Mumsnet’s Talk boards have been the go-to place for parents to share their Christmas List Plans of Attack for over two decades. Our members are brilliant at sparking ideas and offering tried-and-tested tips on where and when to find the best deals.
Here at Mumsnet HQ, we’ve also built strong links with the biggest retailers and manufacturers, so we always have an eye on what’s new - and which products are set to top Christmas lists this year.