Making a List? Check Out The Best Toys, Games and Gadgets of 2025

Scout Life’s testers have been busy building, racing, squishing and sliming their way through some of the coolest toys and games of the year. They’ve picked their absolute top picks to help you make your holiday wish list.

From roaring dragons and speedy RC cars to creative crafts and laugh-out-loud games, these are some of the best toys, games and gadgets of 2025!

F1 FUN

Build it, then race it! After putting together 215 bricks to create the Formula 1 RC Race Car, give it a spin with the handheld remote control. What’s really cool is that the bricks work with most building-block brands, so you have even more ways to be creative. ($24.99, alphatoys.com)

Or you can put together 414 bricks to build the Wise Block RC Racing Car, and then use the 4-way remote control to give it a spin. ($36.99)

DRAGON ACTION

Our 6-yearold tester “absolutely loves” How to Train Your Dragon: Tame and Train Interactive Toothless. The little guy comes to life with more than 60 reactions, movements and sounds. As you feed Toothless his favorite snack, you earn his trust and he becomes tame. You can also unlock different games to play with him along the way. ($54.99, spinmaster.com)

HEAD IN THE CLOUDS

Ever have fun looking for shapes in clouds? Well, here’s a game all about that! With A Daily Cloud, take a card with the picture of a cloud, sketch the image you see in it, swap cards and write comments about other players’ sketches. Then vote on whose comments are the best, whether they’re funny, silly or inspiring. Our 11-year-old players agree it’s “a lot of fun and keeps things interesting.” ($26.95, mindware.orientaltrading.com)

GET THE PARTY STARTED

Throw a dance party or just chill with the Jam Time wireless speaker. Its lights change colors to the beat of the music. There’s a microphone for karaoke, and you can pair speakers with the Party Plus mode. The 60-foot range and four-hour battery life will help keep the fun going. ($39.99, iliveelectronics.com)

IN-HOUSE BALL

With Keepy Uppy Ollyball, you can play ball in the house! It’s designed not to break windows or leave marks on Mom and Dad’s walls. Play soccer, volleyball and more with the 12-inch ball. It comes with a straw that makes it easy to inflate and deflate. ($19.99, ollyball.com)

HITS THE SPOT

Popdarts Rookie is “a huge winner!” report our testers, ages 5, 10, 12 and 14. The game is fun and easy: Place the target on a flat surface and throw the suction darts at it. You earn points based on how many darts stick to the surface and how close they are to the target. The set comes with a carrying bag, a scoring app to download and more. ($24.99 per each two-player pack, popdartsgame.com)

GET CREATIVE

Whether writing or art (or both) is your thing, you’ll be ready to go with the Creative Dot Journaling Kit. You’re supplied with a hardcover dotted journal, 12 fineliner color pens, stencil sheets, 100 stickers, six rolls of washi tape and more. ($28.95, paperage.co)

JUST KEEP SKIPPING

Bad weather day? Bring the action inside with Skip It. Our 12-year-old tester says it takes a while to get the hang of it, but then it’s “super fun!” He also says to make sure you have plenty of space to play. With the padded ring on your ankle, swing the unit around and skip over the tubing as it circles. The digital display counts each skip, and the sound effects, colorful lights and encouraging words like “New record set!” keep you going. ($19.99, justplayproducts.com)

OODLES OF FUN

As they say, “S’NOODLES are oodles of crafting fun!” All you do is dampen, dab and stick them together to make your own colorful creations. It’s easy and fun, and your parents will be glad to hear they’re also mess free. Cool bonus: They’re made from corn, so S’NOODLES are biodegradable. ($9.99, schylling.com)

SLIME TIME!

Go hands-on with the Disney Stitch Slimy Creations Studio. It comes with everything you need to mix, mold and decorate slime designs. Our 11-year-old tester says, “This kit is fun and very organized. I recommend it especially to new slime users.” The studio includes molds, colorants, beads, Stitch-themed confetti and storage containers, and more. Oh, and tell your parents not to worry: Cleanup is easy. ($19.99, target.com)

JURASSIC JOY

Tap the egg and watch your Jurassic World Primal Hatch encounter begin! After your T. rex hatches, it’s up to you whether it becomes friend or foe. Train it with the included clicker and food accessory, and you’ll experience its 100-plus sounds and reactions, including light-up eyes. Play lots of different games with it, hear dinosaur stories and throw a dino dance party! ($64.99, spinmaster.com)

THE TOP OF THE TOPS

Battling tops have never been more fun than with the Infinity Nado Stadium. The Fury Wave Dragon and Blazing War Bear set includes two sword launchers that help with your aim. Our 12-year-old testers say, “It’s cool that you speed up the glowing nados using the sword launchers to get them ready to spin. Six out of five stars!” ($45.45, amazon.com)

AQUA-MAZING

After building the 125-piece Aqua Maze Marble Run, use the scoop to pour water and floating marbles through the top spouts. The wheels will spin, water dumpers will dump and the whirlpool vortex will whirl, taking the marbles along for the ride. There’s a waterproof mat to place under the maze, but you’ll still want to take it all outside. ($45.95, mindware.orientaltrading.com)

INFO IN MOTION

Watch the animal kingdom come alive with the Virtual Reality Animals! kit. It comes with a VR headset, 96-page DK book and scratch art. Download the app on a phone, place the phone in the headset and see the book’s pages come to life with info on hundreds of animals. You can activate more than 40 different VR experiences. (If animals aren’t really your thing, Abacus offers lots of different VR kits, everything from Bill Nye’s Science Kit to Penn & Teller’s Magic Lab and ESPN.) ($59.99, abacusbrands.com)

POP-UP DIY

Get creative with the 3D Tunnel Book. This craft kit comes with everything you need to make your own pop-up book. Paint the figures and assemble them for eye-popping page displays. The newest sets are space-, pond- and ocean-themed. ($39.97, eyeconnectcrafts.com)

GAME MASHUP

With Foros, 3D tic-tac-toe meets Connect 4. Arrange wooden blocks on a board in different directions — even vertically — to get four in a row. Our 11-year-old reviewer reports, “Just like it says on the box, it takes only 10 seconds to learn to play. It’s fun and easy to teach others.” Three different gameplay options keep it fresh. ($39.99, dorentoys.com)

KEEP ON (MINI) TRUCKING

Calling all collectors! You’ll want to check out the Hess 2025 Mini Collection. This year’s set includes five different pieces: a miniature toy truck with helicopter, mini tanker truck and mini toy truck with dragster. ($39.99, hesstoytruck.com)

GAMES AND MORE GAMES

With the Carrom Multi-Game Board, you get more than 85 — yes, you read that right, 85! — different game variations. Perfect for family night, you can play everything from checkers to shuffleboard to backgammon. It’s pricey, but the board is sturdy and handcrafted from real hardwood. ($129.99, carrom.com)

A BIG SLICE OF FUN

Our 6-year-old tester played the Pizza Pie Game with her family, and she says they had a blast! You work together with your team to match pizza and pie flavors. And when we say “pie,” we really mean it. There are apple, strawberry, banana cream and more pie flavors to match up! ($26.95, mindware.orientaltrading.com)

STOCKING STUFFERS

Get surprises with each Marvel Doorables Action Peek. Open the capsule doors to discover four of 50 collectible figures from Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers, Spider-Man and much more. The capsules also double as displays. ($9.99, justplayproducts.com)

The new special-edition Duncan Butterfly XT yo-yo collection features Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. Geared toward beginners and intermediate players, this yo-yo gives the kind of spin you need for lots of different tricks. It’s also built for easy knot removal and snappy returns. ($14.99, duncantoys.com)

Cross furry friends and bouncy balls, and you get Beanie Bouncers! Throw, juggle, dribble and cuddle these super-soft collectibles. Designs include everything from animals to Harry Potter and DC Universe characters. ($5.99, shop.ty.com)

The Lite-Brite Touch Mini is fun-on-the-go. Get creative with 25 light-ups in seven different colors. It comes with three games: Lite Tac-Toe, Lite Remember and Lite Dot-to-Dot, great for playing solo or with friends. ($9.99, basicfun.com)