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Mar 29, 2024

37 Toys That Kept Kids Entertained For Hours

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed collects a share of sales and/or other compensation

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

Busy kids = happy parents.

BuzzFeed Staff

BuzzFeed Staff

What Do You Meme? is a small business that sells card games/toys, plushies, and pool floats.

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: "If you wanna keep children busy for hours, get these. You can’t beat this price for that many and they are reusable and washable. Just rinse them and rub them under the water and they are like new again. Our 1- and 3-year-old love them. Highly recommend these products." —E2j2c4

Get a pack of six from Amazon for $9.97+ (also available in a pack of 16).

Promising review: "Super cute and easy to work for my 5-year-old. He loves that he can match mom now! It has games already installed, can take pictures, exercise, and lots more. Entertainment for HOURS!! And you can even change the watch face like an Apple Watch! So cool!" —Brittany

Get it from Amazon for $37.34+ (available in five colors).

Promising review: "This pen is SUPER COOL!!! My tweens are loving it! I actually am having fun with it too! I thought it is like a magical crayon!!! It is easy to use and you can create endless creations. You don't have to be an 'artist' to use. You just have to have a great imagination! Has kept my daughters entertained for hours. So happy with the purchases. Bought one for each of my daughters. Would recommend to anyone." —Whoopie Pie

Get it from Amazon for $69.99.

The set includes fuzzy sticks, pom-poms, wood pieces, felt, craft sticks, sequins, wooden discs and beads, plastic beads, jewel stickers, googly eyes, thread, scissors, and glue for endless crafty combinations! Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Promising review: "My 5-year-old granddaughter absolutely loved this gift from her old grandpa. Thoroughly entertaining, this 'library' provides many hours/days of critical thinking skills and creativity. She loves it — it was an excellent decision." —Brent

Get it from Amazon for $29.99.

Don't forget the markers and crayons!

Promising review: "My girls (2, 5) have spent hours and hours playing pretend in this castle. They work on decorating it gradually but often stop to just play. Easy to set up. Great price." —ElaFree

Get it the haunted house version for $39.99 and the fairytale version for $33.99, both from Amazon.

Promising review: "So fun! Our 2-year-old loves it. He is too young to build his own run but I enjoyed building one and he loves to drop the marbles down and watch them go. I like that they are transparent so you can see the marbles easily. Great quality too. I think this will grow nicely with him as well considering that I even had fun with it as an adult." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $39.99+ (available in three styles).

The wooden ice cream counter comes with eight ice cream scoops, six toppings, two cones, cup, scooper, tongs, wooden spoon, reusable menu card, and six pretend dollar bills.

Promising review: "My newly turned 3-year-old daughter instantly fell in love with this set! She loves seeing how high she can stack the ice cream cones and pretending to serve Mom and Dad her creations. She's been obsessed with climbing things around the house and we *desperately* needed a distraction to get her to stop, and this is working so far — she plays with this thing for HOURS!" —West Family

Get it from Amazon for $54.49.

Each kit comes with six garments, eight accessories, kid-friendly plastic needle, thread, a fox, and easy-to-follow instructions. For ages 5+.

Craft-tastic is a woman-owned small business based in Michigan. All there products are focused on teaching kids new skills and limiting screen time.

Promising review: "This craft was a hit! The fox was very easy to put together and it turned out so cute! You have to make the tutu by tying a bunch of knots but other than that all of the clothes are ready to go and do not require sewing! The fox came with a little fabric bag to conveniently store it for travel. The materials in the craft are good quality and hopefully will last a while. My daughter loved this little cute fox!" —Olivia O.

Get it from Amazon for $19.99 (also available in mouse, bunny, and koala versions).

Promising review: "Awesome, easy to use and learn drone that entertains me and my 2-year-old for hours. Very steady, fast, and with two long-lasting batteries with two chargers. I bump it into walls. Sometimes drops from 10-plus feet without issues. It goes pretty high outside without issues but I think it's intended as an indoor drone. Very sturdy. Bottom has soft plastic rubber pieces for soft landings and bumpers around blades help protect it. Love it!" —Laura Pena

Get it from Amazon for $31.99+ (available in two colors).

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

Promising review: "Excellent for learning! Must-have! Such a wonderful toy/puzzle! Similar in some way to tangrams. Great for stimulating thinking and problem solving. My 3-year-old's teacher was blown away by her working the puzzle so easily." —tigerhax

Get it from Amazon for $9.99.

The Peculiar Pets set includes: one dragon, one narwhal, one yeti, one unicorn, one sparkly scrub tub, one scrub brush, nine washable markers, one standing play mat, and an instruction sheet.

Promising review: "My daughter LOVES coloring, stickers, drawing, etc. so when I saw this prior to her fourth birthday, I thought she would enjoy it. It was a HUGE hit and it will regularly keep her occupied for an hour or so at a time coloring, cleaning, and coloring again (with only minor help when asked for more help cleaning and drying). Even my 6-year-old son who doesn't usually color or draw will join her periodically and seems to enjoy it. The markers are short and skinny, great for small hands." —a.b.

Get it from Amazon for $28.19.

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 review: "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 $20.99.

Promising review: "Our son is absolutely obsessed with our Dyson (the real one). Which is why we purchased this toy Dyson vacuum for his birthday. He's 2-years-old and he is really enjoying having his on 'working' vacuum cleaner!!! He seriously plays with it for hours during the day. Turning it on and off and pushing it through the house just like we use our real vacuum. I would buy this again! It was his favorite gift!." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $24.99+ (available in three colors).

The set includes 237 pieces, enough to make two adorable dogs and a fire hydrant.

Promising review: "This BrickHeadz build was perfect for my 7-year-old. It’s challenging enough to keep her focused but not frustrated. The end result is 2 adorable dog figures that are solid enough to play without breaking. Brilliant!" —CircleK

Get it from Lego for $8.99 (originally $14.99).

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 $19.99 (available in four colors).

Promising review: "Scissors skills are important both in and of themselves and because it strengthens the hand muscles to be used for learning to write. My 4-year-old LOVES this book. We received it this week and she has used it for a couple of hours each day. Many of the pages are cutting things out and putting them together (four-scoop ice cream cone, pizza with pepperonis, the components to build a house or a car, puzzles). We've used tape or glue to put the components together. This book is interesting enough to have caught the attention of my older children as well, although I make them let her do the cutting. :D Would make a great gift as it is so unique." —Mom of 7

Get it from Amazon for $7.99.

Promising review: "I ordered this for my 2-year-old's birthday who has Down syndrome. He absolutely loves putting things inside of other things. This toy out of many he received for his birthday was the absolute best. He will literally play for hours with it!! He definitely enjoys this!! Great buy, great toy!!! Y’all did amazing on this!!!!" —Ruthie Brenneman

Get it from Amazon for $27.95.

To win, players must get three circular pieces of their color in a row in either ascending or descending order; get the same-sized pieces in a row; or get three concentric pieces in the same space, but beware of other players attempting to block you!

Recommended for two to four players ages 8+.

Promising review: "Perfect game for all ages. My 8-year-old daughter, 12-year-old son, and 70-year-old mother enjoyed playing together for hours." —A. Rosen

Get it from Amazon for $19.85+ (available in two materials).

Promising review: "Best learning toy ever! My 1-year-old granddaughter absolutely LOVES this toy!!! We have played with it for hours on end. Great product. Well built and sturdy. Luv, luv, luv it!" —Kimberly Conrad

Get it from Amazon for $16.49.

The kit includes190 pieces, a solar panel, and detailed instructions.

Promising review: "I purchased this as a gift for an 8-year-old boy. He loves to build, loves robotics, dinosaurs, and Godzilla. :) He LOVES this set! He sits for hours on end, which is an amazing accomplishment for any 8-year-old, playing with and building all the different robot toys. And, this isn't just for little boys. A friends 8-year-old daughter loves them, the 48-year-old parent loves them, and the 75-year-old grandpa loves them. Fun for the whole family!" —MBC

Get it from Amazon for $20.76 (clip the coupon to save $5).

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! Additionally, this game is made by a small business!

Promising review: "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.

My preschooler is OBSESSED with making these necklaces and I love that it keeps her off the screen. She totes her creations around in the adorable carry case and enjoys making Mommy (and Daddy!) wear them.

Promising review: "My 3-year-old twins loved it, entertained for hours which is rare and so worth $7. Perfect for teaching coordination, color patterns, encourages creativity. The necklaces are a soft, stretchy material with a safe breakaway clasp but that also stays on well. I wore a necklace for hours around the house & didn't fall off. The beads are cute and a good variety of colors. Overall great project, loads of fun for toddlers." —Lyss

Get it from Amazon for $11.41+ (available in 17 styles).

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 $11.98+ (available in two sizes).

Endless Games is a small business!

Players must imagine the floor is made of lava and their only hope of survival is to spin the color wheel in order to find out which colored foam “safety stone” to jump to, while avoiding touching the floor — because that would mean certain death (aka the player loses).

Recommended for up to six players, ages 5+ (That being said, my 4-year-old understood the game right away and plays it at least once a week).

Promising review: "I purchased this game for my granddaughter's 5th birthday. Right after she opened it, we had to play it. No kidding, we literally played for hours. She just loved the game. It was really fun. The rules are simple and easy to follow. Even the adults had fun playing it. The one aspect of the game that my daughter really liked was the fact that you were standing & moving around, not just sitting. This game would be great for all ages. I could see older children liking it as well." —Book Worm

Get it from Amazon for $16.49.

The set includes 118 pieces.

Promising review: "Our son loves this little bus!! Came in his Christmas stocking ;-} First thing he wanted to build and played with it quite a bit — forgetting all about the larger Lego kits Santa brought. We all are impressed — it's pretty cute! Definitely a hit!" —MizzMo

Get it from Lego for $9.99.

Maximum weight is 260 pounds.

Promising review: "Very, very sturdy and easy assembly. We had a reunion and this swing kept the kids busy for hours. I definitely will be buying another." —msbakwudhic

Get it from Amazon for $57.99 (also available in a smaller size).

Promising review: "My sons (7 and 4) love Minecraft! I purchased this for my 7-year-old as a birthday present and we play almost every day. So easy to play that my 4-year-old can play too and doesn’t need to ‘be on a team.’ Hours of fun for such a simple game." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $6.44.

Promising review: "My 6-year-old son plays with this every day since we opened it up! He has brought it to the neighbors to show it to them and everyone thinks it's such a fun little toy with all the tricks it can do. I am quite impressed with how easily it glides from concrete to the grass, and over obstacles without getting stuck. Hours of fun! —Rebecca A

Get it from Amazon for $29.99 (available in two colors; clip the coupon on the product page to save 30%).

PSA: Make sure helmets are worn during bump-offs.

Promising review: "Great for the kids. The kids have been playing with this for hours. One of them even asked if they could sleep in it. It’s great for winter indoor fun. I highly recommend this product." —RyanAndFaith

Get it from Amazon for $19.99.

Promising review: "My 12-year-old and 6-year-old sit and play with it for hours at a time. It lights up. Not too big fits on a desk perfectly." —Kristina Chew

Get it from Amazon for $45.99.

The kit comes with the giant bubble wand, two pouches of bubble concentrate, and a booklet to help you become a skilled bubble creator! Also, Wowmazing is a small business.

Promising review: "Fantastic product!! My 8-year-old son played outside with them for two solid hours...unplugged...happy as can be! I definitely recommend and will buy again!." —Pxysis

Get it from Amazon for $15.95+ (available in seven styles).

This science kit includes 10 natural crystal-filled geodes, one pair of safety goggles, three display stands and one learning guide.

Promising review: "My daughter is 10 and this kept her busy for HOURS! She had so much fun and was excited every time she got a glimpse of what might be inside. A couple of them were pretty cool, while the rest were just white. She didn't care, she loves them all. She was so proud to gift them to her grandparents." —Michelle

Get it from Amazon for $29.99+ (available in three sizes).

Promising review: "My 3-year-old son loves this so much. He can sit at the table for hours building castles and then crushing them. It’s so good for creative play and he absolutely loves it." —JRae

Get it from Amazon for $21.99.

The set includes 80 building blocks and a storage bag.

Promising review: "My 2-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter absolutely love these! They spend hours playing with these and as a family me and my husband and the kids build things together. The great things about them is that they are large so they aren't a choke hazard. My daughter will sometimes try to put these in her mouth so we are happy that we don't have to worry about that with these jumbo-sized blocks. The blocks are colorful and are made of good-quality plastic so you don't have to worry about small pieces or worry about them breaking and being harmful. These are highly recommended and very much worth every penny. Probably the best toy I have bought for my kids in a while." —Dee

Get a set of 80 from Amazon for $16.

Promising review: "I purchased this tent for my granddaughter who is 4. She really loves it and spends hours playing in it with her dolls and baby sister." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $39.95+ (available in three colors; clip the coupon on the product page to save $6).

The set comes with translucent magnetic pieces to build 3D creations all day. Recommended for ages 3 and up. Magna Tiles is a small business!

Promising review: "Seriously the best gift we have ever gotten our son. He has these at his preschool and, since Christmas, at home too and he never tires of them. In fact he plays with these almost every day and his creativity astounds me. He learns so much about how to put things together and his imagination runs wild. He would play with these for hours if he could!!" —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $49.99 for a 32-piece set.

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