Shopping online for toys is convenient for a number of reasons. You have extensive catalogs to browse through along with doorstep delivery. There are chances you might even find some toys online that are difficult to find at a physical store. However, it can be difficult to settle for one toy store with the variety of options available.
Keeping this in mind, we have compiled some of the best online toy stores for your convenience.
Table of Contents
1. LEGO
LEGOs are a beloved and well-known toy for children of all ages. Their online store features various LEGO kits for children and adults alike. They even have a DUPLO series for younger children with smaller hands. LEGO is a very popular online toy store, and you will find various kits based on TV shows, video games, movies, and specific interests like science and history.
LEGO also offers its users a LEGO VIP program which provides discounts, rewards, and early access to new sets both online and at their physical store.
2. Toys”R”Us
Toys”R”Us is one the oldest and most popular toy stores in the US. They also have an online store where you can find the best-quality trending toys. You can shop for toys on the site, but it also has a lot more to offer. You can explore DIY play activities, toy reviews, as well as printable coloring pages.
3. Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy store that features toys and the popular board game Monopoly. You will find toys for children of all ages, and you can also shop by age. Hasbro has an extensive collection of dolls, action figures, toy vehicles, and dollhouses, to name a few.
4. Big Bad Toy Store
If your child loves action figures, Big Bad Toy Store is the online store for you. The store features thousands of action figures from shows, movies, video games, and anime. It is a family-owned business with a large warehouse as well as offsite storage.
5. Mattel
Mattel is the biggest toy store in the US and the creator of many iconic toys such as Barbie and Hot Wheels. They have inspired generations of children with a large worldwide fan base. The Mattel shop features various toys for multiple age groups such as dolls, action figures, building sets, and remote-control toy vehicles.
6. Playmobil
Playmobil is a famous toy store in the US, first created in 1974 by Hans Beck. Their toys are a classic in various playrooms and come in a variety of themes. The site features around forty different play themes that encourage creativity and imagination. The Playmobil store offers action figures and construction sets based on your child’s favorite movies and TV shows.
7. Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price is a toy store owned by Mattel that offers baby gear, baby toys, toddler toys, and preschool toys. Their site is easy to navigate, with toys sorted by brand, age, and category. They also feature numerous informative articles on their site that help you pick the right toys for your child.
8. HearthSong
HearthSong offers unique toys that are difficult to find elsewhere. They offer toys such as indoor mini-golf sets, obstacle course kits, puppets, construction sets, science toys, and craft materials. You can shop on their site by age, interests, and categories.
9. Fat Brain Toys
Fat Brain Toys is one of the top retail stores for educational or learning toys with a large selection. Their store contains various toys, sets, and games based on various interests such as history, geography, and science toys. Along with classic and retro toys, they also have a collection of toys for children with special needs.
10. Crate&kids
Crate&kids, previously called The Land of Nod, is a toy store that features a collection of quality one-of-a-kind toys and games. The Land of Nod was known for its unique toys, which are now available at Crate&kids. These toys include playhouses, craft materials, dolls, stuffed animals, and puzzles, to name a few.
11. Fishpond
Fishpond has an extensive collection of affordable toys and offers free shipping. They offer over a million toys for children of varying ages on their site.
Their collection includes dolls, action figures, construction sets, and musical toys, to name a few. You will find many small brands and well-known names like LEGO and American Girl on their site.
12. Tin Toy Arcade
If you are looking for vintage or classic toys, Tin Toy Arcade is the store for you. They have a large inventory of classic and retro toys, toy sets, vintage board games, and unique gifts. If you want to gift your child something unique, browse through their catalog to find the perfect gift. If you have a friend who loves collecting vintage toys, the Tin Toy Arcade is the ideal place to find their birthday gift.
13. Magic Cabin
The Magic Cabin offers a wide variety of toys for children of all ages. The toys are designed to foster creativity and imagination. They have everything from nesting dolls and wooden dollhouses to large outdoor water slides. The Magic Cabin is an excellent online store for indoor and outdoor toys.
14. Walmart
When you think of online toy stores, Walmart probably isn’t the first option to come to mind. However, they have a large collection of many popular toy brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Fisher-Price. Enjoy a discount on your child’s favorite toys with their frequent sales and coupon codes.
15. Target
Similar to Walmart, Target has an extensive collection of toys from top brands and toy stores. Their collection includes games, dolls, and construction sets to name a few. Target is known for its deals and discounts, so you can get your children all their favorite toys while still saving money.
16. Mary Arnold Toys
Mary Arnold Toys offers many top brands as well as unique toys. While their brick-and-mortar store is in New York, their online store offers a large collection of toys. The toys on their site include electronic toys, games, role-play toys, and active toys.
17. Hamleys
The first Hamleys store was created in Cornwall, England by William Hamley in 1760. It gained popularity over the years with multiple stores all over the UK. They offer a variety of toys, including popular brands such as LEGO and Playmobil. You can shop on their site by category, age, and brand.
18. Rogue Toys
Rogue Toys has a large inventory of vintage toys and collectibles. Their store opened in 2012 as a fun and nostalgic place for toy collectors and enthusiasts. Since then, their inventory has significantly grown, with a store in downtown Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon. They have a variety of vintage toys and retro videogames.
19. Timbuk Toys
Timbuk Toys is a local, independent toy retailer based in Denver, Colorado. They are a small business with four stores across the Denver metro area. They have the option to shop by category, brand, age, and price on their site. Another interesting feature on their site is how they group toys by the fundamentals of play.
20. Toy Universe
Toy Universe is one of the biggest toy stores in Australia and opened in 2011. They offer a variety of toys from big brands and other unique toys, puzzles, and games. Their site makes it easy to shop by categorizing toys according to age, brand, and interests. They also offer outdoor toys such as bikes and trampolines.
21. The Toy Store
The Toy Store has been in business since 1975, with a large variety of toys for children of all ages. Their online store categorizes toys by the skills they foster, such as imagination, creativity, and exploration. They offer LEGO sets, construction sets, stuffed toys, science toys, and outdoor toys, among many others.
22. Shop Disney
Disney is an integral part of everyone’s childhood, but did you know they have an online store that offers toys, fashion accessories, home accessories, and clothing? Their collection includes action figures, dolls, learning toys, play sets, and outdoor toys for children of various ages.
23. Clixo
Clixo offers modern, innovative toys that encourage children to think creatively. They come as a set of pieces made from durable, recyclable synthetic paper with attached magnets. Unlike plastic toys, these pieces have more flexibility and can be bent in many ways. You can order a set of your choice from their online store.
24. Toy Wiz
Toy Wiz is an online and physical toy store that has been in business for more than thirty years. They have a large collection of authentic collectibles, action figures, plush toys, and trading games. Their online store is easy to navigate, secure, and features great prices and guaranteed original items.
25. The Sensory Kids Store
The Sensory Kids Store was created to help parents of kids with developmental differences. Their online store features a carefully chosen collection of developmental, therapeutic, and sensory toys as well tools, furniture, equipment, aids, and sensory clothing. The Sensory Kids Store is dedicated to fulfilling the needs of special children.
26. KiwiCo
KiwiCo is an innovative venture to inspire children to think out of the box. They offer crates that include various tools and activities based on a particular interest. The crates are designed by experts, including educationists, psychologists, and child development professionals, and tested by children. They vary in complexity by age and foster creativity and imagination.
Buyer’s Guide
Toys are the key elements of play, an activity all children engage in where many important developmental milestones are met. Play is necessary for children to learn more about their world at their own pace. Similarly, toys are the tools of play, so the nature of your child’s toys varies by age. Even in prehistoric times, children had toys such as dolls and puppets. In current times, there are many types of toys that play a particular role in your child’s development.
Types of Toys
Toys provide entertainment, but they also serve various education roles. For example, some toys encourage problem-solving while others encourage social skills. The types of toys are as follows:
1. Dolls and Miniatures
Dolls are one of the oldest types of toys. They have been found in Egyptian tombs, dating all the way back to 2000 BC. Dolls are either modeled on humans, with human features, or as animals. Playing with dolls involves “pretend play,” which encourages social skills, language, empathy, and imagination.
A team of neuroscientists from Cardiff University found that playing with dolls activates brain regions associated with social information processing and empathy.
2. Vehicles
Miniature vehicles have been popular toys, even in Ancient Greece. In modern times, there are remote-control and wind-up toy cars, boats, aircraft, and trains. Toy vehicles encourage several skills in children, including the use of their fine and gross motor skills. They also teach children how things move in space, how much pressure to apply, and other cognitive skills.
3. Outdoor Toys
A large variety of toys play a role in active play. This includes balls, bikes, jump ropes, hoops, Frisbees, and yo-yos, to name a few. These toys encourage children to exercise, learn balance, and develop strong bones and muscles. Playing with balls and Frisbees also improves a child’s hand-eye coordination.
4. Construction Sets
A construction set contains separate pieces joined together to make a model. This includes train sets, LEGOs, and others. These toys develop children’s fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities. The simplest construction set is a group of wooden blocks painted with bright colors, often given to toddlers and babies.
5. Puzzles
Puzzles are toys that pose a problem that usually requires recognizing patterns and creating an order to reach a solution. They encourage problem-solving and reasoning among children. There are many kinds of puzzles, but picture puzzles and mechanical puzzles are the most popular. One of the most famous puzzles worldwide is the Rubik’s cube.
How To Choose Toys by Age
Just as your child’s other needs change with age, they require different kinds of toys to stimulate their developing brain. While simple toys are great for a toddler, they would be boring and easy for a five-year-old. Keeping this in mind, you need to pick the right toys based on the child’s age.
Birth to 1 Year
This is the age of exploration when children use their senses to learn more about their world. A child of this age will usually play by either grasping toys or putting them in their mouth. Toys are all about the senses they activate, with touch and taste being at the top of the list. Children will love brightly colored toys with bold patterns as they are eyecatching. Toys that make sounds or use light are also enjoyed at this age.
You can invest in the following toys at this age:
Ring Stack is a classic toy that features a cone with rings of various sizes that you can stack on top of each other. Ring stacks help children practice their fine motor skills and teach them about colors and numbers.
Nursery Mobiles hang above your baby’s crib and come in three basic designs. They either clip onto the side rails of your baby’s crib, attach to his stroller, or dangle from the ceiling. They stimulate your baby’s vision and develop his attention span.
Push-pull toys encourage large-muscle development and aid balance. They help children move on to walking without support because they work your child’s arm and leg muscles.
1 to 3 Years
The child’s awareness of the world is growing at this age, and a new kind of play is seen called “pretend play.” Children at this age like to mimic adults and will bauble into telephones and cook with toys. Physically, this is when the child learns how to walk, while language development also takes place. Children love interactive toys at two years, while the dolls, trucks, and cooking sets are preferred at three years.
The toys you should get your child at this age include:
Shape-sorting toys such as pegboard puzzles, nesting cups, and shape-sorting puzzles improve problem-solving and hand-eye coordination at this age.
Balls are very versatile since you can play with them in multiple ways. They aid the development of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and dexterity.
Pretend-play toys such as dolls, trucks, cooking sets, and stuffed animals encourage social and language development at this age. They help children mimic their adult parents and learn how the world works. The use of dolls, sock puppets, and stuffed animals can also teach children empathy.
3 to 5 Years
This is the age where children are highly imaginative and engage in “fantasy play.” The world is a magical place full of unlimited possibilities. Stack a few pillows together, and you have a castle! Children at this age also have imaginary friends. They also prefer connecting with others, so toys for group play are great for this age group.
The toys a child of this age would enjoy are:
Jigsaw puzzles encourage children to recognize patterns and understand spatial relationships. They encourage logical thinking and problem-solving.
Arts and Crafts are essential at this age since children have a lot to express. Activities such as coloring, drawing, using safety scissors to cut and paste increase creativity and self-esteem.
Simple Construction Sets that use blocks are a great gift. They encourage the child to think creatively since they construct anything of their choice.
5 to 9 Years
Children of this age group are developing their interests and also enjoy outdoor sports. They prefer toys that pique their interest, such as science kits and musical toys. Children are developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially during this time as friendships with peers become increasingly important.
The toys that children of this age would prefer are:
Card and Board games such as UNO, Monopoly, and Scrabble encourage strategic thinking, turn-taking, and fair play. They also promote emotional development when the child processes the feelings associated with winning and losing.
Science toys such as science kits, telescopes, binoculars promote discovery and imagination. They also encourage children to practice what they learn in the classroom.
Musical Instruments are a great gift for musically-inclined children at this age. They also encourage creativity in other children.
How To Buy Toys Online
When buying toys online, there are certain things you should keep in mind, such as :
1. Who
When buying toys for children, you should know about their age and preferences. Regardless of whether it’s your own child or a friend’s child, knowing the toys they like will aid you in making the right decision.
2. What
You should have a basic idea of the kind of toys you want to buy. This will save you time going through catalogs since you can use the filter options to find something specific. Even if you don’t know about the child’s preferences, some sites include various guides to help you choose the right toy.
3. Budget
When one actually goes toy shopping, it is surprising how expensive some toys can be. Establish a budget before you start, and don’t forget about taxes or shipping fees. If you are looking for a particular toy available on multiple sites, find the best deal available.
4. Read The Reviews
If you’re shopping from a small online toy store, be sure to read the reviews. Other buyers discuss the pros and cons of the toy in detail. Some reviews might even include information about the best way to use that particular toy. In either case, reading the reviews is essential for making an informed choice.
5. Deals and Discounts
Chances are, the toy you’re looking for is available on multiple sites. Keep an eye out for deals, discounts, and coupons. Some online retailers offer special discounts if you subscribe to their mailing list. Use these opportunities to find the best toys within your budget.
6. Safety
Ensure the company you’re buying from hasn’t had many recalls. The toys that you buy should be suitable for the age group the child is in. For example, toys with small parts are not suitable for children below three years of age.