Mom Approved Finds
Small enough for a stocking, cheap enough to buy a few, and the kind of thing that actually gets played with in January — not shoved under the couch on December 26th.
Prices change often — tap through to see the current price on Amazon.
Color it with plain water, let it dry, and the pages reset themselves. No markers to lose, nothing to wipe off the table. One of those things that lives in a diaper bag for a year.
See it on AmazonThey stretch, snap together and make a satisfying pop. Eight of them means you can split the pack across a stocking, a party favor bag, and the glove box.
See it on AmazonStill costs about what it did when you were a kid, and toddlers are still weirdly fascinated by it. Hard to beat for the price of a coffee.
See it on AmazonDraw, press the button, it clears. No ink, no paper, no mess. Four in a pack means one for the car, one for the diaper bag, one for the stocking, and a spare for when the first one disappears.
See it on AmazonTiny, quiet, and they fit in a pocket. Good for the ten minutes between ordering and the food arriving, which is the hardest ten minutes of the week.
See it on AmazonFive hundred stickers is a lot of quiet time for the money. Stash the sheets and hand them out one at a time instead of all at once.
See it on AmazonThe word doing the heavy lifting here is washable. A big count means you're not policing which colors are left, and the short barrels suit small hands.
See it on AmazonThey spin, float and stick to the tub wall, and there's no hole for water to sit in — which is the part that matters if you've ever squeezed a bath toy and regretted it.
See it on AmazonPull them back, let go, they take off. Small enough to live in a purse permanently and cheap enough that losing one under a car seat isn't a tragedy.
See it on AmazonChunky wooden pieces, one animal per puzzle, eight in the set. Good for the age where a 24-piece puzzle is still a meltdown waiting to happen.
See it on AmazonBuying for a few kids? Most of these come in multipacks, so one order can cover a stocking, a birthday party favor bag, and the emergency gift you forgot about.
Save this list somewhere you'll find it in December.
Also here: 6 under-$25 finds that made my kitchen feel twice as big →