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Ages 3 and under

1-2-3 Build It! Car, Boat, Plane

1-2-3 Build It! Car, Boat, Plane

$19.99

The pieces go together to form a car, boat or a plane. Most kids didn't pay any attention to this bare-bones build-it toy. The age on it is listed at 2 and up, but we suspect it takes kids a little older to create the actual vehicles.

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Other toys for ages 3 and under

Paw Patrol Playland Ball Pit

A Trolls version of this blow-up ball pit was a top pick last year, so we thought we'd try the popular "Paw Patrol" version this year. The kids loved throwing the balls around but didn't spend quite as much time in it this year, though nearly all kne...

$19.99

Crayola Kids@Work giant crayon with blocks

Even if your kids never play with the 80 easy-to use blocks inside, they may like this giant 36-inch crayon case because it just looks cool. Our testers loved playing with the blocks and the parents liked the ease (and style) of the storage.

$37.99

1-2-3 Build It! Car, Boat, Plane

The pieces go together to form a car, boat or a plane. Most kids didn't pay any attention to this bare-bones build-it toy. The age on it is listed at 2 and up, but we suspect it takes kids a little older to create the actual vehicles.

$19.99

People Blocks 31-piece set

Though the parents loved the idea of this blocks set where you line up magnets to build trains, animals, people, the kids used it more as just plain building blocks, which means it could be a toy that grows with them.

$59.99

Leap Frog Scoop and Learn Ice Cream Cart

All the kids in this group had a blast pretending to serve ice cream to their parents, and they loved pushing the cart around. And when older kids came over, they used the recipe cards to put together specific, and sometimes complicated, orders. Bry...

$39.99

LeapFrog 2-in-1 LeapTop Touch

Little ones 2-5 can be just like mom, dad or big brother or sister. Learn about letters, numbers, music and more with this device that changes from a laptop to a touch screen tablet. Kids seemed to go toward this, but the sound in the room was too mu...

$19.99

Fisher-Price Lion Piano

A few of the kids banged around on this cute lion piano, but with so much noise going on few played on it for long. It features 16 demo songs, four animal noises and play/record/stop functions. "Otis liked it," said dad Ryan Luke, "but I think at 18 ...

$19.99

Disney Princess Magical Wand Palace by Little People

Cinderella and Rapunzel play in this interactive set that recognizes each Princess and plays familiar phrases. Wave the wand to make lights and music happen. Girls from the 4-5 age group seemed to play with this toy more than the kids in this group. ...

$49.99

My First Thomas & Friends Railway Pals Destination Discovery

This interactive, expandable train set for toddlers includes more than 50 sounds, songs and educational phrases. Otis took to it quickly and loved playing on it. "I feel this is a great introduction to Thomas and train track play," said dad Ryan.

$49.99

Kids@Work Tonka Tow 'N Go Tuff Truck

Kids can play with the truck or the 25 blocks that come inside or both, stacking the blocks on the truck. The blocks from this quickly got jumbled with the blocks from the crayon, but kids just loved putting things together.

$39.99

VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels Race & Play Adventure Park

The VTech Go! Go! toys always do well in our testing. The figures fit in little hands, and the movements and sounds enchant kids. This year's entry, the Race & Play Adventure Park thrilled the kids with its cars that zoomed down ramps or popped up on...

$39.99

VTech Pop-a-balls Bulldozer

Several kids got a kick out of this bulldozer they could push around and move the handle to pop balls back and scoop them into its bucket. Bryce's mom, Heather Coachman, said it reminded her of Hungry Hungry Hippos, "and he was never into that."

$24.99

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Meet our testers

Bryce Coachman, 2, Florissant

Scarlett Schroeder, 3, South St. Louis County

Otis Luke, 2, St. Louis

Camren Griffin, 5, St. Louis

Gabriella Cook, 5, Florissant

Hannah-Michael Hubbard, 4, Creve Coeur

Vincenzo Wilson, 5, Shiloh

Kylee Batty, 7, St. Louis

Levi Draper, 6, Florissant

Matthew Carlson, 6, Collinsville

Rylie Sparks, 7, Sullivan

Ali Geminn, 9, Edwardsville

Hayden Hewgley, 10, Fenton

Rylan Wilson, 10, St. Louis