38 Toys & Activities To Keep Your Kids Off Screens

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.

They won't even remember they have an iPad after they've been playing with their new telescope or flower-building set for hours.

BuzzFeed Staff

Watch this mom explain why Globbles are her "new favorite thing ever" on TikTok.

Promising review: "My 15-year-old asked for these after seeing them on TikTok. I got them as a stocking stuffer thinking they’d be tossed aside. Unbelievably he and his 17-year-old brother have spent time laying in the floor, tossing them up to the ceiling, and waiting for them to fall so they can catch them. I never expected them to get this much use. Bonus is they’re off their phones and in the family room with us." —Amazon Customer

Get a set of six from Amazon for $10.69.

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).

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.

Also great as cake toppers and party bag favors!

Promising review: "HI, we were quite amazed at the variety of dinosaurs included in our pack. We expected the usual three but got quite a variety of dinosaurs and we got three or more of each. The colors were fantastic. Bright vivid blues and greens and purples. The size was relatively small which worked well as my daughter used them as homemade Valentines for her friends. Overall, we were very happy with our purchase." —H. Bowen

Get it from Amazon for $15.99.

As one reviewer notes, it's technically an alicorn (due to the wings) and not just your run-of-the-mill unicorn. You just leveled up on your mythical creature knowledge.

Promising review: "My grandbaby absolutely loves this. He jumps around the house allowing for some exercise time and he hops his little energy out. Then he cuddles with it like a teddy bear. Super easy to put together and just as easy to clean." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $29.99 (also available in a cow version).

Promising review: "This is another great toy by learning resources. I bought this for my daughter when she was 2. Now 3 she still plays with it daily. She loves punching the numbers in, but her favorite part is the open button that ejects the spring-loaded drawer. I put the coins away until she is older because I fear she will choke on them. She loves the paper money and pretend credit card. I can see her and my son playing with this toy for at least 10 more years. It is very durable. She has dropped it many times and it hasn't skipped a beat. The plastic is high quality. I would definitely buy this product again." —Ecinoderm4u

Get it from Amazon for $40.56.

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: "My kids (ages 3.5 and 5.5) love this telescope! They kept saying it’s so cool as they looked through all the different images of space, planets, and stars. They are at an age where they are starting to get really curious about the solar system so they ask a ton of questions. We love how this talking telescope teaches them five facts about each image. The telescope is the perfect size for preschoolers and it is the perfect way to introduce them to space. I love how after they have learned everything, there is a quiz mode (with five questions for each image!) that they can do. Also, it is pretty cool that the audio can be switched to four different languages and the guide is also multilingual. The telescope is high quality and durable and I know my kids will be using this for a while. It is also teaching them to take turns and share since they have to wait their turn. Highly recommend for your toddlers and preschoolers as they start to learn about the solar system." —JC Mommy

Get it from Amazon for $35.

The stickers feature letters, numbers, vehicles, butterflies, deep-sea life, animals, fish, dinosaurs, and more.

Promising review: "My 1.5-year-old is obsessed with these. Not sticky enough to do any damage but can also be reused a few times." —Katie Merkatoris

Get a pack of 20 sheets from Amazon for $6.99.

Promising review: "Our son is addicted to our vacuum. So much so that he makes a mess just so he can watch the vacuum clean it up. Thank the heavens for this little vacuum. It looks just like our Dyson and is the perfect size for our little man (18 months now, 15 months when we bought it). It fits his hand perfectly, makes noise, and actually vacuums fine (not very well, but enough to where we have to empty every week or so). Nevertheless, this product is very durable. It has been dropped down our wooden steps more times than I can count with zero issues. Completely satisfied." —Tom W.

Get it from Amazon for $29.99.

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 $54.99.

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

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 koala, bunny and mouse designs).

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 $20.34, and get a kids helmet for $28.58+ (available in two sizes and nine colors; suitable for ages 2–14).

Promising review: "Y’all, talk about a throwback gift! I got this for my daughter for Christmas in 2019 — and within the first day she and I both played with it for hours! To say it’s her favorite might be an understatement. And it totally takes you back to your childhood. Get it you won’t regret it!" —Danielle Lavender

Get it from Amazon for $12.99.

The kit includes 190 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 friend's 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.

Promising review: "This item was exactly what I needed for some of the younger children because handling the rubber bands helps develop their fine motor muscles. It also encourages imagination and creativity and counting. They make designs and love it. For older ages there are cards with designs for them to try and duplicate. Young children can also make shapes and letters thus developing math and literacy skills. This is a sturdy, well-made geoboard." —Kathleen Loden Barbuti

Get it from Amazon for $21.99.

The loom comes with an oversized wooden needle, craft materials, an illustrated design booklet, and 91 yards of rainbow yarn. Recommended for ages 6+.

Promising review: "My granddaughter loves it. She is 8 years old and had no problem watching a YouTube video and getting started. She is on her third project and can do this without any help. I have purchased other looms that where not as user-friendly and are collecting dust. Great loom, would not hesitate to buy it." —lily

Get it from Amazon for $42.99.

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, and 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 and 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 $11.34+ (available in 17 styles).

The track includes a toy police car, ambulance, and fire engine.

Promising review: "You know how you want to give gifts that are educational and fun? Gifts that encourage kids to explore and figure things out for themselves through play? Gifts that do not involve screens or videos or batteries, that do not flash or make annoying noises or 'talk' in a squeaky voice that sets the dog to barking? This is the gift you want to give. Easy to assemble, fun for adults to play with before wrapping, perfect for little kids upon opening. A little challenging for the 2-year-old to always keep the cars on the tracks and to line up the car with the helicopter for pickup, but something to learn and grow into. The 4-year-old declares it his favorite toy. This grandma loves it because it's kid-powered, appealing, and sturdy, and who doesn't love to push buttons, turn cranks, and close up a drawbridge. Very pleased I found this and broke my rule about no plastic gifts!" —Kindle Customer

Get it from Amazon for $22.99.

Promising review: "My 3-year-old son had an old toy drill that recently stopped working and he asked me for a new one. This little set caught my eye, so I bought it and he loves it! I love that they put a little window on the side of the drill to show the gears inside spinning. Nice touch to show curious minds how these things work internally. Fits little hands perfectly and he’s been assembling and disassembling this rocket at least a couple of times a day since we got it! The little astronaut characters are cute and can lock into spots inside the rocket (like Lego pieces). Another nice touch is that the box that the set comes in doubles as a space backdrop to play with or display on a bookshelf or table." —CK

Get it from Amazon for $15.97.

Uncle Goose is a Michigan-based small business that specializes in making wooden block toys made in America.

Promising review: "I got these blocks and the planet and moon phase sets for my 3-year-old who loves all things space. He loves them, he counts all the stars on the constellations and carries them everywhere. They are a good size for building and seem sturdy but we've only had them about a week so I'll update if they don't hold up well, I like that the images are all painted on and not stickers." —Melissa

Get it from Amazon for $27.

Promising review: "I bought these for my 4-year-old nephew and 2-year-old niece for when they come to visit. Right out of the box, they were excited and loved tossing them up in the air and watching them fall. I was amazed as to how long it kept their interest and the different ways they played with them. They dropped them off the stair landing, off the couch, in the yard and held them behind them to expand as they ran. My niece liked 'dancing' with them and twirling it around. Good colors and very well made. Hours of fun and the best $7 I ever spent on a toy!" — hiker0811

Get a pack of four from Amazon for $8.99.

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 $19.99+ (available in four sizes).

Promising review: "I purchased this as one of my stepson's birthday presents this past fall. He just turned 8, and I was trying to get some more outside toys to play with. I thought that he'd enjoy it, but I had no clue how popular this freakin' toy would be. All of our kids, ages 2–8, LOVE this thing and so do all of the neighbor kids. It is played with every single time the kids are outside, sometimes for hours. I have never seen my kids play with ANYTHING for hours, but they sure do with this. Taking it out guarantees that every kid under the age of 12 will appear in our yard." —TheLeeFamily

Get it from Amazon for $19.97+ (available in two styles).

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 $25.22+ (available in two styles).

Promising review: "My daughter and I are learning how to play the guitar together. Even if we don't become rock stars the quality time we are spending together is all the justification I needed to make the purchase. The strings are perfect for her little fingers." —JSpriggins

Get it from Amazon for $89 (available in six colors).

Promising review: "Received this as a gift for my 4-year-old and he LOVES it and could spend an hour with it at a time. It has become an outdoor toy, due to not wanting sand in my house — it’s definitely cleaner than regular sand, but let’s be realistic, it’s still sand so it does have the potential to get out of the box. Love the case for it, it closes up tightly. The trucks and molds are cute. We also got the two expansion kits, which are great, as well. I do suggest getting an extra bag of sand." —Sam I Am

Get it from Amazon for $23.99.

Includes: wooden tool box, hammer, screwdriver, wrench, three sets of screw and screw caps, board connector, two gears and plastic nail. It may also be one of the toys that'll make the kids put down the iPad.

Promising review: "After watching his dad and me put together his new toddler bed, my son got super excited over 'helping' to fix things, but of course letting him use real metal tools wasn’t something I wanted to do just yet...so I was trying to choose between a plastic set of tools that were cartoonish styled, and this wooden set that was a little more expensive. I am soooo glad I got this set instead! It’s not been out of the box more than 30 minutes, and he has learned how to hammer in 'nails,' take them out again with the back of the hammer, use a wrench and screw driver in tandem to work a 'screw' and 'bolt,' as well as put gears on the side of the kit so that they spin each other. The tools are all very well made but not heavy, so there’s no fear of him breaking stuff if he decides to run around hammering things." —Khestra

Get it from Amazon for $20.48.

Promising review: "Obsessed with this toy. My daughter loved it as a baby in 2009, and now my third still loves it. Calms him down when a little fussy. A must-have for any parent." —JK

Get it from Amazon for $9.99.

Promising review: "My kids love this Bluey house. It was cheaper to buy this set than the house on its own with the separate barbecue and family sets. My kids play with it all the time and they can be a little rough on the toys. They’ve held up extremely well although we’ve only had the set for a couple of weeks. Mine was packaged in a separate box so the contents were hidden (which was great since my kids always come with me to the door)." —jmb

Get it from Amazon for $59.99.

Promising review: "I purchased this specifically for my best friends' kids and they love it! They also enjoy the included mailbox and envelopes to deliver! If you're searching for a ride on that sparks imagination, then this one is a great choice! I've purchased ride-ons before but none of them had the advanced features that this product does. Not only does it have working headlights and a horn, but it even has a FM radio/MPS player input! The tires seem to have decent traction too. The instructions for assembly were clear. Some of the parts came pre-assembled, such as the spacers on the wheels. (So if you think you are missing a part, simply double check the product pieces.) It feels sturdy and will work really well for the recommended ages!" —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $280.25.

Promising review: "All I can say is WOW!!! As an original Polly Pocket fan from back in the day I would have DIED to get this as a kid! There are soooo many fun surprises in this thing! My daughter couldn’t believe her eyes! You get so many versatile pieces — there’s all kind of cute little things you can put on necklaces or rings (anything with the little heart on the bottom can go on a ring) my little one plays with this all the time and loves switching out her jewelry with the different little pieces! The only con is be careful when you open it — there’s tons of confetti in the things! So make sure you are over a trash can or have the vacuum ready :)." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $25.99.

Promising review: "Got this for my niece who was 4, and she could play with this for hours. She put her blanket over it, made flags, turned it into a wand, and a bunch of other versatile ways to play. It’s a great buy if you want to keep the kid busy for hours. It’s a bit challenging at times to get it disassembled, but it was super fun for her. Easy to store back in the bag or box." —S. Cheung

Get it from Amazon for $38.72.

Promising review: "I gave this to my 7-year-old nephew for his birthday. He wanted to open shortly after and we worked together on the spaceship. Turned out great! (Even though we had to go back and refold a couple of times. 😉) Durable paper plus it was pretty easy to follow once you got the hang of it. It's nice that because of the printed paper it feels like you've got something before you even start, which is encouraging. The end product is really cute!" —Jodie Jurgens

Get it from Amazon for $9.58.

Promising review: "My 3-year-old grandson has one of these, and when I brought my granddaughter over to his house to play, she immediately fell in love with this toy. I had to buy her one for her fourth birthday and this became her favorite toy at her party. The crockpot talks to the kids, tells them what to put in it and counts with them, and does other activities. For some reason, it captivates the children and they love it." —Laura Zennie

Get it from Amazon for $21.99.

Includes five Play-Doh colors.

Promising review: "This is a great Play-Doh set. Super adorable, LOVE how you can fill the pan with 'cake batter,' then lock it into the stove and use the lever to make the cake 'rise.' The kids are thrilled with it. Couple of things to note: Make sure the cake pan is locked into the oven by sliding its lower edge under the notches. After pulling the lever, you need to put it back into its original position BEFORE trying to open the oven door. Don't force it or it could break. Also note that the set will need additional Play-Doh if you want to make any color of cake other than pink. It comes with enough pink Play-Doh to make a cake but not enough of any other colors to make a cake. That wasn't a problem for us, we have PLENTY of Play-Doh..." —elise

Get it from Amazon for $13.49.

Promising review: "My 3-year-old daughter is so into numbers and counting. She really loved it especially she can see it on Youtube as well. We enjoyed putting up the stickers. It was easy to put them together." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $14.95.

Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.