Best Wooden Toys – Top 10 Best Wooden Toys Shortlist
Looking for the best wooden toys? Here’s our highly researched shortlist of Top 10 best wooden toys on the market.
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Let’s chat about the best wooden toys on the market.
As a newbie mom, one of the hardest decisions to make is choosing the best wooden toys for your child.
However as a mom of two older kids, I promise you: this decision doesn’t need to be so difficult!
Rather than spending hours and hours trying to research the very best wooden toys on the market, we have done the hard work for you.
We have sourced ten of the best wooden toys available to you right now and when we mean the best, we mean the best!
We have studied all the ratings, the reviews, and the pros and cons of each wooden toy and come up with a shortlist that will make even the most critical mom happy.
Without further ado, here are the TOP 10 best wooden toys for you to peruse:
BEST WOODEN TOYS
1 – Melissa & Doug Geometric Stacker Toddler Toy (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 730+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4.5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- EDUCATIONAL GEOMETRIC STACKER TODDLER TOY: The Melissa & Doug Geometric Stacker Toddler Toy features 25 colorful wooden pieces of rings, octagons, and rectangles that can be matched and stacked on three rods.
- HIGH-QUALITY CONSTRUCTION: This geometric stacker is made from durable and child-safe materials that deliver exceptional quality and value.
- BUILDS MULTIPLE SKILLS: Our developmental toys help to build early shape, color, and size differentiation skills. Parents and children can play multiple games to help strengthen hand-eye coordination and more.
- GREAT GIFT FOR KIDS 2 TO 4: This Geometric Stacker is an exceptional gift for kids ages 2 to 4 years. Add the Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube to round out the hands-on, screen-free play experience.
- “THE GOLD STANDARD IN CHILDHOOD PLAY”: For more than 30 years, Melissa & Doug has created beautifully designed imagination- and creativity-sparking products that NBC News called “the gold standard in early childhood play.”
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
I work as a nanny for two families and I am very choosy about the toys I purchase. I was looking for a sorting/stacking toy that would open conversations about shapes, sizes, and colors, and this fit the bill. When it arrived I was really pleased with the construction and quality. The pieces are sturdy, fit on the pegs smoothly, and are nice intense colors. The square blocks nest together adding an additional challenge. Pieces from each shape can be sorted by colors, items can be stacked from largest to smallest or in reverse, and it’s fun to stack the shapes into towers without placing them on the pegs then knock them down! Overall I couldn’t be more pleased with the value and quality this item represents.
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
2 – Hape Pound & Tap Bench with Slide Out Xylophone – Award Winning (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 1270+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4.5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- MULTIFUNCTIONAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT: This kids xylophone can be played in variety of ways. The kids can fetch balls as pounding sends the balls tinkling over or they can pull out the keyboard and xylophone and play a solo
- FINE MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT: Promotes dexterity, hand eye coordination, manipulation, arm movement, cause and effect
- ESTABLISH MUSICALITY: This pounding toys for toddlers encourages musical development and exploration, audio recognition and play
- CHILD SAFE: Durable and child safe, contains water-based paint and has non-toxic finishes
- AWARD WINNING: The winner of the 2018 Cribsie Award of favorite first musical toy suitable for ages 12 months to 3 years
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
Purchased this for my sons first birthday gift. This toy is an absolute hit. You know how every once in a while you find and buy that one toy that they love and you never would have guessed it would be THAT big of a hit? Well this toy was that toy for us. He loves pounding on the balls and hearing them go down the xylophone. He loves walking around with the hammer just by itself. He loves holding two of the balls and walking around clanking those together. Overall, he just loves this toy. I paid a little extra for the 30th anniversary set but I really like the look of it with the red and gold. This might be one of my go to birthday gifts for a similar age range – I’d say 1st/2nd birthdays.
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
3 – Melissa & Doug Deluxe Pounding Bench Wooden Toy with Mallet (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 2131+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4.5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
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- CLASSIC POUNDING TOY: The Deluxe Pounding Bench Wooden Toy with Mallet is a classic pounding toy with a design twist. As the colorful, non-removable pegs on the bench go up and down, they play peekaboo, taking turns showing their friendly smiles.
- HELPS DEVELOP FINE MOTOR SKILLS: Our pounding bench is an exceptional learning toy that helps children practice fine motor skills. The action of the pegs helps children name the colors and provides an effective, hands-on, screen-free play option.
- DURABLE WOODEN CONSTRUCTION: This wooden toy set with mallet is made from high-quality materials. The built-in pegs are non-removable, and each component is made from solid wood – for superior strength and longevity.
- GREAT GIFT FOR 2 TO 4 YEARS: The Melissa & Doug Deluxe Pounding Bench Wooden Toy makes a great gift for kids ages 2 to 4 years. Add the Melissa & Doug Wooden Latches Board to round out the developmental play and learning experience.
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
My 1 year old niece got a rainfall of new toys this Christmas, each more impressive, colorful, and noisy than the one before it.
I was a little nervous this toy would look boring next to all the vtech and Little Einstein cool toys she got. To my surprise, she wasn’t even done opening the rest of her presents when she became mesmerized by the simple mechanism in this toy! She didn’t quite know how to handle the little mallet, but she loved pushing the little pegs with her finger! Hours (practically years in toddler time) of fun were had with this toy over the Holidays. 5 Stars!
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
4- TOP BRIGHT Wooden Race Track Car Ramp Racer With 4 Mini Cars (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 321+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4.5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- MOM’S PRIORITY CHOOSE: This toddler ramp race track toy is made of high quality wood, BPA Free and stained with bright non-toxic water-based paint. Fully tested to the highest U.S. ASTM F 963 and European EN71 toy safety standards. The vehicles also passed tensile tests of ASTM, the wheels can not be pulling out without violent destruction. No concerns about wheels falling off or pieces coming apart. The car is large enough not to risk suffocation even you buy it as gifts for 1 year old boy girl
- UNIQUE TOP PARKING LOT: 4 bright ramp racer set off from the top parking lot and then slides down the rainbow toddler race track, bringing the toddlers pleasure of racing and improving visuals tracking ability. When the game stops, the toddlers can collect the cars in the top parking lot by themselves, improving your 1 2 year old boy and girl’s sense of storage, and prevent the cars from getting lost
- TODDLER FESTIVAL GIFT: Size 12″x4″x10″, weight about 2 pounds, including 4 car ramps, 1 parking lot and 4 toddler ramp racer . Packed in a very sturdy color box .The only piece need to be attached is the removable top parking lot, other no assemble needed. This toddler race track toy is compact and sturdy, can be easily stored on shelving or in small room. Suitable for toddler playing at home indoor or outdoor activity, best gift for 1 2 year old boy and girl’s birthday
- LEARNING THROUGH PLAYING：This toddler race track is a simple and well-built toy. Which will encourage the development of your toddler’s hand-eye coordination and attention span. Also, encourages toddlers to cooperate and take turns to play their own race cars on the toddler race track, develop communication skills. For the smallest children such as a 1 2 year old boy and girl , they learn dexterity and repetition through playing. They will love this gift and play with parents or friends for hour
- RETURN WITHOUT ANY CONDITIONS: This wooden toddler race track toy is deigned for toddlers only, the width of race tracks to allow only 1 race car to run through. No more suitable gift for a 1 year old boy .Toddler’s safety and customer’s satisfaction is our main concern. We promise: for any reason at any time you can hit us up for a replacement or a full refund.
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
My almost three year old grandson loves it. He keeps sending the cars down the ramps and watching them flip. Worth the money. Nicely made wooden toy.
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
5 – Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 1419+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- CREATIVE SORTING GAME FOR KIDS: The Melissa & Doug Shape-Sorting Cube Classic Wooden Toy is a beautifully constructed wooden toy with 12 bright-colored, easy-to-grip shapes.
- CLASSIC LEARNING ACTIVITY: This ever-popular shape and color activity is sure to engage children. Each shape is designed to fit through a matching hole on the wooden cube.
- STURDY WOODEN CONSTRUCTION: Melissa & Doug early development toys are made to last. This colorful toy for toddlers and preschoolers promotes color and shape recognition and problem-solving skills.
- GREAT GIFT FOR AGES 2 TO 4: This toy is an ideal gift for kids ages 2 to 4. Add the Melissa & Doug 100-Piece Wooden Block Set to round out the hands-on learning experience and give kids an engaging option for screen-free fun.
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
Our 19M old LOVES this toy! She is really into puzzles and blocks. This entertains her for a solid 15-20 minutes, at a time and for that age, we will take it! I do not think our older daughter would have liked this as a toddler. It could get frustrating if the child does not enjoy a little challenge because they have to understand that one piece comes off (that is how you get them blocks out) and that you have to turn the box to find all of the available shapes.
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
6 – Melissa & Doug Food Groups (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 1721+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4.5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- HEALTHY PRETEND PLAY: Melissa & Doug Food Groups Wooden Play Food is a sturdy wooden food set that features items from the five food groups for healthy pretend play. It includes watermelon, milk, cheese, fish, eggs, and more.
- FUN AND EDUCATIONAL: This play food for kids set helps children plan a well-balanced meal. It helps introduce the basics of nutrition, and can be used to teach early number skills, color recognition, sorting, and grouping.
- EASY TO STORE: Four wooden crates are included to sort the food into groups – dairy, produce (for fruits and vegetables), grains, and meat and fish. Kids can also sort by color or use the crates to combine foods to serve up pretend-play meals.
- GREAT GIFT FOR AGES 3 AND UP: The Food Groups Wooden Play Food set makes a great gift for kids ages 3 to 6. The Melissa & Doug Play-Time Produce and Vegetables Play Food set is a great accompaniment.
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
Our grandkids love to “cook” for Poppy and me. Years ago we had purchased a cheap set of boxed foods, plastic chicken and egg, pots, pans and plates for them to play with.
Needless to say, those toys have seen better days. I found this set of food groups online and decided to give them a try. When I opened the box I was so surprised…the quality, thought and care put into these toys is amazing. Each piece of food, including the little boxes are solid wood. They are NOT made in China, they are non-toxic paint and will help the kids not only play, but learn the various foods groups as they do. I couldn’t be happier with my purchase of Melissa & Doug Food Groups.
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
7 – Manhattan Toy Tree Top Adventure Activity Center (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 382+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4.5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- Designed to captivate your child’s curiosity with exciting colors and hands-on gadgets
- Solid wood activity center offers hours and hours of exploratory fun and learning
- Colorful tree theme and sturdy construction makes this great decor for a nursery or activity room
- Bead runs and gliders encourage reach and grasping skills
- Product stands 22.5″ high, 18″ wide
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
This is a great toy! When I got the pieces out of the box, my 8 month old immediately tried to grab them all and play!
This toy has a lot of great aspects. It has four bead mazes, two spinning gears, a set of two abacus counters, one bendy flower, two critters that crawl beneath the tree, a tree house with two doors, and eight double sided critters who crawl along the treetop. Whew! It’s a lot of activities. However, I’d say it’s the perfect amount. My baby can play happily with this toy for 20 minutes or more. He doesn’t seem overwhelmed with the options.
This toy promotes logical thinking and demonstrates object permanence. It’s great to see him make these discoveries. One thing I observed was that since this toy has double sided critters, my baby moves the critters and peeks around the walls to see it moving on the other side.
That’s a great lesson for babies! And as for object permanence, one of the bead mazes, and the two critters beneath the tree, can be pushed through the openings in the walls. When you move the them, they can seem to disappear to the other side of the tree. When baby peeks around the wall he can find them again.
Those are the main developmental benefits I observed with this toy. Other notable details: it’s a good height for a sitting baby between the ages of 6-18 months. I has lots of cute movable animals, including a bee, a bird, a ladybug, a butterfly, a monkey, a bear, a dog, a frog, a snail, and an ant. The printed design on the walls include a side with apples and worms with a treehouse, a side with birds and their nests, a side with yellow blossoms, and a side with plums and the other side of the treehouse.
Okay, lastly, this toy was relatively easy to assemble. It literally has five parts and some screws. Just line them up, and screw it together! My only complaint is that the screws were stubborn to tighten, but it was doable. The toy is very sturdy, however, baby cannot safely use it to sit to stand. The toy is simply to light for that. So watch your baby if they are going to attempt to use it for that purpose.
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
8 – Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 1685+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4.5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- HOURS OF EDUCATIONAL FUN: The Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set includes 100 durable wooden blocks in 4 different colors and 9 shapes. It’s a classic educational toy that provides hours of hands-on, screen-free play and learning.
- STIMULATES CREATIVITY: Our set is designed for kids entertainment, but also introduces early math concepts, and helps kids develop strong motor skills and even resilience as they experiment with building, knocking blocks over, and building again!
- DURABLE AND SAFE CONSTRUCTION: Though our colorful building blocks are made of solid wood, these blocks are light in weight, which makes them safe for kids. The blocks have rounded edges and a smooth painted finish that won’t splinter with play.
- GREAT GIFT FOR AGES 3 TO 8: The Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set makes a great gift for kids ages 3 to 8 years.
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
What is Good About It
These are colored wooden blocks of different shapes and sizes. Rectangles, cubes, cylinders, semi cylinders and scooped in rectangles. Wood is well finished with no sharp ends / edges or burrs colored to a vibrant appearance. It is very useful for a kid to learn about shapes , sizes and to improve child’s motor skills ,hand-eye coordination, spatial skills,creativity, divergent thinking and social skills. Moreover, kids can integrate their own constructions into pretend play scenarios. There is also evidence that complex block-play is linked with advanced math skills in later life. The blocks do have vibrant colors which makes it more interesting for kids. Those colors are supposed to be safe for children ( As claimed by manufacturer).
What is not so Good about it
Nothing in particular however, the storage box is very delicate. You may want to use something else for storing the blocks instead of the retail box.
Bottom Line
These toys help children in many ways developing their over all skills and analytical ability. This product is well worth every penny.
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
9 – Play22 Wooden Train Set (Amazon’s Choice)
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 416+
NUMBER OF STARS: 5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- Wooden train cars includes Engines, Tender, Coaches, Convertible coach-hopper car, Cargo car, Magnetic cargo load, Tanker car, Magnetic tanker load, Hopper car, Cabooses.
- Comes in a beautiful display wooden Gift Box – STEM Educational magnet train set will help your child gain strong color recognition and motor skills.
- Great train sets with strong magnets for kids and great train sets for toddlers
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
I run a child care center and have a little 3 year old special needs boy that LOVES trains. I have tried so many times to find him a good sturdy set of trains that can last a long time as well as hold up to some of the bouts he has. This set has already outlast any other trains I have gotten. I adore the little box it comes with. He is very articulate about which train goes where. The box makes this possible where he can line them up nicely and they do not move around once all are in place (but do not tip it over, there is no face, they will spill out). They will however stay in place if you stand it upright. A nice little display. .
I was having a very hard time with finding trains that their magnetic pieces would not wear and fall off. These magnetic parts that keep them clicked together while he plays with them are stuck on very very well. We no longer have melt downs over a train not sticking together while he plays with them all the time. I also bought another set and I call that set his “night night trains”. This set is specifically a very very sleepy train set that he sleeps with. We have a whole routine of him putting the trains to bed, then he sleeps next to them on his cot.
I give these trains a very high rating. The wood they are made out of is good. The paint does not chip (but my daycare kiddo is not a paint picker). The trains can get dented if thrown hard enough BUT have not broken yet. The wheels also stay on which is another plus. We had a train set that the wheels fell off constantly and that was another trigger. I like how well these are made and how much they are used on a day to day basis by one of the most amazing little people that I know. Thank you for helping me give something sturdy to my daycare kiddo who really relies on these trains being there when he comes to see me every day.
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BEST WOODEN TOYS
10 – Walk-A-Long Puppy Wooden Pull Toy by Hape | Award Winning
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NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 517+
NUMBER OF STARS: 4.5 out of 5
ABOUT THE PRODUCT:
- TEACH YOUR PUPPY NEW TRICKS: This push toy is almost as loving as a real pup, your toddler will be able to make it sit, stand, roll and take it for walks
- DEVELOP FINE MOTOR SKILLS: Wooden pull toy promotes dexterity, hand eye coordination and manipulation
- ENCOURAGING ACTIVE PLAY: Sparks your little one’s imagination and creativity
- CHILD SAFE: Made from child safe materials with quality wood craftmanship and non-toxic finishes
- AWARD-WINNING: This playful wooden puppy is a winner of the 2012 Parents’ Magazine Best Toys Award
BEST REVIEW (VERIFIED PURCHASE):
Everyone in my family loves this walk along, waggy-tailed pull puppy! I bought Hape Walk- a- long Puppy for my then 1 year old son’s birthday thinking his 2 older sisters wouldn’t want to play with this “baby toy”. I usually like to buy versitile toys that will grow up well and have play appeal with all 3 kiddos.
I also TRY and stay away from battery powered toys because..just so many reasons – endless $$$, the inevitable drama that ensues when batteries die, annoying glitches, battery acid corosion, can’t leave them outside if it rains, no bathtime play usually, etc.
Nonetheless, thinking that my babe might not get a ton of mileage out of this one, it looked so darn cute, my husband approved (he’s extremely anti-bleeping/noisy toys) and my kids are always trying to drag something long behind them – rolling baggage, long ribbons, each other.
Should have known. I was so wrong! My now 23 month, 3 and 5 year olds have all been *ahem* ‘taking turns’ almost every day for the past year, walking this cute-n-happy lil’ guy around the house and outside. (Pup is made out of wood and is probably not designed to be an outdoor toy, just a heads up.)
It’s a simple, cute, well designed, classic wooden toy that apparently doesn’t ever get old. My grandma probably had one of these kinds of toys back in the horse-n-buggy days. Of course, her father probably whittled her pulltoy himself from some leftover scrap wood and haybail twine laying around the farm, maybe taking weeks to finish. Kinda sounds like a lot of work..the olden days must have been like, so hard without Amazon Prime.
Anyway, this is a Hape wooden toy so it’s crafted quite well, anything but scrappy and it took just 2 days to get to our home with Amazon Prime..which is freaking awesome! It arrived packaged nicely, tucked away in an openface cardboard box that wasn’t too difficult to unwrap. So, when gifting this to your child, they will be able to touch it immediately after unwrapping, though may need a little help removing their new pup completely. Parents will have to help those with tinier, less dexterious hands, so be prepared with your Swiss Army knife, Kraftsman, machete or whatever.
There’s a bit of a glossy finish to the wooden parts which are painted quite nicely with orange spots and orange ears. Light-colored, natural wood shows through beautifully where it’s not orange, so it’s anything but an eyesore. The red pull string is thin, ropey, not too long, not too short in my opinion. My 5 year old is super tall for her age and manages to take Hape Pup for walks easily, without crouching down to keep it rolling flat on the ground. Just as much fun and possibly played with more often than my kids’ various robotic pets. Go figure.
Best part – no batteries required, yet it still moves all around, kind of like a puppet on a string only the entire house is the stage. You can sit him up so he ‘begs for treats’, lay him down on his back to ‘play dead’, make his head nod up and down while he ‘drinks from his doggie bowl’. Plus, his tail wags as he gets pulled along, which is my favorite feature. I will definitely be purchasing more Hape pull along toys this Christmas and/or for my January beebee’s 2nd bday. Thinking the crocodile and duck with floppy feet next.
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.