Hot Toys for Christmas 2022: 20+ most popular toys for girls and boys

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If you've been holding off on ordering that one special gift—today is the day! Many stores will be able to deliver by Dec. 23rd, if you get that order in STAT.

►Holiday gift guides 2022: Shop for everyone on your list with this ultimate gift guide

If you still need that perfect, knock-it-out-of-the-park gift for that special kid on your list—that's still in stock—we've got you covered. Every year we scour top toy lists from top retailers like Amazon, Macy's, Target and Walmart. Then we consult experts, read up on trends and do a ton of product testing on our own to determine the top toys that will be on every kids' list.

Now, this week, we are combing through every retailer site to find that perfect toy where it's still in stock! Christmas is all about magic, and we are working tirelessly to make that magic happen for you. Here are the popular toys of 2022—and where you can find them.

We love anything made by Melissa & Doug. Combine Melissa & Doug with PAW Patrol and it's an instant winner.

The PAW Patrol 2 Wooden PAWtroller Activity Center is made from high-quality wood and features moving gears, a slider maze, a steering wheel, moving break and gas pedals, flip-back side mirrors, sound effects and so many more fun features to ignite kids' imaginations.

We love that kids can imagine themselves as a mini-pit crew with changeable tires, a removable gas cap, a wooden tire pump and cute tool accessories. The play options are endless for this great toy that we recommend for any kid ages 2 to 6.

Here's hoping you're able to snag this hot today but, if it runs out, may we recommend the adorable Melissa & Doug PAW Patrol Rescue Mission Wooden Dashboard?

This ice cream truck by Play-Doh has it all! This classic ice cream truck has a joyful jingle to let prospective purchasers know that the treats are here. A working cash register also has a satisfying "cha-ching" sound, to make kids feel in charge.

Of course, with all Play-Doh products, the best part of this toy is the creative, tactile, sensory play experience. With this Play-Doh ice cream set kids can make treats with the soft serve machine and scooping station, and then they can get to decorating with a sprinkle maker, tools and all sorts of fun molds.

This truly has proven to be the hottest toy of the year. Should stock run out we recommend the smaller (but still fun) Play-Doh Frozen Treats Ice Cream Set, with its sparkly Play-Doh and unicorn features. Or, if you're a no-mess kind of family we are swooning over this play ice cream truck toy by Tender Leaf T and our Managing Editor of Commerce Jennifer Beaudry says her favorite ice cream toy of the season is the Melissa & Doug ice cream set with real scooping action.

For little speed racers, we love this foam-edge bumper car that can turn your living room, dining room—or any room—into a bumper car track. Don't worry about them crashing, a seat belt and a speed of 1 mile per hour ensure this is a safe toy, but the foam bumper gives it an adequate bounce to keep things silly and interesting.

Flashing lights, beeping sounds, steering joy sticks and a 360-degree turn radius makes the Flybar FunPark Racer Bumper Car an exciting ride. Also it's on sale right now at Target for $20 off!

This toy combines two things that little ones love: CoComelon and boo-boo strips, to make a combo that tiny ones will go gaga for.

Last year retailers couldn't keep up with the demand for the CoComelon interactive JJ doll. This year they’ve one-upped themselves with a more cuddly version of JJ that sports light-up boo-boos that need tending to.

Baby JJ sings a Boo-Boo Song and comes with a full medical kit that includes a stethoscope, a syringe, a thermometer and three velcro bandages in tot-friendly designs.

If there's one thing we know, it's that kids love Bluey. Last year's Bluey dollhouse was nearly impossible for retailers to keep in stock. This year they’ve doubled the size and doubled the fun with this Amazon exclusive.

This 17-inch tall playhouse comes with Nana, Bluey and Chattermax figures, a moving dance floor and it even lights up and recites over 50 sounds and phrases.

For your little household helper, the LeapFrog Clean Sweep Learning Caddy playset lets kids mop, spritz and sweep to fun little tunes sung by the smiling mop bucket.

The real spinning bucket makes satisfying swishing sounds when kids step on the foot pedal. This pretend play cleaning caddy makes little ones feel big and—hopefully—will encourage them to love cleaning up, just as much as they love mess-making.

An adorable, animatronic guinea pig—any kid who loves baby animals will love this toy.

Not only does this mama guinea pig respond to love and care but, when she's well-cared for she reveals a special surprise. Place her in her hutch after a day of feeding, brushing and cuddling and in the morning she will birth itty bitty baby guinea pigs that may even be cuter than the real thing.

Little Live Pets Mama Surprise is a fun interactive toy with loads of payoff that's certain to be a hit this year. Chasing down inventory has been hard for this hot toy, so if you see one for sale we recommend you snag it. We see one pop in here and there on Amazon and if you click the "other sellers" options on Walmart there is plenty of stock that promises to arrive before Christmas.

Every year a Hot Wheels toy sells out. There's some stiff competition for which one it will be this year, but we put our money on this light-up, rainbow Super Mario track.

This track set features a spinning randomizer that leaves who will win at the mercy of exciting pop-up features that will either stop the two die-cast cars in their tracks or send them through the finish line.

This multi-sensory track has sounds and bells and all sorts of fun features that make for an exciting play experience. It reaches 8 feet long and 24 inches high and can be configured as a straight track or a curved one.

This toy is a blast and kids of all ages will love playing with it.

Squishmallows have steadily been enjoying popularity for the past three years, and their appeal shows no sign of stopping.

As our Cooking Editor, Danielle DiSiato pointed out: Squishmallows are the perfect transitional toy for a kid that's too big for a lovey, but too small to be without a comfort toy. But, if you think Squishmallows are just for preschoolers, you'd be mistaken: 20-somethings love them, tweens love them and little kids love them.

It's hard for us to pick just one Squishmallow to recommend this season but in years past rainbow Squishmallows always sell out and Axolotl Squishmallows tend to fly off shelves to be some of the hottest Squish collectibles. This year we are ready to put our money on the sunny Althea Axolotl Squishmallow, but we encourage you to pick whatever squish your heart desires.

L.O.L. Suprise dolls have had a nice long run of popularity, but with their new Netflix movie—and with the release of numerous brand new lines of L.O.L.s—that popularity is going to continue to rise this holiday season.

There are so many fun new L.O.L. offerings, including their Tween Masquerade line and their fashion show Mega Runway Playset, but if we had to pick one L.O.L. Surprise toy that we think is going to sell out, it will be the L.O.L. Mini Sweets Surprise-O-Matic line. This is not only our favorite L.O.L. toy, it's our favorite unboxing toy as well.

This year L.O.L. has partnered with top candy companies to make the sweetest of surprise toys. Inspired by your favorite candy and sweet treats, each of the 12 collectible dolls comes in her own Surprise-O-Matic vending machine! Open the individual doors to find 9 sweet surprises inside, including cute clothes and accessories!

A new spin on last year's runaway best-selling toy, this updated version of Magic Mixies Magical Cauldron is every bit as fun—with a bunch of truly magical upgrades.

Magic Mixie's Crystal Ball is like a portal into an imaginative world your kid didn't know they had access to. Magic Mixies Crystal Ball comes with an accompanying "spell book" that teaches kids how to spell cast with smoke to conjure toys seemingly out of thin air, which they can do again and again and again (for about 10 cycles until you need to purchase a mist refill pack).

The fun really begins once the accompanying toy is revealed. You can use the wand to bring out all sorts of customizable personality traits to make a Mixie that's all your own.

What's more, when not used to make magic, the crystal ball has a dual functionality as a nightlight. A very cool, misty nightlight!

This may be our favorite toy of the year and seems to appeal to both boys and girls. Get this one before the holiday rush

If there was one dollhouse we'd want to shrink down and live in, this would be it. The Little Tikes Stack & Style Dollhouse is cool, stylish and looks like it popped out of the pages of Architectural Digest.

The modular design of this toy lets kids customize the home to have the exact layout they want. Real lights and sounds make for more exciting imaginative play, and the accessories in this dollhouse are nothing short of dreamy. Shrunken-down versions of Little Tikes favorites like their iconic Cozy Coupe car add to the smiles.

Where this dollhouse really stands out, however, is that it feels non-branded and it's non-gendered. It's tough to find a dollhouse that's stylish enough for little girls to like, yet isn't so coated in pink and frills that boys feel like it's not meant for them. We were able to test this toy and boys and girls loved it equally, making for one of the most harmonious play dates possible.

From a clawfoot tub to bistro seating to even a MCM-style sofa, Little Tikes has really amped up the fun with this stylish new dollhouse. We think it's the best of the year.

Like a Magic 8 ball, but with a full sensory experience. As part of Crazy Aaron's ever-popular Thinking Putty line, Crazy Aaron's Amazing Prediction Putty will have kids kneading and squishing away all of their worries and—in this case—finding the answers to their most burning questions.

Hidden in the putty are nine ambiguous answers. Whisper your question into the putty and see what answers await you!

Hey, we don't all like having putty around the house. The Shashibo Shape Shifting Box isn't new to the toy scene but, if you're looking for a mess-free fidget toy for kids, this is our favorite—and it's always a hot toy!

What we like about this toy are the endless possibilities to mindlessly reconfigure it into numerous shapes. The internal magnets make for a satisfying popping feel as it snaps into shape, and the mesmerizing imagery on the toy keeps kids captivated.

These cubes can be bought in a variety of designs to be clicked together to create even more shape-shifting fun. Because of that, we also love that these can turn into a collaborative, creative experience for siblings.

Last year Crafttastic's Fairy Potion Craft Kit sold like magical hotcakes. This year they've taken the glitter and sparkle out of their potion kid and are focusing on the magical properties in nature.

We love that the Craftastic Scavenger Hung Potions Kit encourages kids to explore the outdoors, making magical potions from found ingredients in nature. A magic kit, a creative toy and a STEM-learning toy, this toy will be a slam dunk for kids that are magically minded.

Our favorite fidget toy of the year! Sometimes the simplest of toys turn out to be the most addictive. That's certainly the case with the PopSockets PopPuck: A magnetic, key chain fidget toy that we think will be the ultimate stocking stuffer for teens and tweens.

Described as a "magnetic skate park for your thumbs." Kids can flip, flick, stack and finger-kick two dime-size magnetic "pucks" in their key-chain holder to perform stunts and finger tricks. All the while the two pucks make loads of ASMR-satisfying clicks and swooshing sounds. This toy is exciting, fun and soothing all at the same time.

You gotta try it to really understand it but—trust us—this is a slam-dunk gift for the hard-to-buy-for tween.

Snap Circuits are always a popular holiday gift, but this year's Snap Circuits Green Energy Exploration Kit puts a sustainable spin on things!

This STEM building toy kit inspires kids to think about renewable energy sources. They are shown how to build a mini electric car, a windmill, a water clock, solar-powered lights and more! Each project gives kids thought-provoking exposure to an array of renewable energy sources.

If you're looking for a fun gift that is bursting with STEM learning, this is our hottest pick for 2022.

It's already sold out at most retailers but, if you still want to snag the hottest Lego toy of the season, there is still time to order directly from Lego.com.

Lego Ninjago just dropped a new season; if you have a fan of Sensei Wu's kid ninja clan their fervor for this show is sure to be renewed this holiday season, and this is the coolest toy to be inspired by the show.

Cole's four-headed golden hydra dragon is the biggest Ninjago dragon ever, with its posable legs and tail and a pair of wings that fold out into three golden blades.

As any Lego Ninjago fan knows, golden Minifigures are a coveted bunch. This set relives adventures from the Ninjago: Crystallized TV series and comes with nine exclusive Minifigures including Golden Oni Lloyd, Golden Kai, Golden Jay, Golden Cole, Golden Zane, the Crystal King, a Vengestone Warrior and two Vengestone Brutes.

If your kid isn't into Lego Ninjago, or if you need a Lego set that will arrive with Prime delivery, this is our favorite.

There are few scenes in Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder that are more hilarious than the ones involving the Norse goats with the human-like screams. This 564-piece set brings to life the Asgard Tours longboat and the mythical scene-stealers.

This set includes 5 minifigures from the movie, including Thor, Mighty Thor, Valkyrie, Korg and Gorr and loads of authentic accessories.

This was one of the best-reviewed Lego sets from our kid-testers and was easily built independently and made for hours of play.

This gigantic Jurassic World dinosaur figure has posable arms and legs and an extra-wide jaw that opens wide to devour its prey. The mouth is so large that it can fit up to 20 Jurassic World mini-figure dinos, for a truly ferocious feast.

Inventory has been fluctuating quite a bit with this Toy of the Year winner. We've seen the Super Colossal Giganotosauras sell out repeatedly over the past few weeks, so we would definitely recommend purchasing soon if you have a budding paleontologist in your midst.

This super-sized drawing board by Crayola is all about making your kids’ masterpieces more exciting. Plus, it's so fun to play with you may want to steal it for yourself.

The Crayola Ultimate Light Board Drawing Tablet comes with a set of gel markers that can be used to draw and doodle on the reusable black screen. The fun really happens, however, when the lights go down. This cool toy turns every drawing into an illuminated work of art when it lights up and takes the drawings through three different visual effects.

If you have a young artist who is ready to liven up their creations they will love this.

These flying, boomerang-style flying orb balls have made a huge impact on TikTok and their popularity shows no signs of waning. If you're not familiar with this phenomenon, look up "flying orb ball" on TikTok and you'll quickly get the idea.

These USB-charged, drone-style balls come back to you like a boomerang and, once you get the hang of using them, can be used in all sorts of impressive tricks.

There are many copycats of the original Fly Orbb brand that made a splash on TikTok earlier this year, so we don't actually see this toy selling out, per se, but we do predict the price to increase as it gets closer to the holidays.

Inspired by the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series on Disney+, this toy is an adorable replica of the young Princess Leia's favorite droid.

A simple one-button operation on LO-LA's head activates adorable droid sounds, a blue light in her primary eye and a purple light in her mouth bring this adorable Star Wars character to life.

Her head can be titled, her legs are posable and her mouth can open and close for a full imaginative experience.

I am Groot! One of the most popular characters from the Guardians of the Galaxy, kids can build their own posable version of the adorable Baby Groot from the second film in the series.

It also comes with a nameplate that features Groot-specific specs and, of course, a cassette tape for Baby Groot to dance to—when no one is watching.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.