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Photo-Illustration: Photo-Illustration: Stevie Remsberg; Photos: Courtesy of the retailers The best holiday gifts for 4-year-olds are those that encourage their evolving sense of humor, help them practice their hand-eye coordination, and entice them to create new worlds through imaginative play. According to Jeannette Corey, director of the Bank Street Family Center, 4-year-olds will often make up increasingly sophisticated pretend scenarios that makes use of their expanding language skills. They are also more physically adept and able to use surprisingly advanced techniques when drawing, painting, or sculpting a hunk of clay, which means they can often appreciate big-kid art supplies and more complex building toys. They might even ask for their own set of “real” cooking tools or a fancy (and fragile) tea set to use with their friends. Or they might insist on playing goofy board games, with challenges like collecting monster teeth, over and over again. To help you find gifts that encourage these new skills and interests, we asked child-development specialists like Corey, toy experts, and discerning parents to recommend their favorites. Meanwhile, if you’re also shopping for kids in other age groups, we have gift guides for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds, 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 11-year-olds, and 12-year-olds, plus the meticulously curated Strategist Toy Store, filled with all our greatest hits. Under $25 Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Many kids around this age start to hit their stride with coloring books, as they are more able to control their crayons and colored pencils. There are thousands of coloring books to choose from with familiar characters like Bluey, Barbie, and the gang from Paw Patrol. But I prefer the jumbo coloring pads from Melissa & Doug that give kids lots of space to color and feature more universal themes like animals, vehicles, and fairy princesses. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Stabilo’s shorter and stubbier-than-usual colored pencils are great for small hands. The brand, known for its vibrant colors, is also featured in our roundup of the best art supplies for kids. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. LEGO Classic Creative Suitcase 10713 $16 $20 now 20% off $16 Many 4-year-olds are ready to graduate from DUPLOS and move on to playing with full-size LEGO bricks, which Dr. George Sachs, a child psychologist and founder of the Sachs Center in Manhattan, says “allow children to develop their own creative ideas and foster spatial awareness.” This set is specifically designed for children 4 years and up, and comes with beginner-friendly instructions for simple builds. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Hape Learn With Lights Harmonica $25 $30 now 17% off $25 If you’re looking to encourage a musically inclined kid without much effort, I suggest this kid harmonica from Hape. It comes with a rechargeable light-up display that attaches to the back and guides children through a handful of songs: Red lights indicate when to blow out, and blue indicates when to suck in. Switch it to band mode, and it will play all of the other instruments along with your budding musician. The harmonica also detaches for free play, so kids can jam without any help. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. To win this game, kids use a spinner and draw cards to help their monster — called a Meef — get all of its 12 teeth back before anyone else. The teeth are housed in a central pile that shrinks or grows depending on where the spinner lands and which cards each player draws; if you land the spinner on the lucky blue tooth, you get to take all the teeth from the pile. The illustrations are cute and silly, and there’s even a little bit of counting and simple math baked in. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. For the animal lover, speech-language pathologist and mom Ellice Kim Lacerda recommends figurines from Schleich, the German toy company that’s been around since 1935. “We always add a few different animals to every holiday and birthday wish list,” she says. “They are pricier than other figurines, but they look realistic and are very durable.” Whether your kid prefers dinosaurs, wild animals, livestock, or mythical beasts, there’s something for everyone. New! You can now save this product for later. New! You can now save this product for later. $14 $25 now 44% off New! You can now save this product for later. $14 $20 now 30% off Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Speaking of dinosaurs, this clay-dinosaur craft kit makes kids feel like one part artist, one part paleontologist as they mold their own prehistoric creatures, using little tools and bright clay to cover up faux fossils. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Crafting supplies like pipe cleaners, pom-poms, and googly eyes are endlessly appealing to 4-year-olds, so Tze Chun, founder of UPRISE ART, recommends this beginner craft library that she says contains enough of a mix to keep little kids busy but is curated enough to motivate them to use their supplies carefully. She also likes that it works as a “perfect self-contained activity” and can be easily brought on a trip. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Corey also recommends art supplies that support process over product, like scissors, which are a superlative tool for honing fine motor skills and improving hand strength. The wacky edges on this easy-to-grip, child-safe set come in six different shapes for wavier, more interesting borders. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Skillmatics Scissor Skills Activity Book $14 $20 now 30% off $14 And here’s a fun activity book to help children practice their cutting and trimming skills. Under $50 Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Stretch Armstrong $26 $26 Preschoolers are still developing a sense of humor and love anything that lets them be silly with friends. Like many other nostalgic toys, Stretch Armstrong has been reborn for a new generation. The doll was a precursor to a lot of the squishy, stretchy, sensory toys that are currently trendy; pull his arms as far as you can, but he’ll always go back to his original shape. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Melissa & Doug Examine & Treat Pet Vet Play Set $29 $42 now 31% off $29 A large part of every child’s education is social-emotional — learning how to interact with other children and process feelings. For that reason, Lori Caplan-Colon, a speech and language pathologist at Montclair Speech Therapy, suggests toys that encourage empathy and pretend play, like this veterinarian kit that lets kids treat and care for a plush kitten and puppy. Before you splurge on a full-size American Girl Doll, consider giving the 4-year-old in your life a mini American Girl Doll. They’re a fraction of the price and a good way of gauging whether or not the kid in question will actually play with one of the larger dolls. You can get a smaller version of any of the 16 historical dolls — including Molly, Samantha, Kirsten, Julie, Melody, and Josefina — and each one comes with a mini-book and detailed accessories. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. “Cash registers are an excellent toy option,” says Helen Sadovsky, a pediatric occupational therapist who runs Toy-Ideas.com, because they teach counting and money-management skills and can be a great part of imaginative play as your child sets up their very own store or restaurant. This model from Learning Resources has a solar-powered calculator and a cash drawer that says “ka-ching” when it opens. It also comes with pretend bills and coins, a pad for writing receipts, and a credit card. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. From $27 Caitlin Meister, founder of the Greer Meister Group, an educational consulting practice in Brooklyn, recommends adding dolls to your 4-year-old’s collection that accurately represent the human body. (If kids only see dolls without private parts, they could be getting a message that there’s something about those body parts that is shameful or bad, she explains.) Miniland’s baby dolls are anatomically correct and represent a range of different races. And once you’ve selected a doll, gifting clothing and accessories to go along with it will help encourage imaginative storytelling. Kelly Harris Smith, founder of the Boston-based Minni art space, says her preschool-age students love to dress up their dolls and stuffed animals. “They have even gone so far as designing and creating miniature outfits for them,” she says. Miniland makes lots of different outfits for its dolls, but I particularly love the ’80s-inspired raincoat and astronaut outfit below. For kids who take their baby doll everywhere they go, an adorable, shrunken-down Ergobaby doll carrier will help them do so hands-free. New! You can now save this product for later. New! You can now save this product for later. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. From $40 Milk Teeth co-founder Catherine Newell-Hanson is a repeat buyer of these personalized superhero capes that have been a hit with many of the kids in her life. You’ll need a bit of lead time, but the result will undoubtedly make the recipient feel special. “The Etsy seller who makes them can also include a matching mask,” she notes. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. “Plips” are part fidget and part building toy; kids can assemble unique sculptures and patterns while practicing their their fine-motor skills. But what I like most about them is that the pieces make a satisfying “pop” when pulled apart. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Jocelyn Greene, founder of Child’s Play NY, says that pretending to be someone else — whether it’s a race-car driver, makeup artist, firefighter, or surgeon — is not only fun, it’s critical to a 4-year-old’s development, as they explore how to navigate the world in someone else’s shoes. Couch Swag makes a variety of play panels that you can mount in doorways or attach to an existing play couch so they can become the proprietor of a coffee shop, ice-cream counter, or car wash. Under $100 Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. $80 Once they have mastered building with basic LEGO blocks, you might want to challenge them with a themed LEGO build that’s specifically designed for kids 4 years old and up. This Gabby’s Dollhouse set is certainly elaborate, but the instructions are easy to follow, even if it takes you and your preschooler a few days to finish. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. If cats and dogs are old news, here’s a toy that lets children play midwife — sort of — to a rabbit. When you first open Mama Surprise (and a grown-up sets it up with batteries), she is alone in her hutch. But after feeding her some carrots and comforting her with a few head pats, she is ready to give birth to three babies. One of senior editor Jen Trolio’s daughters received the older guinea-pig version of this toy for her 6th birthday and loved re-creating the surprise over and over again. But she easily figured out how it worked, so Trolio suggests giving it to kids around 4 years old instead. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Many kids who love Hot Wheels cars don’t need more Hot Wheels cars. So if you’re looking for a gift in that realm that’s won’t add to the clutter, I suggest this T. rex on wheels that doubles as a Hot Wheels garage and ramp. I found out about the toy from WNBA player Breanna Stewart, whose toddler son is obsessed with it. Kids can also use it to clean up their toy cars by guiding its jaws over them and watching as it loudly gobbles them up. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. One of my son’s favorite activities is cooking or baking with me and my husband. He’s still very much a beginner, but I bet by the time he turns 4, he’ll be ready to take on more difficult projects with us. This kids cooking set is the right size for mini-chefs and includes an apron, oven mitts, a rolling pin, a wooden knife, a wooden chopper, a cutting board, a spatula, tongs, and a whisk. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. When the baking is done, Disney Princess enthusiasts can host their friends, family, and dolls for a fancy tea service using this set of real porcelain teacups that feature Belle, Jasmine, Ariel, and Cinderella. $100 and up Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. This Playmobil castle isn’t cheap, but it is packed with cool details that make it irresistible: spiral staircases that wind around one of the castle towers, a majestic throne room, rotating dance platforms, climbing rose bushes, a golden gate, a royal couple, and a cute Persian cat. Saved View Want to be emailed when products you’ve saved are over 20% off? Success! You'll get an email when something you've saved goes on sale. Yes New! You can now save this product for later. Lorena Canals’ kids’ rugs and beanbag chairs are beloved by parents and interior designers seeking bold, playful décor. This giant carrot-shaped beanbag chair has a cotton cover and is big enough for most 4-year-olds to sleep on. Stroll through Prospect Park on a sunny day and you’re guaranteed to spot at least a handful of kids racing around on their Woom balance and pedal bikes. The company offers six different models for ages 18 months to 10 years; Ro’s son Augie rode an earlier model of the Woom GO 2, a 14-inch bike designed for kids 3 and up, for two years until he turned 5. (Now that he’s a taller 6-year-old, he’s graduated to a 16-inch wheel size like you’ll find on the Woom GO 3.) “The ride is so smooth,” says Ro, noting that braking is easy, too, thanks to the ergonomic and designed-for-small-hands levers. Just don’t forget to add a helmet. New! You can now save this product for later. New! You can now save this product for later. New! You can now save this product for later. Additional reporting by Lauren Ro and Steven John. The Strategist is a new site designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best notebook, black T-shirts, fashion-editor-approved jeans, toothbrush, and apartment décor. Note that all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. More Christmas Gift Ideas This Barefoot Dreams Set for Half-Off Would Make a Nice Gift for a Traveler 82 Holiday Gifts for Every Type of Husband An Advent Calendar for Every Kind of Person The Best Christmas Gifts for Teenage Girls, According to Teenage Girls See All A Toy Reviewer’s Favorite Holiday Gifts for 4-Year-Olds
