Grandparents and screens

Weekly game night

The highest-return family ritual we know.

Letters to grandparents

Slow, real connection, and grandparents treasure them.

Lovevery

Lovevery Wooden Block Set

Seventy pieces with 20+ activities designed by a team of child development experts. Toddlers get easy wins, and it grows into real engineering with ramps, arches and pegs.

Honest drawback: Premium price for blocks, so you're paying for the design and the activity guide.

Uncle Goose

Uncle Goose Watercolor ABC Blocks with Wagon

Made in Michigan from basswood. This is the kind of block set that ends up in the attic box marked "save for grandkids."

Honest drawback: They're for stacking and letter play, not big construction.

Magna-Tiles

Magna-Tiles Classic 100-Piece Set

This is the "whole playroom" set. A hundred tiles is the point where kids stop building one thing and start building worlds, and it's the most-used toy in many houses for years.

What real parents say: Wirecutter's former baby-and-kid editor says Magna-Tiles are her one answer when asked for a "holy-grail" toy, because they have about the longest play life of anything besides Lego. Sources

Honest drawback: A real investment, and the tiles end up everywhere. Pair it with a bin.

PlanToys

PlanToys Slide N Go Dollhouse

A wooden dollhouse with simple furniture that leaves the story to the child. It's the long-running quiet-time play kids return to for years.

Honest drawback: Figures are sold separately, and it takes up floor space.

Melissa & Doug

Melissa & Doug Wooden Fold & Go Dollhouse

A dollhouse with a handle that closes up for Grandma's house. It's the budget-friendly path to dollhouse play.

Honest drawback: Smaller scale with fewer pieces, and they're tiny, so keep it away from mouthing siblings.

Bannor Toys

Bannor Toys Train Push Toy

Cherry hardwood that darkens beautifully with age. It's the first-birthday gift that ends up on a shelf as a keepsake.

Honest drawback: It costs more than a plastic train, and it's supposed to.

Bannor Toys

Bannor Toys Wooden Nativity Scene Play Set

A nativity set kids are *allowed* to play with. Families who do Advent tell the story with it every December.

Honest drawback: It's seasonal, so it lives in a box 11 months a year.

Gamewright

Rat-a-Tat Cat

A card game that sneaks in memory and strategy. A 6-year-old can genuinely beat Grandpa, which is why it gets requested.

Honest drawback: Small card deck: take a zip bag so you don't lose cards under the restaurant booth.

Gamewright

Qwixx

A dice game where everyone plays on every roll, so nobody is ever waiting.

Honest drawback: Dice clatter. Roll into a box lid at restaurants.

KiwiCo

KiwiCo Koala Crate (ages 3–4)

A monthly project box for preschoolers, and a lovely grandparent gift that keeps arriving.

What real parents say: Wirecutter has tested KiwiCo since 2017 and calls Koala Crate the best craft box for preschoolers: original projects and quality materials, and kids keep playing with what they make. Sources

Honest drawback: A subscription. Set a reminder to cancel or gift-limit it.

KiwiCo

KiwiCo Kiwi Crate (ages 5–8)

Real build-it projects (a working pinball machine, a hydraulic claw). It's the antidote to "I'm bored" on a Saturday.

What real parents say: Wirecutter's pick for early elementary. Sources

Honest drawback: Quality of individual crates varies; some are one-and-done.

KiwiCo

KiwiCo Tinker Crate (ages 9–16)

Engineering projects for big kids, with no screen required to build them. A strong answer to "my 10-year-old only wants a tablet."

What real parents say: Wirecutter tested two Tinker Crates with an editor's 9-year-old. Sources

Honest drawback: Some builds need adult help, and pieces can be fiddly.