Each year I get the absolute plum gig of compiling our annual list of must-buy toys for the holiday season. My fellow GeekParents and I test them out, write them up, and then it’s over to me to place them in… well, whatever weird order strikes my fancy at the time. This year’s guide sees the return of many of our favorite pop culture licenses, updated takes on some old-school favorite puzzle toys, a dash of new high-tech hotness, and lots (and lots!) of LEGO.
Note that this post includes affiliate links. Making a purchase through these links may provide the listed contributor with a small commission.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 6″ Reversible Plushies
By: TeeTurtle
Price: $15 each
TeeTurtle’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reversible plushie collection gives you all four mutant brothers two times over. On one side, Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael are battle-ready with their weapons drawn. But flip them inside out and the lads switch into pizza-scarfing mode. Available at $15 per plushie, they make the perfect pick-up for TMNT fans of any age. (Review materials provided by TeeTurtle.) –Z.
Rubik’s Cubers
By: Rubik’s Cube
Price: $10-15
This is not your Grandpa’s Rubik’s cube. Like the original classic, Cubers feature 6 sides of 9 squares each, only instead of colors each cube is the head of your favorite superhero. Each of the 6 faces comes together to form a side of their head, and they can then be mounted on the included body. Batman comes with ears too! They can be tricky, especially with the monotone superheroes, but they’re very satisfying to complete and display. –SP
Connetix Magnetic Tiles Road Range
By: Connetix
Price: $150-$250
For anyone who has ever spent a rainy day playing with magnetic tiles, the new Roads range from Connetix is the perfect addition to extend gameplay and expand the boundaries of your imagination. Smooth black tiles with white road markings will add an extra dimension to your existing pack or serve as a standalone play space. Now with arches, intersections, quarter circles, and long and short ramps, the tiles are curved for roads and can be used to build bridges and tunnels, offering a more unusual array of shapes than the standard kits. For those with limited space who have fond memories of the road rugs of their youth, this is the perfect collapsible highway build. –SP
Star Wars GraviTrax and GraviTrax Junior: My Planet
By: Ravensburger
Price: $79.99 to $89.99 for Star Wars GraviTrax, $111 for GraviTrax Junior: My Planet
Whether you want to take down the Death Star or explore different cute planet ecosystems, GraviTrax has you covered this year. Building on their extensive line of sets, expansions, and components, GraviTrax now has a licensed Star Wars set as well as a sturdy Junior set that combines themes from their other Junior sets. (The Junior sets have plastic bases instead of the usual cardboard.) If you have a kid or adult in your life who likes to build things and then roll marbles/metal balls down them, GraviTrax is the answer. Check out the main GraviTrax store for countless sets as well as accessories and add-ons that add functionality, and various other GraviTrax products. The Star Wars GraviTrax set can also be found at Target. Read my full review at GeekMom! –JB
Parallel World Marble Run
By: ROKR
Price: $119.99 for pair, $64.99 each
Assembling these marble run kits is like a cross between a model kit and a LEGO set: you clip out the pieces, but then things snap together easily, no glue required (though a few tiny screws on occasion). Each of the two sets—The Last City and The Future City—has three possible paths for the marbles to traverse, with details that light up. The sets can also be connected to run in a series or in parallel; there are only two different sets available so far, but up to 4 can be hooked up in a single display. –JL
LEGO Ideas Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale
By: LEGO
Price: $359.95
With a long-anticipated collaboration between LEGO and Dungeons & Dragons, players can now build a full adventure diorama featuring a dragon, a tavern, a tower, a dungeon, and a brigade of adventurers and monsters for them to fight. Iconic creatures include the owlbear, beholder, mimic, displacer beast, and the gelatinous cube, along with minions to keep things going. This massive set makes the perfect gift for your geek who loves LEGO and Dungeons & Dragons, and it offers creatures and builds not available in any other set. –RB
LEGO Minifigure Dungeons & Dragons 6-Pack
By: LEGO
Price: $25.16
This box includes six blind-pack selections of Dungeons & Dragons miniatures. Featuring heroes and villains from Dungeons & Dragons lore. Iconic villains in the pool of possible miniatures include Tasha and her iconic cauldron, the Lady of Pain, Szass Tam (seen in the film Honor Amongst Thieves), and everyone’s favorite vampire, Count Strahd. Player character miniatures include previously unseen species such as dragonborn, tiefling, gith, and even a winged and beaked aarakocra. Give one or more bundles, and watch the thrill of your geek opening miniatures they will love. –RB
LEGO Animal Crossing: K.K.’s Concert Plaza
By: LEGO
Price: $56.94
LEGO has been knocking it out of the proverbial park with their recent string of Nintendo-licensed build sets, but my favorite by far is K.K.’s Concert Plaza from the LEGO Animal Crossing line. This 550-piece set brings the quiet wonder of the Animal Crossing video game series to life complete with its iconic Resident Services building, a charming café cart, and a drivable camper. Three minifigures—K.K. Slider, Isabelle, and Audie—and lots of included extras keep the playtime going and help make K.K.’s Concert Plaza an ideal way to start building your family’s very own Animal Crossing world. (Review materials provided by Nintendo of America.) –Z.
Nitro Deck
By: CRKD
Price: $49.99
If your Nintendo Switch or Switch OLED is due for a makeover and a new pair of Joy-Cons just won’t cut it, I highly suggest you take a look at the Nitro Deck from CRKD. This all-in-one controller solution offers comfort and responsiveness without sacrificing the gyroscopic and rumble support you’ve come to expect from your Switch. Best of all, its hall effect thumbsticks keep it safe from the dreaded Joy-Con drift! While the original Nitro Deck is available in a number of styles and colors—I just purchased the Hellboy Special Edition myself—CRKD also recently released the Nitro Deck+, which supports HDMI output via USBC, for a mere $20 more. –Z.
Click through to read all of “GeekDad/GeekMom Holiday Gift Guide 2024: Toys” at GeekDad.If you value content from GeekDad, please support us via Patreon or use this link to shop at Amazon. Thanks!
