Articles by The Toy Chest

Art-Obsessed Kids: Finding Gifts That Match Their Creative Fire The kid who asks for "just paper and markers" for every birthday isn't being modest—they...

Horse-Crazy Kids Deserve Better Than Pink Plastic Ponies That child in your life who draws horses in every notebook margin, who makes clip-clop sounds w...

Finding the Right Gift for Your Little Musician Music-obsessed kids come in wildly different flavors. There's the four-year-old who bangs on every surfa...

Space-Obsessed Kids Deserve More Than Glow Stars My favorite moment last week: a grandmother came in looking for something for her six-year-old grandson...

Magic Tricks That Actually Fool Their Friends A kid who loves magic isn't just interested in tricks—they're drawn to the feeling of knowing something ot...

Dinosaur Gifts That Don't Go Extinct After a Week The dinosaur phase hits hard. One day your kid is mildly interested in T-Rex, and the next they're cor...

Finding the Right Gift for Your Animal-Obsessed Kid My neighbor's daughter spent three months exclusively meowing. Not talking—meowing. She'd respond to...

Science Toys That Actually Click for Six-Year-Olds Six is a magical age for science. Kids have moved past the "why" phase into "let me try it myself" te...

Road Trip Games That Actually Survive the Backseat The drive from Nashville, Indiana to anywhere worth going takes at least an hour. Louisville? An hour...

Building Sets That Actually Challenge an 8-Year-Old Eight is a fascinating age for building. The basic brick sets that captivated your child at six now ...

Three-Player Game Night Actually Works The math of board games gets weird with three players. Two people make every game feel like a duel. Four divides ...