The Parents' Gift Guide

November 3, 2026

Six toys and toy types that have outlasted every trend, chosen for the grown-up holding the list, with the safety labels worth reading before anything goes in the basket.

November 3, 2026

Bricks, crayons, clay, a first board game, notched logs and a bicycle: six long-lived gifts for a four-to-six-year-old, with the reasoning and the labels to read.

November 3, 2026

A cube, a murder mystery, a tower of wooden blocks, a kite, a deck of cards and a bigger set of bricks: six long-lived gifts for a seven-to-nine-year-old.

November 3, 2026

Chess, Scrabble, Risk, Monopoly and a flying disc: five long-lived gifts for the hardest age to shop for, chosen for a parent who wants something that gets used.

November 3, 2026

Nine small, plain-named gifts that fit a stocking or close to it, each with a documented history, plus the small-parts rules that matter most when the gifts are small.

November 3, 2026

Five toys that turned up on the DreamToys list, the Toy of the Year awards and the hot-toy roundups of last December, and the stories behind them.

November 3, 2026

An animatronic blue alien, a card game with a mean streak, a cartoon dog family, a revived 1980s doll and a shark in bricks: five toys from Christmas 2024.

November 3, 2026

Barbie, Pokémon, Squishmallows, a six-thousand-piece castle and a game of Twister with a screen: five toys that mattered in Christmas 2023.

November 3, 2026

Squishmallows, a guinea pig that has babies overnight, a cartoon cat's dollhouse, a Pokémon box and a Star Wars walker: five toys from Christmas 2022.

November 3, 2026

A bubbling cauldron, a soft food squad, a Star Wars starship, a camera-equipped Tamagotchi and a film-inspired playhouse: Christmas 2021 in five toys.

November 3, 2026

A year spent at home, a green character with no toys yet, and a puppy that unwraps itself: five toys that were on the lists in the strangest Christmas of recent memory.

November 3, 2026

A Christmas with no single craze: five toys that appeared on the 2019 lists, from a doll that grows out of a flowerpot to a virtual pet that came back from the 1990s.

November 3, 2026

The first American Christmas after Toys R Us liquidated: five toys from the 2018 lists, including a Hogwarts hall in bricks and a doll from 1983 in its anniversary dress.

November 3, 2026

A robotic monkey that sold out, a doll wrapped in seven layers, a stretchy hero from 1976 and two more toys from the lists that shaped the shops that December.

November 3, 2026

The Christmas of the egg that hatched, the retro console that vanished and the tiny groceries with faces: five toys that appeared on the 2016 lists, with the documents behind each.

November 3, 2026

A rolling droid, a very wet game, tiny groceries, a Star Wars set and a gift that ended in a recall: five toys from the 2015 lists and headlines.

November 3, 2026

A sold-out snow queen, two robot dinosaurs, a spaceship from a film about bricks and a game with a long memory: five toys the 2014 lists agree on.

November 3, 2026

A hugging Elmo, a rubber-band loom, a tablet for the playroom, a construction kit with a story and the Furby's second act: five toys from the 2013 lists and awards.

November 3, 2026

A Furby with new eyes, a Lego line for a new audience, a tablet with its own award, the Turtles back on screen and a game with a portal: five toys of 2012.

November 3, 2026

A learning tablet, a ninja line from Lego, a game with a portal, a rocking Elmo and some angry birds: five toys that the 2011 lists and awards agree on.

November 3, 2026

A scooter, a fashion doll, a robot, a second Elmo and a hamster: five toys the 2000s Decembers were about, what the record says, and where to find the modern versions.

November 3, 2026

Beanie Babies, Buzz Lightyear, Tickle Me Elmo, Tamagotchi and Furby: five toys the 1990s Decembers were about, with what the record says and where to look today.

November 3, 2026

A cube, a doll, a shape-shifting robot, a talking bear and a handheld: five toys the 1980s Decembers circled, and where to find the modern versions.

November 3, 2026

How a hand-stitched doll with adoption papers became the toy that emptied department stores in 1983, and what the record says about the shortage.

November 3, 2026

How a plush Sesame Street doll that giggled became the hardest gift to find in December 1996, and what the contemporary reports actually say.

November 3, 2026

How a furry electronic creature with its own language emptied shelves, injured shoppers and got itself banned from the NSA during the 1998 holiday season.

November 3, 2026

LEGO, Slinky, Etch A Sketch, Play-Doh, Barbie and Hot Wheels: six toys with documented origins that are still around long after the toys of their moment.

November 3, 2026

Santa Claus is one answer among many. From Sinterklaas to the Christkind, Befana to the Yule Lads, here is who delivers, and on which night.

November 3, 2026

The postal services of the US, Canada, the UK, Finland and France all run official Santa addresses. Here is each one, what it asks of you, and what to check first.

November 3, 2026

Your eight-, nine- or ten-year-old has started asking pointed questions about Santa. What the research says about the timing, and practical ways to answer.

November 3, 2026

Books in Iceland, Donald Duck in Sweden, an empty chair in Poland: documented Christmas Eve customs, and how to borrow one without turning the evening into a project.