Black Friday is coming -- or is it the whole week now? the whole month? -- and we know many families are looking for ideas, especially as we approach the winter holidays.
It's true that you can probably incorporate speech and language into just about any toy, but we are SLPs, so of course we have a list of our favorites.
When we think about toys, games, books, and activities that will help foster speech & language development, here are some things to look out for:
EARLY LITERACY: Toys and books that feature letters are a great way to introduce pre-literacy skills.
COLLABORATIVE PLAY: Look for toys and games that encourage joint action and collaboration. These are great ways to develop social communication skills!
SENSORY INPUT: Toys that light up, make noise, or have varied textures can help your child explore their senses.
PREFERRED INTERESTS: Above all, toys and books should be FUN! Look for things your child already likes and lean in!
Play is a crucial tool that children use to develop language as well as social skills, problem solving, and self-regulation.
All play is okay. No matter your child’s age, we believe that as long as play is safe and fun, it is functional!
Whether your kid prefers to play alone, likes to play with the same toy over and over, or engages with toys in unconventional ways, follow their lead and celebrate the joy of play!
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2025:
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Building & Stacking
Kids of all ages love to build and stack. Here are a few of our favorites:
Goliath Jelly Blox Creative Kit: Squishy building blocks means no more stepping on hard plastic! Plus, the blocks are filled with beads and sand for tactile input. Check out the vehicles kit too!
Popular Playthings Magnetic Mix or Match: With options for dinosaurs, farm animals, and vehicles, these fun magnetic toys are sure to be a hit with any kid!
Bristle Blocks: These bumpy blocks are fun for open-ended construction. They even have wheel pieces so you can make vehicles, too.
Kids Melody Silicone Blocks: With letters, numbers, animals, and food designs, these blocks expose little ones to early math, literacy, and vocabulary skills!
Educational Insights Design & Drill Sparkle Works: This toy combines tools and design to encourage creativity. It even lights up and has music. Make the lights dance to your design!
Melissa & Doug Nesting Vehicles: Truck & car enthusiasts will have so much fun sorting, stacking, and zooming these guys all around.
Magnatiles Castle: Magnatiles are a favorite for a reason. We particularly love their sets that encourage pretend play in addition to construction. Check out their Jungle, Arctic, and Safari sets too.
Mega Bloks ABC Musical Train: This fun set is your one-stop shop for building, trains, letters, AND music! Press on the train’s smokestack to hear music & sound effects!
Sensory Play
Wake up those senses! Check out these toys for some fun sensory play.
Melissa & Doug Tummy Time Ocean: A great way for babies to explore their senses by touching, looking at, and mouthing this soft toy.
Impresa Scented Pop Fidgets: These pop fidgets are scented, giving access to tactile and olfactory input!
B. Toys Sensory Balance Beam Kit: The pieces of this kit are textured, so kids get input underfoot along with proprioceptive input as they balance.
Lite Brite Touch: Kids can copy a template or build their own glowing design - without losing any of those pesky pieces!
Hand2Mind Sounds of Rain Sensory Tubes: These tubes are a great way for kids to get some relaxing auditory input as they watch the “rain” fall.
Arts & Crafts
Yes, we know it can be messy but mess is good for kids. Along with sensory play, messy play let's children explore with all of their senses and keeps them engaged. We promise these toys aren't too messy.
Hape Easy-Grip Crayons: The littlest artists & kids with fine motor challenges will love using these jumbo crayons for all sorts of creative projects.
Melissa & Doug Paint Your Own Vehicles Kit: This kit comes with wooden vehicles, stickers, and paint - everything a kids needs to create their very own fleet!
Creativity for Kids DIY Sensory Squish Bag: Kids will love adding beads, confetti, and “magic mix” to create their own squishy bag. Plus, this kit comes with activity boards for endless fun and learning!
Crayola Dot Markers: These paint daubers are a classic for a reason - they’re easier to hold than traditional markers and not as messy as paint! We call that a win-win.
Harac Handheld Paper Cutter: This easy-to-hold paper cutter is great for kids who struggle to use clunky scissors and makes cutting out complicated shapes a breeze!
Klever Kits Animal Dot Art: Kids can use included stickers to decorate their favorite animals! A fun alternative to traditional coloring books - check out the dino & princess kits, too.
Imaginative Play
Let's play pretend!
Leapfrog Shapes & Sharing Picnic Basket: This toy helps strengthen vocabulary, language, and social skills through play. Try turning sound OFF to encourage play with communication partners.
Melissa & Doug Long Barn: This barn is like a puzzle & play set in one! Anyone want to sing “Old McDonald?”
Playdoh Care 'n Carry Vet: This set comes with all the accessories to take this cute pooch for a check-up. Or wait - maybe Rover’s getting groomed! The possibilities are endless.
Melissa & Doug Chef Costume: Kids will love putting on this chef get-up, and the accessories are perfect to pair with play food and kitchen toys. Yes, chef!
Melissa & Doug Get Well First Aid Kit: Is your kid obsessed with bandaids? Welcome to the first aid kit, where your little one can pretend to fix booboos all day long.
Fisher-Price Rockin' Record Player: Music lovers will have a blast picking out their favorite “records.” Take turns being the DJ, dancer, and pop star!
Wee Baby Stella Soft Doll: There are so many possibilities for pretend play with a baby doll. We especially love this soft doll for the earliest ages. You can rock baby to sleep, feed baby a bottle, or pretend to change her diaper! Kids love to act out routines from their daily lives.
Calico Critters Grocery Store: This fun playhouse lets kids imagine their very own grocery store! Pair with any small toys and figurines for endless possibilities.
Tabletop Games
Here are some of the board and card games we love to play:
Zingo: Perfect for kids & families to play together, this BINGO-style game helps kids practice early vocabulary, take turns, and negotiate sharing.
Headbanz: This fun guessing game flexes kids’ describing, question-asking, and categorization skills!
Pickles to Penguins: This fun picture card game tasks players to find connections between photos - what a great way to strengthen word relationships and semantic networks!
Hoot Owl Hoot: This collaborative board game has players work together, using color knowledge, following directions, and problem solving to bring the owls back to their nest! Check out similar collaborative games like Race to the Treasure or Mermaid Island.
Bubble Talk: Bubble Talk has kids create captions for funny photos - it’s a super fun way to practice perspective taking!
Anomia Kids: This fun game is great for preliteracy. Kids use their letter-sound knowledge to yell out words to steal opponents’ cards. You can also use the cards to think about categories and even rhymes!
Want even more games? Want to know more about social communication and executive functioning skills that you use when playing games? Check out our blog post Getcha Head in the Game, packed with information and some great recommendations.
Books
Are you surprised to learn we have not just one but four different book lists? Yeah, we aren't surprised either. We love books and it was hard to leave so many other ones out.
BOOKS FOR SENSORY EXPLORATION
Early readers can develop important pre-literacy skills - like touching & holding books and turning the pages - while exploring their senses.
Check out (1) See, Touch, Feel and (2) Peek-a-Boo Bunny
INTERACTIVE BOOKS
Kids can start actively participating in book reading by pressing buttons or opening flaps! This is especially great for kids who like to move and wiggle during book time. These interactive strategies keep your kids engaged for longer.
Check out sound books like (3) What Do You Say, Little Blue Truck?, flap books like (4) Peek-a-Flap Dino, and finger puppet books like (5) Baby Otter,
BOOKS WITH REPEATED LINES
Repeated lines, rhymes, and predictable story sequences are great for beginning readers to get excited about storytelling! Encourage young readers to speak aloud lines of the book that they know.
Check out (6) Please, Baby, Please, (7) Bear Wants More, and (8) The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
BOOKS TO TEACH LESSONS
Readers of all ages can learn important lessons from books about friendship, new experiences, big feelings, and more!
Check out (9) The Pigeon HAS to Go to School and (10) My Body Sends a Signal
WORDLESS PICTURE BOOKS
Wordless books are a great way to get kids talking about books! Try taking turns telling each part of the story as you flip through the pages.
Check out books like (1) Chalk and (2) I Walk With Vanessa.
BOOKS WITH RICH STORYTELLING
These books are awesome for making predictions and inferences, retelling stories, and making connections to real-life experiences.
Check out books like (3) Blizzard, (4) Jabari Tries, and (5) The Lost Library.
BOOKS FOR IMPORTANT TOPICS
Books are a great way to tackle tough or complicated topics. Reading together with your child can launch meaningful discussions about mental health, self-identity, inclusion, bullying, and more.
Check out books (6) A Walk in the Words, (7) It Feels Good to Be Yourself, and (8) When I See Red.
BOOKS FOR EARLY READERS
More advanced readers will love exploring the world of chapter books. Find books about their favorite topics to really motivate them to develop literacy skills!
Check out books like (9) The Secret Explorers and (10) Princess Pulverizer.
BOOKS FOR LEARNING TO READ
If you are looking to support your child to reading and literacy skills, the Lovevery Reading Kits are the best deal. Teaching through play, these kits walk through developmentally-appropriate preliteracy and literacy skills. And the accompanying books make it easy for your child to feel successful at their reading level as they learn.
There are three different levels -- Sounds to Reading, Words to Books, and Advanced Rules to Chapter Books spanning from pre-K skills to skills learned in 1st/2nd grade. Buy one kit at a time or buy all three.
NOTE: Alessandra wants to share that her kid loves his reading games and asks to play them because he really thinks they are fun, not because he's "trying to learn to read." She highly recommends them as a parent and an SLP.
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Reading books that feature characters with disabilities is important.
For those who are not disabled, reading promotes understanding, challenges stereotypes, and fosters inclusivity. For children who are disabled, seeing characters who reflect their own experience boosts self-esteem and confidence. Here are some of our favorite books that feature disability
The ABC's of Inclusion: Each page of this book introduces a character with a difference or disability, from autism to Down syndrome, to epilepsy, and more!
Noelle Finds Her Voice: Noelle, a little girl with a language delay, finds her voice - and her confidence - with the help of her family, teachers, and SLP!
Flap Your Hands: The four characters in this beautifully illustrated story celebrate all the ways they stim and remind readers that stimming is natural & wonderful!
We Move Together: This book celebrates inclusion, accessibility, and disability culture as the characters navigate their community together.
A Day With No Words: This award-winning book features a nonspeaking autistic character who shows all the ways he communicates without speech - AAC, gestures, and so much more.
El Deafo: At her new school, Cece turns her hearing device into a superpower - her Phonic Ear helps her hear her teacher from anywhere in the school!
Need More?
Have specific questions? Feel free to comment below or find us on instagram. We would love to help you find the perfect gift for your little one this holiday season.
Want all this information and some educational content in one handy PDF? Download the Holiday Gift Guide for free -- don't forget to click on the pictures for easy-to-use links.
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