The Perfect Holiday Gift For Kids Who Are Obsessed With Building
Kids who love to build are bright and creative, unwittingly sharpening their STEAM skills while crafting castles, towers, and, in one particularly memorable case at my house, “the world’s fanciest toilet.”
But parents of these mini engineers, when tasked with holiday shopping, are often conflicted about bringing new construction sets into their homes. Will this require adult supervision? We wonder, examining the box for the telltale small-print disclaimer (or, worst of all, tiny pieces). Will stepping on these in the night cause more pain than seems humanly possible?
Not all building toys are created equal, and that’s why my kids and I love MAGNA-TILES building sets. Not only are these beloved magnetic building tiles safe, durable, easily stowable, and endlessly imaginative, but they also encourage highly interactive and meaningful creative play, with no grown-up intervention needed (unless, of course, it’s to break up squabbles over who’s hogging the MAGNA-TILES pieces). Here’s why they’re a must-buy this holiday season for every budding builder:
They’re The Gold Standard In Magnetic Building Sets
The OG of magnetic building tiles, MAGNA-TILES playsets are designed with safety, durability, and developmental milestones in mind. All MAGNA-TILES pieces are built to withstand endless hours of playtime, with a signature lattice that prevents cracking even when tall towers topple, and magnets held securely in place with fastening rivets. MAGNA-TILES pieces are designed for kids as young as three to pull apart and put back together with ease, making their creative play independent and frustration-free.
Better yet, each colorful piece is made from food-grade, non-toxic MABS plastic free from BPAs, phthalates, and latex. It’s almost like MAGNA-TILES thought of everything a parent would look for in a building tile (they did). The Classic 100-Piece Set is a great place to start when building your child’s MAGNA-TILES collection.
They’re So Much More Than Simple Shapes
Classic MAGNA-TILES building sets come with unlimited possibilities for Meaningful Play, but the brand’s reach extends far beyond squares and triangles, with sets that prioritize highly interactive and cooperative imaginative play. The Builder Set introduces a magnetic crane to lift and move rectangular “bricks” or yellow-and-black construction blockades to build structures alongside a curvy magnetic road! And the new Downhill Duo Set, which allows kids to create a thrilling downhill race with two figures and vehicles, just won Preschool Toy of the Year at the 2023 Toy of the Year Awards. It’s quickly become the hottest toy of the season and is selling out across the country. But don’t worry, we hear more may be coming just in time for holiday gift giving!
They’re Endlessly Compatible
Each MAGNA-TILES piece is designed to connect to every other piece, regardless of which set it came from — which means stress-free shopping when adding to your kids’ collection. Can the polar bears and whale from the Arctic Animals Set coexist alongside the Velociraptor and Pteranodon from the Dino World XL Set? You bet! Sure, they’re separated IRL by 150 million years, but magnets level the playing field, so to speak. MAGNA-TILES sets are made to be easily mixed and matched so that no limits are placed on your child’s creativity.
They Build Crucial Developmental Skills — All Through Play
Educational toys are all well and good, but the very best learning is done through joyful play. MAGNA-TILES playsets introduce shapes, colors, and matching and seamlessly introduce STEAM concepts like spatial reasoning and engineering through the simple acts of reaching, pushing, pulling, and balancing.
So while you may see your child happily pushing a magnetic car down a hill or crafting an icy habitat for a magnetic sea lion, what you can’t see are the neurons firing in their rapidly-growing brains, strengthening cognitive skills and reinforcing the many developmental benefits of child-led, intuitive play.
They Clean Up In A (Literal) Snap
We may select gifts with our kids in mind, but every parent still has to look out for their own sanity when it comes to finding storage for even more toys around the holidays. That’s why MAGNA-TILES construction toys are a dream come true at clean-up time: the slim design of individual pieces, aided by their magnetic force, means the tiles snap together flat for easy, stackable storage, either in their original boxes or in the MAGNA-TILES 2-in-1 Storage Bin & Interactive Playmat (yes, they’ve thought of everything).
So what are you waiting for? The gift of a MAGNA-TILES playset is an investment in your child’s development and joy for years to come.
