15 Best Creative Toys to Inspire Imaginative Play
You might have heard people talking about providing your kids with experiences rather than toys. But have you ever thought about promoting imaginative play? This is where creative and educational toys come in handy as they boost your child’s ability to think and create something.
So, what do you buy for artistic kids? Well, that’s easy; you can search “what is the most trending toy now?” and get a huge list you can give your kids.
If you don’t want to do that, we have developed this list of the best toys to inspire creative play in your kids, so read on.
The Best Creative Toys for Kids for Boosting Imaginative Play
1. Rock Painting Kit
Want to buy a productive toy that can inspire visionary play in your kids and go for a toy that is trending right now, then consider buying the rock painting kit.
Your kids can paint their hearts out on these tiny rocks and create small crafts that look cute. If you or your kid prefer using pens over paint brushes, consider going for acrylic ones. It's a fun way for your kid to be more imaginative and creative.
2. Play-Doh Modeling Compound
Play-Doh has been a significant part of many childhoods of adults these days. So, you get to be productive with your kids and participate in their activities. They will make different shapes and be as inventive as they can be.
You can buy a complete accessory set for them that they can use in conveniently making those shapes. It gets messy, but the doh will eventually dry, and your kids will have a lot of fun while being ingenious.
3. Legos
Engineer-minded kids will love playing with legos. Many legos come in kits, but some are available in blocks. But both of them are pretty helpful for your kids to exercise their minds.
You can encourage your kids to make stories along the way while playing with the Lego structures. It’s fun, even if you don’t like stepping onto these tiny pieces.
4. The Drawing Book
Drawing books are always great because they help kids in learning. They can be gifted and try to use their imagination if they are allowed to create their spin on those drawings.
Your kids can make stories about the things they are drawing, which helps them learn more and generate more creative ideas. It's a pretty good mental exercise for young brains.
5. Perler Fuse Beads
These fusion beads can provide hours of entertainment for ingenious kids. They will get loads of opportunities to make various shapes and patterns. So, these are among the best art toys you can go for.
You can even get your kids one of those pegboards as well. It will help them to arrange the beads properly into patterns before you iron them to fuse them. With these beads on their side, your kids will stay hooked for a long while.
6. Dusico Rainbow Balloon Set
The source of hours of entertainment for your kids is these rainbow balloons. And the best part is that they don’t even cost much either. But be more cautious around babies as well as toddlers for their safety.
You can buy your kids a cheap pump to blow these balloons up, or you can blow them for your kids. You can tell your kids to keep them from hitting the floor and create a wide range of other similar games.
7. My First Big Book of Coloring
Coloring books, just like drawing books, are pretty fun for kids as well as adults. As your kids get older, they will begin to enjoy more detailed coloring books. These books enable them to incorporate their imagination when they want or choose.
For this, you can use coloring pencils, but markers are also a good option if the book has a thicker page. You can even give your kids a blank page and let them create their coloring book.
8. Melissa and Doug Building Blocks (Solid Wood)
These blocks are one of the best open-ended toys. If you are looking for classic toys, these wooden blocks will come in handy. The set has a variety of wooden blocks, and kids can be innovative with them as they get to build homes, towers, roads, and so much more.
Your kids can even come with various creative games as they move around the blocks and play with them. Open ended-toys like this enable kids to exercise their brains. And that’s why open-ended toys are best.
9. Shapemags Magnetic Tiles
This one is among those toys you might have heard that kids love playing with them. These tiles encourage creativity, and we think magnetic tiles are one of the best toys for kids. If your kid is new to these magnetic tiles, you might try them out with a starter kit.
You can always go for a larger kit later on if you think your kids love playing with these tiles. These tiles can boost your child's imagination and creativity, and they can make a wide range of interesting structures and buildings with these tiles.
10. VTech KidiZoom Camera
This camera allows your kids to take their pictures. Taking pictures nowadays is a pretty trending activity for everyone. But you must remember that it has some preloaded games, and the picture quality isn’t great.
But it's durable and will continue to serve your kids for a long time. It's a cool toy to boost artistic pursuits in your kids because it's pretty interesting to see what your kid thinks picture-worthy.
11. Melissa and Doug Wooden Stacking Train
Another cool thing to have that allows your kid to be innovative is this wooden stacking train. Your kid will love taking those blocks on and off the train.
Your kid can play with the pieces separately or together and will stay reneged for a longer period. Kids can also make some stories along the way and be more original during gameplay.
12. Lincoln Logs
It’s another blast from the past; many parents might have played with these logs. It's a cool toy that allows you to create an association and let your kids play with it.
After all, who doesn’t love creating a log cabin in a western town? There are loads of options that your kids can go for, and this promotes creativity and imagination.
13. MarvelBeads Rainbow Water Beads
These water beads are cheap and extremely fun too. These beads are pretty small in the beginning. But as soon as you add water to them, they expand immediately.
Kids love seeing them getting bigger and then touching them within a bowl. There is not much to play with these beds, but they are interesting and worth watching.
14. K’NEX Building Set
These are some of the most innovative toys that kids love to play with. And it will be a lot of fun for you to see what they can create using their tiny brains.
They can create different designs other than what they are meant for. And there are a variety of options available for kids of all ages. It's just a fun activity for your little ones to start running their creative juices.
15. Lulu Jr. My Comic Book
Kids who prefer storytelling over anything else will love to play with this comic book. But, even if not, it's a pretty good book that they will love going through. It will provide them with a pathway to be more inventive.
The best thing is that it doesn’t tell them who is their favorite superhero. And this is where things begin to pump up for your little ones.
What Do You Buy for Creative Kids?
There is a wide variety of toys that you can go for when buying for your kids to boost their creativity and imagination. The toys we have listed above are enough for your little ones to put their brains into action.
Our kids always have enough toys around them that they don’t even need. Their brains are developing, so it is best to give them some toys to put their brains into full swing and stretch it out for them as much as possible. It will help them out a lot in the coming years.
Open-Ended Building Toys
Open-ended building toys are always great because they let the kids try various options and think outside the box. There can always be a few designs to get them going. But there is always a massive room for them to make something on their own, which helps them get their brains moving whimsically during their open-ended play.
Sensory
We don’t recommend these sensory toys for younger kids, or at least without supervision. Otherwise, you might end up with a gigantic mess to clean up. These toys are great for all kids, whether they have sensory issues. They can be pretty relaxing, and frankly speaking, everyone wants a relaxed kid, no?
Cars & Vehicles
Another good option you can try is these cars and vehicles if your kids are not that. Those matchbox cars are pretty good, as your kid can also incorporate magnetic blocks. Some toys are more detailed, letting the kids make their cars by joining different pieces while working on their creative ideas.
Blocks
Blocks work pretty well, and we all know that because we have had them in childhood. These blocks with numbers or alphabets can work for young kids, while pattern blocks can be suitable for bigger kids as they must match the pattern card.
Dress Up & Imaginative Play
Costumes can also work well, as kids love to dress up during pretend play. Things can get pretty interesting, especially after Halloween, and this is the time when you should go for those costumes.
There are so many available on the market and at pretty good rates. There is a range of different sceneries you can go for and let them play while playing out in other stories.
Animal Figures
If your kid loves animals, you can give them these animal figures and let them create their own stories with them. It will enable them to get those artistic juices going pretty fast.
Wrap up
There is a wide range of creative toys that you can give your kids to play with to boost their brain activity. But we highly recommend open-ended toys because they bolster the imagination in your kids.
They not only have some patterns to mimic, but they can learn the ropes and then begin creating something on there one day in and day out.