When learning feels like play, children can explore, create and problem-solve with excitement — these toys turn education into adventure.

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Our child testers explored a wide variety of toys, from early learning sets to complex construction kits, logic puzzles, and STEM activities. Parents focused on learning potential, educational value, skill-building and engagement, while children judged fun, playability, and creativity. The following toys scored highest for mixing learning with excitement and lasting play appeal.

Best educational/learning toy (under £20)

Affordable educational toys give little learners the chance to explore STEM subjects and phonics outside of school.

Our testers counted, built, balanced, played and even fished with a range of educational toys. Parents considered learning potential, engagement, play value and appeal for children. Here are the 2025 winners:

Gold: Orchard Toys Dinosaur Number Eggs

Orchard Toys Dinosaur Number Eggs MFM Toy Awards 2025
My 3-year-old wanted to play it straight away and we have played it several times since we opened the box as she enjoys playing so much. It's good quality so will last over the years no matter how many times you use it. We have started to recognise some numbers we're playing already, so it helps with teaching numbers.
Kimberley, mum of child judge Lily-Rose, 3 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "Educational, fun, great value, durable and it's dinosaur themed — it's no surprise that this board game from Orchard Toys was a huge hit with our child testers and their parents. This great game effortlessly blends the fun of a matching game with skill-building, making it a worthy winner in this category."

Alphablocks MFM Toy Awards 2025
My child thoroughly enjoyed playing with this toy. She has been able to use it independently and has been able to match her phonic learning at school with the sounds in the box. She loved the individual characters and making the sounds to match them.
Fiona, mum of child judge Addie, 4 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "Described as 'a brilliant and fun resource to support school learning at home', by one parent, this Alphablocks Character Set really impressed us. Simple but effective, it offers great learning opportunities as well as excellent play potential for kids."

Silver: Jaques of London Catching Frogs

Jaques of London Catching Frogs MFM Toy Awards 2025
My five-year-old really enjoyed playing with the game and I liked that there were multiple different ways the game could be played. Jacob said he liked using the fishing rod to catch the frogs and his favourite game was racing mummy to see who could catch the most frogs.
Ellie, mum of child judge Jacob, 5 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "This beautiful toy from Jaques of London is simple but versatile with multiple ways of playing available, meaning you can choose a game that's appropriate for your child's age."

Available from Jaques of London

MathLink® Cubes Activity Set Numberblocks® Express Train from Learning Resources® MFM Toy Awards 2025
This toy adds the fun element to learning. It's an exciting toy that can be used in a number of ways. She loves the bright colours and putting the stickers on, and also enjoyed the added aspect of the activity card challenges. They were easy enough for her to do this on her own.
Jennifer, mum of child judge Callie, 5 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "By encouraging counting, adding and subtracting through play, this fantastic train set really does add a fun element to learning. We love that it can be used in a number of ways and, of course, it will appeal to any Numberblocks fans."

Shortlisted: Numberblocks Puzzle Solver from Learning Resources | Little Lolly Wooden Magnetic Fishing Toy - Alphabet Version

Best educational/learning toy (over £20)

These learning toys are designed to engage children for long periods, encouraging advanced skills, problem-solving and creative thinking

Our testers got hands-on with games, counting sets and problem-solving activities, while parents evaluated engagement, learning value and overall quality. Here are the 2025 winners.

Gold: LeapFrog: LeapStart Reading Buddies

LeapFrog- LeapStart Reading Buddies MFM Toy Awards 2025
I love it, this is a super special toy because it helps me learn and it makes me really happy when I am playing with it. Everyday when I come back from school, I am excited to play with it.
Child judge Alicia, 4 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "Effortlessly blending learning and play, this innovative toy from LeapFrog immediately captured our child testers' attention and imagination. Their parents told us that they engaged with the toy right from the start. They were also incredibly impressed by how much their children interacted with this toy that really does bring reading to life."

Silver: Count & Match Wooden Set from Learning Resources

Count & Match Wooden Set from Learning Resources MFM Toy Awards 2025
I think it’s super fun! I really like it and I want to keep playing with it again and again. I like the numbers and the balls — they make it exciting. It’s cool that I can learn things while I play. It makes learning fun!
Child judge Lily, 3 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "This set strikes a great balance between being educational and entertaining and we love that the difficulty can change as children grow older. It also helps develop a range of key skills and, most importantly, our child judges found it incredibly fun."

Bronze: Numberblocks Add It Up Mini Market from Learning Resources

Numberblocks® Add It Up Mini Market from Learning Resources® MFM Toy Awards 2025
Benji has really enjoyed playing with this toy as it is designed using the baskets to work out the sums. He has particularly loved the role playing aspect of the toy. He has enjoyed using the figure in other games, stacking the shopping to make towers and adding the numbers together.
Kathryn, mum of child judge Benji, 3 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "Fans of role play will adore this set. Kids will learn about basic maths whilst engaging in a fun shopping adventure, resulting in a great mix of learning through play."

Shortlisted: Dressing Skills Bean Bags from Learning Resources

Best logic toy/puzzle

Logic toys and puzzles sharpen analytical thinking and fine motor skills, offering hours of screen-free entertainment.

Our testers played a variety of puzzles, rating each for problem-solving potential, engagement and fun. Parents also judged quality and value. These are the 2025 award winners.

Gold: Numberblocks Puzzle Solver from Learning Resources

Numberblocks® Puzzle Solver from Learning Resources MFM Toy Awards 2025
Alfie said he really likes this toy and it’s fun to play. It’s kept him engaged for hours. He gets a real sense of achievement from completing every level and is proud to show us what he’s done!
Viki, mum of child judge Alfie, 3 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "Our child judges (some maths-obsessed and some not!) found this toy so much fun and their parents loved that it offers something new and innovative. It really does make maths more entertaining and the puzzle element was a clear winner."

Gold: Smart Games - IQ Noodles

Smart Games - IQ Noodles MFM Toy Awards 2025
Arthur is 7 and really enjoyed playing with this for quite a while. There are so many different challenges in the book that you could do a different one every time you play. As there are so many levels it can be played as a family competitively all doing a level suited to them!
Stephanie, mum of child judge Arthur, 7 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "As one parent said, 'this is a fantastic little toy.' There is so much to love about it: it's portable, great value, engaging, tactile, develops a range of skills, is suitable for a wide variety of ages and it has over 100 multi-level challenges available. Children and adults alike will have hours of fun tackling these puzzles."

Silver: Smart Games - Counting Sheep

Smart Games - Counting Sheep MFM Toy Awards 2025
Evelyn loved playing with the game – she liked organising the sheep and trying to find the best possible way to match them. I like the educational aspect of the game that sparks problem solving thinking and creativity.
Petya, mum of child judge Evelyn, 7 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "Another great toy from Smart Games, our child judges loved the animal element to Counting Sheep and found the game funny and challenging. We love that this is another puzzle that kids and adults alike will enjoy, as one parent said, 'my son enjoyed playing this alone or with help from myself or his dad (who I have seen playing it alone too)!'"

Bronze: Smart Games - Hide & Seek

Smart Games - Hide & Seek MFM Toy Awards 2025
It's something fun that gets his brain working and he can do it independently which is great. It's a good quality game that can provide lots of fun and excitement as each time can be different.
Taylor, mum of child judge Ezra, 4 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "A great brain stimulating game for young kids, our child judges and their parents really loved the originality and theme of Hide & Seek. With 48 different challenges, plenty of play potential and even educational value — it's a great introduction to logic games."

Shortlisted: tickit Safari Animal Layer Puzzle

Best construction toy

Building toys foster creativity, spatial awareness and problem-solving, while providing endless fun.

From magnetic tiles to intricate brick sets, our testers explored the possibilities of each construction toy. Parents evaluated quality, play potential, ease of storage and value. Here are the 2025 winners.

Gold: Mattel Brick Shop Hot Wheels '90 Acura NSX

Mattel Brick Shop™ Hot Wheels® '90 Acura NSX MFM Toy Awards 2025
I think this set is really good. I liked building the engine and all the inside bits of the car. Some of the smaller bits are hard to get together but it all clicked together really well.
Child judge Frasier

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "When we say Mattel, you may not instinctively think of building bricks, but we think you should. There are some really thoughtful elements to this construction toy; we like that it comes complete with a matching miniature Hot Wheels and the attention to detail, like the build of the engine and moveable doors."

Silver: GraviTrax Junior - My Jungle Starter Set

GraviTrax Junior - My Jungle Starter Set MFM Toy Awards 2025
Elena really enjoyed playing with this, even declaring 'I love it!'. She was quite absorbed when playing with it and spent lots of time trying different configurations she imagined herself. She really liked the decorations and loved the interactive pieces like being able to pop the ball up with a button.
Jennifer, mum of child judge Elena, 3 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "A brilliant take on marble run from Ravensburger games, who also have fantastic sustainability cred with this toy made using wood bioplastic. This set stood out to us as it feels intuitive, sturdy and it's so exciting watching the balls roll!"

Bronze: MAGNA-TILES Rail Racers

MAGNA-TILES MFM Toy Awards 2025
I can't believe I can use Magna-Tiles as a racing track, I never thought I'd be able to use them like this. It's really clever how they made the edges and the tiles just fit in them really easily. It's a tiny bit tricky to get the rails to balance on some of the edges but I can do it now.
Child judge Oscar, 6 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "A great take on the classic marble run using Magna-Tiles, we like how they encourage creativity and experimentation to get the best track you can."

Bronze: CONNETIX PRO 70 Piece Constructor Set

CONNETIX PRO 70 Piece Constructor Set MFM Toy Awards 2025
I enjoyed making different structures and knowing they would actually stay up. I want to be an architect when I grow up, so it’s really cool to use the Connetix set to build the kinds of structures I imagine in my head. It feels like I’m taking the first steps towards my dream job.
Child judge Oscar, 9 years old

MadeForMums Toy Awards Team say: "This CONNETIX set takes things up a level, with this advanced set for building pros. CONNETIX have introduced new tiles featuring "Smart-Spin technology" which lets magnets rotate 360 degrees, which give even more design freedom."

Shortlisted: Playmobil: Sky Trails 71969 Starter Kit

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Authors

MadeforMums Awards Team
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