9 Easter toys to boost baby and toddler development

playing easter games

by Catriona Watson |
Updated on

Easter is a time that simply screams CHOCOLATE and you don't have to miss out if you're vegan or dairy free, but, if you don’t want a toddler tantrum on your hands it may be wise to limit their intake of the sugary stuff and invest in some aptly themed Easter toys for children instead.

Best at a glance:

Best Easter shape sorter toy: Hide And Squeak Eggs, £8.99
Best Peter Rabbit Easter Toy: Orange Tree Toys Peter Rabbit Play Set, £21.49
Best Easter toy for role play: Le Toy Van 'Chicky Chick', £11.95

Not overdosing on chocolate eggs doesn't mean your kids can't have lots of fun. You can organise an egg-hunt, get creative or go on a day trip.

Best of all, check out our fabulous selection of alternative Easter gifts. They should help keep your little ones amused over the bank holiday weekend and beyond! They are even educational but let’s keep that bit between us.

Easter toys for babies and toddlers:

Best Easter shape sorter toy

Recommended
hide and squeak eggs
Price: £20.78
Alternative retailers
Walmart$27.95View offer

These Hide And Squeak Eggs have a twist on the traditional shape sorter, with the added joy of a cheeky squeak from the chirpy chicks. It improves manual dexterity and promotes recognition of colours and shapes. Suitable from six months.

Pros

  • This learning toy encourages shape sorting and colour recognition 
  • This learning toy suits your baby needs as they grow

Cons

  • Not many colourds to choose from

The best Easter toy game

Bunny Boo is a fantastic and fun introduction to concepts such as above/below, inside/outside, visible/hidden, etc. Is the rabbit looking through the round hole or through the star-shaped one? Is it standing on top of the yellow, the red or the blue block? Match the blocks with the cards to solve the puzzle! Playing Bunny Boo stimulates the following cognitive skills: Concentration, Language, Logic, Problem Solving, Spatial Insight.

Pros

  • 3 wooden blocks
  • 60 picture challenge cards

Cons

  • Not many wooden blocks

The best Peter Rabbit Easter toy

Recommended

This beautiful Orange Tree Toys Peter Rabbit Play Set is based on Mr McGregor's garden. It encourages imaginative play, comes with plenty of different elements for little hands to grasp and features all of our favourite characters to play with. It is sure to keep your kids entertained for hours. Suitable from three years old.

Pros

  • Painted with colourful non-toxic paint
  • Create little sets and scenes 

Cons

  • Only suitable for 36 months - 5 years

The best Easter stacking toy

Classic stacking toys are always a sweet addition to any nursery or play room. This Meadow Animal Stacker from JoJo Maman will introduce your little one to the joys of shape sorting and putting the pieces together to build the adorable sheep, chick and bunny animals. The stacker comes with three poles, making it easy to fit each piece on without them tumbling down.

Pros

  • Classic stacking toy
  • Includes sheep, chick and bunny stackers

Cons

  • Suitable from 1 year.

The best Easter toy for motor development

Recommended

Play peek-a-boo with Lamaze Hatching Henry! Lift the fabric tab on the colourful shell to reveal Henry’s face and activate one of 5 fun sounds. Lift it 50 times to hear a new special sound. 
With multiple textures, contrast patterns, and surprise crinkles, this adorable baby chick invites baby to explore, stimulating all the senses. The contrast in patterns and colours help stimulate their vision too. Suitable from birth.

Pros

  • Cuddly soft toy
  • Fun discovery

Cons

  • Only 2 in stock

The best Easter toy book

This adorable touch-and-feel book is perfect for sharing with little ones at Easter! With simple text, bright illustrations and an exciting touch-and-feel on every double page, this gorgeous Happy Easter! board book helps to engage your baby's senses while gently introducing them to Easter.

Pros

  • The perfect gift for new parents
  • Young readers will adore the textured pages of baby touch

Cons

  • Suitable from birth - 3 years old

The best Easter toy for role play

chicky chick

Rrp: £14.95

Price: £11.95

Le Toy Van 'Chicky Chick' is a wooden egg cup, made of solid rubberwood with hand stitched felt wings, complete with a wooden egg with magnetic top, two hand painted solid rubberwood 'soldiers' and a painted wooden spoon - the perfect breakfast! This 6 piece set full of fun is a great addition to the Honeybake role play collection.

Pros

  • A wooden egg cup (made of solid wood and finished in water-based colours) 
  • Wooden play mixer beautifully decorated with colourful non-toxic paints 

Cons

  • Quite small (12 x 16 x 6.3 cm)

The best Easter balancing toy

This wonderfully colourful stacker is the perfect toy for little ones 9 months and above, with captivating stacker rings that are beautifully designed with bold patterns and block colours. The handles on the rings are very easy to grab and play with, and the base ring contains swirling beads to excite your child whilst they play. This fascinating toy is also accompanied by a friendly bunny character, which can develop baby’s emotional intelligence, motor skills and cognitive development. This toy is perfect for teaching sorting skills, allowing little ones to differentiate between colours and sizes by learning problem solving skills. The Hunny bunny stacker toy is the perfect way to engage your baby’s mind.

Pros

  • Perfect toy for little ones 9 months and above
  • Includes a friendly bunny character

Cons

  • only suitable for 9 month olds

The best Easter toy for numbers and counting 

Orchard Toys Egg Surprise is a fun, Easter-themed counting game which is the perfect sugar free alternative to an Easter Egg, that can be enjoyed all year round! Spin the carrot pointer and choose a bunny card showing the same number of spots as the number on your spinner. Turn over the card which will show 0,1,2, or 3 eggs on it – the more eggs the better! The winner is the player with the most eggs at the end of the game. Helps to develop counting skills and is suitable for ages 3-6.

Pros

  • A fun Easter-themed counting game
  • Great quality

Cons

  • Only 2-4 players per game

How we test and choose recommended products

Our product recommendations are based on a combination of real-world testing from our burgeoning army of mum testers and the extensive knowledge of our experienced editorial team and product specialists. Where we can, we also consult experts who specialise in that field to ensure you get the right advice along with the right product, and we listen to what you say as well.

Our thriving mum community on our Facebook group #mumtribe consistently provides great insights into which products mums like best and why, helping us highlight the products that will meet your needs. For essential products, our annual Mother&Baby Awards shortlist the top products tested. Full reviews from our mum testers can be found on our product pages. The winners and runners-up for each category will also appear in our top picks article for that product, along with other products that were rated highly by our team.

Catriona originally joined the team as an Editorial Assistant to work on the 2019 M&B Awards. As a Digital Writer, she has written and updated hundreds of articles on the site from medical explainers to celebs news and shopping galleries. Catch her running along the Thames or eating her way around London's restaurants.

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