My daughter loves to build for the sole purpose of knocking it down. And the bigger it is, the harder it will fall.
These are the classic, tried and true, multi-generational building toy favorites your family is sure to love.
They’ve been around forever for good reason!
Rev up your kid’s STEM skills with any of the classic building toys in this post. Or check out our best building toys guide for more gift ideas.
Building toys like the ones below offer limitless imaginative play and will work with your other toys for a rich play experience that only true foundational toys can give.
What’s a foundational toy? Read our toy guide and find out!
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Wooden Train Set Blocks–Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Railway Set
OK, if your child has not played with trains yet, you have to get these ASAP.
Wooden train tracks are tons of fun! We play with train sets like this at Grandma’s house, at the bookstore, at the library, and at friends’ houses. That’s how popular they are.
The Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Railway Set is a perfect starter set for any little engineer and is sure to be a timeless, foundational toy for your toybox. The set is of great quality (solid wood) and there are many accessories included to extend play and keep little ones busy.
This set is compatible with many, many other wooden train track systems, so you will be able to add to and grow your track to make any configuration your heart desires. These Wooden Train Track Connectors and Adapters will help connect your creative configurations seamlessly, and the male-male/female-female adpaters come in three different lengths.
Pick up a pack of these Suretrack Clips to secure any track sections requiring a little more stability.
Wooden Building Blocks–Melissa & Doug Standard Unit Solid Wood Building Blocks
These solid wood blocks will hold up to years of stacking and knocking down. The natural wood look is beautiful and helps hide any scratches that would normally show on the painted variety.
Melissa & Doug’s building blocks offer limitless open-ended, imaginative play and will work beautifully in conjunction with other toys.
The storage box is an added bonus because it can also be used in the building!
These blocks are a must buy for young children and older babies.
Already have this set and love it? Try Fao Schwarz’s Solid Wood Castle Block Set.
Lincoln Logs
What classic building toy list would be complete without Lincoln Logs? Made of 100% real, high-quality, stained maple wood, this is America’s classic building toy.
This centennial edition comes in a reusuable tin for easy clean up and storage. It also includes a few building ideas and a couple cowboys and horses for kids to act out their favorite Wild West stories.
Tinker Toy
Another classic building toy made in the good ol’ U.S. of A is Tinker Toy. Tinker Toy works by connecting rods to spools, washers, end caps, and more.
Lots of STEM action will be going on here! Parts snap together and stay together and are able to bend to form multiple imaginary or real-life creations.
This particular set includes 13 different building ideas. Of course, free-thinkers are welcome to build whatever they can imagine as well!
LEGO Duplo
No building list, classic or otherwise, is complete without reference to a LEGO product. Duplo is the little brother of the LEGO we all know and love. I had a set when I was little and loved it!
The bricks are big, colorful, and toddler-friendly.
You’ll want to get a large building base plate to stabilize your toddler’s building creations. And you’ll want these adorable little LEGO Duplo pets. Pleeeeasseee????
And then of course, you’ll want to start pinteresting ideas for LEGO tables because this toy will never be put away!
Kid K’nex–Oodles of Pals Building Set
STEM toys are still going strong and K’nex is STEM at its finest.
K’nex are colorful flexible rods and connectors that snap together in different ways to create some really cool stuff! This particular set includes faces so your kiddo can build his or her own very special little pal.
If you’re running low on imagination, never fear, the Oodles of Pals Set comes with 60 suggested model ideas!
Hape Quadrilla Wooden Marble Run–Vertigo
Did you ever have a marble run when you were a kid? Wasn’t it so mesmerizing watching the little marble just go back and forth and around and down?
The one I played with wasn’t nearly as awe-inspiring as this. I love the three whirly pieces, and I wish I could see this one in action because it just looks SO COOL!
Each of the colored blocks has a different function, which only enhances the STEAMiness (did I say that right?) of this toy.
This is one you’ll want to build and play with as a family. I think it could be a great activity for a rainy or snowy Saturday morning!
Hape makes many quality toys, and this one is a toy that can be passed down from generation to generation. An heirloom and foundational STEM building toy!
Make sure to get this Marble Run Construction Catcher Tray Add-On so you don’t lose all your marbles over losing all your marbles.
Need a little help with buying the right toy? Take a peek at our Toy Buying Guide.
If you’re looking for more gift ideas, try our guide to dolls and stuffed animals, puzzles and other problem-solving toys, musical toys and instruments, or best building toys.
