These classics have stood the test of time. Offering up a serious dose of nostalgia, our little testers played with a wide range of classic toys you may remember from your own childhood. From board games and computer consoles to interactive toys and bikes, these are firm favourites that have remained popular for many years – making it that bit harder to choose our award winners out of such an incredible selection.

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Our child judges, ranging from babies to older kids, along with their parents, looked closely at how much value each toy offered: Would they be loved and played with for a long time? Did they have the potential to be passed down from sibling to sibling? Did they have a wide appeal for a variety of ages?

The toys that impressed our testers the most were crowned our 2024 award winners – and here are the results.

Best classic toys at a glance:

  • Best classic bike: Bobbin Bikes Gingersnap 16, £170
  • Best classic interactive toy: Furby Galaxy Interactive Toy, £54.99
  • Best classic arts/crafts toy: Play-Doh Rainbow Swirl Ice Cream Playset, £11
  • Best classic ride-on: Mini Micro Light Up & Glow Scooter, £95.96
  • Best classic book: Little Miss Surprise, £4.99
  • Best classic video game: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, £36.99
  • Best classic gaming console: Nintendo Switch Lite, £199.99
  • Best classic multi-player game: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, £37.99
  • Best classic learning game: Orchard Toys Farmyard Heads and Tails Game, £6.95
  • Best classic baby toy: Sophie la girafe Original Teether, £14.95
  • Best sustainable classic toy: Spirograph Eco Design Set, £11.99
  • Best classic play set: EPOCH Sylvanian Families Secret Forest Falls, £49.99
  • Best classic tech toy: Tamagotchi Original (Tama Garden), £20
  • Best classic doll: BABY born Emma 43cm doll, £44.99

Best classic toys

Best classic bike: Bobbin Bikes Gingersnap 16" Wheel pedal bike

Bobbin Bikes Gingersnap 16 MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
Wow, its my own pedal bike! I’ve always wanted one of those. My favourite thing is the loud bell and I love the basket, so I can bring my friends toys on bike rides to the park. I want to ride my bike everyday and go on bike rides with daddy. Can I ride my bike to school?
Child judge Fiona

Available from Bobbin Bikes (£170)

Best classic interactive toy: Furby Galaxy Interactive Toy

Furby Galaxy Interactive Toy MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
My daughter lives this toy and was was excited from the moment she saw the toy in the box. She plays with the toy on a a daily basis and it has become one of her comfort toys that she takes to bed and on car journeys. She has told all her friends about her Furby at school and she is excited to take the toy on play dates with her friends.
Parent judge Aimee

Best classic arts/crafts toy: Play-Doh Rainbow Swirl Ice Cream Playset

Play-Doh Rainbow Swirl Ice Cream Playset MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
My 3-year-old daughter loves that this toy has so many different colours of Play-Doh. She gets really excited when the ice cream comes out out of the nozzle, she absolutely loves the sprinkle feature, and decorating the little Play-Doh ice creams. She and she loves that there’s lots of different pots to be able to put the ice cream into like a real ice cream parlour.
Parent judge Evie

Best classic ride-on: Mini Micro Light Up & Glow Scooter

Mini Micro Light Up & Glow Scooter MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
My son Cian absolutely loves his scooter. Although Cian is non-verbal in words due to his autism, the fact he grabs the scooter every time we walk out the door so it isn’t left behind shows us exactly how much he loves it. It has been incredible to increase his independence with the scooter and watch him master a new skill as well as just watching him be so happy each time he’s been on it.
Gabrielle, mum to child judge Cian, aged 3

Available from Micro Scooters (£95.96)

Best classic book: Little Miss Surprise

Little Miss Surprise MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
Our 2-year-old daughter enjoys being read to and loves the pictures in this book. Our 7-year-old son also really enjoyed the book. We already have the full set of both Mr Men and Little Miss books so this is a great addition. The pictures are bright and colourful, which really engaged our 2 year old, however due to the words, this is best read by an adult or older child. We have been reading this daily along with other books at bedtime and will continue to in the future.
Parent judge Emma

Best classic video game: Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing New Horizons MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
My 12-year-old daughter said this game was her favourite. She loved that it was non-competitive and instead focused on personalising the world you wanted to play in. She said this game was much more relaxing and calming than the other games she’d played. She loved that there were no limits to what you can create - you can really use your imagination to be as creative as you like when building your own world.
Parent judge Megan

Best classic gaming console: Nintendo Switch Lite

Nintendo Switch Lite MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
My kids have loved testing this device and games! It’s super portable, easy to hold and navigate, and enables access to a vast bank of additional games. It’s so easy to switch things up and change games when one becomes boring. And some of the games they’ve been able to play online with their friends. This device is so perfect for longer journeys (hello car/plane entertainment!), or for simply lounging on the sofa at home. As a parent, I also liked that you can set parental controls to limit screen time.
Parent tester Megan

Available from Nintendo (£199.99), OnBuy.com (£127.99), ao.com (£199.00), and Currys PC World (£199.00

Best classic multi-player game: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
Carter (as well as his two younger brothers) absolutely love playing Mario Kart. As huge fans of Mario they were delighted to see all the characters and the different courses and modes available to play. They found it fast paced and action packed, exactly what Carter looks for in a game. He would play it all day if I allowed him as he is desperate to hit number one racer for all courses.
Jenny, mum to child judge Carter, aged 8 (almost 9!)

Best classic learning game: Orchard Toys Farmyard Heads and Tails Game

Orchard Toys Farmyard Heads and Tails Game MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
My 2-year-old son really enjoyed playing with this toy. The bright colours of the cards appealed to him and he enjoyed matching the images and naming the animals and associated sounds they make. He also enjoyed counting the cards. He said the toy was nice and he has come back to play with this toy independently every day since.
Parent judge Viki

Best classic baby toy: Sophie la girafe Original Teether

Sophie la girafe Original Teether MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
Sophie la Girafe is exquisitely made – the finish is really great for a teether. She squeaks and is extremely tactile – my baby loves to chew and squeeze Sophie for hours. She’s a firm favourite!
Parent judge Abigail

Best sustainable classic toy: Spirograph Eco Design Set

Spirograph Eco Design Set MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
My daughter Sophia, 8, has really enjoyed playing with this Spirograph set. She had loved exploring the different shapes and patterns each disc produces, and has made some lovely pictures that she has stuck on her bedroom wall! The product states that it is made from 100% recycled materials, which is fantastic for a product like this.
Parent judge Laura

Available from Play Monster (£11.99)

Best classic play set: EPOCH Sylvanian Families Secret Forest Falls

EPOCH Sylvanian Families Secret Forest Falls MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
I really like it because it’s fun and I can use it to play with other figures too. My favourite bit is the waterfall being a slide, but the castle is really cute too. I think the husky’s clothes and things he can wear are cute and I like that he can peep through different holes.
Child judge Evie, aged 6

Best classic tech toy: Tamagotchi Original (Tama Garden)

Tamagotchi Original (Tama Garden) MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
My daughter has enjoyed playing with this toy, she has been asking for a Tamagotchi for a while, but this is the first one she has owned. She enjoyed caring for her pet and she particularly liked the ’clear up poo’ function.
Parent judge Jessica

Best classic doll: BABY born Emma 43cm doll

BABY born Emma 43cm doll MFM Best Classic Toy 2024
Nora, my 4 year old daughter, tells me ’she loves baby Emma’ and that she is her ’favourite baby’. She tells me her favourite things about her are changing her nappy and being able to take her to the bath, and since arriving she's taken her to bed each night to sleep beside her.
Parent judge Libby

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Authors

Ruairidh PritchardDigital Growth Lead

Ruairidh is the Digital Lead on MadeForMums. He works with a team of fantastically talented content creators and subject-matter experts on MadeForMums.

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