15 best toys for 5-year-old girls

Best toy for future jet setters 

Prepare your little adventurer for take-off with this Barbie Dream Plane Playset. It comes with reclining seats, opening overhead compartments and an air hostess snack trolley with removable trays.

Pros:
• Bigger than expected
• Interactive playset
• Encourages imaginative play

Cons:
• Still expensive despite being on offer

Review: "This plane is so big and study, can allow for lots of dolls inside. Very easily put together. My granddaughter is delighted."

Best LEGO toy for imaginary play 

Head off on Jasmine and Mulan’s big adventure with this Disney LEGO set. Featuring a palace and shrine, two princess mini-doll figures and their two LEGO animal companion figures, this toy set will provide hours of enjoyment. 

Pros:
• Contains 176 pieces
• Encourages building skills
• Attention to details

Cons:
• Smaller set for Mulan

Review: "This is terrific fun - my 5 year old daughter loves Aladdin so you can imagine how psyched she was to work on this adventure. The minifigs are cute and the items built are nice as well. We had a lot of fun putting it together and even more fun playing afterward."

Best toy for little home cooks

Who doesn't love pizza? Train up your future sous-chef with this Toy Play Food Oven, where she can make the best imaginary homecooked pizzas. Ideal for creative role-play sessions and introducing concepts such as tasting, cooking and sharing. 

Pros:
• Contains 30+ pieces
• Encourages roleplaying skills
• Great for playing alone or with others

Cons:
• May contain small parts

Review: "Absolutely loved this. I have a 2 year old and 6 year old that played really well with this. The toy itself is very good quality. Solid pieces that you know will last. I love buying wooden toys for the kids, so this ticked a lot of boxes in terms of playing and learning."

Best starter bike 

The ultimate toy of all - a bike. This retro bicycle not only looks great but has an ultra-practical design. It features stabilisers, air-filled rubber wheels, a height-adjustable padded seat, handlebars, gears, a twist-operated bell and a covered chainguard. 

Pros:
• Classic vintage design
• Stabilisers on wheels
• Works well on all terrains

Cons:
• Low in stock (more on the way)

Review: "Bought as a present for my daughters 3rd birthday. High quality product. Sturdy. Comfy seat. Great retro chill design. Perfect as a first bike for a 3 yr old. Stabilisers tough, and have a great grip on all floors, concrete or soil. Hoping she will use this bike until she is 7/8 years old. Then will be passed down to her little brother. A little heavy, as bars are strong metal but will go for years if looked after well."

Best toy for communication

Walkie Talkies are great toys for indoor and outdoor activities such as shopping and camping. It is easy to use and has an uncomplicated push-to-talk button and different channels to tune into. 

Pros:
• Great age suitability range
• Builds communication skills
• Different colours to choose from

Cons:
• May be difficult for three year old to grasp

Review: "Bought this for my 3 year old and 7 year old. They've been having lots of fun with them. The walkie talkies are well built, a little smaller than I'd imagined they'd be but perfect for small hands!"

Best toy for hands-on creative fun

Create new colours with this satisfying squishy, mouldable sand. Sand is perfect for creative and sensory skills, allowing kids to create anything they can imagine and can be used repeatedly.

Pros:
• Minimal mess
• Encourages creativity
• Different colours to choose from

Cons:
• Once mixed the sand is hard to separate

Review: "Brilliant for my 8 year old and he loved playing with it and kept him entertained for hours. Good value."

Best toy for interactive fun and nurturing skills

This cute, cuddly piggy will be your daughter's new favourite thing to play with. Learn how to take care of pets with this toy that expresses itself like a real little pig. Give Piggly a bottle and watch its little nose move when it drinks and laughs.

Pros:
• Adorable design
• Soft materials
• Makes sounds and movement

Cons:
• May struggle to work on carpet

Review: "My daughter loves this little pig and it has provided loads of laughs and good times. It is very easy to set up and understand. It does struggle and fall over quite a lot when it's on the carpet but once it is on the hard floor you're in the clear."

Best toy for collectable fun

These adorable squishy dumplings are loaded with 50 reactions and emotions and make cute sounds and unique animations when you interact with them. Collect them all, with different characters such as Dee, Dip, Doe, and Dot.

Pros:
• Interactive set
• Adorable design
• Highly affordable

Cons:
• May need new battery on arrival

Review: "This little dumpling is the cutest thing ever! He lights up and makes adorable sounds, especially when you shake him upside down. With his cute glasses and his dope hat, he's just the cutest little dumpling dude!"

Best toy for numeracy skills

This iconic board game is a fantastic way to make numeracy fun. In this game, you have a set of items to buy, and you throw the dice to move from shop to shop, using your plastic money to buy your shopping before someone else fills up their basket first.

Pros:
• Educational game
• Encourages learning about value of money
• Encourages counting and numeracy skills

Cons:
• Set up can take a while

Review: "My daughter played this in her friends house and loved it so treated her to one of her own. She is 5 and it is easy for her to follow the rules. We can play it over and over. The more we play it the more she is grasping the money side of it and it’s starting to learn how to give the correct money for her Items."

Best toy for construction skills

The possibilities are endless when it comes to magnetic building blocks. Whether they're playing house, building a castle or creating a car to drive their characters around, you're sure that your 5 -year-old will be having the time of her life.
Pros:
• Encourages fine motor and construction skills
• Endless possibilities
• Includes accessories like windows, doors and wheels

Cons:
• Strength of magnets could be improved

Review: "My daughter had really taken to this set. She’s seven and I initially thought it’d be too young for her but she keeps coming back to it and building her own creations as well as ones from the booklet. The pieces are durable, easy to build with and nice colours. The sides simply stick together with the use of magnets. The booklet shows some examples of what can be built and how many of each shape is needed but there is just an image to copy, as opposed to instructions. A great building set - highly recommend!"

Best playmobile toy for family imaginary play 

Hit the road with this toy camper featuring a removable roof, which also contains compact storage space, three playmobile figures and other camping accessories. 

Pros:
• Contains 135 pieces
• Attention to detail
• Durable

Cons:
• Contains small pieces

Review: "Daughter is really happy with it, hours of play so far."

Best toy for fashionistas 

The Glamicorn Unicorn Interactive Purse Pet is the ultimate pet and fashion accessory for your little girl. Purse Pets toys come to life with cute sounds, sassy reactions and play fashion show music to assist her in strutting her stuff. 

Pros:
• Interactive sounds
• Doubles as a functional bag
• Adjustable cross body strap

Cons:
• Smaller than expected

Review: "Very cute and decent size to fit accessories inside. Adjustable strap very useful."

Best toy for horse lovers

This incredibly detailed horsey cafe playset comes with a food counter, cafe set-up and kitchen, plus a stallion and other horse accessories. Your little one will have hours of imaginary play with this high-quality playset. 

Pros:
• Contains 66 pieces
• Attention to detail
• Durable

Cons:
• Some reviewers reported missing parts

Review: "Gift good quality gave hours of fun."

Best Sylvanian Families toy for imaginary play

This gorgeous Baby Amusement Park has a fantastical castle and lots of rides. There's a Ferris wheel, Viking ship, go-karts, and a rocket ride. Plus, adorable Sylvanian baby figures to play with. 

Pros:
• A timeless classic
• Adorable design
• Animals included

Cons:
• The price

Review: "My daughter loves her Sylvanian set! Lovely quality and comes with several small animals."

Best toy for tech fun

Your little one will feel grown-up with this smartwatch featuring an LED robot with friendly facial expressions and sound effects. Not only can you play games, take selfies, and store videos and photos, but it has other features such as a pedometer, timer, stopwatch and alarm. It comes in blue or pink. 

Pros:
• Reduced price
• Interactive watch
• Two cameras

Cons:
• Strap may run slightly bigger

Review: "Really good for kids to play and learn from a young age."