Going through Amazon's 2026 Holiday Kids Gift Book, I kept stopping on pretend play sets that little me would have loved.
Here they are, with the stories behind them.
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I always dreamt of being a dentist, and I actually loved going to the dentist! The Melissa and Doug Super Smile Dentist set? I would have literally loved this so much.
Oversized teeth and big dentist tools, 25 pieces in all!
Get the dentist play setThe LeapFrog Scoop and Learn Ice Cream Parlor? Little me would have loved it!
A pretend ice cream shop that teaches while they scoop!
Get the Scoop and Learn Ice Cream ParlorI was always at my cousins' house, and they had all the cool little kitchen playsets. I don't think I ever had one of my own!
So of course the Battat Splash and Scrub Sink on this year's list caught my eye!
A pretend sink playset, just like the kitchen sets at my cousins' house!
Get the Battat Splash and Scrub SinkI had a little ride-on car just like this one, and it was so fun. We used ours all the time. We actually had two!
A foot-to-floor Bluey ride-on car with 2 accessories.
Get the Bluey Granny's CarI didn't watch Bluey growing up, but the Bluey Light and Surprise Heeler House is exactly the kind of thing I loved. I never had a big Barbie playhouse, and I always wanted one!
The Heeler family house from Bluey, a big playhouse playset!
Get the Bluey Heeler HouseWe never had the fun Play-Doh sets, but my aunt did, and I loved going to her house to play with them!
I was a very imaginative kid who loved playing kitchen and dolls, so the Play-Doh Super Sizzlin' Kitchen? Yes!
A Play-Doh kitchen with cooking sounds and 25+ play foods to create!
Get the Play-Doh Super Sizzlin' KitchenI always played dolls and was like a little mom, so the Fisher-Price Learning Vacuum would have been a hit with me.
I always pretended I was going shopping, and being a cashier at Pamida, my first job, was a dream come true. So a pretend cash register? Yes!
And the GUND Cozy Cow, My First Teddy and Peek-A-Boo Puppy? Literally all of those little guys, I would have loved.
I loved my baby dolls, so the FAO Schwarz baby doll crib and play mat? That would have been my happiness!
A working calculator cash register for playing store!
Get the pretend cash registerA pretend vacuum for little helpers.
Get the Learning VacuumA soft GUND friend made for hugs.
Get the GUND Cozys CowA classic first teddy bear from GUND.
Get the GUND My First TeddyA GUND puppy that plays peek-a-boo!
Get the Peek-A-Boo PuppyA baby doll crib with a mattress, pillow, pretend mobile and a play mat, sized for 14-inch baby dolls.
Get the FAO Schwarz crib and play matI loved my baby dolls growing up and I was like a little mom, so here are a few more top-rated baby dolls I would have loved to care for!
A soft baby doll set made for little hands, from JC Toys.
Get the La Baby doll setA realistic soft-body baby doll with eyes that open and close.
Get the 15-inch baby dollAn all-soft first baby doll with a rattle.
Get the Baby Starters dollA baby doll with moving eyes and a pacifier.
Get the Mine to Love Jenna dollTwin baby dolls, so a little mom gets two babies to care for!
Get the Luke and Lucy twinsAn interactive Ms. Rachel doll with songs and 16+ phrases.
Get the Ms. Rachel dollA high chair with feeding accessories, sized for 14-inch baby dolls.
Get the FAO Schwarz high chairThere's a makeup box on this year's list that looks just like the one I had, old school. And the FAO Schwarz vanity makeup studio? Little me would have loved it.
The old-school Caboodles box with a built-in mirror, just like the one I had!
Get the Caboodles makeup boxA pretend vanity makeup studio from FAO Schwarz.
Get the FAO Schwarz vanityWant to flip through it yourself? Here is Amazon's 2026 holiday toy shop.
Get the full holiday toy listStockings and wrapping paper in my own patterns, from my Etsy shop.
Gifts add up fast! If you want to get through Christmas without a January credit card bill, my guide walks you through it. Get the Never Broke at Christmas Again guide