39 Best Toys and Gifts for 4-Year-Old Girls 2023

At age 4, the toddler years are long gone. Four-year-old girls are now in preschool territory, which is a peak time for curiosity and creativity. That means when the time to buy gifts for kids of this age rolls around, it’s good to give them toys that help them delve deeper into their interests about the world around them and how it works.

“Four-year-olds are full of questions as they begin to decode the patterns and processes driving the world around them,” says Rebecca Parlakian, M.A., E.D., a parenting expert from Zero to Three, an organization that focuses on early child development. “They’re also all about problem-solving and enjoy mastering new challenges.” Additionally, friendships and social play are a major source of joy for preschoolers, and pretend play is really heating up at this age. “Their attention span is also growing, which means they can focus on more challenging tasks and activities,” adds Parlakian.

To encourage all of these new ideas and behaviors, Parlakian suggests giving kids access to construction toys for building and problem-solving, challenging puzzles of 20 to 40 pieces, costumes and play sets that encourage imagination, art sets that help them practice motor skills and simple board games.

Still, within those categories, there’s so much to choose from. The Good Housekeeping Institute helps sort through all the choices, evaluating toys all year long. The experts at the Institute’s Parenting and Pets Lab keeps track of trends and new releases. They call in the hottest toys, assessing them for safety, quality and ease of use. Then they send them back out the door again, so actual kids can weigh in on the all-important fun factor. (The best-of-the-best make it onto our annual list of Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards.) With all that said, these are the best toys and gifts for 4-year-old girls in 2022, a list that include both current and former Toy Award winners, as well as best-sellers and editor’s picks.

This year, we know that kids love surprise collectibles, as well as toys that they can nurture and care for. STEM sets that answer questions about the world are also popular, as well as building toys that give them some STEM experience, but also let them experience open-ended play. Whatever you choose, these gifts will make 4-year-old girls happy.