The Top Toys and Gifts for the 2025 Christmas and Holiday Season

As a record number of people (183.4 million) are expected to shop during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a new survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics reveals the most popular toys and gifts consumers plan to purchase this holiday season.

“The holiday season is in full swing and while many consumers have made progress on their shopping lists, most shoppers will make the majority of their purchases over the coming weeks,” NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said. “Whether shoppers are looking to spread out their purchases or seeking the best deals, retailers are ready to help consumers with all their shopping needs this holiday.”

NRF forecast earlier this month that holiday spending is expected to reach record levels during November and December and will grow between 2.5% and 3.5%, totaling $979.5 billion to $989 billion.

The most popular gift categories this season include clothing (54%), followed by gift cards (44%), toys (36%), books, video games and other media (31%) and food/candy (30%).

The internet remains the most popular source for gift ideas, with 44% of shoppers using online search for inspiration. Other top sources include friends and family (36%), in store (30%) and wish lists (26%).

“Younger shoppers continue to embrace social media for gift ideas, with those between the ages of 18-24 more likely to find inspiration through platforms such as TikTok (28%) and Instagram (27%),” Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “These shoppers are also more likely than any other age group to purchase jewelry, with 30% planning to gift these items.”

For adults shopping for children this year, the top five toys for boys include Legos, Hot Wheels, cars, video games and PlayStation. For girls, the top five toys include Barbie, dolls, Legos, makeup/beauty and Disney items. TV shows and movies continue to influence top toys, with characters such as Spider-Man and Barbie remaining

popular among children, along with Disney items returning to the top five toys for girls.

The survey also found that most shoppers will embrace the spirit of giving back this holiday season, with two-thirds (66%) planning to engage in at least one charitable activity such as donating money or items this season.

As with recent years, gift cards remain a popular holiday purchase and overall spending is expected to reach $28.6 billion compared with $29.3 billion last year. Similar to previous years, the average shopper will purchase three to four gift cards and spend $51.18 per gift card ($170.48 per person).

Restaurants are the most popular gift card category (30%), followed by department stores (25%), bank-issued gift cards (25%) and coffee shops (22%).

An earlier NRF survey found that holiday shoppers are expected to spend a record $902 per person on average across gifts, decorations, food and other key seasonal items. Of the amount shoppers plan to spend, approximately $641 is on gifts for family, friends, co-workers and more.

Forty-four percent of consumers plan on using debit for their holiday purchases, compared with 39% who plan to use credit cards. A total of 57% of shoppers plan on using at least one digital wallet or app while shopping, with the top three payment methods including PayPal (30%), Apple Pay (15%) and Cash App (14%).

The survey asked 8,135 adult consumers about their holiday shopping purchases. It was conducted Nov. 1-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on consumer behavior and spending for key periods such as holidays throughout the year.

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