Melissa & Doug 100-Piece Wood Blocks Set

The 100-piece M&D set is the entry point we’d buy for almost any toddler. 100 unfinished hardwood blocks in a wide range of architectural shapes — rectangles, squares, columns, arches, triangles. Comes in a sturdy wooden storage box with a lid that doubles as a building base. The wood is solid (not laminated), the blocks are accurately cut so they actually stack square, and the price is hard to beat. Our top pick when someone asks “what’s the one toy I should buy?”.