Babble Best: Bubble Toys

Iplay Outdoor Bubble Machine - $21.33

If you're after volume without a ton of work, look no further. Iplay's machine has a huge well and delivers oodles of bubbles with the push of a button. While the toy is easy enough to use, our testers got a little bored with it, as it's not very interactive. It works best when placed on a flat surface, so if impulsive tots want to handle the babble machine, be prepared for a mess. Also note: the Iplay machine eats a ton of bubble juice and requires batteries.

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Alex: Bubble Pals Elephant and Dog - $8.38

So simple, so sweet. Alex's Bubble Pals are the perfect size to pack in a diaper bag or tote for spontaneous bubble fun. Parents only have to periodically refill the dipping dish. We love that it comes with two characters/bubble blowers for sharing. The three-year-olds who got their hands on these were able to produce plenty of medium-sized bubbles. Comes with 4.5 fl oz of tear-free bubble solution.

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Thomas The Tank Engine, Bubble Blowing Thomas - $14.99

As far as battery-operated blowers go, this is among the tops we tested. We're not big fans of gun-shaped toys, so this is a happy compromise. The handheld blower is simple to operate (a two-year-old mastered pulling the "trigger") and shoots out copious bubbles from Thomas's smoke stack. While it does come with 8 oz of bubble juice, we had to supply the two AA batteries. Spillage was minimal.

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Little Kids: No Spill Big Bubble Bucket - $11.24

Invite a few neighborhood kids over for a play date and whip out this no-frills toy for an instant icebreaker. The kit comes with three wands and is virtually impossible to spill. The device twists open for refilling (it requires only about 4 oz to get going). Once you've filled up the tank, the kids dip their bubble wands in and blow away. We loved that the kids had to do most of the "work" with this toy, freeing us up to snap pictures and talk to our grown-up friends.

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