Gear

The Best Gifts for 5-Year-Olds

From crafting to molding to STEM learning, these toys do it all.

by Donna Freydkin
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
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The best gifts and toys for 5-year-olds should acknowledge their developmental milestones. Many 5-year-olds can tell simple stories using full sentences, count to 10 or beyond, copy geometric shapes, and maybe even draw a person with accurate body parts. They probably have friends, and might like to sing and dance, skip, climb, and somersault. It’s bye-bye diapers (because your kid is using the potty), hello books, and, if you’re lucky, the start of table manners. It stands to reason that gifts should play to their strengths, and include toys that encourage them to explore the big, wide world around them.

The experts at the National Association for the Education of Young Children have a few guidelines for choosing the best gifts for 5-year-olds. Kids this age have longer attention spans than toddlers; they ask a lot of questions and like to experiment with toys. And they now get the hang of playing with friends, and maybe even know how to share. The gift you choose for the 5-year-olds in your life should reflect that. Some of the best kids books of all time are great, but when it comes to the holidays, toys are still king.

A Guide to Buying Gifts for 5-year-olds

  • Child-sized “real” toys like play food sets, and kitchens
  • Dress-up toys for pretend play
  • Blocks that snap together and building blocks
  • Construction and transportation toys
  • Ride-on toys and toys that promote physical activity
  • Creative toys, like paints and chalk, as well as modeling clay

From toy cars to interactive pets to STEM toys, there’s plenty on this list to excite any kindergartener.

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The Best Creative Play Toys for 5-Year-Olds

Open Play Construction Set by Plus Plus
$18
Builder Construction Set by Brio
$32
Ooly
Cat Parade Gel Crayons

The cat heads at the bottom of each crayon are cute, they the and twist up barrels deliver brilliant colors in a form somewhere between a paint and a crayon. They can also deliver a watercolor effect if coupled with some water and a paintbrush.

$18
Magnetic Foam Building Blocks by Blockaroo
$40
Melissa and Doug Fold and Go Dollhouse
$79
Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run by Learning Resources
$25
Detective Set by Plan Toys
$40
Quadrilla Wooden Marble Run by Hape
$80
City Holiday Camper Van Building Kit by Lego
$16
Duplo Classic Deluxe Brick Box by LEGO
$50
City Space Mars Research Shuttle by Lego
$40
Woodland Animal Ballerina Magnetic Dress-Up by Mudpuppy
$17
Emergency Services HQ by Hape
$63

The Best STEM and Educational Toys for 5-Year-Olds

GeoSafari Jr. Talking Globe by Educational Insights
$118
Beaker Creatures Monsterglow Lab by Learning Resources
$18
The Amazing Tightrope-Walking Gyrobot by Thames & Kosmos
$20
Botley The Coding Robot 2.0 by Learning Resources
$74
Science 4 You Green Science Kit by PlayMonster
$13
First Robot Pet Shop by Thames & Kosmos
$30
Junior Metal Detector for Kids by National Geographic
$50
Pendulonium STEM Challenge by Learning Resources
$17
Break-Open Geodes by National Geographic
$30
Circuit Explorer Rover by Educational Insights
$22
Ooze Labs Chemistry Station Science Experiment Kit by Thames & Kosmos
$22
Design & Drill Space Circuits by Educational Insights
$33
Design & Drill SparkleBot by Educational Insights
$15
Geomag Magnetic Toys by Geomagworld
$63
Magic Bean Garden by Creativity for Kids
$11

The Best Active Toys for 5-Year-Olds

Wooden Wobble Balance Board by Kinderfeets
$90
Fat Brain Toys
Sky Nook

The Skynook distills the best features of a hammock, swing, and pillowy lounge chair into a safe and endlessly fun play zone for a five-year-old. The almost fully encircling cloth sides double as both safety precaution (they made the Skynook hard to fall out of) and comforting device because they make the swing-hammock hybrid easier to cuddle up into.

$36
Dick's Sporting Goods
T-Ball Mike Trout Series Glove by Rawlings

Your child might not be ready for the Major League, but he or she has a better shot at getting there with the right gear. This Trout-approved T-Ball glove is stitched from soft pigskin leather for a broke-in feel from first catch.

$40
Mixy Squish Deluxe Pack by Horizon Group
$11
Make Your Own: Birdhouse by Toysmith
$13
Expo Scooter by Mongoose
$128

The Best Artistic Toys for 5-Year-Olds

Social Stationery Kit by STMT
$17
Ultimate Light Board Drawing Tablet by Crayola
$29
Mega Slime Kit by National Geographic
$30
Glow In The Dark Rock Painting Kit by Creativity for Kids
$15
Create with Clay Dinosaurs by Creativity for Kids
$15
Paper Bowl Kit by Craft-tastic
$20
Butterfly Friends Wooden Bead Set by Melissa & Doug
$16
Make a Fox Friend by Craft-tastic
$20
Deluxe Magic Set by Melissa & Doug
$27
Sparkle N' Grow Butterfly Terrarium by Creativity For Kids
$16
3D Pen Set for Kids by 3Doodler
$50
Pipsticks
Monthly Sticker Subscription Box by Pipsticks

What's better than stickers? Stickers that arrive every single month, that's what. Kids get a load of various stickers, plus paper and a pouch.

$18
Maisonette
Player One Voice Recorder by Brandnewnoise

What looks like a funky wooden box is actually a very cool voice recorder, which picks up sounds including singing, talking, and storytelling, and then plays it back. Either in slow, fast, or regular mode.

$89
Grow ’n Glow Terrarium by Creativity for Kids
$15

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