gifts

The Best Gifts for Tween Boys, According to Tween Boys

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers

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Tween boys are curious and complex, with interests that run deep, whether it’s for a particular manga series, Lego, music, or basketball. They can take on complex engineering and building kits, navigate technology, and increasingly express themselves through their music, how they display their most prized possessions in their room, and through their play.

Many of the tweens we talked to recommended toys and games — card, video, and tabletop games — that allow them to play with or against friends. This includes Nerf and Beyblade battles, or playing MarioKart and flying drones together. Below are more than 60 gifts that a dozen tween boys told us they’d love to receive. And if you’ve got kids of different ages to shop for, don’t miss our other gift guides, including for tween girls, teen girls, and teen boys, or the meticulously curated Strategist Toy Store, filled with all our greatest hits.

Update on November 22, 2024: This guide has all new picks.

Arts, crafts, and building kits

Enzo, a 10-year-old in Brooklyn, recommends this set of acrylic paints along with some “new brushes because ours are old and crusty!” The colors are rich, and can be mixed to bold effect. “This paint is good for canvases and we used it for our pumpkins this year too! I’d love a new set because I love painting.”

“Paper and pencils are always good — simple and easy to work with,” says Duncan, 9, from Seattle. He recommended this colored pencil roll set that also comes with a handy pencil sharpener, because it can easily be tucked into a backpack or tote bag.

This 35mm toy camera is famous for its slight imperfections, light leaks, and the way it vignettes photos, giving each frame a unique and analog feel. Duncan likes it because “it looks like it’s smiling. It’s really easy for kids to use.”

Crunch Labs’ subscription boxes (which require a minimum subscription of 3 months), each contain the supplies and instructions for a tween to build a new toy. “I love it because the games are really fun. You can build a disc launcher, a rocket shooter, a paper airplane launcher, and a bunch of other really fun games,” says Dhillon, 10, in Los Angeles. “There’s also small chance of winning a platinum ticket that might allow you to go to the Crunch Labs headquarters!”

KiwiCo offers both subscription and à la carte building kits for budding engineers and tinkerers, with surprisingly sophisticated options for the tween set. My own tween and her little brother loved the Chain Reaction Set, a Rube Golberg-like sequence machine that transports a ball along a variety of tracks, levers and poles. The KiwiCo Labs club, designed specifically for ages 9 to 11, also sends monthly kits with all the materials and instructions needed for a build, to be used with a complimentary app that includes additional videos and community features.

Bambu Lab A1 3D Printer
$299
$299

For a splurge-y option, this mini 3D printer is a great entry point to this technology. “It’s super small, it’s really easy to set up, and it’s got a super easy-to-use interface,” says Desmond, 12, from Dobbs Ferry, NY. “You can download files and import them. I’ve made a custom key chain, a little dog tag for my dog, an Air Jordan 1 key chain, a mini glider, and a wall hook.” Bambu Lab also has ample instruction videos and how-tos on their website to guide both new and more experienced users.

Toys and games

$6

The vast world of Nerf blasters can be a fun way to expend energy in the playroom, backyard, or at the park. “It’s fun to do battles with friends and they look really cool!,” says Cem, 10, from St. Paul, Minnesota. Nerf blasters come in many styles that hold varying numbers of darts. This particular model has a six-dart drum, and comes with 12 foam darts in the set.

Ambitious tweens with advanced Lego skills are often ready for the sets that are marketed as “18+.” The Lego Icons line offers multiple, highly detailed miniature replicas of cars, including the Porsch 911, the DeLorean from Back to the Future, and this Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole, recommended by Sasha, 11, in San Francisco. “After you build them you can also play with them afterwards. This one is cool because the doors open up, like a real model.”

This set adds a new layer of gaming and interactivity to LEGO play. After constructing the set and inserting some batteries into Mario, kids can take the character through the set, prompting a wide range of reactions like those you would get in the video game. “It’s fun because it’s interactive. I like putting them on the fire and hearing them go ‘Yeeowch!’” says Zeke, 9, from Brooklyn, who also notes: “Some of these Super Mario sets don’t come with paper instructions so you have to download the Lego app.” In addition to instructions, the app offers more ideas for play.

Cards Vs. Gravity Pro
$17
$17

For this balancing card game, anywhere from two to eight players try and stack cards atop a bottle until they all come toppling down. “It’s fun for the whole family, easy to play, and the rounds are quick so no one gets bored,” says Sam, 11, from New Orleans. “For a fun time, we like to balance the cards on top of my parents’ empty wine bottle.”

$60

This tabletop game is like a magnetic version of foosball. Each player tries to strike a ball into their opponent’s goal, which can be quite a challenge. Players can block each other with obstacles and must try to control the ball against the unpredictable forces of the magnets. “It gets really kind of fun and competitive,” says Enzo. There’s also a four-player board available.

“This is a very distracting, very good way to spend some time,” says Asa, 10, from Brooklyn. “The goal is to swing the ring attached to the string and get it on the hook. There’s a board that comes with it to keep score. Every time you score a hoop, you move the piece towards the winner. We always have it at the table for breakfast or dinner, and it’s a nice way to spend time with your family.”

X-TMAGA All-Terrain RC Car
$80
$80

“Me and my mom take this RC car to a local park and drive it around there where there’s a lot of dirt,” says Sasha. “We have a lot of RC cars but this is my favorite. It comes with two different shells. It doesn’t just go fast, it’s good for off-roading. It’s also pretty durable and pretty easy to steer.” It also runs on rechargeable batteries, which are included.

Beyblades are a series of spin-top toys with unique designs and movement patterns that kids can pit against one another. “This is the newest one, Beyblade X,” says Zeke. “You need a launcher to use it. There’s a ripcord and you pull it really hard and it starts spinning. And two people fight. It’s nice because you can play with your friend.”

Bakugan are collectibles, shape-shifting toys, and a game all in one, so tweens can play with them in multiple ways. This set comes with six Bakugan figures, each of which is morphable on its own, as well as in combination with others. “They’re a ball and then they pop open, and it’s such a surprise,” says Zeke. “The figures come in all different sizes. There are mystery packs and sometimes you can make a giant robot with all the ones you have. They all transform into different geometrical shapes, mostly spheres. They come with cards, and there’s a spot where you place it and it opens up.”

Sports and outdoors

If you have the outdoor space for it, Sam recommends this trampoline, which comes with a basketball hoop attached. “Some people say trampolines are dangerous, but both my friend’s parents are doctors and they have one at their house.”

Basketball aficionados will enjoy this mini hoop that can be affixed to any door in your house. “You can pretend you’re really good because it’s not really high up. My friends and I all have one so when we go to each other’s houses we play each other and dunk on it,” says Sasha. This set comes with inflatable rubber basketballs, and depending on how close your quarters are, you can supplement them with foam basketballs.

“All my friends love playing football, so I recommend a youth-size leather Wilson football,” says Sasha. “They have a lot of sizes, so you don’t have to get the NFL size. There’s a little 49ers one but they make other team ones too, depending on which team you like.”

Asa recommended this upright sled that has the feel and silhouette of a non-motorized skimobile. “You sit on it, and there’s a steering wheel, so it’s a sled but you don’t need to hang onto the sides.” The seat can be adjusted for more stability and speed, depending on the size of the child and their comfort navigating the sled.

“A lot of kids my age like to carve and build stuff,” says Henry, who recommends getting a multitool and a carving knife, or a multitool with a built-in carving knife. “But safety rules are important. I never carve unless people are more than 3 feet away, and I never leave my knife unsheathed.”

Tech, electronics, and gaming

Hiturbo Quadcopter Drone
$48
$48

“For kids who aren’t in the city, a drone is a good gift. I like this foldable drone that I can unpack,” says Desmond. “It’s super duper fun to play around with it and do tricks with it. I can go out with my friends to fly it.” The drone comes with a mounted camera, rechargeable batteries, and can be flown with either a remote control or the accompanying app.

GoPro Hero 13
$340
$340

“You can use the GoPro for doing everything because it can go underwater,” says Sasha. “I taped it to the RC car once and did jumps with it. There’s a plastic case that can protect it from getting banged up, and there are a lot of attachments, like for your helmet. I like to scooter a lot, and me and my friends go to the skatepark with our scooters and put on our GoPros. It’s like a video game but you’re the person.”

Dhillon suggested a Yoto Player, which also comes in a portable mini size (and which is also featured in our guide to the expensive toys that are actually worth it). “During daytime it plays energetic music, at night time there’s relaxing music,” he says. “They release a great daily podcast with games and fun facts, and you can purchase read-aloud stories.” They have a broad collection of purchaseable music and audiobooks, which come on credit-card-sized Yoto Cards that you insert into a slot on the side of the player (you can also stream your purchases via Yoto’s app). Or you can buy blanks to make your own cards from audio files you create or own. “This is something I would recommend for people who like to fall asleep to a story,” Dhillon says.

AGPTEK MP3 Player
$27
$27

This music player gives kids another portable way to listen to music, without parents needing to worry about managing Spotify or Apple music accounts. “It’s a no-screen mp3 player, so it’s kind of low-tech. My mom put a lot of songs on it; one of them that I like is Frank Black’s “I Heard Ramona Sing.” There’s a lot of Depeche Mode and Faith No More on there too,” says Asa.

Sasha recommends upgrading to a pair of wireless headphones. “I have a pair of these and they’re nice and sound good. My old headphones had cords and sometimes they would get tangled up. You can control the volume directly on them and pause it.” The headphones come in four colors — white, matte black, slate blue, and cloud pink — and include a carrying case.

For listening to music at home, this record player pulls double duty as room décor. “I’d love a record player along with some records because kids my age like to listen to music in their rooms,” says Henry. “I’d also like some records: the Green Day ones or The Proclaimers.” This model has built-in speakers and Bluetooth connectivity so you can use it with other devices.

Kids exploring music-making will enjoy this introductory synthesizer, which allows them to create beats, modulate and arpeggiate sounds, and choose from hundreds of different sounds — just note that it does need to be plugged into a computer or into other music equipment, including speakers, to produce those sounds. You can unlock a sample library and editing tool online for free, and my own resident tween, who’s currently 9, says, “you can make sounds and songs like Jamie XX,” the electronic musician and DJ.

Joshua says the Nintendo Switch is “the coolest gift I could imagine getting,” and most of the boys I spoke to agreed: They either wanted it or already had one. Rajan, a 10-year-old, says he likes that it’s portable and that you can get the same games as you would on an Xbox, if not more. If your tween already has a Switch, the boys recommend gifting more games or controllers.

“The new Zelda game is exciting and really fun. You get to play as Zelda, a brave princess, instead of playing as Link, a boy character. She can even make monsters,” says Cal, who plays it on his Nintendo Switch.

“I want one of those handheld gaming devices that looks like an old Gameboy,” says Desmond. It comes preloaded with tons of classic games from Gameboy, PS1, and other old consoles, with the ability to download more. It’s available in several color options, and has a battery that lasts for four hours. “They’re really good for travel,” says Desmond.

The FlashPad 2.0 “has lots of games in one thing,” says Duncan, who received one as a hand-me-down from an older brother. This vintage electronic game board has lots of light- and touch-based games that test memory, hand-eye coordination, pattern recognition, and coordination. There are many available from online resellers.

Books and magazines

“This is fun because it is very funny and science-y,” says Cem. “It has questions like, ‘What if Jupiter was shrunk down to the size of a house and placed in your neighborhood?’” As the title promises, What If? — which is based on author Randall Munroe’s popular webcomic xkcd — poses complex hypothetical (and often preposterous) questions, then answers them through science and reasoning. “The book always explains it in a funny, but understandable way,” says Cem.

The first installment of a beautifully drawn three-part fantasy graphic novel series, The Girl & the Galdurian is “a good adventure book for D&D fans,” says Enzo. It would also appeal to anyone who enjoys intricate world-building and epic quests.

“It’d be great to get the newest D&D Monster Manual, which has new monsters in it. The Dungeon Master in D&D needs it to know all the monsters’ stats so he can control gameplay,” says Enzo. “I like playing because it’s fun and brings people together. It’s really family-friendly.”