Inside: Does it get harder and harder to find just the right gifts? Especially gifts for 10 year old boys? The most popular or trending gifts aren’t always the best gifts for our little men, so I’ve done the hard work for you.
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From a mom (who’s also a teacher and doesn’t want just another “play-thing” for her son), I’ve scoured the internet for hours finding just the right gifts for 10 year old boys.
And with the help of my oldest son, we’ve rounded up the best gifts for 10 year old boys. Have a peek!
While most of these ideas would fit any age-range of boys, in my experience, the 8-12 age-range seems to be the perfect fit.
We also created some criteria for the gifts and answered them before we narrowed down our list:
- Can we learn a new skill or acquire new information?
- Is there critical thinking involved? Using Science or Math?
- Lastly, does it look like tons of fun?
Here’s a quick image of all the gifts. You can click on the plus sign by an item that grabs your attention or keep reading to find more details about each gift below:
Best Gifts for 10 Year Old Boys
One day my son wanted to take apart a lighted yoyo that had broken. He said he wanted to create a circuit, which he did using a single paperclip and 9V battery. Hence, the idea for this gift came to be, but this set is way cooler. 🙂
There are several types of snap circuit kits you can buy, but if you want to test out the idea, this is a great starter kit. All the pieces snap to a clear plate with 100s of configuration options.
This game is perfect for when friends come over or the kids need to burn off some excess energy inside or outside. My other favorite aspect of this game is that it can be a single player or team game. They must tag the target when their baton flashes a particular color. Easy peasy and lots of fun!
Most boys love Lego, but this takes it to the next level. They can create their own mini movie using the Lego sets they already own. Stop-motion animation has remained popular over the last several decades, so it’s not going anywhere. This is a great gift idea for your budding producer, and it also helps those 10 year old boys learn a lesson in patience.
Have a child interested in learning coding skills? This robot easily fits into the palm of your hand but has infinite possibilities.
There are so many options and kits to choose from. With 30,000+ activities, there’s something for everyone.
Who doesn’t love a good science experiment? Science helps us understand how the world works. Fun science experiments are the best way for kids to learn the hard concepts. There are a ton of kits you can purchase with everything you’ll need for several experiments. But I love this Kitchen Science Lab for Kids book because you’ll more than likely have everything you need already in your pantry to get started.
Not only does this book deliver on teaching the execution of magic tricks, but it also gives the kids lots of biographical information and pictures. Another key element of this book is that it teaches the boys about perseverance and hard work. Houdini grew up very poor, but he didn’t quit and ended up becoming one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
Want the Houdini biographical information without the tricks? This is the perfect chapter book for that 10 year old boy who wants to learn about the person behind all the magic. You also get a rare glimpse of the author’s relatonship as a young man with Madame Houdini.
I know it’s another robot, but this one features artificial intelligence. Remember those questions we asked at the beginning? This one fits the bill because it requires the boys to engage in critical thinking. The other bonus is they have to build the robot first, which takes a couple of hours. I think this will also help with being able to fix him when something goes wrong.
I stumbled onto this little gem by accident. As a family, we love to travel and are always looking for ways to keep the kids entertained. Why not learn something along the way as you travel from state to state? This book has gorgeous illustrations while every page is filled with facts that will turn the whole family into history buffs in no time.
My son has been asking for some sort of step tracker for a couple years now. I wasn’t quite ready to splurge on something electronic for his wrist until I found the Garmin for kids. I’ve had Garmin products in the past, so I know they’re high quality material and will last.
The beauty of this little tracker is that I can assign him chores and reminders from the free app on my phone. Then I can give him coins for completing his duties. I can also track his sleep patterns from my phone to make sure he is actually going to sleep when he’s supposed too. The built in alarm can also help make sure everyone leaves the house on time.
What mom wouldn’t want to spy on their kid’s activities without them even being aware? 😉 Hehe (insert evil laugh)!
As a kid, I used to love playing with silly putty. Here’s the 21st century version that’s way cooler and a perfect gift for on-the-go. I really like Aaron’s formula because he has so many options to choose from: magnetic, glow in the dark, color-changing, UV reactive, and a lot more.
Research shows that manipulating some sort of dough helps relieve stress too. So those times when the kids are feeling anxious have them pull out the thinking putty and knead away.
And if you want a little something for yourself, I highly recommend the Pinch Me Dough in the Spa scent. It’s the softest dough I’ve ever felt and smells heavenly. The lavender scent helps reduce stress as you knead the dough.
I’ve actually had these cubes for quite a while, and at the time, my son could create very simple stories. Now that he’s older, it’s so much more fun. Another easy and fun on-the-go game.
The images are etched into the cubes, so they’ll last forever. The images are all so unique that you can get really creative with your stories. They’ve since come out with a couple more sets that look really fun too.
Just roll the cubes and start creating! Great for those times in school when your child will have to write stories of their own.
We have such a great time playing this game, and giggles always occur as we try to beat the clock. You wouldn’t think a small handheld game would get your heart pumping, but the little built-in timer gets us every time. The ticking sound speeds up the more you twist the end to change up the letters.
Your whole goal is to create words from the 5 letters on the screen. This is a fantastic vocabulary builder too. When my son was a little younger, we would play together, but now he can handle his own. You can play in teams, by yourself, or competitively.
Easy to play while waiting in the car, at a restaurant, or at the doctor’s office.
Are you sensing a theme yet? We love on-the-go games for travel or those inevitable times of waiting.
Of course, last but definitely not least, LEGO. Really anything LEGO makes excellent gifts for 10 year old boys. I’ve found that my son really likes the Star Wars sets because he can relate to the pieces when he watches the movies.
There’s also something nostalgic about putting together LEGO sets with your son when you grew up with the original Star Wars movies.
I hope you were able to find some amazing gifts ideas for any 10 year old boys in your life. I’ve already purchased a few of the items on this list to stock away for Christmas and birthday.
Which items do you think you’ll add to your list?
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