Choosing gifts for 10-year-old boys and girls is no easy feat.The besttoys for 10-year-olds treat them less like solitary children in need of entertainment and more like socially adept mini-adults, which is what they should be becoming as they enter what development experts call middle childhood. The notion is to empower 10-year-olds to create and share with their friends, ideally while celebrating their newfound agency. Is that as tricky as it sounds? Not really. There are great gift options, even for 10-year-olds who seem to have everything.
The main caveat to be aware of with 10-year-olds is that these pre-pre-teens are often developing specific interests (or obsessions) and starting to focus on defined strengths. Given that, its critical to meet these kids where they live rather than just getting them a new and shiny toy, which may be of new particular interest despite the novelty factor. Given that, our list of best gifts for 10-year-olds should be filtered through an understanding of an individual childs interests. The terrarium will make some kids very happy. The unicorn sprinkler will appeal to others. As an adult, its on you to cater to your audience which is kind of fun if you make a project of it.
Best Toys for 10-Year-Olds
Teach children to play slightly more complicated -- and considerably more fun -- board games with this entry-level strategy game.
Disneys hit role-playing board game features the sorts of cards and deep character skillsets associated with sets popular in the adult nerd community. What makes Villainous impressive is that it is remarkably easy to play despite having a pretty thick rule book. That means kids get hooked playing Captain Hook, which is good news because the game is legitimately fun for parents.
Why not get the 10-year-old in your life the thing they actually want?
The Nintendo Switch is a remarkable gaming product. Its easy to play, boasts remarkable graphics, and has a game catalog worthy of its excellent interface. Kids can definitely fall down a screen time hole with this one, but not all of the games are a waste of time. Super Mario Maker 2 and Stardew Valley are both engaging and thoughtful. Kids might take a minute to get momentum, but theyll be amply rewarded for the time they inevitably invest.Untitled Goose Game is also superlative, but might inspire some bad behavior.
Your kid is going to get seduced by the dark side of the force. You might as well lean into it.
Star Wars is big with 10-year-olds. The boys like it. The girls like it. Why? In part because of the acting and the scripts and the complete lack of parents in the films and in part because of the extremely excellent merch. The best Star Wars toy (that doesnt cost over $100) is this lightsaber, which is fun to bonk stuff with and has the bad-boy appeal of a motorcycle jacket without mid-life crisis vibes. And, hey, colleges recruit for fencing.
Gifts for 10-year-olds need to have a certain cool factor, and this portable drum set fits the bill.
Kids will love the chance to play seven different kinds of drum sounds, parents (and neighbors!) will love that theres also a headphone jack if the built-in speaker gets to be too much. If your kiddo has a play date, he or she can easily roll-up the kit into its travel pouch and share the drumming love. Theres a rechargeable battery and players also have the option to connect the set to computer and create music or play games.
This killer STEM set teaches kids all about what it takes to build bridges.
Aspiring engineers can buildnine working bridge models such as a suspension bridge, a truss bridge, and even a standalone house. Detailed instructions make this set easy to follow, and because there are so many build options, it doesnt get old.
As with Legos, kids can create endless robotic objects with this one single kit.
Not only does this kit produce some damn fine-looking toys, but it lets kids build multiple robots with one kit. They build robots with 10 challenge cards, wood, electric motors, and hardware.
Kids who love Harry Potter can build a wand that responds to their movements.
If you download the app, kids can wave their wand and cast spells, make music, and hear sounds. Plus, by building the wand, they learn to code. Its like their own personalOllivanders.
This coding robot arrives ready to go, and kids can code either through the app, or by using a color code marker.
Kids push a button, and Evo goes to work. It has existing tricks, like following kids around, and learns new tricks either through the OzoBlockly code or with color and markers.
This genius smartwatch tracks kids' activities, and lets parents assign chores via the free companion app.
The smartwatch is waterproof, non-staining, and has a one-year battery life. Ittracks steps, sleep and 60 minutes of daily recommended activity for kids. And parents can give their kids chores to do, like taking out the trash.
Lego bricks made kids love building. Minecraft gave them a place to do it online. And now Lego makes sets that capture the Minecraft experience IRL. What a world.
When it comes to toys for 10-year-olds, Lego and Minecraft are an unbeatable duo. The TNT blast function is definitely amusing, and its great that this set comes with four different figures for imaginative play. Also, if your kid loves Minecraft its hard to imagine they wont want to play with this set.
If you have a kid who'd like a terrarium, you probably already know. And if you do, this is a great one to get.
Kids get to assemble this set themselves, in the process building a visually appealing ecosystem that doubles as a night light (not that they need one).
A build- and code-it-yourself computer designed for creative and tech-savvy kids.
Kids who like to tinker get to assemble all of these components themselves. Kids who like to create get to code, make music, and draw using the included kid-friendly apps, sharing what they make with other kids on Kano World.
Defining friendships is a favorite pastime for ten-year-olds, and this toy lets them make bracelets to their own exacting specifications.
Add this one to your gifts for 10-year-old girls list, although it would be a hit with crafty kids of all genders. Kids simply loop different threads on the nubs of this machine and crank the handle. It will spit out a perfect bracelet every time. It comes with some suggested designs, but adventurous kids can get really personal and make custom designs to share with their friends.
Kids this age love putting their own touches on their room, and this bestselling kit lets them express themselves on their windows when they run out of wall space for posters.
This is a well-stocked kit that can make 12 different suncatchers with paints kids can mix to make their own colors. They can also flex their own creative muscles by creating their own designs.
This Nerf set is great for kids who want to practice their marksmanship and compete against their friends in a different way.
This set comes with three different targets a clip-on sight, so its great for kids who want to play in a more low-key way that they mightve in their younger years.
This expandable toy is like a racing video game come to life.
Kids can race against each other using smart devices to control their cars or set the cars to AI mode and watch them race around the track on their own. The Overdrive is also a super-customizable toy, something 10-year-olds will love.
The main selling point here isn't that kids can go bird-watching (as if), but the fact that these binoculars work in low-light conditions. Meaning, night vision!
The binoculars have low-light-level night vision built-in design help you see things when others cannot. Plus, theyre handy, portable, and easy to use one-handed.
The latest, and longest, Avengers movie has ignited fan frenzy in a major way. And diehards will love this intricately detailed of the articulated power gauntlet is inspired by the Avengers movie.
The gauntlet inspired byAvengers: Endgame is an electronic fist that is full of power. When its turned on, the power gauntlets six Infinity stones pulsate with glowing light.
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