Best Gifts for Kids | Perfect Presents for Every Occasion

This camera by Agoigo allows your kids to have fun, get creative, and make memories. Available in seven different colors, the camera comes with a waterproof and shockproof case to ensure that it stays intact in falls on the ground or water. When the camera isn’t making a brace for impact, it can take both videos with playback and audio, as well as take photographs with 28 different photo frames and six filters. The camera kit also comes with a mount to attach to a bike, scooter, or helmet to record things on the go. And when your kid wants to take a break from taking pictures, they can play one of three built-in puzzle games: tetris, snaker, and push box right on the camera.

Budding scientists can learn as they play with the Learning Resources Primary Science Lab Activity Set, which comes with 22 pieces that include a magnifying glass, goggles, test tubes, and beakers to name a few. Kids can choose from 10 activity cards to practice their skills and put their new equipment to work. Although, they might need a little help from the grown ups with securing extras like baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring. An excellent foray into the world of STEM, this set’s experiments are quite simple and may be more suited to younger children with little to none science experience.

Described as bingo with a zing, Zingo is a wonderful board game that entails matching icons on a player’s cards to the ones on the Zinger until each player fills their card; the first one to do so in each round (there are six) wins. It’s suited for children aged four years and older, but even adults can get in on the fun, and up to six players can take part in each round. It is fast-paced and entertaining, and super easy to understand with even little ones being able to get the gist of it from the very first round.

Books stay with any child long after it is gifted to them, and they’re something kids can return to over and over again. The Sherlock Holmes Retold for Children Box Set is a beautiful present that will not only provide hours of entertainment, but also encourages children to discover their love of reading. The box set includes 16 individual books with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his sidekick, Watson. The stories have been adapted to be more understandable for children by an award-winning author, Alex Woolf, with thrilling illustrations by Eve O’Brien on each page.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a child who doesn’t like drawing, but sometimes our little friends need a bit of guidance as they master their art skills. The Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad features a paper-locking frame that illuminates illustrations under a drawing sheet, where your kids can follow the lines to draw their own versions of each illustration. The device is slim enough to be taken on trips—perfect entertainment for those long car rides—and it can even help them with their writing and calligraphy, too. Blank sheets, tracing sheets, and 12 colored pencils are included in the set, with additional templates available online for download.

It’s never too early to get a child into chemistry. These beautiful cubes are not only fun for children as young as two to build with, but also the perfect way to teach them all about the 118 elements in the periodic table. The sides of each cube are designed with an element’s name, symbol, and atomic number against a bright, colorful background. These handmade cubes are durable and made from real basswood, which is great if sustainability is an important buying factor for you. They’re attractive enough to be displayed on a shelf, too, when they’re not being played with.

This National Geographic Ultimate Volcano Kit is a best-selling science set around the globe. The kit includes all the ingredients and equipment necessary to create three erupting volcanoes. Each one begins with the process of building and decorating a volcano, then finished after adding all the elements for the burgeoning lava. Thanks to the addition of pop crystals, the eruptions seem far more “active,” as they spew and splutter like a real life volcano. It’s a thrilling visual for both children—and adults—of all ages. Although the game is recommended for ages eight and over, little siblings can safely watch the commotion, hear the crackling, and enjoy the scene from a little further away).

This LEGO set includes over 480 bricks in 35 different colors, allowing children to build an array of objects, from cars and trucks to plants and animals. In addition to bricks, this set also includes a baseplate, tires, wheel rims, and toy eyes for children to really delve into their imagination and create anything they envision. Since LEGOs are cross-compatible, children can use these bricks with any other LEGO sets they already have. Parents will also appreciate that the set comes in a large box to keep all the pieces in—we know how painful it can be to accidentally step on a lone lego.

Written by Jyoti Gupta, “Different Differenter: An Activity Book About Skin” is an activity book designed for children to learn about people from different backgrounds and around the world in a fun and understandable manner. With illustrations by artist Tarannum Pasricha, it sets many fun tasks for children to complete, such as practicing a play or making art, while addressing the social construction of race based on history, social context, and stereotypes—all in an extremely concise and digestible format for children to comprehend. The book is a smart way for parents to tactfully broach the topic of social injustices with their children and a great addition to any child’s bookshelf.

Combining children’s love of creating, getting their hands dirty, and eating sweets, the Baketivity Jumbo Yum&m Cookie Making Kit has pre-measured ingredients to make a batch of delicious chocolate chip cookies. Parents will need to prepare a few cooking essentials from their pantry (butter, an egg, and some kitchenware). Overall, though, minimal adult input is necessary, and there are understandable step-by-step instructions to help children feel more independent. This set also includes an apron and a chef’s hat to fully immerse your child into the role of pâtissier. Beyond cookies, Baketivity also offers a pretzel making kit and a cake pops set.

If you remember the unparalleled joy of receiving your very first music player (be it an iPod or, dare we say it, a Walkman) then you can imagine your child’s excitement to unwrap the VTech Rock and Bop Music Player. Suitable for children starting the age of three, this little device offers a selection of songs that children can dance and play to. But there’s more; it also features 10 musical learning games that teach the alphabet, numbers, animals, instruments, and more. Kids can choose from a variety of songs using the buttons (classical, rock, and hip-hop), and it even lets them create remixes.

As well as providing toddlers with fun, music, and dancing, the Fisher Price Classic Record Player is bound to hit the tot’s parents right in the nostalgia feels. This instantly recognizable game was first introduced by Fisher Price in 1971, and the company has pretty much kept the design the same. The record player comes with five playable and colorful double-sided music discs, each with two different kids’ classics like “Humpty Dumpty,” “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and “The Farmer in the Dell.” Children as young as 18 months are able to play with this classic game, but they’ll love and enjoy it for many years thereafter.

An affordable gift that kids will want to get their hands on—or in—immediately, the Kinetic Sand Sandbox Playset includes magical sand that can be squished, molded, and manipulated in endless different ways. Although it’s not completely mess-free, kinetic sand—which is a sort of mix between real sand and slime—does tend to stay intact unlike sand. It’s almost like each grain is magnetized, so you won’t have to worry about it getting stuck in hair or on clothes and furniture like slime or Play Doh. The set includes one pound of kinetic sand, a tray, three molds, and a scoop for kids to build anything and everything.

As the first step into the world of 3D printing, this 3Doodler Start+ Essentials 3D Pen Set comes with 72 plastic filaments in eight different colors that kids can use to make practically anything they can dream up. Jewelry, accessories, toys, keyrings—the options are endless. The device has no external hot parts, making it suitable for children ages 6 and up. The included activity guide booklet also comes with additional ideas and challenges for them to make. And if you still need more, the company’s website also provides helpful resources for users to find an array of free stencils and tutorials.

As a spin-off from the bestselling and much-loved “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls” book series, the Dream Big Box Set includes five books with 125 tales of extraordinary real-life women in modern times. Don’t let the title fool you; the stories in these books are informative and entertaining for all children, with much to be learned about real women (American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga, Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim, and self-made millionaire Madam C.J. Walker to name a few) who have cemented their place in history with their awe-inspiring life stories and achievements. The set also comes with a blank notebook for children to write in their own stories.

Whether you have a child that can’t seem to sit still or a screen-loving kid that needs a little bit of motivation to get active, the Fitbit Ace 3 Activity Tracker for Kids is a practical gift that mimics the features of the original Fitbit adults enjoy using. As a simplified version of the original Fitbit designed for adults, children as young as six-years-old can check the time, track sleep, and count steps. Parents can also connect their smartphones to their children’s Fitbit to monitor their children’s sleep and activity levels. The device is also water-resistant up to 50 meters and a single charge can last up to eight days.

For musically inclined children or those who have expressed an interest in learning an instrument, the Loog Mini Acoustic Kids Guitar for Beginners is the perfect way for children to get to grips with the instrument quickly, easily, and in a fun way. The guitar comes with an app and flash cards, and the company hosts free 30-minute live Zoom lessons covering the basics to set the future musician up for guitar strumming success. Even though the guitars have just three strings, they are designed to allow users to play any song, with many children able to play a simple tune after one lesson. The guitars are made from real wood and come in six different colors.

If you’re fed up with having to keep watch when your child is playing with slime in case they impulsively try to eat it, get them this DIY edible slime science kit. Combining a child’s love of playing with slime and putting things in their mouths, this kit comes with all the ingredients (vegan and all natural) needed to make gummy bear- and birthday cake-flavored slime that kids can actually eat once they’re done playing with it. It also comes with clear instructions, as well as a reusable plastic utensil.

If you know a child bookworm or want to start instilling the love of reading into children, the Kindel Kids device is a convenient and lightweight e-reader that can hold hundreds of books, enabling children to take it with them wherever they go. Unlike other Amazon devices, the Kindle has no games or distracting videos on it—it’s purely designed for reading. No matter how many hours it’s used, its glare-free display and adjustable light make for comfortable reading without eye strain. A single charge of the Kindle can last up to six weeks, and the Kids model comes with three cover options: Space Whale, Ocean Explorer, and Unicorn Valley. It also comes with a free one-year Amazon Kids+ subscription for access to thousands of titles and hundreds of audiobooks for more reading fun.

Most children by the age of four are well aware that caterpillars turn into butterflies. However, unless they see the chrysalis metamorphosis with their very own eyes, they won’t appreciate just how magical this event actually is. With the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden, children can witness and be part of a butterfly’s life cycle stages, and note their findings in their very own butterfly observation journal. The kit comes with five baby caterpillars, caterpillar food, a feeding dropper, and the mesh chrysalis station that showcases each growth stage. The whole process takes about three weeks, and once their baby caterpillars have transformed into beautiful Painted Lady Butterflies, they’ll be able to take them outside and set them free.