The Best Gifts for 5 Year Old Boys

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Discover amazing toys and gifts for 5-year-old boys that will get kids moving, thinking, inventing, exploring, building, and playing.

Don’t forget to consider a variety of books, games, toys, and clothes.

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The Best Gifts for 5 Year Old Boys

Plasma Car
Kids (my own included) love to cruise around on this super fun car. It’s great for inside or outside, too. (Even on my hardwood floors.)

Zingo
Kids adore this literacy game– it’s a fun way to build reading skills for pre-readers and beginning readers!

Gears, Gears, Gears Robot Factory
My kids and their friends love this gears kit SO MUCH. Parents, you’ll love to see how the gears inspire creativity through building and engineering. See my full review here.

Hot Wheels
Boys and girls absolutely love Hot Wheels vehicles; they make great stocking stuffers, too.

Story Time Chess
Learn to play chess with chess pieces that have unique stories and 30 mini-games, all of which teach children the rules of the chess game.

Pizza with Everything on It by Kyle Scheele, illustrated by Andy J. Pizza
Wildly imaginative — this is the story of a pizza-loving boy who decides he should add EVERYTHING on top of his pizza. Pickles and apples, books and pencils, the White House, and a particle accelerator,…so many toppings! Before long, the pizza begins to collapse in on itself and turns into a black hole!! Will it ever become a pizza again? Take a wild, imaginative ride in this funny picture book that will have kids begging for multiple readings!

Uncle Milton Moon In My Room
Watch the moon’s lunar phases that you can change with a remote control.

Highlights Hidden Pictures Sticker Book
Use the stickers to find the hidden objects. It’s fun! My kids always preferred the sticker hidden picture books to the color books.

Dragons Slips and Ladders
For 2 – 4 players, this is a fun fantasy version of Chutes and Ladders with knights, princesses, and dragons.

Old Tracks, New Tricks by Jessica Petersen
Snubbed by the trains, the new wooden train tracks decide they’ll show the other tracks fun ways to play — like hide and go track, tick-track-toe, tracks stack towers, dominoes, and so much more. These creative play ideas will get your kids thinking of their train tracks in many new, inventive ways. One of my new favorite picture books for 4- and 5- year olds, this one is a kid-favorite keeper.

LEGO DUPLO Alphabet Train
Stack the letter bricks and learn to recognize letters, developing fine motor skills and alphabet knowledge.

Animals Upon Animals
You’ll love this wobbly stacking game where players race to place all their animals on the animal pile first. Roll the die to see how many animals you can stack up– or if you get to add to the base. A fun interactive game (that we love) that fosters hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Razor Kick Scooter Junior
Scooters build up balance and gross motor skills but 5 year old kids don’t know that– they just think they’re awesome. Notice that this junior scooter has three wheels not two for more stability.

Counting Puzzles
Kids need to learn to match the number word to the numeral and these ten pairs of puzzles will help.

Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin, illustrated by Brian Selznick

Kids are going to love this delightful, humorous collection of stories about an adorable monkey who solves mysteries. Predictable text helps new readers know what to expect next in the story. Here’s an example: (Only one sentence on each page. The // indicates a page break.)

“Baby monkey looks for clues.//

Baby monkey writes notes.//

Baby monkey eats a snack.//

Baby monkey puts on his pants.”

Oh, and you know what else kids will love? (Besides the stories?) It’s a BIG, impressive-looking book. Kids like reading big books for street cred, right?

Chutes and Ladders
Another classic game that remains a favorite for kids — my own included. The first player to reach the 100 square wins. It’s a game of chance but for some reason, my kids always win. What’s up with that?

Painting Essentials Gift Set
From Kids Made Modern, this is a 30+ piece set to get kids started painting including paint brushes, paints, watercolors, and a palette.

Crayola Pip-Squeaks Washable Markers
This carrying case makes it easy to carry your markers anywhere. And washable markers are a must-buy arts and crafts gift for creative kids!

Kids First Science Laboratory
5 year old boys will love these large, plastic scientific tools for long-lasting fun and exploration. The tools include a unique, multipurpose 14-piece screw-together system with tubes, funnels, lids, connectors, and perforated disks that can be used in a multitude of ways. Also included are large and small measuring spoons, a test tube rack, a pipette, a hand magnifier, magnetic rings and stand set, and more.

Dreamworks Hatchimals Toothless
Move baby Toothless around until he’s ready to hatch! See his eyes glow through his eggshell, rock it to make him growl, tap to hear him tap back, clap & he’ll respond! Then teach Toothless to fly & plasma-blast. He’ll move his wings & ears as you guide him. In fact, there’s a lot that you can do with Toothless once he’s hatched!

ZOOB 125 Piece Set
ZOOBs are colorful snap-together plastic gears, axels, and joint pieces. They’re not electronic; they’re totally battery-free. AND WE LOVE THEM! Without a doubt, ZOOBs are one of our most-played with, favorite open-ended toys that have lasted for years of childhood! (If you can’t tell, we highly recommend them.)

Are You Scared, Darth Vader? by Adam Rex
HILARIOUS — and a guaranteed new read-aloud favorite for your kids. The narrator is trying to find out if Darth Vader is scared of anything. Maybe when this wolfman pops out? Or bites him? Or a vampire? Or a ghost? Black cats? “I AM NOT SCARED. I WILL NEVER BE SCARED. WHO COULD POSSIBLY SCARE LORD VADER?” Apparently, nothing will scare Darth Vader. There’s an unexpectedly tender moment when Darth Vader reveals that he is cursed…and seems sad. Then a surprise ending with what actually displeases, er, scares Darth Vader. What do you think it is? And there’s a second surprise ending, too!

The Pigeon Needs a Bath Book + Bath Toy
Read this favorite hilarious story to your children and let them play with this cute pigeon bath toy. A playful reading gift for young readers.

My ABC Keepsake Book
I think the My ABC Book Keepsake is so cute — it’s filled with eye-catching stickers, punch-out’s and artwork. Create an activity for “A,” a birthday bash for “B”, and a celebration for “C!”

Silly Street
Will your 5 year old like this award-winning cooperative game that includes many types of play: dramatic, communication, creative, interpretive, competitive, teamwork? We think it’s FUN and silly!

MindWare Dig It Up! Giant Gem
Excavate a gigantic gem stone with 12 polished gemstones hidden inside!

My Toothbrush is Missing by Jan Thomas
Dog tells his friends that his toothbrush is missing. Donkey asks Dog to describe it. Which leads to hilarious fun! Because for every description Dog shares (bristles, long handle), Donkey thinks he’s found it — but he finds other things that also fit those descriptions (Fat Cat, a broom, an egg beater, …) Entertaining dialogue, brilliant brightly-colored comic-style illustrations, and a funny, funny ending. Perfection. (Can you tell I love Jan Thomas?)

Playmobil Pet Hotel
Take your pet for a fun day at the pet hotel!

Hot Wheels Monster Truck
The oversized body and giant monster wheels make up a super cool 1:24 scale truck that any child will enjoy.

Balance Beans
We think this STEM math and science game is AWESOME. It’s a one-player game that gets us to balance the seesaw, learning physics and logic at the same time.

Lego City Town City Square
Build your own little town, from its trucks to its coffee shop to its street stands! This LEGO set is full of never ending building fun that will keep children entertained all day!

Jack and the Beanstalk
A brain-boosting 1 player 3D logic and deduction game with 60 challenges!

The Original AirFort
Quickly and easily inflate this roomy 4″+ tall fort with a box fan! Then play inside for hours!

Create with Clay Mythical Creatures
Create a unicorn, dragon and phoenix sculptures with this colorful clay set!

Playstix
Playstix interlock with a snap-and-lock feature and are color-coded to make building easy. This kit includes 150 Playsitx and an idea booklet with instructions and examples of things you can build.

Have You Seen Gordon? by Adam Jay Epstein & Ruth Chan
Goofy adventures and fun characters make this the most hilarious seek-and-find book you’ll ever read with themes of consent and allyship. A funny narrator battles the independent thinking characters who have their own ideas about how the story should go. But first, can you find Gordon? When Gordon doesn’t hide very well, the narrator decides to find someone else to look for — but his new target, Jane, the construction worker, is shy so she runs away. Quickly, can you catch up to her? What will happen now?