Christmas Gifts for tweens

*AD/Collaboration, but as always, all views are my own.

There are more than a few ages where it gets tricky to buy presents for kids, but few more so than the transition from kid into a teenager. Age 11-12-year-old children. My eldest child, Kai, is twelve, and when you ask him what he wants for Christmas, for his birthday, or even – sometimes – for dinner, he answers with uncertainties. We’re a very busy household, we play computer games and board games together, we regularly go out for walks, or to events, or the cinema… and so, there are always a few options there. But, at that age, they’ve just started secondary school, and that means that there’s more than likely a shift in the people who they play with and spend time with at school – as well as the implications from, in the UK, being treated as a ‘young adult’ rather than a child.

So what great gifts do you buy for somebody who already has games, toys and more, somebody whose mind and view of the world might be shifting?

Thankfully there are more than a few options, even if they’re not too sure themselves. I’ve broken down a couple of types of toys, and some ideas, below.

Pokemon High tops

It feels like Pokemon has become a bigger and bigger thing in the last few years! Our household has got well into Pokemon through Pokemon Go, the mobile game, where you can go out and about to collect Pokemon. Both Kai and Amelia, who are in the tween ages, have been really into Pokemon. These Pokemon High Tops from Akedo are really well designed. There are a bunch of different Pokemon featured, including Squirtle and Pikachu. All of them are designed to look a bit like Christmas jumpers, which is a pretty neat concept. The quality is also really great, and it’s such a useful gift that they’d wear each and every day.

Paint by Numbers

Paint by Numbers is a really classic gift, which works well for times when your tween needs to be a little more mindful. Mindfulness is something being practiced more and more by those who are coming up to teenager-hood. Allowing them to get away from screens and work on a project, while reflecting and thinking about their lives. At the end of the project, they also have a piece of art that they have created, which is always fun. Ravensburger have a bunch of different pictures to choose from, providing a big variety of designs!

Go Science

Science as a lesson completely changes when you’re 11-12, it suddenly reinvents itself into something really fun about everyday life. I remember science lessons from two parts in my life, the first being Reception to Year 1 when you first learn about melting, dissolving and diffusion, as well as Year 6-8 when magnets, robotics, hydraulics and more.

Robotics, and models, are easily one of the best ways to go here, and there are more than a few options out there now. For instance, the Frilled Lizard – Build your own Robot Pet is a great little model assembly that results in a battery-powered, moving frilled lizard which has an I/R sensor that, when triggered, hisses and wiggles its neck frills at the person.

Another cool gift is the 7 in 1 Space Fleet – Solar Rechargeable kit, which includes enough parts and pieces that you can assemble a convincing robotic astronaut, dog or a fun little space station. Each of the models converts solar power (or electric, indoor lighting) using a motor to trigger movement. In addition to that, there’s a really cool 14 in 1 Solar Robot Kit that includes a mass of options for movement, from rolling wheels through to legs and wheels.

Go Cool

UV stuff is incredibly cool. In fact, we only recently built a science kit that revolved around a glowing, UV-attached pendulum. With that in mind, UV doesn’t get much cooler than the Interactive Glow T-Shirt, while clothes might seem like a risky gift, who is going to complain about a shirt that, not only, you can put your own design on, but also glows in the dark?

Kai is absolutely obsessed with maps and history at the moment, that’s quite a specific hobby, but if your kid shares that hobby then you can’t go wrong with the Magnetic Floating Globe. We’ve all seen the desk toys where magnets are used to elevate an orb, this is a really fun, LED-lit C-shaped mount which comes with a globe that you can orbit within it.

And, in keeping it themed with things that stand on a desk and glow, you can’t go wrong with the all-time favourite Lava Lamp. However, rather than Lava Lamp, why not step it up a level with the Twister Light? It’s a mood light, but rather than having bubbles of oil moving around due to heat it instead has a vortex in it. The vortex looks great, especially as the light of the lamp shifts through colours.

Read some of our other gift guides!