I have always loved birthday parties: planning them, executing them, even cleaning up after them. None of it phases me. What shakes me when my children are invited to others’ birthday parties is the gift-buying. In my ideal world, my kids create handwritten notes with their homemade, sustainable gifts. However, in reality they hastily add a note on colored construction paper to a store-bought gift, and call it done.
That being said, I love to shop for birthday presents. It is my excuse to take the kids to a toy store and dream about everything they could have, but don’t really need. On my many trips to said toy store, I have managed a running list of what would make an awesome birthday gift to other children. In an attempt to make the busy mom’s life easier, I share below what I think are most suitable gifts for children, ages 5-9. This list is not by any means comprehensive, and all the gifts listed are under $40, with most in the $20-25 range, and most of these gifts can be found at specialty toy stores, major retail stores, or online.
Age 5
- Create and design drill kit
- Dinosaur excavation kit
- Easy bake oven
- Stomp rocket
- Sticker books, coloring books, maze books
Age 6
- Walkie-talkies
- Binoculars
- Beginners science kit
- Gardening tools
- Snap Circuits
Age 7
- Personalized anything: stationery, pencil cases, t-shirts, towels, etc.
- Beach accessories
- Stuffed animals
- Chess board
- Board games (some of our favorites are Monopoly, Stone Soup, and Sorry)
Age 8
- Journals, especially the ones with a lock and a key
- Scented or race car pens
- Plus Plus building construction toy
- Chapter books (some of our favorites are Magic Treehouse, Nancy Drew, Cupcake Diaries, and Henry and Ribsy)
Age 9
- Legos
- Gift cards (some of our favorites are to Powells, Barnes and Noble, and Target)
- Slappie watch
- Doodle your own: backpack, pillow case, place mat, etc.
- More chapter books!
