Gift Guide: Tween Boys
Tween boy–roughly the ages of 9-12–is the age of maturing kid and not yet teen. Two of my sons fall in this range, so they helped me quite a bit with this list. We tried to think of a high quality gift for all of kinds of boys. Whether your tween likes the outdoors, sports, reading, science, or games, we’ve got a variety of ideas.
Make sure to hop over and browse around our other 2019 Holiday Gift Guides!
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Tween Boy: Ages 9-12 Gift Guide
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1. Spikeball Game Set – My 12-year-old son got hooked on this indoor or outdoor group game at church camp this summer.
2. Swiss Army Knife – All three of my kids, girl included, have a pocket knife like this. They like to whittle wood with it, take it on hikes, and pretend to “survive”. For There are so many colors and patterns to choose from.
3. Nerf Football – This exact football gets a lot of play action in our backyard and is taken on almost every road trip.
4. Cup Stacking Set with Pro Timer Mat – Kids at our church play this fast-paced activity by themselves or in groups. There are amazing YouTube videos of kids going at lightening speed.
5. Slack Line – A friend of ours had this in his backyard and boys of all ages used and loved it. Set it up and take it down fairly easily. Great for exercise, getting outside, and fully family fun.
6. Flint and Steel – My almost 11-year-old son prides himself on his survival skills. He loves the woods and the idea of being able to start his own fire. Now this gift isn’t for young kids or every kid. But, if you have a fairly responsible one who is an adventurer, he/she will love this flint and steel set. I let my son start all of our fires in our fire pit with it, while all the neighbor friends look on in awe.
7. 3×3 Rubik’s Speed Cube – The Rubik’s Cube is back but it’s even faster. Speed cubing has now become popularized. My oldest son spent a few years learning the speed cubing method and investing a lot of his money and research time into cubes. He quickly learned that not all cubes are made equal. The one I linked to is one of the best 3×3 cubes on the market for your up-and-coming speed cuber or recreational cuber.
8. Electronic Snap Circuits – Designed for young engineers ages 8+. Build over 300 experiments with 60+ parts, including photosensitive electronic organ, a Lie detector, an AM radio, and a two-finger touch lamp and much more!
9. The Dangerous Book for Boys – The classic bestselling book for every boy from eight to eighty, covering essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses*, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age-old question of what the big deal with girls is. In this digital age, there is still a place for knots, skimming stones and stories of incredible courage. This book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity, and makes for great father-son activities.
10. Ripstick – Our whole street of boy and girl tweens ride up and down the sidewalks and driveways after school on their Ripsticks. Such great exercise and reason to get outside! The mom in me has to suggest investing in a helmet and pads, too. 😉
11. Exploding Kittens Card Game – This hilarious card game for all ages especially connects with tween boys because of the quirky comedy involved. Fun family game that is easy to learn.
More Ideas:
Younger Tween Books: Here are a few great book ideas for 9 and 10 year old boys.
- Boxcar Children series – Perfect for 9-year-olds or so.
- I Survived series – History’s most exciting and terrifying events come to life.
- Series of Unfortunate Events series – All 3 of my kids (boys and girl) are obsessed with this quirky story.
- The Crossover – Written in poetic verse. My basketball loving boys enjoyed this book a lot!
Older Tween Books: Here are some favorites in our house for older tweens.
- Harry Potter series – The best!
- Chronicles of Narnia series – The BEST best! Great for a read aloud or for the older tween to read.
- Wonder series – So well-written, funny, creates empathy for those who look different than us, family-focused, friend-focused. 5th and 6th graders love this story!
- Percy Jackson series – My boy and girl tweens tore through these Greek mythology adventures!
- Unbroken (Young Adult Adaptation) – Your tween will be captivated by this heroic, redemptive, true story. Might be better for an older tween, since there is some hard stuff in here (plane crash, Japanese war camp, etc).
- Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon – My 12-year-old, who loves history, said this was one of the best books he read this year.
- Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation) – My 12-year-old son said, after Unbroken, this is his favorite book.
Legos: Lego City is currently the most popular Lego set on our street for younger tween boys (ages 9-10).
Code Names: A really fun group game that all ages and genders will love. I often give this as a birthday gift to older tween boys.
Bible: Snag my 9-year-old’s favorite children’s Bible, The Action Bible. Find more excellent Bible options on this list of Children’s Bibles or this list of Tween and Teen Bibles.
Advent Resources for the Whole Family
It’s never too late to invest in some great resources to use during the Advent season in December. This curated list of Advent resources will help your family, individuals of all ages, to remember and celebrate the coming of Jesus.
Check out all of our Holiday Gift Guides:
- Kids: Ages 0-2
- Boys: Ages 3-5
- Girls: Ages 3-5
- Boys: Ages 5-9
- Girls: Ages 5-9
- Tween Boys
- Tween Girls
- Moms
- Dads
- Grandparents
- Teachers
Note: If you bookmark any of these ideas for later, we’d be so thankful if you came back to this page and go through our link when you are ready to purchase. We only get credit if you make a purchase through our link. We appreciate your support SO much!
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