Best Gift Ideas for Little Boys – And, 5 Gift Fails

Here’s my big list of Best Gift Ideas for Little Boys. These are the toys my kids actually play with, all the time. Plus, 5 gift fails!

We’ve all bought those gifts that we thought our kids would love, but they never ended up touching. So today, I’ve got my big list of the toys that my kids actually play with, all the time. And have been favorites for years. These are the Best Gift Ideas for Little Boys in our home. Plus, 5 toy gift fails that never get touched. And, a handful of DIY Gift Ideas for your kids.

Most of these gifts are geared towards little boys, ages 3 to 10. A few will work for younger kids. Some work for older kids. And, most are fun for girls too. Every kid has different favorites, so go with your gut on what toys your kids will actually like. 🙂

And, I wasn’t trying to list STEM related gifts, but a lot of these gifts would be considered STEM gifts. The rest of the items on my list of the Best Gift Ideas for Little Boys list stimulate creativity and imaginative play OR lead to exercise. YASSS!!

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Best Toy Gifts for Little Boys on Amazon – Small Creative Play Gifts

Boys Play Costumes!

Play Costumes are used daily around here. Little kids love imaginary play and experimenting with mixing and matching the costumes. I can say the Construction Worker Pirate with a Superhero Cape is my favorite!

Here are some of the most used costumes in our home:  this Fireman costume, a Construction Worker, these Santa Clause pajamas, this set of 5 Superhero Capes and Masks, any of the Paw Patrol Costumes, Ninjago costumes, and Darth Vadar.

Best Art Supplies for Little Boys!

First, lets start with the basics. Safety Scissors, Glue Sticks, Construction Paper, Washable Crayola Paints & Colored Pencils keep my kids busy for days! Let them use the delivery boxes they come in and they are ecstatic!

But, if you want to give them some new and exciting art supplies they’ve probably never used, add these to the list of best gift ideas for little boys. This fun Model Dinosaur Painting Kit, this Collage Crafting Kit is full of lots of fun bits and pieces, or paint and design your own little magnet tiles with this kit.

Best Play-Doh for Little Boys!

My 3-year old can’t get enough of it and all of the Play-Doh Kits. Especially, the Ice Cream Maker.

And, Amazon has a 36 pack of Play-Doh for about $25, guys. That’s a huge hit around here and probably a 6-month supply. Yay! Play-Doh might be a little messy but it never fails to entertain my boys for at least an hour. That’s definitely a win in my house. 🙂

Best Musical Instruments for Little Boys!

Kids love to make noise, right?! We love this drum set, this toy guitar piano combo and a fun zylophone. Honestly, I think I play them as much as the kids. They’re just fun!

Best Gift Ideas that Kids Build

Best Legos for Little Boys!

Lego Duplo Sets for toddlers and the Lego City kits for school age kids are always fun for our guys.

Best Blocks and Build Kits for Kids!

For more building fun, my guys love Magnetic Tile Blocks and Melissa and Doug Wood Vehicle Build and Paint Kits too.

Snap Circuits for Little Boys!

My 5-year old loves this Snap Circuits Jr. It’s for kids ages 8+, but he’s always been great with puzzles, so we gave it a try. My husband worked with him a few times on some of the projects.

Amazingly, my 5-year old completely gets it now and builds them from memory. I’m not ashamed to admit, he understands how these circuits work better than me. We’ll probably get the bigger Snap Circuit kits soon.

Best Puzzles for Little Boys!

Puzzles are great. Your kid feels like a rockstar when they complete one. They’re learning problem-solving, pattern recognition, hand-eye coordination, and more. Plus, they’re fun for the whole family.

These Melissa & Doug Puzzles are popular in our house. The younger kids also love floor puzzles, like these. And my oldest is mainly doing 100 and 200 piece puzzles.

Best Trains for Little Boys!

VTech Train Station Kits are cool. They love constructing new track designs then setting the train loose to see it run through the track. They’ll spend a good hour changing the tracks around and trying new ways to build it.

Best Science Kits for Little Boys!

Science Kits are another fun and educational gift my boys always want to play with. They love cracking Geodes open and collecting them. They love this Crayola Color Chemistry Set. And this Scientific Explorer Science Kit is a new favorite.

Best Small Gift Ideas for Little Boys on Amazon

Best Books for Little Boys!

We have a ton of books, guys. But here are 5 favorites, they always pull off the shelf.

1. Where Do Diggers Sleep At Night
2. The Goodnight Train
3. Tick-Tock Clock Book
4. Big Frank’s Fire Truck
5. Smash! Mash! Crash! There goes the Trash.

Best RC Toys for Little Boys!

Remote Control Cars and Trucks are pretty cool. They always want more. Pick age appropriate and durable ones. And make sure they know they aren’t made to fall off high places. We lost the first one to stunt driving. 😉

We have this RC Boat too. It’s great in a pool or little pond. Just don’t drop the remote in the water. They aren’t usually waterproof.

Best Small Drones for Little Boys!

This LED Beginner UFO Drone is a-mazing. The lights are cool. It’s easy enough for my kids to operate. It has rechargeable batteries and can be used indoors or outdoors. But, it’s only about 6″, so don’t let it get stuck on a roof or in a tree. 🙂

Best Big Play Vehicles!

Big Play Vehicles are the most used toys with our guys. Sure, they like the tiny cars. But they mainly put them in a pocket to carry around.

The big vehicles are easier to push around on their knees and ram together. What can I say, they’re little boys. The big Paw Patrol Fire Truck, Paw Patrol Air Patroller, Stinky the Garbage Truck, Tonka Trucks, and every construction vehicle or John Deere tractor they can find are the best, in our house.

Best Balls and Balloons for Little Boys!

Balls, Balls, and more Balls. Seriously, you probably know this, but kids love balls and balloons. So, if you need really small gifts or stocking stuffers, here they are. I like light-weight (less damaging 😉 ) balls for indoor play or just big punching balloons. I bring out a new balloon, or two, when they’re acting bored and need to burn some energy.

Awesome & Big Toy Gift Ideas

Push, Pull, and Ride!

Indoor Play Wagons they can pull around, or even push around toys.  Like this Dyson play vacuum. They seem to love pushing and pulling things around and around like its a super hyper and fast parade route. 😉

We still have this Fisher Price Push & Ride Puppy and this VTech Learning Walker. They really do play with them still, but only to run behind. I would only buy the last 2 toys for 3 and 4 year olds.

Best Play Kitchens for Little Kids!

My parents Step2 Play Kitchen always keeps the kids busy. This kitchen has a sink, fridge, ovens, stove, coffee maker, cabinets, and chalkboard. It’s awesome.

But, if you like play kitchens with a bit more Farmhouse Style, check out this beautiful and fun little play kitchen. Be sure to grab some extra play food and a shopping cart for more fun. The shopping cart is a great way to make cleaning up toys fun, too.

Best Play Workbench for Boys!

The same goes for the Little Tikes Construction Workbench. My boys love hammering (everything 😉 ) and using the drill. And it comes with 3 cars to actually build with the drill. You can even download an interactive app to help the kids build the cars.

Best Outdoor Gift Ideas for Little Boys

Bikes!

Bikes, of course. Kids love their bikes. At this age it’s probably all about Tricycles, Balance Bikes, and Bikes with training wheels.

Plasma Cars!

Both boys still love their Plasma Cars Too!

Powerwheels!

My Oldest has this Black Chevrolet Powerwheel. Shop around for the best price. We got ours for about $250. He rides his brother around in it everywhere. And it has a working tailgate, so he even helps daddy collect wood in the yard.

Trampolines!

I know, I know. Trampolines can be dangerous. But we have the net ring around ours and have strict safety rules about how they play on it. After 2 years, still not one injury and they get so much exercise on it!

Chalk!

Sidewalk Chalk, we love it! And the rain washes it away. Winning!

5 Worst Gifts for Little Boys

OK, this is might only apply to my kids. Other kids might love these items. But, here are 5 gifts that my kids didn’t really play with, or at least not for long.

• This Train Table – The trains and tracks are cool. But the table takes up a lot of space and my boys prefer the floor.
• Magic Tracks – The tracks are fine, but the color flashing, light up trains require new batteries after about 1.5 hours of play. No exaggeration.
• Giant Ant Farm – Really cool to watch them build for a few days. Then they just keep going building and changing tunnels endlessly. All 30ish ants died within 3 weeks. I kinda wonder if it was from going crazy. K, NK.
• Kids Record Player – Nostalgic for me, but not as fun for my kids. It’s hard to crank and a bit boring for modern kids.
• This Radio Flyer Little Tricycle – I thought flip down pedals would be great. They could scoot with their feet, then pedal. But the pedals are so hard to turn that little kids can’t do it. And, by the time they’re strong enough, their legs are far too long.

Best DIY Handmade Gift Ideas for Little Boys

• This PVC Kids Play Tent is a great nook for reading or pretend play
• Farmhouse Activity Wall with over 25 different options for uses. Including, lego boards!
• Light Up Picture and Kids Art Display Board
• A fun, open top Toy Box
• This Kids Gravel Pit is great for digging, bulldozers, and dump trucks. Plus, none of the mess of sand.
• Custom Felt Wall Art – Make your own masterpiece to match their room or favorite toy. It’s pretty easy.
• This Easy Kids Bookshelf sits on top of counters, dressers, tables, etc. It’s a clever use of space.
• This DIY Wooden Kids Kitchen is as fun as it pretty. And, it’s my favorite on this list!
• This Beautiful DIY Wooden Childrens Desk with Drawers is pretty enough to pass down from generation to generation.
• And, last but not least, I figured out how to make my own DIY Sit and Spin Toy. Fun for me and the kids. 🙂

You can find more Gift Ideas on my Gift Ideas Pinterest Board. It’s full of DIY and store-bought gifts for everyone in your family. 🙂

So glad you stopped by to see my Best Gift Ideas for Little Boys. I’d love for you to sign up for my email newsletter to get my latest DIY’s, Decorating, and Remodeling posts in your inbox. And feel free to ask questions, anytime.

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You can find more of my Favorite Amazon Finds in These Posts

• My Picks for Favorite Vintage & Retro Christmas Decorations
• Big List of Best Toy Gifts for Little Boys & 5 Toy Fails
• Favorite Home Decor Picks – You’re bound to find something you love on this list!
• Favorite Milk Glass and Schoolhouse Light Fixtures – The best of nostalgia in a modern fixture. Yes, please!
• Top Fabric By The Yard Picks, on Amazon – That’s right you can have it delivered. Yea!
• Favorite Farmhouse Fall Decor Ideas – For fans of rich pops of Fall Color
• Great DIY and Baby-proofing Gifts for New Parents – You have to see the Toilet Seat with the built in Potty Chair, guys!
• Cool Star Wars Gifts to Make or Buy – For your favorite Sci-fi Fan.
• 15 Really Spooky and Scary Halloween Decorations – Don’t click here, if you’re easily scared. 😉

This DIY Table Over Washer and Dryer is always a popular build.

If you need a great little desk for your elementary age kids. Check out this DIY Childrens Desk with Storage Drawers.

Or, this easy DIY Kids Play Tent from PVC Pipes.

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Feeling inspired? Now you know my picks for Best Gift Ideas for Little Boys this year. Let me know if you have questions. Don’t forget to sign up for the Abbotts At Home email newsletter to get DIY, Remodeling, and Crafty ideas in your inbox.