Gift Guide by Age
The Best Gifts for 5 Year Olds
Five is the first year they can lose a game without it ending the afternoon, which changes what’s worth buying. Rules, turns and builds with a right answer all become fair game, and they’ll want you to play too.
What to look for at this age
Each category links through to the same Amazon list, so you can browse by what you’re after rather than scrolling all of it.
Family Game Night
Five is the age board games start working. Short, funny and cooperative beats anything that takes an hour to explain.
Marble Runs & First Engineering
Cause and effect, but with a build step in front of it. These are the toys that hold a five year old for a whole rainy morning.
Bigger Magnetic & Brick Builds
Size up. At five they build to a plan, so a bigger set is genuinely a better set.
Scooters & Big Movement
Faster and more coordinated. A scooter that fits now will still fit at eight.
Audio Players & Independent Listening
Still one of the best things you can give at this age, and it travels.
Art & Sticker Pads
Sticker pads and activity books that keep them busy in a restaurant without a screen.
From the 7 Days of Play shop
The things we make ourselves, picked for this age.
Best for this ageAutumn Sensory Play Kit
Themed sensory play still lands at five, and now they’ll build a whole story around it.
$29.99
For the makerArt Paper Roll Dispenser
Big drawings, long murals, projects that take up the whole hallway.
$21.99
Playroom orderCollapsible Storage Bins
Five year olds can tidy up if the system is simple enough. This is simple enough.
$29.99Shopping for another age?
Every age from newborn to eighteen has its own guide and its own Amazon list.
A note on links: 7 Days of Play is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Links to Amazon on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy something — at no extra cost to you. I only list things I’d put in my own house.