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I have 2 boys who are currently ages 6 and 8 as of this writing. Plus my 3 boy nephews spanning ages 6-10. Since we homeschool, we’re home a LOT!! And while I mostly think boys do best with real tools and outside play, it might be a little weird to give a pocket knife or giant stick at the next holiday or birthday party, so I’ll suggest some toys instead!!
[Updated 2026, I stand by all of it & have added a few things]
We have personally purchased or received every single thing on this list. These are the best gift ideas and things I have already bought or have seen my kids use over and over.
I’m only compiling the BEST GIFTS for 6-year-old boys. (They’d work for 5 year old boys too! Or 7… ya know…. in this 5-8 ish range!)
In this post, you’ll find:
- Board games six-year-old boys love
- Imaginative play toys
- Educational toys that aren’t boring
- Building sets
- Fine motor skills toys
- Outside and physical activity toys
- Graphic novels and best books for this age
- Other random cool gifts
Let’s get to the 5-8 Year Old Boys Gift Guide
Board Games 6 Year Old Boys Love
My little boy LOVES board games. Obsessed. Would play them all day. We don’t all love games as much as he does but every so often, we do a family game night or just have a games marathon of sorts. Here are some of the best games my kids love.
1. STRATEGO: This classic game is an oldie but goodie. I linked the exact one we have (I just bought a used one to save money.) Such a fun game!! My kids learned it young, but enjoyed it for years because the strategy gets more fun as they get older.
2. MONOPOLY DEAL – This version of monopoly is so much fun because it’s fast – hallelujah. It’s not that much like monopoly at all, but it is a good one. I’d say it’s a better gift for ages 7-8, but my 6 year old plays along with us!
3. NERTZ – get a set designed for Nertz because it comes with all different colors cards! You could add a card game book to the gift so kids can learn all kinds of fun games.
4. COVER YOUR ASSETS – this was his favorite card game at age 5 and 6. Bonus… it’s fun for the whole family, fast paced, and it also taught him skip counting and making 100s in the scoring. 10/10 recommend. I always suggest it as a homeschool math game.
5. CHESS – All our kids learned to play chess with the specific game, NO STRESS CHESS. It’s perfectly leveled for kids as young as 4 or 5. Eventually, you can upgrade to a nice wooden chess set with wooden chess pieces and checkers pieces.
6. RUSH HOUR JR. – This is a GREAT individual player logic game. We actually love so many of this brand’s individual player games. If your kiddo is pretty good at the logic stuff, they might be ready for the regular level of Rush Hour, but the advanced levels are pretty darn hard.
7. AZUL – This level of game is similar to Stratego in that our 6 year old has learned to play it and enjoys it, but all ages of my kids love this game because they get better at the different strategies as they get older. I actually love playing this one with them too! We enjoy the original game the best.
Imaginative Play Toys
My mom has a hilarious story about being very anti-toy-guns for my brother. She said, “Back then it was definitely the impression that good mothers wouldn’t let their boys play with toy weapons.”
When my brother was 4, he put his pointer finger and thumb in an L-shape and pointed them at her like a gun. “Look, Mom!! I can take my thumb and my finger and make a gun!” She gave up then and there and we spent our childhood pretending to be Luke & Leia, saving the neighborhood from the evil forces of the dark side.
To that end, we’ve been totally fine with our boys having pretend weapons and fantasy toys. And all kinds of other pretend play toys!!
If pretend weapons isn’t your thing, that’s okay! Find other categories of pretend toys your boys will love… Marvel superhero stuff, outdoor explorer stuff, etc.
The ones that have gotten the most love from our boys in the 5-8 year old age group are:
8. FOAM SWORDS – Grandma gave each of the cousins 2 of these foam swords one year. They had a blast with them!
9. PLASTIC SWORD – ideally with some sort of belt or holster so they can woosh it out & get the bad guys!
10. RUBBERBAND GUN (pictured above) – very fun; they shoot far! I linked a different one because we got ours at a local store and I couldn’t find the same brand online.
11. NERF DARTS BOW & ARROW – we’ve had cheaper brands but Nerf seems to hold up the best! Look at Walmart or Target for better pricing.
12. LEGIT TOY BOW AND ARROW!! This thing is serious. It won’t kill someone, but it’d REALLY hurt to get shot with this. We don’t treat it like a toy, it’s a “tool.” We’re very careful to distinguish between toys and tools and we have very specific rules for using this bow and arrow set. It’s pretty cool & the arrows go really far. My current 6 year old is very responsible with this, but it’s almost as tall as he is. Probably better for an older kid… obviously use your judgement. You know your kid!
13. WALKIE TALKIES – these get used for all kinds of imaginative play. They’re a great way to get your kids playing OUTSIDE.
14. EXPLORER SET – Great for exploring the great outdoors and not babyish. My child pictured below is in a similar outfit from a local nature center, but the one I linked looks cooler!
Educational Toys
Personally, I think most “educational toys,” are a joke. Kids actually learn through play, which they’ve been doing since the beginning of time. They don’t need fancy “educational” toys to help them.
Any kind of hands on, screen-free play that legitimately engages kids is helping them learn and grow. There is all kinds of research to back that up, but I digress. Stick to the point, Renee!! (Yes, I’m scolding myself in 3rd person.)
I guess I can admit there are some learning type toys that are actually really cool, especially as gifts!!
My boys have loved science kits, engineering box subscriptions (these are the perfect gift from a grandparent), and logic games that help with problem-solving skills.
15. ENGINEERING KIT – My kids’ favorite science + engineering kit is made by Mark Rober. (They also love his youtube channel!)… We have been gifted the various KIWI kits in the past too and those are fun.
16. IQ PUZZLE GAMES – Our violin teacher has this one (pictured above) out in her waiting room and my kids love to play it. Ages 6-90 I’d say. I’ve also heard this Giiker slide puzzle is super fun, but we don’t own it.
17. MAZE & PUZZLE BOOKS– this brand is perfect for a 6 year old!! Actually my 5-7 year olds have loved these. (After that, they feel too easy. Once kids are reading, I like more reading-based activity books anyway!)
18. WORD SEARCH BOOKS – my new reader loved this one on our last road trip
19. DOT TO DOT: This level is perfect for 6 year olds, in my opinion. If you have a kid who can count to 500+, check out these extreme dot to dots instead.
20. TELESCOPE – if you have an outer space loving kiddo, this would be so cool. Maybe with one of these astronomy picture books for kids.
21. TALKING GLOBE – we don’t own one of these, but homeschool friends of ours love theirs!
22. ANT FARM – you order the ants after you get the package at a separate cost! I think it’s around $15 for the ants in addition to the kit.
Building Sets
My kids’ all time favorite building toys are legos, magnetic tiles, and those thin plank blocks (linked below).
Any of those are great for hand-eye coordination and fostering a child’s imagination. Plus, little kids and younger siblings can enjoy them when older kids grow out of them because they’re classic toys & will never go out of vogue or break.
Even if a kiddo has some of these at home, adding to their sets are always a great option for a Christmas gift or birthday gifts.
At 6 years old, my boys especially loved:
23. THIS COOL MARBLE MAGNETIC KIT – a great addition to someone’s magnatile collection.
24. WOODEN PLANK BLOCK SET – or a few sets if you can afford it! More is more when it comes to building blocks because then kids can collaborative play together.
26. 3 in 1 CREATOR LEGOS – my youngest playing with this exact 3 in 1 set from his 6th birthday.
Any other lego sets! Let’s face it, these never go out of style.
Not gonna lie, I love open-ended toys for young boys because they promote open-ended play which is soooo good for kids!!
27. MAGNETIC TILES – we own several sets of this brand.
Fine Motor Skills Toys
Boys typically have later fine motor development than girls, so 6 year olds are still definitely in the market for fine motor skills building activities. The trick is not to make them baby-ish. Some that our boys love are:
28. POLYMER CLAY WITH REAL TOOLS – we have gifted and been given a set like this.
29. KINETIC SAND WITH ACCESSORIES – Fun for all ages!
30. KIDS BAKING/ COOKING BOOK – we love this specific series…. baking is full of all kinds of fine motor skills. The scooping, leveling off, stirring, pouring, mixing, chopping… not to mention the bonus math skills of reading & understanding fractions. I’ve been saying “yes” to my kids in the kitchen since they were very young kids (1-3 years old) and it has MAJORLY paid off as they’ve gotten older. We’ve been able to skip basically every fractions lesson in math up until 5th grade becuase they instantly understand fractions from all their kitchen work. They’re independent and able to make themselves meals or help with meals for the whole family.
Oops, I’m getting sidetracked again. Back to the toys & gifts…
31. CRAFT KITS – there are some really cool ones designed for boys specifically. Think duct tape wallets, paracord bracelet kits, or model building sets. Here is the engine set pictured below, I happened to grab it at TJ maxx over the holidays. It was very intricate and well done! I’d buy from this brand again.
Outside/ Physical Activity Toys
32. RIDE ON BOUNCE JUMP BALL – not sure these ever get old, lol
33. SKIP IT: All the parents who grew up in the 90s …. Remember these!? My 6 year old got this for Christmas from his aunt. SO SO fun!!
34. BIKE – we have gifted all of our kids a high quality secondhand bike at some point! It’s a fun birthday gift if they’re in need of the next size up bike. I prefer to buy/ sell all our bike secondhand.
35. ROLLERBLADES – All my kids have a pair of these and they’ve held up well, though you can sometimes find them secondhand at Goodwill!!
36. SOCCER BALL & NET– this is such a great set because it comes with 2 nets and they fold down for easy storage.
37. GYMNASTICS RINGS – We installed these in our basement ceiling studs, but you can also put them on a tree outside. Playing on rings makes kids crazy strong!! It’s so good for them.
38. THIS DISC SWING – One of the best, most used gifts we’ve ever given our kids! We actually replaced it after 2-3 years of daily use and sitting outside in harsh midwest winters. (We never took it down to store it…) And then this tree fell down in a high winds storm. We were all SO disappointed as we have no other tree big enough!! My neighbors put one up though, and the kids still go over there and use it.
39. TRAMPOLINE – Probably used 320+ days per year, even through the winter. Plus it attracts neighbor kids!! We gifted our kids a 14 foot skywalker trampoline for Christmas one year. 2 years later, we had to replace it as a tree fell on the net and destroyed it. (It was the same price to replace the net vs. the whole thing.)
We bought the exact same one and it lasted another 2 years. The kids hang on the net which bend the poles. Plus, we pretty regularly have anywhere from 4-12 kids on it at a time. We are VERY hard on it! Haha
The 3rd time we replaced it with this Jumpzylla one that I linked above. They have 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, and 15 foot ones. We went 15 foot – it’s huge!! And it does seem quite a bit sturdier. I read a lot of reviews and it seems like it’ll be easier to replace individual parts as well. So I’m hopeful this one will last a smidge longer.
I’m a HUGE trampoline fan!! 10/10 recommend every single time.
40. SCOOTER – this is the scooter all 4 of our kids have used. We like the bigger wheels!
Graphic Novels & Other Best Books for Boys
Whether or not the 6 year old your shopping for is reading independently, graphic novels are a GREAT gift. They’re so fun for kids to look through. We own several great graphic novel books & series, and my kids have read them over and over.
Not-Yet Reading Kids Will Likely Enjoy:
41. LITTLE ROBOT – I love all of Ben Hatke’s books. So cute!!
42. MIGHTY JACK SERIES – has words, but you can get the gist from the pictures) – this is my son’s favorite book. We have all the Mighty Jack & Zita books. My kids have read them over and over and we’ve lended them to many friends. In fact, I couldn’t take a picture of my stack because a friend’s daughter has them right now.
43. NARWHAL & JELLY BOOKS – I’m obsessed with these. They’re all adorable. If you have the budget, get a few or one of the box sets. As of the 2026 update for this post, there are 10 books total.
Boys Who Are Getting the Hang of Reading Independently Already Will Like:
44. MAGIC TREEHOUSE GRAPHIC NOVELS – These are super fun. She doesn’t have as many as there are regular books, but the illustrations are cute.
45. I SURVIVED GRAPHIC NOVELS – my kids love reading these & have learned about so many important history events.
46. THE ACTION BIBLE GRAPHIC NOVEL – our copy of this is very well loved. It is quite graphic, as some of the stories in the Bible are quite violent. So use discretion!
Other Random Boy Toys & Gifts
47. REMOTE CONTROL CAR or LIZARD – My boys’ grandpa gave them this car and it’s pretty sweet! It does tricks & works outside. I do feel like you get what you pay for, so over time it got a little crooked & eventually broke. Our neighbor kid has had his remote control lizard for a long time though! It’s pretty fun.
48. Homemade FORT BUILDING KIT – Our kids don’t use top sheets (only fitted), so we save all the top sheets in a giant trunk. Then we bought a bunch of these plastic clips for making forts.
49. DIY ART KITS – if you have a kiddo who loves art (my NOW 8 year old has always been obsessed with drawing & art), I love to gather good quality markers (crayola supertips from Walmart are a fave here!), water colors, colored pencils, and sketch books. It makes a DIY art kit of sorts. You could put it all in a cool backpack or easel box kit or something.
50. BACKPACK – speaking of which! An inexpensive cool backpack is a great alternative for “wrapping” a gift!
A Quick Note About Video Games & Screen Time
I know a lot of people wonder about video games for 6 year old boys. We thus far have gotten away not having a video game system. We might get one at some point, and we do have some screens/ screen time, but it’s just not a huge thing here, and so thus, I don’t have a lot of advice about the best games/ gaming gear. Sorry!
A Nintendo Switch with age-appropriate games can actually be a fun gift, especially for rainy days or road trips. Just… maybe pair it with a few of the outdoor toys on this list too. Balance, friends!
Wrapping It Up – Gift Wrap Pun Intended
I hope this list helps you find the perfect toy or gift for your favorite six-year-old boy! The simple things really are the best at this age. Give them tools to build, space to run, and something to spark their imagination… and they’re happy. You really can’t go wrong with any of the cool gifts on this list.
Happy shopping!!
xoxo, ~ Renee