# Toys for 6 Year Old Boys [From a Mom of Boys!]

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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!!

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!)  

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.

best board games 6 year old boys

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 bes.t

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​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!

11. NERF BOW & ARROW – we’ve had cheaper brands but Nerf seems to hold up the best

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 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.

13. 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!

6 year old boy explorer kid toy

​Educational Toys

Personally, I think most “educational toys,” are a joke. Kids learn through play. 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. 

14. ENGINEERING KIT – My kids’ favorite science + engineering kit made by Mark Rober. (They also love his youtube channel!)

15. IQ PUZZLE GAMES – Our violin teacher has this one out in her waiting room and my kids love to play it. Ages 6-90 I’d say.

16. MAZE & PUZZLE BOOKSthis 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!)

17. WORD SEARCH BOOKS – my new reader loved this one on our last road trip 

18. 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.

19. TELESCOPE – if you have an outer space loving kiddo, this would be so cool. Maybe with one of these astronomy picture books for kids.

20. TALKING GLOBE – we don’t own one of these, but homeschool friends of ours love theirs!

21. 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.

This is the perfect dot to dot for 6 year olds!!

​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: 

22. THIS COOL MARBLE MAGNETIC KIT – a great addition to someone’s magnatile collection.

Note: He is also using regular magnatiles to make this way bigger/ sturdier.

23. 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. 

24. HARRY POTTER LEGOS

25. 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!!  

26. 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: 

POLYMER CLAY WITH REAL TOOLS –

KINETIC SAND WITH ACCESSORIES – Fun for all ages!

KIDS BAKING/ COOKING BOOK – 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….

​Outside/ Physical Activity Toys 

RIDE ON BOUNCE JUMP BALL

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!! 

BIKE

ROLLERBLADES – All my kids have a pair of these, though you can sometimes find them secondhand at Goodwill!!

SOCCER BALL & NET

RINGS – We installed these in our basement ceiling studs, but you can also put them on a tree outside

THIS DISC SWING – One of the best, most used gifts we’ve ever given our kids!

TRAMPOLINE – Probably used 320+ days per year, even through the winter. Plus it attracts neighbor kids!!

SCOOTER – this is the scooter we have 4 of for all 4 of our kids. 

​Graphic Novels! 

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: 

LITTLE ROBOT

MIGHTY JACK SERIES – has words, but you can get the gist from the pictures) – this is my son’s favorite book. 

NARWHAL & JELLY BOOKS

​Boys Who Are Getting the Hang of Reading Independently Already Will Like: 

MAGIC TREEHOUSE GRAPHIC NOVELS

I SURVIVED GRAPHIC NOVELS

Other Random Boy Toys & Gifts

REMOTE CONTROL CAR – My boys’ grandpa gave them this one and it’s pretty sweet! It does tricks & works outside

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. This disc swing is one of the most used gifts of all time at our house! 

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, water colors, colored pencils, and sketch books. It makes a DIY art kit of sorts. Put it all in a cool backpack or something. 

BACKPACK – speaking of which! An inexpensive cool backpack is a great alternative for “wrapping” a gift!