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30 Gift Ideas for Kindergarten Graduation

Mark this milestone with something cute whether you're the parent, grandparent, or friend of the little graduate.

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plush toy with a graduation theme alongside educational books and a kindergarten graduation photo
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Graduating kindergarten is a big deal. Proud adults looking for gifts for 5-year-olds or gifts for 6-year-olds who have achieved this big milestone want something that marks the occasion in a meaningful way. Maybe it'll have an educational component to it, to keep them learning over the summer. But, most important, it has to be fun!

Our top picks:

Some of these best kindergarten graduation gifts are current and former Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award winners or Kids' Book Award winners, which means they've been vetted by experts and families. Others are best-sellers and editor's picks designed to delight your new grad. With these in hand, they'll march off to first grade with smiles on their faces!

Graduation day or any day, kids always want another Squishmallow to add to the collection. This one celebrates commencement in style, with a mortarboard cap and a rainbow mane. In addition to Zozo the Blue Bigfoot, there's also Arella the Graduation Owl, and Lemus the Elephant, both in graduation regalia. Ages 3+

Keeping a memory book is easy with this scrapbook, which encourages kids to keep track of their teachers' names and favorite subjects with fill-in-the-blank and check-box prompts. It goes through eighth grade, and they'll be amazed to see how their handwriting improves over time. No age recommendation given

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Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner

Educational Insights Campfire Chatmallows

Campfire Chatmallows
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner

Educational Insights Campfire Chatmallows

Now 19% Off

Spark pretend play and imaginative storytelling in your rising first grader, who can incorporate the pictures on their Chatmallows into a tale they tell around the "campfire." Each Chatmallow has four sides with different images you and your kid use to come up with a brief story, which will help them next year with their writing prompts. Ages 4+

RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards

If you want to keep their minds sharp over the summer, this well-regarded workbook has activities, games and exercises specifically designed to bridge kindergarten and first grade. It also comes with a map, so kids can track their progress. Ages 5+

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Our toy editors are huge fans of magnetic blocks as one of the best learning toys, getting kids thinking like little architects. This is a travel version of Magna-Tiles, and there's also a 55-piece set if you want to go a little more luxe.

RELATED: Best STEM Toys

Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Award Winner

Anne Schwartz Books The Littlest Drop

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The Littlest Drop
Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Award Winner

Anne Schwartz Books The Littlest Drop

Now 40% Off

The message of this book is perfect for their age: Every contribution—no matter how big or small—makes a difference. The book describes a forest fire, and how a hummingbird gives the last drop of water to extinguish the blaze. A children's librarian, Lorie Bonapfel, told us, “Stunning illustrations bring the story to life in the most amazing way as the fire grows and the animals race to save their homes." Ages 3-7

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Kindergarten graduation means a million photos, hopefully with a cap and gown in tow. Give a favorite classmate's family a dedicated space to preserve that memory with a photo frame that announces just how proud you all are.

Sending wishes from far away? You can send this Bluey pop-up card through the mail, it comes with an envelope, and your kindergarten graduate can display it at home.

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Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner

hand2mind Numberblocks Add It Up Mini Market

Numberblocks Add It Up Mini Market
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner

hand2mind Numberblocks Add It Up Mini Market

This is a fun way to keep up math skills over the summertime. It's a pretend market that includes fake coins, a cash register, and a shopping cart so kids can play "store" and get familiar with adding and subtracting the numbers 1 to 4. There's also another fun one in the Numberblocks series that teaches higher versus lower numbers, called the Blockzee Balance Scale. Ages 3+

RELATED: Favorite Toys That Teach Math

Kids can learn the very basics of robotics and coding with this fun set. It includes everything kids need to build their own little robot buddy, plus a motorized rabbit that they can then program to find carrots. No screens needed! Ages 5+

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They might get cash as a graduation gift from relatives—give them a place to keep it. Kids learn early budgeting skills as they separate funds for saving, spending, and sharing in the three separate sections of this bank. It even comes with a paper passbook to keep track of deposits and withdrawals! Ages 3+

Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Award Winner

Bloomsbury Children's Books 'Summer Is Here' Picture Book

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'Summer Is Here' Picture Book
Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Award Winner

Bloomsbury Children's Books 'Summer Is Here' Picture Book

Now 47% Off
Credit: Bloomsbury Children's Books

School's out—time for vacation! This book is a celebration of all things summer, like blowing bubbles or having picnics. Good Housekeeping Institute families really enjoyed the writing by the Newbery Award–winning Renée Watson. Ages 3+

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Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner

Skillmatics My Storybook Art Kit

My Storybook Art Kit
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner

Skillmatics My Storybook Art Kit

Credit: Skillmatics

This activity will help them dream up their own stories over the summer, using things like prompts, vocabulary lists, and art supplies they can use to make illustrations. Good Housekeeping Institute kid testers loved filling in their "About the Author" section the most. You can get it in different themes, including unicorns and princesses and Toy Story characters. Ages 5+

Treat your good egg to a geek-inspired mini Jellycat. The British brand of plush is all the rage and priced accordingly, but your kindergarten grad will be thrilled to show this off.

RELATED: Jellycat Food Plushes

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Custom Name Neon Sign
Credit: IbayNawi

Now that they've graduated kindergarten, they might want more of a "big kid" room. Give them a cool decoration—one that's uniquely theirs—by spelling their name in neon lights. You can choose the size, font, and color to match their room. No age recommendation given

Telling time is such an important skill, and with a Flik Flak watch it couldn't be easier. Designed for kids ages 3 to 7, these watches have the minutes around the face, are water-resistant and can even go in the washing machine (if you put it in a sock first). Plus, they come in all sorts of fun patterns, including kittens and space. Ages 3+

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Waldo who? Kids will be amazed when they see their name on the cover and realize they have to find illustrated versions of themselves hidden throughout the pictures of this book. The story is a puzzle-filled trip through time, which also seems appropriate for a graduation. No age recommendation given

Add this to your summer reading list to get your little one ready for the next year. This book takes students through the first grade journey from the first day to the last, including everything from losing baby teeth to Pajama Day. Ages 4+

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Whether you need an indoor activity to do on a rainy summer day or a DIY project to keep all the kids entertained at a picnic, this activity was called a huge hit by Good Housekeeping Institute testers. Kids can rub sheets of shiny foil onto puffy, animal-shaped stickers, and the color transfers over like magic. Kids love mixing up the foil colors on the different animals. Ages 4+

For your little who loves LEGOs, building this family set is fun and different from piecing together the usual playsets. There are 466 pieces, making this a fun and rewarding challenge. Once built, the Heeler family can be used for display or pretend play. Ages 5+

Headshot of Marisa LaScala
Marisa LaScala
Deputy Editor

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky. 

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