30 Best Toys and Gifts for 12-Year-Old Boys With Strong Opinions
From analog games to high-tech toys, these are what 12-year-olds want this year.
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It may seem impossible to know what's going on in a 12-year-old's brain to figure out what to get them as a gift, but there's one simple trick: Just ask them. As part of the Good Housekeeping Institute's annual toy tests, we sent tweens some of the most sought-after gifts of the year and asked them for their honest opinions, We combined these with favorites from previous years, plus trendy best-sellers and editor's picks, to come up with the list of the best toys and gifts for 12-year-old boys this year.
What's trending in gifts for kids this age? Fidget toys, brain games and puzzles, and fast-but-casual party games are still very popular. Tweens are also in to tech gifts, along with things that get them outside an active. Check out this list and find something for every tween boy on the list, no matter what they're into.
Dungeons & Dragons Questers Buildable Figure
Dungeons & Dragons Questers Buildable Figure
The D&D fans among our toy testers were the most excited about these collectible figures. There are different sizes of character and creatures to collect, and each one comes with a story starter and a D20 die. Parents reported that they helped spark creativity and got kids inspired for roleplaying. Ages 4+
This game works like other four-in-a-row games, only with another dimension: Pieces can be stacked vertically in addition to being placed side-by-side. Parent testers liked the look of the wooden pieces, too. “It felt very smart and challenging—definitely an intellectual game,” said one 11-year-old tester. “I had a great time playing with my family, and I even managed to beat my parents a few times!” Ages 6+
Most of the drones we tested are only rated for kids 14+, but the Sky Viper Vector Stunt Plane is easy enough for tweens to handle. That's because of its auto-stabilization feature, which even accounts for wind. In the air, it can fly up to 35 mph, do barrel rolls, and make 360-degree loops. Ages 12+; rechargeable battery included
‘A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic’
‘A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic’
So many books for kids this age are so deadly serious, but the Good Housekeeping Institute kid testers loved this book because of how funny it is. The story is an adventure tale about a young goatkeeper who needs to rescue a herd of goats, but it has tricks like illustrations, fourth-wall breaks, and non-chronological chapters. “My favorite part is when all the goats escape, leaving the king’s advisor very stressed!” one 10-year-old tester said. Ages 10+
They can take their art to the third dimension with this pen, which lets kids melt colored, plastic filaments and layer them into 3D shapes. Testers liked how they could control the speed of the filament flow depending on what they were working on. No age recommendation given
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Kids loved zipping around on this electric scooter, and parents loved that it had a max speed of under 10 mph. Said one parent of an 11-year-old: "My son loves being able to speed down paths on an electric scooter—the freedom, the acceleration, the breeze." Ages 6+
Kids can tap their inner engineer and build their very own bionic arm with this STEM experiment kit. It teaches how the muscles and tendons work as the robot arm picks objects up from a table. "It helps develop spatial reasoning and engineering skills," said one of our testers. Ages 10+
Give kids a taste for game design that turns their drawings into mobile games they can actually play on a tablet. The set uses different colors for different game elements (hazards, obstacles, characters, walls and floors), so kids can draw out their levels on a piece of paper, then scan it into an iOS or Android app to turn the drawing into a digital game. "I love that the notebook guides you through every single step," one 11-year-old tester said. "It made it very, very easy to use." Ages 6+ (with adult help) or 10+ (without adult help)
Tweens can use the included remote control to guide this car across the floor, sure, but it gets even cooler than that—it also drives up walls and even onto the ceiling. The car charges with a USB-C, but the remote requires batteries. Ages 8+; two AAA batteries required
For kids who love to go head-to-head with games of skill, Sweet Victory is the perfect fast-paced game. Challenge cards reveal a pattern, and then players have to race—one-handed—to see who can move their pieces from pillar to pillar to match the card first, so it works out body and brain at the same time. "Although it's for a family of four, my son spent a lot of time doing some rounds on his own because he liked the mental challenge," said one parent of a 10-year-old. Ages 8+
When it's time to take notes, this is a pen. But, when it's time to listen to lectures, tweens can take apart, twist, and bend and connect the magnetic shaft into different shapes like a fidget toy. Ages 8+
For STEM-minded kids, building their own toy might be even better than getting one new. This subscription box, founded by NASA engineer and YouTuber Mark Rober, gives them projects like building a disc launcher, coin spinner, drawing machine, or trip wire. "This was a nice sweet spot of complicated enough to seem interesting, but quick enough to build and play with that it was also quite fun," said one parent of an 11-year-old. For ones who are older or more experienced, CrunchLabs also has the Hack Pack, a subscription with more sophisticated projects designed for kids 13 and older. Ages 8+
A little coordination, a little strategy, a little luck—this game needs it all. Players are challenged to twist the cube so the ball hits all five sides without falling. It comes with one cube and two balls, so they get two chances before they have to start chasing the balls around. Ages 12+
Sometimes, it's better for everybody if a 12-year-old has their own headphones, and earbuds are just so easy to lose track of. These are over-the-head headphones that also fold up so they can easily fit into a bag or backpack, and they connect wirelessly with Bluetooth. No age recommendation given
He'll love folding and unfolding this confounding box, revealing all the groovy patterns inside, and then trying to figure out how to get it back into cube form again. According to Shashibo, it can make 70 different configurations (and there's an app that can help with that), but he might just like the feeling of using it as a fidget toy. Ages 8+
He can get those easy-breezy hammock vibes wherever he goes—without the need for trees, clips, ties, or air pumps. He just has to simply wave this lounger around to fill it with air, and then it's ready for lounging. No age recommendation given
From how the ancient pyramids were built to whether or not the mythical Bigfoot really exists, the world is full of mysteries. This book covers delves into real-life questions, secrets, myths, and legends and offers the most up-to-date research on the cases. They'll learn a little history without even realizing it. Ages 7+
Slammo is great for athletic kids who are ready to try a demanding sport. Players work in teams of two, and each team has three hits to return the ball to the circular net (which is harder than it sounds). The set comes with a net, a large ball for beginners, two small balls for experienced players, and a carrying case. Ages 12+
This new twist on the TikTok-beloved Kanoodle game makes players think fast! Challenge cards present a shape or pattern that players have to re-create with their pieces. But as the seconds tick by, the wall moves closer and closer, and players have to finish before the wall knocks everything down. It's great as either a one-player game, or families can challenge each other to see who can complete the most in a certain amount of time. Ages 7+
Adults may never fully understand how A Minecraft Movies's Chicken Jockey caught on the way it did, but ours is not to wonder why. If there's a Minecraft fan, they'll thrill to this LEGO set, which comes with a buildable Chicken Jockey. In addition, there's a full battle arena setup with Steve, Garrett, Henry, a boxing ring, a baby zombie, and a posable great hog (but really they mostly want the Chicken Jockey). Ages 10+
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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