These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (2024)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (1)

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At 10 years old, they're officially tweens, which means the gifts for kids this age are big-time. That doesn't mean they have to be expensive though: They just have to hit kids right in the sweet spot of being not too kiddie for them to dismiss, but not too adult so they're too hard to use.

For even more editor-approved ideas, try our new AI-powered gift finder.

That makes it seem like it's really hard to find gifts for 10-year-olds, but the Good Housekeeping Institute is here to help. Every year, it evaluates hundreds of toys and gifts, sending them to real tweens to find out what they actually like, what's just hype and what they reject altogether. (Each year, the best wind up Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award winners.) We put those results together with best-sellers and editor picks, and these emerged as the best toys and gifts for 10-year-old boys in 2024. Here's what made the cut this year.

Chillbo Shwaggins Inflatable Couch

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (4)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (5)

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They're getting closer to the teen years, when lounging around and hanging out are just so important. Wherever they go, they can find a comfy spot for this couch, which fills up just by swooshing it around in the air. That means it's easy for him to take out and pack away again. It also comes in more than a dozen patterns. No age recommendation given

Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner

Penn & Teller VR Magic Lab

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (6)

If they want to live out their magician dreams, this set lets them explore the world of magic IRL and in virtual reality. They will learn 28 different magic tricks, and then can present them to friends and family, which is a great way to introduce them to the world of public speaking. "It was super helpful for them to watch the magic tricks with the VR feature," one parent of multiple testers said. "They could read and watch the 'how to.'" Ages 8+

RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards

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ArmoGear Laser Tag Set

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (7)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (8)

No need to go to a laser tag arena when you can get this set of laser tag set with enough gear for four people to play. You can duck through backyards, neighborhoods or even around the house for epic battles. The guns have a 150-foot shooting range, and vibrations make it really clear when you've been hit. Ages 8+

Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Award Winner

Klutz LEGO Gravity Drop Activity Kit

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (9)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (10)

This book comes with instructions and pieces to make 20 different gravity-powered LEGO contraptions, including a labyrinth, a fortune teller and a marble maze. Good Housekeeping Institute testers were pleased with the level of challenge. "The visuals in the book were accurate, and it was easy to determine where each piece went,” one parent said. Ages 812

RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Awards

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Air Hogs Zero Gravity Light-Guided Wall Racer

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (11)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (12)

Remote-controlled cars are already a blast, but this race car is controlled by a laser, making for double the fun. Just point the laser on the floor, the wall or even the ceiling, and the car will storm after it. Ages 8+

3Doodler Start+ Essentials 3D Pen Set

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (13)

If they're interested in getting into the world of 3D printing — or if they just want a new way to explore their art — this kit comes with everything they need to make their own 3D creations. They can follow along with the included instructions for guided builds, or they can make their own designs. Bonus: The pen doesn't get too hot, so you don't have to worry about burning your fingers. Ages 6+

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Minecraft: Builders & Biomes Strategy Board Game

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (14)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (15)

This game has everything kids love about Minecraft — the mobs, the biomes, the building — but taken off screens and transformed into a strategy-based board game. Players explore the Overworld, mine resources, build structures and fight enemies to earn points, and the one with the most points wins. And, since the Overworld grid is different every time, it's never the same game twice! If it catches on, there's also a Farmer's Market expansion. Ages 10+

TOSY Flying Ring

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (16)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (17)

They'll be able to have fun outside even after the sun goes down with this illuminated flying ring. In addition to cool LED lights, it also has a soft rim for easy catching, and its makers say it can fly 100 feet. One Good Housekeeping Institute tester raved that it was easy to catch, and made of good material. Ages 5+

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Shashibo Shape Shifting Box

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (18)

This is what you get when you mix a brain puzzle and a fidget toy. The brightly-colored cube unfolds to reveal new shapes, colors and patterns, and then it becomes a challenge trying to get it back into its cube shape. It'll leave everyone mesmerized. Ages 8+

SpyX Night Mission Goggles

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (19)

Whether he's doing some solo sleuthing or playing a team sport like Capture the Flag, these spy goggles will help him see in the dark. They have two LEDs that illuminate up to 25 feet. Ages 6+

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Comic Book Making Kit

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (20)

If he dreams of becoming his own comics creator, he'll be so excited to see his artwork turned into a bound book! The kit comes with a blank book, markers and a booklet with helpful tips about how to set up the comic. Then, you put it in a pre-paid envelope and send it in to get bound, complete with an about-the-author page. Ages 8+

More Than 16,000 5-Star Ratings on Amazon

Force1 Scoot Hand-Operated Drone

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (21)

He won't have to master any complicated remotes to use this drone — instead, it's entirely operated by hand. He just has to toss it in the air and it'll hover around his hands. And, with a little practice, he can master flips. It also has LEDs to look cool at night. Ages 8+

RELATED: The Best Drones for Kids

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Newton's Laws Construction Kit

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (22)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (23)

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While your child builds catapults, gravity fans, moving cabins and collision cars, he'll be learning about the fundamental properties of potential and kinetic energy. The included manual also comes with a quiz section, which could help make studying for school tests more enjoyable. Ages 8+

Slackers NinjaLine 36' Intro Kit

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (24)

With 10 obstacles included, this kit makes sure he has everything he needs to become the ultimate ninja. He can swing from one ring to the next and build both upper body strength and imagination. This intro set works for many fitness levels — from beginner, intermediate and advanced training. All obstacles include steel-hanging safety clips that hang between two sturdy posts. Parents, make sure to follow the included instructions for proper safety installation! Ages 5+

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Seal Holder

LEGO NINJAGO Zane’s Ice Dragon Creature

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (25)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (26)

Ninjago mega-fans will appreciate the two-sets-in-one nature of this Seal-holding building kit: First, kids can create a menacing ice dragon. Then they can take it apart and rebuild it as a human-like dragon warrior. It also comes with skeleton warriors and figures of Zane and Pixal to round out the battle. Ages 10+

Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Begins

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Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the game, this set will ease him into the world of D&D with this starter game, which is designed for a quicker entry and faster gameplay than a traditional Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Players work together to defeat a fantasy threat like Felbris (Beholder), Orn (Fire Giant), Deathsleep (Green Dragon) or The Kraken. Ages 10+

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Pokémon Surging Sparks Elite Trainer Box

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (28)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (29)

Kids who have worked their way through the downloadable content once they've finished Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet will thrill to open this set's nine booster packs of cards, all filled with their favorite Paldean Pokémon. In addition, this set comes with other accessories that are helpful to a Pokémon Trading Card Game player, including energy cards, protective sleeves, damage-counter dice, condition markers and an official coin for coin flips. It doesn't come out until November 8, but you can pre-order it now, and if you need a gift right away there's also the Stellar Crown and Shrouded Fable elite trainer box out now. Ages 6+

RELATED: The Best Pokémon Gifts for Fans of All Ages

'Good Housekeeping Amazing Science'

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (30)

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (31)

There's so much science that kids can learn just from around the house. In this book, Good Housekeeping Institute scientists go from room to room to explain the phenomena going on there using simple, at-home science experiments. In the bathroom, for example, kids can learn about why mirrors fog with steam, while in the kitchen they can learn about how to grow veggies from scraps. Ages 7+

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Sleuth & Solve: History

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He'll need to sharpen his critical thinking skills to solve the 20 mysteries included in this book. The events take place in different eras, so maybe he'll absorb some historical knowledge, too, but there's also a non-historical version or a STEM-themed version he can do next. Ages 8+

DIY Bubblegum Workshop

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If they're going to chew gum, why not make a little chemistry lesson out of it? This kit gives them everything they need, from gum base to sweeteners to mixing flavors. How big a bubble they can blow is all up to them. Ages 5+

RELATED: Best STEM Toys

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (34)

Marisa LaScala

Senior Parenting & Relationships Editor

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found dominating the audio round at her local bar trivia night or tweeting about movies.

These Are the Gifts 10-Year-Old Boys Really Want This Year (2024)

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