Great Gifts for Boys Age 5-8

Young school aged boys are sure to have a wide variety of likes and dislikes so it helps to know the boy that you are buying gifts for and the things that excite him. It also helps to know what he already has so that you do not duplicate what he has. In any case, a gift receipt is essential so that easy exchanges can be made if it is necessary to do so.

The first recommendations I will make are sporting equipment, including bicycles and scooters. These make great gifts to keep kids moving and exercising and what boy does not like these activities. In addition, helmets and knee and elbow pads are particularly useful at this age as many boys are just learning to ride a two-wheeler and padding is sure to be useful in case of falls. Additionally, you may want to consider equipment such as basketballs, soccer balls and such as well as other equipment for the sports you choose. If you know that the child has a large backyard, soccer goals may be a good choice or a basketball net may be another alternative. Any equipment that gets boys moving and exercising makes an excellent gift!

On the other hand, boys need some downtime occasionally too and wouldn't it be great if this downtime could be used in an educational way? With the electronic game Leapster, video games can be educational! There are various cartridges that can be used with this handheld game including ones that feature popular cartoon characters such as Spiderman, Spongebob and those from the movie Cars. There are also others including Animal Genius, Creative Genius and cartridges designed specifically for a certain grade level to name just some of the titles. All of the cartridges have a variety of games and activities available on them and can be played in the car (great for night time driving as it is lit up!) or any other place! The game system is around $60-$70 and each additional cartridge will cost approximately $25 additional.

Most boys love to build things and there are a number of good building toys that are available for this age range. Legos, of course, are the choice many think of when they think of building toys and these are a good choice. There are a large variety of Lego kits now and many are specialized to build specific items or scenes. These specialized kits can add fun to play but be sure that you get some general sets as well to allow for creativity.

In addition to Lego, regular wooden blocks are a great building tool. One can get colored blocks or simply wood colored blocks. Don't forget about Lincoln Logs either. These may have been around for awhile but they are still a great building too and are great for creativity.

K'Nex is another type of building tool that is very similar to Lego but can build different types of structures and other items as well. K'Nex comes in a variety of sets that are available for different age groups. There are also sets that can build very specific items as well as more general sets, similar to the way Legos are now. A variety of these sets put together will build more things and more creative things.

GeoTrax is very popular with boys too. There re many different sets including the Working Town Railway System and the Mile High Mountain sets just to name two. These sets claim that encourage imaginative play with vehicles and tracks that can be set up in a myriad of ways. These playsets can include a number of different items that boys can create their own stories around.

Additionally boys may enjoy playing board games with their families or with friends. There are a huge number of games that are available but one favorite game might be the classic game of Battleship. This is a game for two players which involves skill and chance. It is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon indoors with a friend!

There are many choices on the market for kids and boys specifically. It is useful to find a variety of active versus quiet toys for boys for different times. But, most likely any gift a boy between ages 5-8 receives will be a great hit!.