AD I know that there shouldn’t be a divide between toys for boys and girls, but I find buying presents for boys really hard. When they are younger it's easy to buy something on a theme they love eg my son loves dinosaurs and Paw Patrol, but as they hit the Tween years they often don’t have interests that are quite so easy to buy for. Interest vary eg there are those who are very keen on sport and those that love gaming, but just because they love Minecraft or Among Us doesn’t necessarily mean they want toys of the characters. The challenge is to find gifts that will get them off the screen and engaged in something else for a little while.  On the Wicked Uncle website you can filter the gifts by age eg check out the gift recommendations for a 9 year old boy. They have lots of great present ideas, but if you are in a hurry here are my top picks for presents for Tween boys and why I think they make great gifts.

Great gift ideas for Tweens

Great Gifts For boys aged 9 to 12

Interactive Glow T-shirt

Clothes are always a good gift because they are useful, but how do you make them exciting for children? Well this interactive glow t-shirt can be written on with the included UV pen so whatever they draw will be visible in the dark. Of course a Tween boy may well be tempted to draw or write something rude, but as it’s only visible in the dark and fades within 5 minutes that shouldn’t be a problem.

Interactive Glow T-shirt

Horrible Histories The Board Game

Board games are a great way to get reluctant children having fun with the family. Whether they are a fan of the programmes or the books Horrible Histories the Board Game is a lot of fun for Tweens. You play by travelling around the board and answering questions covering periods in history from the Romans to the (near) Modern Day. It teaches everyone fun and sometime gruesome facts and gets everyone together.

Horrible Histories the Board Game is horrifically fun

Tobbie The Interactive Robot

Tobbie is an interactive robot, but you have to build him first. This present does require children to focus  and stick with it because it takes quite a long time to build and it is a little complicated (but still totally doable). This present wont suit all Tweens, but if you think they would love the idea of building their own robot then this is a great kit. It comes with all the plastic pieces moulded together and you have to separate the pieces and put them together.

A robot they assemble themselves and can then play with

Ultra Dash 

Ultra Dash is a great competitive game which children can play on their own or with others. There are 5 colour bases and several different game modes. The handset lights up in one of the colours and you have to dock it in the matching colour base as quickly as possible  The best thing about it is it gets children moving, or at least it should. My eldest developed a version where she put all the bases in front of her so she could get the fastest possible time and didn't need to get off her feet. We have had this game for 3 years and it is still regularly played with.

Ultra Dash will get them moving

Master Detective Tool Kit

The Master Detective Tool Kit combines the intrigue surrounding being a spy or detective with real science. Inside a cool looking plastic brief case are 33 pieces of kit that can be used to gather forensic evidence. Children can "secure a crime scene", gather fingerprints, collect fibres and write messages in invisible ink. Whether they use it for role play or from a science angle it's a great buy.

Combine science and role play with the Master Detective Tool Kit

Disco 360 Ice - LED Lightshow

This is a fun gadget which when plugged in provides an instant disco (just add music). The Disco 360 Ice - LED Lightshow has 48 coloured LED lights. A built in sensor makes the lights react to sound and music so they will flash in time with the music.  We have something similar and my children love it.

Anytime can be party time with this fun LED light

Hexbug Fire Ant with Mini Remote Control

Hexbug's are fun micro robots which move at high speed. The original Hexbug Nano's move around by changing direction when they come into contact with something, but the Hexbug Fire Ant has a remote control so you can control where it goes. Lots of great potential for spooking siblings.  The Fire Ant is only 6cm long and has red glowing eyes. They come in 5 different colours and you will be sent a colour at random.  

Small and cool, make people jump with the remote controlled micro-robot

Magnetic Football Tables

If the Tween loves to follow football then this Magnetic Football Table is a fun way for them to track what is happening across the leagues. They can check the scores online and move the pieces around after each match thanks to their magnetic backing. Covering The Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2 with 124 teams (plus 3 blank ones for any that get promoted into League 2).

This magnetic kit is a fun way to track the football season

Factopia

Factopia is a hardback book packed full of 400 facts, each one connected to the last. The facts have been checked by Britannica so you can be confident they are actually correct. It starts with the size of the Universe when it began and ends with the most number of alternate endings to a book, but how does one fact lead to the other? Follow the path that curiosity takes you. There are some really fascinating facts in there, you might well want to borrow it off the Tween to read. Britannica also have a great magazine for Tweens which they might love a subscription to.

Each fact in the Factopia book links to the last encouraging you to keep reading

Bursting Skulls Sweets

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