When it comes time to pick out gifts for kids, 9 can be a tough age. They’re past the little-kid stage, so it takes more to impress them. But they might not be quite ready for the tween gifts yet. DIY kits and STEM sets have to thread that needle between being not-too-easy and not-too-hard, and emotional regulation might not be there yet. “Games like What Do You Meme provide silly, structured fun where there is no definite clear, ‘right’ answer,” says Jennifer Rothman, LCSW. “That promotes flexibility, taking different perspectives, handling different opinions and offering more nuance in cognitive, emotional and social gains at this age.”
Easy, Fun STEM Kit
Snap Circuits Flight Deck STEM Activity Kit
Snap Circuits uses electronic components that click easily into a board — no soldering needed. With this kit, kids can take on five electrifying projects, including ones that launch paper airplanes, flying saucers and ping pong balls, learning a little physics along the way. Good Housekeeping Institute toy testers couldn’t get enough of launching the flying saucer — it goes really high! — and the adults learned a thing or two, too. Ages 8+
Power Hungry Pets Card Game
This card game is from the makers of Exploding Kittens, so the art on the cards has that same silly, cartoony style. This time, players have only one card in their hand, and the object is to have the card with the highest number at the end of the round. Each turn, players have to draw a card and choose to either keep it or keep the one already in their hand, but the one that gets discarded has instructions on it that may affect the rest of the games, so they have to choose wisely. Ages 7+
Best Toy Award Winner
Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio
DailyNow&Then loved the little mini pieces of decor they could make with this kit.It helps kids progress through their skills: First they use a dome over the wheel and use a template to make their designs, and as they get better they can remove the dome and do their own creations freestyle. Ages 8+
WordSnap Game
This game challenges kids to make words not just left/right and up/down, but also diagonally, giving it an extra dimension of difficulty. “This toy was so engaging my kids wanted to bring it on vacation to play with family,” one Good Housekeeping Institute tester said. “We even played it at the beach, got the tiles covered in sand and then cleaned them off easily.” Ages 8+
Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera
Let them have a hand in capturing family memories with this camera, which instantly produces 2″ by 2.5″ photos. This set comes with extra film (which is great because each one only offers 10 exposures), plus a carrying case, but you can get just the camera for less money. No age recommendation given
Great Birthday Party Activity
Singing Machine Bluetooth Karaoke System
This karaoke machine streams audio via Bluetooth and USB, so you can bring the karaoke experience right into your living room. Your kid can control the brightness of the disco lights and record their performance to play back later. No age recommendation given
Thames & Kosmos Bionic Robotic Arm STEM Experiment Kit
This is the kit for kids who are serious about science and want to build something more sophisticated than what you’d see in an easier science kit. They have to assemble 300 pieces, but when they’re done, they’ve built a joystick-controlled robot arm that doesn’t require electricity.(It works using a series of nylon cables.) Testers called it a great parent/child bonding activity (because it does need adult help), and kids liked using the arms afterward to grab. Ages 8+
National Geographic Motorized Marble Run
It’s not just gravity that powers this150-piece marble run — a motor powers the marbles up a spiral tower,where they can be unleashed down the rest of the run. Kids were drawn to this at our in-person toy testing, and parent testers said they liked that it was a toy that kids could work on together. Ages 8+
Make Your Own Lava Lamp
Kids can customize everything about this lava lamp, from the colors of the lava globs to the confetti inside to the stickers on the outside. Good Housekeeping testers were pleased with the choice of colors. Kids will be so pleased to display their work in their rooms afterward. Ages 8+
LEGO Minecraft Axolotl House
LEGO, Minecraft, axolotls — this is all 9-year-olds’ favorite things rolled into one gift. The set is less than 300 pieces, so it isn’t too much of a challenge, and it comes with a bunch of figures, including an underwater explorer, a drowned zombie, a dolphin, a puffer fish and, of course, multiple axolotls. Ages 7+
STEM in VR
Professor Maxwell’s VR Dinosaurs
They’ll really feel like they’ve been transported back to the world of the dinosaurs when they’re doing this kit’s 30 immersive activities in virtual and augmented reality. Once they put the goggles on, they can learn about dinosaur habitats, how fossils are made, extinction theories and facts about more than 20 different types of dinosaurs. Ages 7+
DIY Art Project
KiwiCo Light-Up Wire Art
What can be better than decorating your room with a neon light? Having them make their own light-up wire art! It comes with enough supplies to make two illuminated works of art, and there are five design templates to choose from if they don’t want to come up with their own. When they’re done, they can either hang it on the wall or use the included wooden stand. Ages 9+
