Holiday Gift Guide: Best Toys for Tweens

Get the best toys for tweens to make their holiday season merry and bright.

As you’re making your list and checking it twice, you might find yourself getting stumped on what to get for tweens. With constantly changing interests, it can be difficult to pinpoint what is sure to put a smile on their face. There is an added difficulty of tweens being exactly what the name suggests, in between ages! A kids' toy isn't going to make them happy and a gift or tech gadget for teens will probably end up being too mature for them. While it might be tricky to come up with gift ideas for a tween, there are certainly options out there that are sure to excite and delight.

Some of the best gifts for tweens are those that are picked out with thought and care. While tweens’ interests certainly change quickly, taking notice of what they are passionate about at that specific time can make them feel loved and understood when they open up presents or search through their stockings. For example, asking them about their favorite hobbies can help simplify the search for the perfect gift.

Another way to make it easier to purchase a gift for the tweens on your list is to refer to another type of list! This one! ScreenRant has made it easy for you to shop for tweens by providing a list for some of the best gifts you can purchase. We’ve scoured the internet and researched the latest toy trends to provide you with this comprehensive and helpful guide to the best toys for tweens.

There's nothing better than a gift that inspires a lifelong habit and hobby. The D.I.Y. Dreamers Become Doers Journaling Set can do just that for the tween in your life. This gift has every journaling essential you could think of, making it easy for the receiver to begin their very own journaling journey.

The kit contains a 70-sheet spiral journal that is customizable with the included materials. It also has 35+ additional stationary supplies, including tape, frames, pre-printed pages, glue, paper clips, a ballpoint pen, and more. There are instructions included, as well, that can guide the tween in your life through how to take full advantage of their new journaling kit.

This gift is fantastic for the tweens in your life who enjoy writing and art or are looking to develop these skills. It can provide a wonderful outlet for them that they can continue to make use of as they get older. Journaling provides a space for sharing your thoughts, keeping important mementos, and utilizing your creativity by designing aesthetically-pleasing pages.

It's hard to find a gift for a tween that not only does not include a screen but also promotes and facilitates spending time with family. The Nutty Toys Sling Puck Family Game is a rarity in that it does both! This toy is designed to be fun for the receiver, as well as their family and friends.

This sling puck game is quite simple to learn and play. Each player takes turns until one person has all of their pucks shot through the gate. It comes with all the pieces you’ll need to play, including 10 pucks and a jumbo battle board that has slings on both sides. The board is made of 100 percent natural wood, making it very durable.

The board has an ultra-portable design and only needs a flat surface to use. This means that your tween can bring it to sleepovers, camp, school, etc. It also improves and strengthens hand-eye coordination, making it both fun and beneficial.

Sometimes the most fun thing for a tween is rebelling against the rules of their parents. While, most of the time it wouldn't be acceptable or appropriate to give something that promotes tweens doing things against their parents’ approval, there is one exception. Not Parent Approved is a card game for tweens that allows them to feel rebellious, while still promoting family togetherness.

Not Parent Approved is designed to bring the whole family together. It requires 4-10 players, ages 8+ and is inspired by those fun adult party games. It is easy-to-learn and is quick and simple to play.

To play, each player receives 7 answer cards. A burp-off then commences. Yes, you read that right. The person who is able to burp the most draws the first question card. They then read it out loud for the rest of the group to hear. Everyone else then answers with their most humorous answer card. The winner of the burp-off reads all of the answer cards and chooses which one is the funniest. That person wins that round and another round begins.

The Not Parent Approved game has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Today Show and was given a Scholastic Gold Toy Award. It is sure to entertain and amuse not only the tween in your life, but their whole family as they engage in game-play.

Encouraging active play is one of the best things you can do for a tween. With social media, streaming, and video games, it is so easy for tweens to become trapped by their screens. When thinking of a gift to get the tween in your life, something that can help them lower their screen time and develop healthy habits is ideal. The two pack set of Hover Soccer Balls does just that.

The Hover Soccer Balls are an amazing gift for a number of reasons. First off, the futuristic hover action that they provide is sure to entice and amaze the receiver. The flashing LED lights means that the fun doesn't have to stop when it gets dark. There are also soft rubber bumpers that allow the gift recipient to enjoy the Hover Soccer Balls, without parents getting stressed about their furniture or walls getting damaged. The bumpers also make it so that players are able to utilize it barefoot without getting hurt.

Hover Soccer Balls can be used on most surfaces, including hardwood, tile, asphalt, and short carpets. One of the biggest advantages to this gift is that it allows tweens to remain active, even in bad weather. As the postman's motto says "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night can be a deterrence for playing with a Hover Soccer Ball." Ok, maybe that's not how the motto goes, but the message is the same.

Darts originated in England as a military pastime during the medieval era. It is believed that soldiers would become bored between battles and would throw spearheads and other sharp objects at the bottoms of wine casks. The soldiers would compete against one another and the game spread. Soon, soldiers started using tree trunks as targets. The growth rings of the tree trunks became the origin of the modern-day dart board.

While a tween might roll their eyes if you sat them down and explained to them the history of darts, they’d certainly enjoy having the opportunity to partake in the game themselves. The RaboSky Magnetic Dart Board allows tweens the chance to play the fun game, in a safe manner.

This double-sided dart board is fully magnetic. The 12 magnet darts make it so that players are able to enjoy the game, without worry of harming people or walls. On one side of the board is a traditional dart board and on the other is a bullseye game, doubling the fun! The board compactly rolls up, and it can be taken down and rehung anywhere.

The RaboSky Magnetic Dart Board is a toy that tweens won't outgrow. It is perfect for indoor and outdoor use for people of all ages. Parents can even join in on the fun and practice their own dart-throwing skills.

Who wouldn't want a flying orb that you can control? Surely, people of all ages and interests will take enjoyment from getting to watch as they control an object flying through the sky. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for a tween this year, the Flying Orb Ball is sure to be a hit.

This hand-controlled drone is fun and easy to control. It can work both indoors and outdoors, creating an endless amount of fun. It is designed to have a smooth flight pattern and a boomerang effect. Not only is it fun, but it teaches tweens about physics and aerodynamics!

To use, turn on the power switch and make sure that the indicator is blinking. Then, turn the power end down and gently shake the ball to begin flight. After beginning, the power end should be turned upside down again before throwing it up in the air. All that's left is to watch as it flies through the air, as you control it with your hand.

The ball contains a gyroscope and a smart AI chip that provides intelligent flight. Throwing it at different angles and speeds creates different flight lines and boomerang effects. It is made of high-grade ABS material, which makes it able to withstand crashes. The propellers are enclosed within the orb, making it so that users cannot be harmed by the blades. It is also fully rechargeable and only requires 25 minutes for a full charge.

This toy is sure to impress any tween recipient. It is not only fun to play with but exciting to watch as it flies through the air and lights up the surrounding area. It is also a great way for tweens to exercise their creative thinking, as they come up with new ways to utilize the orb in games like pass and knocking over cup pyramids.

While sending the tween on your gift list on an intergalactic adventure would certainly put a smile on their face, a present like that is probably not in the budget this year. That doesn't mean, though, that they can't still experience epic galactic fun. The Galaxy Game Cube is perfect for creating an exciting space-race adventure for the tween in your life.

The Galaxy Game Cube has multiple entertaining, space-themed games to enjoy. These include Alien Hunt, which allows the player the opportunity to hunt and squash aliens. Tic Tac Go has you lining up 3 colors in a row. Cosmic Rays requires you to find a duplicate for each colored square on the map. Rocket trail has you listening to a sequence and repeating it. Space Command demands you obey Mission Command's instructions. Shooting Star includes keeping the tail of the blue comet short.

There are also ways to experiment with both color and sound. The Space Rock option is designed to let users create, record, and play their own music. The Color Eclipse activity lets you design the cube to your liking. The Sattelights program allows you to light things up with colored, blinking disco lights and dance music.

This game cube allows players to play games solo or multiplayer. It is fully rechargeable using the included charging cable. It is designed to allow users to challenge themselves, their friends, their memory, their brain, and their speed.

Give an out-of-this-world gift to your tween this year with The Galaxy Game Cube. It will bring them endless fun not only at home, but also on car rides, at sleepovers, and even to school during recess or lunch. This 9-in-1 gadget is sure to be a hit and serve as entertainment for hours on-end.

Pottery is one of the world's oldest crafts. It has developed alongside civilization and has played an important part of understanding and studying cultures. Ancient pottery vessels are thought to have held and stored grains and other foods. Now, the tween in your life can take part in this timeless craft to hold and store their own precious goods. The Craft ‘n Clay Jewelry Dish Making kit is a great gift to ignite an interest and skill in pottery.

This all-inclusive kit is sure to be a hit amongst tween recipients. It contains all the materials they’ll need to be able to create three of their very own jewelry dishes. Not only will they have fun making the dishes, they’ll enjoy their fully customized and functional room decor.

The kit contains white clay, colored clay, metallic paint, glitter glue, gem stickers, and an instruction guide. It also has a rolling mat, a trimming tool, a paintbrush, and a stencil. The beauty of this kit is it makes it easy for tweens to develop an interest in pottery, without their parents having to go out and spend a lot of money on the materials it requires. This kit provides it all, giving tweens the luxury to explore this creative pursuit without breaking the bank.

Who doesn't love a pool day? A fun day in the sun, getting to splash around with friends and family, it's no surprise that pool days are a favorite excursion for tweens. A gift that makes these pool days even more exciting and fun is sure to be a hit among the tweens in your life.

The Ultimate Pool Ball allows pool days to be taken to the next level. It has been featured on Fox, ABC, NBC, and CBS News as one of the coolest toys of this year. It is designed to combine the fun of rugby, football, and basketball, while also allowing you to play underwater! The ball is able to be passed, dribbled, and kicked all while in the pool.

The ball comes in a wide variety of color combinations, perfect for any tween's taste.There is blue and red, orange and green, pink and blue, and yellow and cyan. The colors are extremely bright, making it visible inside the water. There are also two available sizes, 6 inches and 9 inches.

There is no need to stress about the difficulty of filling the ball. There are easy-to-follow video instructions that walk users through exactly how to fill it. They are able to be filled in seconds using the included adapter that connections right to your water hose.

Give the gift that keeps on giving, in the form of fun-filled pool days! This is a gift that tweens will enjoy for years to come. It not only promotes time away from screens, but gives tweens an activity to partake in with friends and family.

Instead of a gift that encourages more usage of screens, a tween could surely benefit from one that promotes strategy and skill. A gift that does that, plus can be used independently or can facilitate bonding with friends and family? Now, that surely would be a winner. Score big this year in the gift department by getting the tween in your life the Bounce Battle Edition Game Set.

This is an addictive game that combines strategy, skill, and chance. It's no surprise that it won Game of the Year by Creative Child Magazine. It is easy to learn and quick to play. It can be played solo or with 2-4 players.

One of the best parts of this game is that there's no one way to play! There are dozens of different ways to battle it out using this set. Some ways include 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Level Out, Point Ball, Alphabet Soup, H-O-R-S-E, and Nine Cup. Each player can take turns or you can play it race to the finish style.

The set comes with one game cube and 27 high quality white and orange balls. If the player tires of the battles, they can also extend the fun with the add-on deck of battle cards. There is also an available marbled version that is made out of plastic, instead of wood.

Confidently cross the tweens in your life off your gift list after picking up the Bounce Battle Game Set. They are sure to be entertained and excited about the numerous game possibilities that this game holds. Not only will you be providing them with a whole lot of fun, you can feel good about knowing that you are developing their strategy and skill while giving them a much-needed break away from a screen.

While being a tween can certainly be confusing and stressful at times, a well-thought out gift is still sure to put a smile on their face. As they begin their trek into teenage-hood, a fun toy can be an amazing way for a tween to have the chance to still just be a kid. Especially with the increase of social media usage, video games, and streaming, an opportunity to unplug and have fun using imagination, creativity, and time with others is truly priceless.

You might be wondering, why even go with a toy at all? There are certainly other options out there, like a video game system, music speakers, makeup, etc. Those are all things that tweens are exposed to on a daily basis and most already own. However, a toy is something that a tween might not even consider for themselves. It is a thoughtful reminder to a tween that although they are growing up, there is still childhood left to enjoy. Toys allow people to be creative, competitive, and young. The whole point of a toy is to give the person playing with them joy and entertainment. In a time that can be confusing and overwhelming for some, what better gift is there than something that will allow them to slow down and enjoy themselves?

Toys will not only make the tween recipient happy but the parents as well. Toys are something that need to be patrolled, like cell phones or makeup usage. It gives them a much-needed break from having to be "bad-cop" and, instead, get to watch their children have fun. They also might get to join in on the fun themselves, as so many toys are able to be collaborative and involve the whole family.

It certainly can be tricky choosing from the huge selection of toys out there. One thing to consider when picking out a toy for the tween in your life is their current interests. If you know that they are crafty and artistic, a kit with materials and instructions to bring their visions to life is sure to be a hit. If they are athletic and love to be moving, a cool ball is sure to get them excited. If they are into playing electronic games, game cubes are something to consider. If you’re unsure of specific interests, you can never go wrong with a collaborative game of some sort.

We hope you like the items we recommend and discuss! Screen Rant has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, so we receive a share of the revenue from some of your purchases. This won't affect the price you pay and helps us offer the best product recommendations.

If you asked Aleena Malik at any point in her life what her passion was, she would confidently tell you it was writing. Now a Commerce Writer at ScreenRant, she is excited to put pen to paper on all things entertainment and e-commerce. From memorabilia to movies, and everything in between, Aleena shares the history, facts, and fun behind all the things fans love to see on screen.She studied Economics and Business in school but has found that her love for words truly never escapes her. She seeks out opportunities to feed her logophile heart and makes it her mission to write something new each and every day. When not writing, Aleena can be found binging Netflix shows or reading a book while drinking coffee. If you want to keep up with her adventures, you can follow her on Instagram @aleena.malik_.