30 best gifts for five-year-olds, according to their cool GLAMOUR mums
Five-year-olds are little people with very big personalities, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that picking out the best gifts for them can be a fraught process. While toddler tantrums are (thankfully) a thing of the past, you're still only ever a bad present choice away from ruining your entire day. Personally, I can still clearly remember the things I DIDN'T get for Christmas (Mr Frosty, I'm looking at you) even more clearly than the ones that I did. So, it's definitely worth doing your due diligence.
At five years old, kids are entering their highly opinionated Big Kid Era. “They usually have specific interests, maybe even characters, animals, or colours that they love and obsess over,” says Kelly Oriard, licensed family therapist, former school counsellor, and cofounder of Slumberkins. Now is about the time when they also fall in love with “games that they feel they can work at and master.”
They're also rapidly expanding their cognitive and social skills. All of a sudden, they can write their names (maybe read a few simple sentences!), better understand the concept of time, distinguish fantasy from reality, tell longer stories, and even count to 100 or more. Some might also be starting to play organised sports, quickly improving their physicality.
To help you find the right toys to help your child stay entertained while also fostering new interests, we tapped real parents for help. Some standouts? Aqua Beads and Farm Yard Stamps to hone fine motor skills and boost creativity, scooters to burn all of that excess energy, and walking talkies and fancy dress costumes to inspire pretend play. Whether you’re sourcing presents for their birthday, Christmas, or just to say “I love you”, these are the best gifts for five-year-olds, according to parents who've been there, done that.
More gift ideas for kids:
- The best gifts for 1-year-olds according to in-the-know parents
- Best 18th birthday gifts
- Best gifts for teenage girls
- Best gifts for teenage boys
Ahead, our full edit of the best gifts for five-year-olds.
At 5, your child can probably write their own name, and will likely be very interested in stationery. Smythson's “My First Correspondence Kit” is the perfect gift to foster that interest, and also helps teach good manners. We have really fond memories of writing thank-you notes from our own childhoods, so this great gift will instil the same.
Tester notes: “My daughter is in that Big Girl stage where anything remotely grown-up really appeals to her, so she loves sitting down with me and signing her name on her own special stationery.”
Chances are, your little girl will have a few pieces of costume jewellery now that she wants to look older. A wind-up jewellery box is a childhood rite of passage, and this Little Dutch one, complete with pirouetting ballerina, is something she will treasure forever.
Tester notes: “I fondly remember my first jewellery box – I think I've still got it somewhere – and it's been really magical seeing my own daughter winding up hers and watching Rosa dance!”
Encourage budding green-fingers by growing a magic fairy garden with this cute (and cheap!) kit. As well as fast-growing grass and purple radish seeds, it also contains a unicorn (natch) and a magical wishing well (with working wind-up bucket), plus faux flowers to decorate your garden with once the seeds grow.
Tester notes: “After having fun with some cress earlier in the summer, I knew my 5-year-old would love this. It's so sweet seeing them get excited at how much it's grown!”
Screen time gets a bad rap, but actually, games consoles can help children focus and learn problem-solving skills. (Also, they give parents a much-needed break too!) This bundle features the console, MarioKart8 and the steering wheel player controls, and might see you fighting with your kids over whose turn it is next…
Tester notes: “There are some really nice parent-kid game options for extra bonding time.”
Hours of fun await you with this beautifully made, retro-inspired wooden train-building set – one of the best toys for this age group. Watch as their imaginative play goes wild – with a whopping 180 pieces, two connectable trains complete with an extensive collection of tracks, plus accessories including a Ferris wheel, two bridges, a car, a truck, a train station, a crane, boats, a variety of buildings, shops, houses and 3D outdoor elements… Yeah, you can prepare not to see them for a while.
Tester notes: “Wow, I had not anticipated just how much my son (and his younger sister, to be fair) would love this train set. The only issue is that there are some squabbles over the design!”
These magnetic tiles make for a great learning toy, for little hands who want to endlessly create new things. Perfect for any car or truck enthusiasts, it comes with a set of rubber wheels, so that you can build you own truck and embark on some role play.
Tester notes: “My kids always loved these magnetic tiles, and it's so cute seeing them sitting quietly and thoughtfully as they work on something. Bonus point, they're compatible with the rest of the Connetix range, so you can basically just build forever.”
Whether you’re buying for 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds or 5-year olds, you can’t go wrong with building a kid-friendly dolls house. This three-storey design opens up to reveal multiple rooms to decorate and play in, and it has a clever magnetic clasp to keep it closed, too. The only downside is that it comes unfurnished, so you'll have to purchase additional furniture separately… but the interior designer in us actually enjoys that part too.
Tester notes: “This is an heirloom piece that I already know I'll hang on to for my daughter's children, it's so beautiful! I also love that it's made from sustainable wood and uses non-toxic paint."
Kids are into gross things. It's just what they're like. These Harry Potter Jelly Slugs should tick two boxes for you: gross, and, a snack. Win-win.
Tester notes: “I actually ended up eating quite a lot of these too…”
Macarons, tea bags, biscuits and a tray – our teddy bear's tea party sets were this boujee back in the day. Beautifully made, this wooden tea set has everything you might need for entertaining a dolly or three, and comes in a lovely array of pastel hues.
Tester notes: “Unlike the garish plastic singing tea pot versions, I actually don't mind this one being left lying around the living room, which is always a bonus.”
You've probably seen the viral Little People, Big Dreams series – which profiles people like Stephen Hawking and Frida Kahlo for kids. This activity sticker book version is better for older ones, who might be familiar with the picture books, but want to interact with them in a new way.
Tester notes: “I love this book series, and I didn't know that they had a sticker book version until now! Really glad there's such a wide array of people featured, it's really inspiring. I get tearful just thinking about it!”
Core memories unlocked: walkie talkies. Inspire spy games, secret missions and countless other adventures with this retro toy. A great way to let them “have a phone” without actually letting them…
Tester notes: “I underestimated just how long these would occupy my kids for. They seem to work from quite a long distance too, and across different floors in the house.”
Little kids love to do things that feel a bit grown-up. These temporary tattoos from uber-cool Scandi brand Mini Rodini are lots of fun, especially if you've got an elephant fan on your hands.
Tester notes: “Lasted for a long time, and didn't leave any of that horrible sticky gung behind afterwards. Result!”
Who remembers sea monkeys? The original cult Y2K “pet” is back, to teach your children about responsibility in a really low key way. Simply add water and watch them grow to up to 2cm in length. Just remember to feed them.
Tester notes: “Don't do what I did and accidentally leave them in the sun…”
We don't know about you, but we absolutely adored our Spirograph craft kit when we were younger. Let your five year old see their creative ambitions come to fruition by showing them how to create beautiful, intricate mandalas. With six different spirograph wheels and two stencil discs, there's loads of possibilities with this amazing educational toy.
Tester notes: “I might get one of these for myself. A serious upgrade on my usual fridge artworks…”
We're not really sure of the science behind these, but you basically “bake” your own plush toy. Simply mix the ingredients for the dough, shape and design it, and then put it in the “oven” to grow it. They even smell like a freshly-baked cookie. It's one of those childhood magic things that actually is still pretty magical for adults, too.
Tester notes: “My daughter's friends are all really into these so I succumbed. The cinnamon-scented soft toy smells amazing, and to be fair, it is very cool.”
Melissa & Doug is known for its high quality kids stuff, and these farmyard stamps are no different. Featuring a barn, pig, cow, sheep, goat, horse, rabbit, cat, chicken, hay bale, corn, fences… basically, everything you could possibly need to create a beautiful farm scene. Includes coloured pencils and ink too.
Tester notes: “My daughter was obsessed – and surprisingly precious. – about using her farm stamps. They work really well and I'd definitely get the other sets now too. Really glad they come with the ink pads so you can use straight away.”
Five year old boys and girls love scooters and trikes at this age – it gives them a little bit of independence and makes them feel super grown-up. This foldable scooter is a really good outdoor toy, because you can store it easily in the car or the buggy, in case your little one gets tired legs (they always get tired legs).
Tester notes: “It's pricier than some other options, but it grows with your child, with an adjustable height handlebar, so it's probably worth it in the long run.”
For any budding artists, this Crayola set has everything you could dream of, for whatever phase your little Picasso is in. There are chalks, felt tips, twistable crayons, big crayons, a sticker pad, you name it.
Tester notes: “Ideal if you want to stock up on lots of different art supplies in one go, especially at such a good price.”
Children love pretend-play, and this pilot's cockpit has enough levers, lights and buttons to captivate even the most distracted of little ones. Featuring engine sounds, a recording button, and plenty of other sound effects, plus a dial that says “hello” in six languages, it's guaranteed to bring hours of fun.
Tester notes: “I think I'd have wanted to be a pilot when I grew up if I'd had this, it's incredible! The sound effects in particular are really realistic.”
5-year-olds love being read to (and often, reading themselves) and we love this beautifully illustrated book of classic children's stories, like The Secret Garden, Railway Children, The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, Black Beauty, Little Women and Heidi, which have all been rewritten with little ones in mind.
Tester notes: “I really like the cloth-bound covers – it feels particularly special."
Building is great for honing fine motor skills as well as encouraging their imaginations. The Janod blocks are particularly popular with parents for their aesthetically-pleasing characteristics and use of top-notch materials and non-jarring colours. This set contains 50 blocks, plus various washers, bolts, nuts, screws and other construction bits and bobs (technical term).
Tester notes: “Grandad always gets excited when this one comes out, I'm not sure who likes it more…”
Finally, a solution to airport stresses. This scooter-slash-suitcase is perfect for getting from A-B with all their essentials and none of their moaning. Available in various designs, parents rave about the easy steering and secure feel of the three-wheels.
Tester notes: “The zipped up compartments inside make for great organisation, even if it doesn't always stay like that!”
Children of this age are still very much invested in fairies and magic. Featuring an enchanted forest background, flowers, green felt, coloured stones, toadstools, acorns, and a fairy, it's the perfect magical fairyland scene. Even better, there's a colour-changing LED that turns into a nightlight.
Tester notes: “The little wishes section actually made me well up… children are so cute.”
Children can enjoy the visual impact of airplane gliding and develop their hand-eye coordination, observation and sense of direction with this launcher set, which allows you to launch either by hand or with the device (which can send it up to 55 feet!) It comes with three planes, in case anything should go awry…
Tester notes: “I'd definitely take this to the park, don't just do it in the garden, unless you live at Downton Abbey!”
Train them up ready to do your manicures and pedicures one day (you can dream, right?) with this really cute Disney princess themed nail set. Including nails and decorations for over 40 nail designs, plastic tweezers, water applicator with brush and stickers.
Tester notes: “Surprisingly easy to get on and off, my daughter was thrilled with these. The only downside is that they aren't really reusable.”
This kit allows your kids to create over 10 charm bracelets and necklaces using the beads and charms included, to make unicorn-inspired jewellery that they can then wear with pride. The instructions are really clear and detailed and the beads themselves are high quality.
Tester notes: “It's a good gift for kids who enjoy spending time creating beautiful pieces of jewellery with lovely colours.”
A gorgeous set with eight different rooms to build out, including two in the attic, to help engage their imaginations. There's a sliding lift, rooftop party (natch), pampering station in the bathroom… we only wish grown-up life was as fun as it looks for Gabby.
Tester notes: “My 5-year-old loves building and rebuilding this then playing with it.”
Classic action game where players take turns to carefully slide their coloured swords out of the barrel, before the pirate pops out.
Tester notes: “Be prepared to join in! I actually knew about this because we used to play it when camping at festivals…”
