Our Favorite Gifts for 11-Year-Olds
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
Jump to section
At age 11, kids are typically entering sixth grade, which a lot of times means starting at a new middle school. “Their social scene is changing and they’re starting to think more about their social identity and who they are as a more mature person,” explains Lisa Goldstein, a librarian with the Brooklyn Public Library. Such environmental changes, coupled with the physical changes kids start to experience at this age, can make 11-year-olds quite fickle. “Puberty is beginning, so they’re facing physiological issues that are hormonal and can affect their emotional states,” saysAlyson Cohen, a Manhattan-based social workerand psychotherapist specializing in adolescents, young adults, and millennials. It’s also the age when many kids become less excited to spend time at home with family and more interested in doing things out in the world.
If you’re thinking that this confluence of changes can make finding a gift for an 11-year-old tricky, you’re not wrong. To help, the Strategist asked Cohen, Goldstein, and more than a dozen other experts, parents, andactual 11-year-oldsabout the best gift ideas for kids in this age group, frombookstotoysto tech. With the list below, I aimed to cover the latest trends as well as classic crowd-pleasers, and organized them by price. If you already have a budget in mind, you can use the table of contents to jump ahead, or read all the way through to get the full picture of what 11-year-olds are into these days.
Meanwhile, if you’re shopping for kids in other age groups, we have gift guides for1-year-olds,2-year-olds,3-year-olds,4-year-olds,5-year-olds,6-year-olds,7-year-olds,8-year-olds,9-year-olds,10-year-olds, and12-year-olds— plus the meticulously curatedStrategist Toy Store, which is filled with all of our greatest hits.
Updated July 1, 2025
I added several new picks and replaced a few sold-out Jellycat bag charms with different bag charms from the brand. I also confirmed that everything is in stock and prices are up to date, and noticed that several MGA Miniverse collectible toys are currently 50 percent off.
$25 and under
New! You can now save this product for later.
Of all the toys I’ve written about in the last few years, Squishmallows seem to appeal to the widest age range, from toddlers all the way to tweens. There are new styles launching all the time, including licensed characters from pop-culture franchises and brands likeSonic,Star Wars, andPokémon. But if you really want to delight 11-year-olds, I like this adorable and funny 14-inchcapybara.
New! You can now save this product for later.
While they’re not as popular asLabubus, these clip-on Squishmallows combine the Squishmallow and bag-charm trends — and would make a solid and affordable purchase to gift to multiple kids.
Jellycat’s stuffed animals and plush keychains are also popular among tweens and have been recommended to me by kids from 8 to 13 years old; the keychains are especially nice since they can be added to a backpack.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Maria Dueñas Jacobs, founder of Super Smalls and a mom of both an 11-year-old and 9-year-old twins, loves giving collectible Sonny Angel mini-figures as birthday gifts and says that they are always a hit. Because they’re blind-box toys, they bring a surprise element that makes them fun to open as well as to trade, so they never feel like a one-and-done toy. “They’re trendy and adorable — don’t overthink the tiny naked bodies,” assures Dueñas Jacobs.
New! You can now save this product for later.
If the 11-year-old in question already has a bunch of Sonny Angels or other blind-box figures they’d like to display, this clear plastic zip-up bag with a keychain is an excellent add-on.
New! You can now save this product for later.
I got to play with Foosbots at one of the toy fairs I attended last fall and found them extremely compelling. They’re fidget-like but with the added allure of a game you can play with friends. Plus, they’re small enough to fit in a pocket or backpack.
11-year-olds who are into LEGO will appreciate sets that look especially great on display. Depending on their individual interests, that could be a pair of smiling potted plants, an olive-topped Durr Burger fromFortnite, or a three-in-one kit that can be used to make a retro roller skate, a boom box, or a skateboard.
New! You can now save this product for later.
These clear-sheet art portfolios are a good gift for artistic kids.New Yorksenior visuals director Stevie Remsberg buys them for her tween daughter to organize her colored-pencil drawings and writing in one place.
A stash of vinyl stickers would make a fantastic present for kids to trade with their friends and use to adorn all their stuff, fromwater bottlesto laptops to binders and otherschool supplies. You can pretty much find anything a kid might be into in vinyl-sticker form on Amazon, but here’s a sampling of popular tween interests, including official Taylor Swift Eras Tour stickers, fierce cats from theWarriorsbook series, and jewel-encrusted options from the brand Pipsticks that are available in a range of imaginative designs, from a cute bookworm to an NYC taxi cab to ahamster named Hugo.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Artifacts from the ’90s and early 2000s, including Furbies and Tamagotchi, are all enjoying a resurgence, and Giga Pets are no exception, saysPeople of Playfounder and CEO Mary Couzin; the updated version features improvements like a larger speaker, clearer graphics, and a longer battery life.
New! You can now save this product for later.
This fast-paced, quick-decision-makinggameis part of tween canon at this point. The rules are easy to understand and the gameplay is quick enough that you can play a few rounds in under 30 minutes. It’s also a great game to play as a family since it’s just as entertaining for adults as it is for kids.
Many of the experts and parents I’ve talked to attest that today’s tweens are increasingly obsessed with collectible toys, and MGA’s Miniverse Make It Mini surprise balls combine that trend with a craft. Each package contains all the ingredients and accessories they’ll need to make dollhouse-size replicas of all sorts of things, including popular spa treatments, realistic houseplants and flower bouquets, and hatching dinosaur eggs fromJurassic World.
New! You can now save this product for later.
While the popularity of oversize Stanley tumblers is well documented,the newest trendy water bottle is much smaller— over 30 ounces smaller, to be exact. Hydro Flask’s new mini water bottle isn’t much bigger than most plush bag charms and fits inside most small handbags, Jellycat included. It’s a perfect companion for theater outings or sports events where you’d rather not spend $10 on a bottle of water.
$50 and under
New! You can now save this product for later.
Lava lamps are still a tween and teen rite of passage. They’re a great gift for kids who are excitedly transforming their bedroom décor from little-kid styles to something more mature, and come in a wide range of colors.
New! You can now save this product for later.
For kids who are developing their own taste in music, I like this MP3 player that looks like a Game Boy. Also featured in ourguide to the best gifts for tween boys, it’s pretty lo-fi and lets kids listen to music on the go without parents needing to manage a Spotify or Apple Music account.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Nintendo’sPrincess Peach: Showtime!will appeal to 11-year-olds who are into cute things, gaming, and fashion. It’s set in a theater where Peach must wear different costumes that each come with their own unique powers — pastry chef, sword fighter, detective — to save the day.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Kelly Harris Smith, mom of two tweens and founder of Boston-based art centerMinni, told us that these days her kids play in one of two different modes: “They will either sit for hours and build sets to create stop-motion videos with LEGO or stuffed animals, or absolutely cannot sit still.” That interest in stop-motion videos is shared by Remsberg’s daughter, who uses this overhead mount phone stand and StikBot figures instead of LEGOs for her creations.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Tweens who like to make their own slime and watch slime videos on YouTube will love this DIY kit from Elmer’s, which teaches them to make icy slime, crunchy slime, and cloud slime, with different colored glues and “magical” activators.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Uni Posca Paint Art Markers - PC-5M
These waterproof markers are also water-based, which means they can be layered nicely and won’t bleed. They comerecommendedby 11- and 12-year-old cousins Ruth and Daphne, who told us they’re very satisfying to use.
New! You can now save this product for later.
For 11-year-olds looking for ways to display their own artwork or drawings and paintings made by friends, the front of this picture frame is like any other, with shatterproof acrylic and a white mat. But it also has a magnetic back section that can hold up to 100 more two-dimensional keepsakes that they can rotate as often as they want.
$100 and under
New! You can now save this product for later.
Razor A3
New! You can now save this product for later.
For kids who are ready to commute to school or around their neighborhood on their own, I suggest a two-wheel Razor scooter that folds down small enough to fit into a locker while they are in class. Depending on the individual kid’s height and weight, you could get them either the Razor A3 or the Razor A5. Both models have adjustable handlebars, but the A3 is lighter, weighing in at just over seven pounds with a weight capacity of 143 pounds. The A5 is heavier, at slightly over 11 pounds, but it also has bigger, cushier wheels and a higher weight capacity of 220 pounds.
New! You can now save this product for later.
If you know a tween with a high-end VR headset on their wish list but don’t want to dive into that world just yet, this two-in-one space-and-science kit will scratch the VR itch in a more kid-friendly way, as tweens explore 50 hands-on space- and science-themed crafts and activities right alongside Bill Nye. The set includes a pair of goggles that holds any smartphone; you’ll just need to download the free app to get started.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Most tweens spend a lot of time watching YouTube and TikTok and are in turn inspired to make videos of their own. This kit from Movo turns a smartphone into a mobile studio and has everything an aspiring YouTube star needs, including a grip rig, stereo microphone, LED light, and wireless remote.
$100 and up
New! You can now save this product for later.
Most 11-year-olds would be ecstatic to receive the newNintendo Switch 2, which is unfortunately sold out everywhere right now. But if they don’t already have one, the original Nintendo Switch is still a wonderful gift. Kids can use it as both a portable one-player device and a traditional game console hooked up to a TV, and if you want to bundle it with one or two popular games, the above-mentionedPrincess Peach,Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,LEGO: City Undercover,orNew Pokémon Snapwould all be solid choices.
New! You can now save this product for later.
There are plenty of cheaper skateboards to choose from, but this one, recommended by Milk Teeth co-founders Rebecca Calavan and Catherine Newell-Hanson, lets you customize everything from the size and look of the deck to the wheels to the grip tape. Calavan says it’s a legit skateboard for learning, with high-quality wheels and accessories that make it durable and easy to ride. You can even upload your own photos to be printed on the bottom.
New! You can now save this product for later.
I love playing around with this mini thermal-ink printer from HP, and if I were 11, I would be totally obsessed. Whereas other instant printers only let you print a single smartphone photo at a time, this one lets you create and print photo-booth-style strips that have sticky backs. You can also use the accompanying app to add all sorts of cute graphics like hearts, emoji, and borders. The photos come out fully dry and ready to stick in a notebook or card.
New! You can now save this product for later.
AirPods are cool, but for most tweens, over-the-ear wireless headphones are a better option. With this Beats pair, they can control the volume, play, and pause directly on the headphones. Beats headphones also use Apple technology, which makes them eligible for AppleCare just in case.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Orba 3
If you’re shopping for a kid who’s into making their own beats, the Orba 3 is a fantastic gift. It’s about the size of a grapefruit with a built-in speaker and an omni-directional microphone that lets you record sounds from your surroundings and instantly turn them into playable musical instruments. There’s a headphone jack/stereo out so you can work in private, or hook it up to an amp to play louder. And an accompanying app gives you access to sound packs inspired by genres like hip-hop, trap, and tropical house. But you can do most things without it, like record and layer multiple sounds to create complete songs.
Additional reporting by Latifah Miles, Lauren Ro, and Dominique Pariso.
The Strategistis designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the bestacne treatments,rolling luggage,pillows for side sleepers,natural anxiety remedies, andbath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links,New Yorkmay earn an affiliate commission.
