The vast majority of hot toy lists focus on little kids — because that’s who still appreciates Christmas most. But what about the big kids (ages 12-17)? They need love, too! Here are our picks for the 32 best big kid toys they need in their life:
Wildlands is one of the best new board games of 2018, and it’s great for young teens to play with their friends. In Wildlands, you play with up to 4 players. Each player takes control of their own squad, and their goal is to be the first player to secure 3 arcane crystals.
There are two ways to earn an arcane crystal: make your way to one on the map and secure it with a certain set of cards or defeat an enemy player through combat.
There are 20 unique miniatures that come with the game, and the board is double-sided, with each side having a slight variation on gameplay.
It’s a game that has high replay value, and that’s one of the things that makes it such a great gift option for big kids.
The Hercules DJ Control Inpulse 300 is one of our absolute favorite new gifts for big kids in 2018. If they’re super into music and have shown interest in making music of their own, check out the Inpulse 300.
It uses light guides and assists to help teach users to mix their own music with things like Tempo and Beat Align. They can add cool effects and their own sounds into their favorite songs and can learn how to blend two songs together seamlessly. The IMA (Intelligent Music Assistant) helps along the way, making suggestions as they’re playing their music for mixing ideas.
It also has 16 pressure sensitive pads for them to add their own beats and drops, and the Impulse 300 also has scratching capabilities. It’s a great learning tool that’ll fuel their creative side and interest in music.
Slammo is a fantastic outdoor game that big kids (and young adults) love to play, especially at the beach! It’s an action-packed 2v2 game that’s sort of a mix between volleyball, tennis, and handball. Players have to bounce or spike the ball into the net within 3 hits, or the other team scores a point.
It’s great for family get-togethers and outdoor picnics, or just for playing in the backyard. Slammo will get them active and away from a screen, and it’s a game they’ll want to play over and over again.
The coolest new Nerf gun of 2018 is the Nerf Rival Prometheus MXVIII-20K – a beastly, two-hands-required, hyper-powered blaster! It shoots a whopping 8 rounds per second, and it holds 200 high-impact rounds per clip.
The blaster uses a rechargeable NIMh battery to shoot balls with a velocity of 100 feet per second, which is definitely a step above Nerf’s previous toy guns, which makes it the PERFECT Christmas gift for big kids.
If there’s ONE single game I would recommend for big kids in 2018, it’s Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4. It’s really the best Spider-Man game ever created, so if your kids are into superheroes, it’s the best option this holiday season.
The PS4-exclusive game puts Spider-Man in an open world New York, allowing players to swing from building to building, web-up some bad guys, and fight various crime in many different wants. It’s tons of fun, seriously. In fact, it’s the most fun I had with a video game this year so far.
Magic The Gathering is having itself a banner year. Not only was there a new video game announced and set into production but there was also a new core set for 2019, an expansion, and a mega ultimate compendium set of sorts released this year.
For those who don’t know, Magic The Gathering is a universally-loved collectible card game with a focus on fantasy elements like monsters and spells. It plays like Hearthstone (or, rather, Hearthstone plays like Magic), and the more it’s played, the easier it becomes to play. It really can be a rewarding game that’s fun to play, and it’s a game that has to be played with others (so there’ s the social aspect!).
There are a ton of great LEGO Technic sets available right now, and one of our favorites, by far, is the LEGO Technic Porsche 911 G3 RS.
This kit is more advanced, so it’s intended for the older side of the big kid crowd (official recommendation is 16+, but 14 year olds can definitely handle it, as well). It comes with over 2700 pieces to put together, and the result is an awesome, display-worthy autumn orange Porsche 911 that will not only give them a sense of accomplishment but also impress their friends.
Laser X debuted last year (before Nerf’s new Laser Pro series which debuted this year), and honestly, we like it a bit better than Nerf’s.
It works from over 200′ away, and it comes with everything needed for two players. What’s more, it’s expandable so that you can buy more sets for more players.
My kids absolutely love my LIFX bulbs, and we even got some for each of their rooms. They’re colorful, bright LED bulbs that are controlled via Wi-FI with a highly customizable app, allowing them to add colored lighting to their rooms. The app is a lot of fun to play with, and there’s more advanced things you can do with LIFX bulbs that bigger kids will love.
For example, whenever their favorite team score a touchdown, basket, or goal, you can send signals to the lighting to change it to a specific color or scene. Whenever they receive a tweet on Twitter, they can have the bulb change to a certain color, too. Whenever it’s snowing outside, they can have their light change to specific color.
LIFX bulbs, which work with any A19 lamp/lighting fixture, are super cool, and that’s why it’s on our list of the best gifts for big kids in 2018.
Is there anything cooler to a kid than a ping pong table? Even here in 2018, with all of the many electronics and video games available, when kids see a ping pong table, they HAVE TO play.
But don’t fret – ping pong tables aren’t as expensive as they used to be. In fact, you can score a great ping pong table for less than $150. It’s the JOOLA Midsize Table Tennis Table, and it’s the highest-rated ping pong table on Amazon, with 73% of reviewers ranking it at a full 5-stars.
The legs fold in for quick and easy storage, and it comes fully assembled. It’s pretty much a no-brainer, which is why it’s on our list of the best big kid toys.
One of the most popular board games for big kids is called Pandemic by Z-Man Games. It’s played with 2-4 players, and it’s played co-operatively. You and your team are essentially the last line of defense against a deadly disease that is about to take over the world. The clock is ticking, and each player takes on the role of a member of an elite disease control team to try and stop the virus before it’s too late.
It’s a LOT of fun, and the end-of-the-world theme is loved by teens especially, so it’s a great option.
Like ping pong, air hockey is one of those games that kids of all ages love to play. It’s always the most popular game at any arcade or fun center, and it’s a game that spans generations, as parents like to play their kids, too.
It’s one of the best big kid toys because kids of all ages like it, and this 5 foot air hockey table by Harvil comes in at under $250.
One of the best new robot toys for 2018 comes from UBTECH, and it’s a freakin’ robotic Stormtrooper! That’s right, if you’ve got yourself a big kid who loves the Star Wars universe, they’re going to LOVE the First Order Stormtrooper bot.
It can be controlled with a companion app and with voice commands, and it uses facial recognition software to detect up to 3 faces for customized interactions.
Our favorite thing to do with our robot Stormtrooper is to set him to sentry patrolling mode, where he’ll patrol a designated area of the house…it drives my corgis crazy!
FunKo pops are wildly popular, as this toymaker has licensing for just about everything you can imagine. From their favorite movies, musicians, TV shows, or video games, you can find your child an awesome FunKo pop that they’ll love.
One of the more premium-style FunKos available is the Super Deluxe Vinyl line, like this Batman one. It’s bigger than the average FunKo pop, as it stands at a whopping 10-inches tall (regular pops are typically 3.5-inches). They’re super detailed and look great in any big kids’ room.
With Fornite now breaking 8 million concurrent players, chances are that your teen plays it. Fortnite is THE most popular video game right now, and if they won’t shut up about Fortnite, a great gift for them this year’s Monopoly.
Why have an Echo Dot at this point when there’s the all-new Echo Show which is more visual?
The Echo Show controls Alexa like everything else in the Echo line, but it presents results on screen instead of speaking them aloud. Things like song lyrics, weather, scores, calendars, and more can be brought up on-screen, hands-free.
It has a vibrant 10.1″ HD screen that’s great for watching videos, movies, and TV shows, too, making it the perfect breakfast-in-the-kitchen companion.
While a regular dirt bike might be out of the question, this Razor MX350 electric motorcross bike is a great alternative that won’t break the bank. It hits speeds up to 14 MPH, and it’s specifically designed for ages 13 and up.
It’s super quiet, and it can hold a max weight of 140 pounds. It’s super highly-rated from over 1100 reviewers, with 79% ranking it at 4 stars and above.
I mean, what else would you expect from a Razor product?
At just $239 at the time of writing this, this electric motocross bike is a fantastic gift option for bigger kids on your list this year.
While PlayStation VR didn’t really come out of the gate hot, it has hit its stride in 2018, and it’s quickly becoming one of the most requested toys by teens.
What’s cooler than VR? Nothing..
With PSVR, they can put themselves in numerous games – many of which will get them more active than just using a simple controller on the couch.
This bundle comes with Creed: Rise to Glory and Superhot (one of the most popular VR games available right now), and there are hundreds of other great games available through the PSN app on the PS4 (which is required for PSVR, by the way).
The #1 best selling basketball portable hoop on Amazon right now is the Lifetime Portable Basketball system, and that’s because it strikes the best balance between price and quality.
It also has a whopping 5-year limited warranty and fade-resistant graphics that’ll keep it in tip-top shape for years to come.
Place this baby in the driveway and watch as your kids get outside and get active.
The Nintendo Switch is still the most requested video game console among 10-14 year olds, as it’s a great system that can be played on the big screen or on the go.
It has great games available like Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, and soon, Let’s Go Pikachu!/Eevee!.
The Aerodrums is a toy that I wish was available when I was a kid because I use to love playing air drums. Now, in 2018, air drumming can have sound, thanks to Aerodrums. It comes with a high-speed motion capture camera that allows them to make music out of thin air, capturing their movement to reproduce drum hits.
It uses super high-quality sounds (over a full GB of high-quality drum samples) that are played with motions instead of actual drums. It’s really incredible, and it’s highly-rated on Amazon.
Settlers of Catan (now simply called Catan) is another great board game that kids in this age range will love, and it’s best played with 4 players (or more with an expansion).
The goal of Catan is to gather and hoard resources and earn points in various ways until you reach a victory. Games of Catan usually take 1-2 hours, and it’s a great family-friendly game that you can play together.
Makey Makey is a great STEM toy for big kids that will allow them to turn any everyday object into a controller. That controller can control games, pianos, and more, and it’s super simple to use.
Turn Play-Doh into a game controller, turn stairs into a piano, turn a banana into a keyboard, and more – the sky is the limit!
If they’re old enough to watch Rick and Morty, they’ll love this Pickle Rick FunKo Pop figure! Pickle Rick is a ridiculous iteration of Grandpa Rick who turned himself into a pickle. In the episode, he becomes a pickle warrior of sorts, and it’s one of the most hilarious animated TV episodes I’ve ever seen.
iPads for Christmas are essentially a no-brainer for kids, but I want to point out that there’s a lot more an iPad can do other than just play games.
With an iPad, they can obviously use it to watch their favorite shows and sports with apps like Netflix, Hulu, WatchESPN, and the like but they can also use it for many other things. For example, my son uses his iPad to play his electric guitar (with the proper adapter, of course). He can use it to make other music as well with software like FL Studio. My daughter uses hers to learn piano and “paint” pictures with the swipe of her finger.
iPads are versatile and that’s part of what makes them a great option.
Skateboards are a great gift for big kids. Not only is it a great way to get your kids active but it’s also a great way to fuel their creativity. That’s right – skateboarding can actually be quite a creative sport, and it can also be super rewarding.
Get them a skateboard – like this one from Enjoi – and it’s quite possible you could be introducing them to a new hobby they’ll absolutely love.
Traxxas is probably THE biggest name in hobby RC cars, and the Traxxas Rustler Stadium RC Car is their best-seller. It’s a great first hobby car for those looking to make the jump from dinky toy RC cars like you’d find on the shelves at Wal-Mart or Target to more intermediate/faster cars.
The Stadium Rustler is a great beginner RC car, which makes it a great gift for big kids aged 12 years and up. This thing is waterproof, too, so they won’t have to worry about avoiding puddles.
Stranger Things fans will absolutely LOVE this nesting doll from FunKo. It starts with a 9″ D’Artagnan in the form of a full-blown Demogorgon, and then there are smaller iterations inside, showing each different life stage of Dustin’s newest pet in Season 2.
It’s super soft plush, and it features the high-quality design of the well-known FunKo brand.
Big kids love drones, and one of the best drones for kids is the DBpower X400W FPV Drone. One of the best features of this drone is that there’s a headless mode so that it doesn’t matter which way the drone is facing it will always go in the direction that the controller is pointing.
It also has a super cool, high-end look that makes it look closer to the most popular drones on the market. It also has a 9-minute flight time. Best of all – kids can perform cool tricks with just the simple tap of a button.
Hoverboards are everywhere in 2018, and it’s clear that the market has recovered from the botched launch a few years ago (you know, where they were all catching on fire!?).
Now, you can find many high-quality and reliable hoverboards that big kids will love. Our personal favorite comes from GOTRAX, one of the coolest companies around, in my opinion.
The GoTrax Hoverfly can hold up to 200 lbs and can go up to 7mph. It features wheels with lighting on them and LEDs in the front to make it look ultra cool at night.
Most importantly is that it’s up to the highest standards and has been certified to UL2272 safety standards (meaning: it won’t catch fire!).
There are quite a few different colors available so you can find one your big kid is sure to love without any issue.
