LEGO sets, board games, an instant camera, a speaker, art supplies and a puzzle cube. A screen-free gift competes with a lot of screen time: Common Sense Media’s 2021 census found 8- to 12-year-olds average about 5½ hours of screen media a day.
We earn a commission if you buy through a store link, at no extra cost to you.
Top picks
Start here
LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box 10698790 bricks in 33 colors that fit every LEGO set they already have
Skip if they love building from instructions: these are loose bricks
Under $25
Rubik's Cube 3x3, OriginalA screen-free challenge: Rubik’s free guide teaches the solve
Skip if they give up fast: the solve takes a few evenings of practice
The splurge
Nintendo Switch 2Plays on the TV or in the hand; most Switch 1 games still work
Skip if they play with friends on PC or PlayStation
Unexpected
Rand McNally Classic Edition World Wall Map, 50 x 32 inA 50 x 32 in world map for the bedroom wall, every continent whole
Skip if the wall is under 4 feet wide: the map is 50 inches
8 darts in the drum and 8 to reload, plus a rail for add-ons
Prints 2 x 3 in stickers, no ink; add a microSD card and USB cable
Point, shoot and hold a print in about 5 seconds; film sold separately
PEOPLE’s book on the Eras Tour, for the Swiftie
The 1997 digital pet, reissued: how it grows depends on the care
All five Percy Jackson books: Greek myths as a modern quest
Narrow these down by what they’re into in the gift finder.
By what they’re into
If they’re into gaming
Nintendo Switch 2Plays on the TV or in the hand; most Switch 1 games still work
If they’re into reading
Harry Potter Paperback Box Set, Books 1-7For a tween who reads at night: Harry Potter 1 to 7, paperback box set
If they’re into travel
Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 Instant Camera, Lilac PurplePoint, shoot and hold a print in about 5 seconds; film sold separately
If they’re into running & fitness
SKLZ Pro Mini Basketball HoopA breakaway rim over the bedroom door, with a 5-in ball
If they’re into board games
Ticket to Ride Board Game2025 refresh: rail routes across North America for 2 to 5 players
If they’re into lego, pokémon & co
LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026 (75456)For Star Wars fans: Mandalorian builds for 24 days of December
2025 refresh: rail routes across North America for 2 to 5 players
Tui T. Sutherland’s dragons as graphic novels, books 1 to 4
Oven-bake clay for tiny café treats, and a café to put them in
Build a flying saucer with an alarm: 100+ projects, no soldering
Crystals grow in 3 to 4 days, then glow on a USB light-up stand
140 crayons, markers and pencils in a latching case with a handle
Their first strategy game: 3 to 4 players, ages 10 up, 60 to 90 min
For a Mark Rober fan: crush things, film it, then wash it in a sink
A 16-inch official Squishmallow; check the tag, knock-offs are common
Coded by drawing, blocks or JavaScript; 3 cones and 6 pins included
A palm-sized speaker that clips to a backpack, IP67, 7 hours of play
200 mm wheels and a tall bar a growing rider won’t outgrow
Rubik’s magnetic speed cube, for chasing a faster solve
For a tween who reads at night: Harry Potter 1 to 7, paperback box set
Plan the marble’s fall: 9 towers, 3 marbles, puzzles for ages 8 to 12
Volume capped at 85 dBA, a mic for school calls, a port to share
Build 10 LEGO machines that swing, roll and drop, then chain them up
A Technic hypercar with a moving V8 and swing-up doors
A screen-free challenge: Rubik’s free guide teaches the solve
A 50 x 32 in world map for the bedroom wall, every continent whole
← → ↑ ↓ to move between finds, S to save, / to search, ? for every key.
43 photos tagged Gifts for Tweens, in a new mix each day. Mostly from Tech & Desk, Dorm Room and Gifts.
Checked : all 43 finds have a price.
Gifts for tweens by what they’re into
LEGO gifts for tweens
The Technic cars have working parts: suspension and a V6 in the Bronco, moving pistons in the Bugatti, a V8 and swing-up doors in the Koenigsegg.
LEGO Technic Ford Bronco $51.99, LEGO Technic Bugatti Bolide $45.00, LEGO Technic Koenigsegg Jesko $44.99, LEGO Classic Large Brick Box $33.49, Klutz LEGO Chain Reactions $27.31, LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar $44.99, LEGO Marvel Advent Calendar $44.99
STEM gifts for tweens
Snap Circuits needs no soldering, the Sphero starts as a ball they drive from a phone before the coding, and the geode kit includes goggles.
Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 $32.99, Sphero Mini coding robot $50.00, GraviTrax Starter Set $59.99, Gravity Maze $19.97, National Geographic geode kit $31.99, National Geographic crystal kit $29.99, CrunchLabs Crunchinator $34.99
Books for tweens
Box sets keep a reader going, with seven Harry Potter books, five Percy Jackson and four Wings of Fire graphic novels; Wimpy Kid suits ages 8 to 12.
Harry Potter 1-7 box set $52.62, Percy Jackson 1-5 box set $44.30, Wings of Fire graphic novels 1-4 $28.07, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 1-4 $34.98, PEOPLE Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour $14.99
Craft gifts for tweens
The bracelet kit has 28 threads and 100 letter beads for names, and the Klutz clay bakes hard in a home oven.
LanMa friendship bracelets, 12 $9.99, Maynacs bracelet making kit $24.99, Klutz Mini Clay World Cute Café $20.84, Crayola Inspiration Art Case $26.99
Games and puzzles for tweens
CATAN, labeled 10 and up, runs 60 to 90 minutes and Ticket to Ride 30 to 60; start on the classic cube before the magnetic speed cube.
CATAN, 6th edition $39.99, Ticket to Ride $39.99, Rubik’s Cube 3x3 $9.49, Rubik’s magnetic speed cube $14.99
Tech gifts for tweens
The Switch Lite plays only in the hand while the Switch 2 also plays on the TV, and the Skullcandy earbuds have Tile built in for when they go missing.
Nintendo Switch 2 $499.00, Nintendo Switch Lite $229.00, Skullcandy Dime 3 earbuds $29.84, iClever kids headphones $11.39, JBL Go 4 speaker $49.95, Soundcore shower speaker $34.99, KODAK Printomatic camera $69.99, Instax Mini 12 $82.95
Bedroom gifts for tweens
For their own room: a 50 x 32 in world map, a sunset glow for the wall, and a hoop with a breakaway rim for the back of the door.
Rand McNally world wall map $19.99, Sunset projection lamp $17.98, SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop $34.99, Squishmallows Austin, 16 in $24.99
Questions
How much do the gifts for tweens here cost?
43 have a price read today, from $9.49 for Rubik's Cube 3x3, Original to $499.00 for Nintendo Switch 2. 14 under $25, 34 under $50, 41 under $100.
Hiding the price, gift receipts and returns, and the last days to ship for Christmas: Christmas deadlines and gift returns.