Children begin forming genuine social relationships and friendships at nine years old. They are no longer little kids but not yet preteens. Your new tween is starting to develop new interests and act more grown up, yet still cherishes his toys and teddies.
Whether it is a Christmas gift idea you are looking for, a fun educational toy, or a memorable birthday gift, one that will foster your tweens to create and innovate will be a win-win. With toys and non-toys that help them learn the basics, they will become more proficient and independent as they approach those important teen years.
Your new tween can focus for more extended periods; therefore, it is all about finding the toys, gifts, and gears that appeal to their growing imagination and creativity. The kind of toys that will fascinate your tween are ones that challenge, inspire and entertain.
Our gift guide features the top 30 toys and gifts for a 9-year-old boy to help you find that perfect gift.
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Best Gifts For a 9-Year-Old-Boy
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Hexbug Spider
This remote-controlled spider allows your kid to see its inner workings, helping promote STEM skills while sparking their interest.
It is small enough to fit into your tween’s hands with a 360-degree rotating head. It includes a battery and a two-channel IR remote control. It is a perfect 9-year-old toy for a curious child.
Multi-Voice Changer
This compact-size fun toy is an excellent stocking stuffer present for a 9-year-old boy. With this gift, your tween will be able to experience the science of sound. Its effect includes a voice amplifier and colorful flashing LEDs.
It has side levers that help adjust frequency and amplitude, creating hundreds of different sound combinations.
Good Housekeeping Amazing Science
Is your tween son a budding scientist? Then this science book will be an incredible tween boy gift. It taps into your tween’s superpowers of logic and deductions.
These super fun, hands-on experiences include; building a solar oven, creating an active rain cloud in a jar, using static electricity produced with a balloon to power a light bulb, and so much more.
Fitness Tracker for Tweens
The perfect companion for your sporty tween, watches these days do far more than tell them the time; we love this fitness tracker for pre-teens as it’s super slim and adjustable to their wrist size. Ultralight it shouldn’t disturb them while out playing their favorite sports or just being boys!
Ultimate Unofficial Encyclopedia for Minecrafters
Any young player wanting to up their game will love this detailed Minecraft encyclopedia. It contains everything your novice players need to know about mining, farming, building, villagers, the Nether, and more!
Jellyfish Tank Aquarium Mood Lamp
Do you need your tween boys’ bedroom to have the peace and calm of the ocean? Then this aquarium mood lamp with natural jellyfish movement will be so realistic your tween boy will question whether they are real.
It’s a perfect gift for your new tween who’s too cool for a kiddy nightlight now,but still likes the comfort that comes from having a gentle glow in the room.
App-Enabled Robot Ball
This Sphero SPRK+ will be an incredible birthday gift for a 9-year-old. It is a programmable robot ball designed to inspire creativity and curiosity through coding and play.
Its programmable sensors and colorful LED lights create countless play experiences and all-level coding conditions. It’s an educational robot that allows your tweens to bring their creations to life.
Wicked Pranks and Jokes For The Prankster
This collection of devilish props will allow your tween boy to be a cunning but hilarious troublemaker, thanks to its collection of mischief-making jokes.
The set includes the original selfie phone squirter, augmented reality spider tricks, fake parking tickets, a bone cruncher, and freaky body surprises. It is an excellent gift for a nine-year-old boy with a playful but cheeky personality.
LED Bike Wheel Lights
Now that your tween boy feels grown, they will want to come into the house when darkness is settling in. This 7 feet of weather resistance tubing and 20 micros LED lights for front and rear wheels will create a brilliant colorful glow that lights up the night with dazzling spinning colors.
These battery-powered LED bike wheel lights require 3AA batteries, which you must buy separately. They are a fantastic boy gift idea.
Funko Last Defense! Board Game
While this board game is an excellent 9-year-old boy birthday present, it is a gift that the whole family will enjoy.
It is a cooperative family game where everybody wins or loses together. It is a strategic game in which a team has to fight various attackers and play in 20 minutes or less.
Football Trainer
A fabulous gift idea for a soccer-loving 9-year-old boy, this trainer set comes with an adjustable waist belt and a cord extending up to 19 feet, brilliant for practising their moves at home, ready for their next big game.
Klutz Lego Gear Bots Science
The Klutz Lego kit is a gift every boy wants. It stirs their creativity to build eight physics-driven kinetic creatures using the kit’s technic bricks and papercrafts.
It includes STEM content about cams, cranks, axles, and simple engineering machines. It also has a 64-page book with step-by-step instructions.
Gaming Headphones
Is your new tween starting to show an interest in computer games? Nine can be a great age for boys to start getting more involved with video gaming (under your supervision, of course).
Whatever console they use, these JLab JBuddies make a great set of headphones for tweens. Use them wirelessly on the go with 22 hours of playtime, or the AUX cord is compatible with all leading gaming consoles.
National Geographic Kids Why?
National Geographic Kids Why? is an ideal book for a 9-year-old boy who always wants to know ‘WHY.’ Its simple concept will answer all your tween’s questions.
It has hundreds of topics, ranging from silly to serious, and it provides expert information your tween needs in a fun and entertaining format.
Technic Chevrolet Corvette
Got a LEGO-lover who’s ready to flex their building skills? This LEGO Technic Chevrolet Corvette has a whooping 579 pieces that will allow your tween boy to build one of the most iconic supercars ever.
This collectible car model features a large rear wing, four tailpipes, black spoked rims with low-profile tires, working steering, and visible moving V8 pistons. It is an incredible 9-year-old boy gift as it helps grow your tween’s creativity and fine motor skills.
Spark Kick Scooter
This easy-to-fold and carry scooter will leave your tween feeling like the king of the jungle. It has special cartridges that leave a trail of sparks behind as he whizzes the streets. It is one of the best presents for a tween boy.
Mini Hornit
Mini Hornit is a great Christmas stocking stuffer idea for a 9-year-old boy. With this entertaining bike horn, your tween will be keen to warn other pedestrians to make way as he flaunts the streets.
It has 25 sound effects and five light settings with a remote trigger that ensures your tween doesn’t have to take their hands off the handlebars.
Cat Crimes
This gameplay provides a stealth learning experience in which your tween learns critical reasoning and logical deduction skills as they play detectives.
It includes 40 challenges and solutions, ranging from beginners to experts, that become increasingly difficult as you play through them. It also includes a game board, six cat pieces, six crime tokens, 40 challenges and solutions with a fun theme, and hilarious artwork.
Glow In The Dark Outdoor Game
Capture the Flag glow-in-the-dark edition is an exciting nighttime activity with glowing game pieces.
It’s an awesome outdoor game with 25 light-up game pieces, all required CR 1220 batteries, and a free download of bonus games. It is a fantastic gift idea for a 9-year-old boy that helps them learn teamwork and get active.
Factopia
This comically illustrated book is the perfect gift to inspire and delight your curious tween boy. It is a wonderland of crazily connected facts. Like, did they know some butterflies drink turtle tears? Or did they know that a squid is brain-shaped like a doughnut? This book has a fantastic trail that your boy can jump from one course to another.
Zero Gravity Laser Race Car
Which 9-year-old boy would not wish to have this laser race car that defies gravity? This car can climb up walls and move across ceilings! How cool is that?
When your tween boy uses the laser gun controller’s laser light beam, the great zero gravity will follow. This indoor toy includes one zero-gravity laser, controller, USB charging cable, and instructional manual. It is an excellent tween gift idea for boys who love cars.
Waterproof Action Camera
Just about every 9-year-old boy thinks they will be the next YouTube star. Why not set them on their filming adventure with a sturdy, robust, waterproof action camera?
We have loved our ProGrace; it’s substantially cheaper than a GoPro but still packed with functionality. It comes with mountings so users can take it with them on their bikes or even underwater to 100m.
Flying Orb Spinner
At nine years old, your boy talks about magic and superpowers. Surprise them with this gift of magic. This ball is durable and robust and has a sealed outer housing.
It floats in mid-air, and all your tween boy has to do is do the magic of following it with their hands. You should pay more attention when recharging the sphere ball.
SpyX / Night Ranger Set
This set will make your boy feel like the best spy he can be. The night mission goggles feature twin light beams and an extraordinary flip-out scope for daytime snooping.
It has a motion alarm to secure your tween’s stuff from ‘thieves’ and a micro voice disguiser to conceal identity. Your tween will play with his friends for hours with this incredible toy for 9-year-old boys.
The Challenging Riddle Books For Kids
This riddle book features over 200 brain benders that are challenging, fun, and sure to give your brain a workout. With this book up your boy’s sleeve, they will learn to use their problem-solving abilities and creative thinking skills. It is a good brain power booster and an incredible gift for a boy.
Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad
It’s time to get your budding tween artist to the next level. These simple and fun crafts are an excellent way for your tween boy to stay thoughtfully engaged and entertained.
It includes one graphite pencil, 12 short colored pencils, 10 tracing sheets, and 10 blank sheets, and requires 3x AA batteries (purchased separately).
Harry Potter Collectibles
Is your 9-year-old a Potterhead? This is a great age for kids to not only devour this brilliant book series aimed at tweens but also enjoy all the fun and magic associated with Harry and his friends.
This collectible plastic figurine set is bound to please; use them as pencil toppers or start their Harry Potter collection.
Aveloki Led Light Pop Fidget Spinner
Fidget sensory toys are the best. There are exciting ways to play them: press the round bubbles, which make a popping sound, flip over, and start again. And they glow in the dark, which is so cute.
It’s an easy-to-carry toy that will help your tween boy regulate emotion and release stress. It is an incredible gift for your tween, the perfect stocking stuffer.
Star Wars LEGO
Star Wars + LEGO is a match made in heaven for so many boys. This 9+ X-Wing Fighter set would make a great birthday gift for your Star Wars fans.
Flytrap Plant Seeds
Your tween boy must have heard of plant carnivores. Satisfy his curiosity by getting him these seeds that he only needs to water and wait for them to sprout. Then boom!
Let him delight himself in seeing insects and flies being swallowed whole! One of the coolest and most unique gifts for a 9-year-old boy.
Digital Sports Watch
Every 9-year-old boy would love to have a digital watch. This multi-functional watch will do the trick. It has an LED backlight, chronograph, stopwatch timer, and alarm.
It is water-resistant, but children should avoid pressing any buttons while underwater. It’s a great step up for your boy who wants to ditch little boy designs and get into some more serious tween tech.
The Upside Down Challenge Game For Kids
The upside-down challenge is a hilarious game that will leave everyone laughing their hearts out. You should wear the specialized goggles and compete with your friends and family to do challenges with your vision flipped upside down.
It includes one pair of upside-down glasses, 25 challenge cards, five ‘make your own challenge’ cards, one pad of paper, and one instruction sheet.
Marvel Suitcase
Is your 9-year-old ready to start taking adventures away from home? Whether it’s a sleepover with his buddies or taking off on a family vacation, he needs some stylish luggage to look the part.
This 20″ wheeled suitcase is not only available in some seriously cool designs, but it’s light enough for them to pick up and roomy enough for their gear. It is also overhead compartment size compliant.
Experience Gifts
If you’ve still not found quite the right idea for your 9-year-old buy, why not look to gift an experience, rather than a physical item?
Your imagination is the only limit when it comes to experience gifts for tweens; are they into outdoor adventures and pushing phyical limits, or is there a new skill they want to leanr?
Got a vacation coming up you could add a special day out or seeing their favorite sports team?
We share over here some fun and inventive ways to gift an experience.
Found This Tween Gift Guide Helpful?
Our gift guides have been compiled with the help of our tweens and their friends. We update our guides yearly to bring you the latest tech and trends tweens will love.
You can dive into our full collection of Tween Boy Gift Guides here, including: