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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. Alyson Cohen, a Manhattan-based social worker and psychotherapist specializing in adolescents, young adults, and millennials, adds that 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 that can also affect their emotional states,” she says. It’s also the age when kids start to become more independent, according to Cohen. “They’re not as excited to spend time at home with family and are really looking to blossom out into 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, we asked Cohen, Goldstein, and more than a dozen other experts (including actual 11-year-olds) about the best gift ideas for kids that age, from books to toys to tech. We also aimed to cover both the latest trends and classic crowd-pleasers and organized them by price — so 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.
And if you’ve got kids of different ages to shop for, don’t miss our other age-specific gift guides, including for 1-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, and 10-year-olds. We’ve also got gift guides for teen (and tween) girls and boys, and the meticulously curated Strategist Toy Store, filled with all our greatest hits.
$25 and under
Kids who fall on the older end of the tween spectrum — like 11-year-olds —tend to be more influenced by social media and trends, says Kristin Morency Goldman, senior adviser of strategic communications at the Toy Association. And according to Mary Couzin, founder and CEO of People of Play, Kanoodle is a Tetris-adjacent and travel-friendly toy that is bubbling up in popularity thanks to the #KanoodleChallenge on TikTok (where people are trying to solve the brainteaser in three minutes). To play, you shake one of the pieces in the case and then try to fit the remaining pieces onto the play space without leaving any gaps. Both fun and a bit of a brain teaser, Kanoodle is a strategy and problem-solving game with a healthy dose of math.
Designed by Laurence Gartel, the Shashibo is a magnetic shape-shifting cube that can transform into over 70 different shapes. “It gives kids the ability to create beautiful, high-end-looking designs,” explains the Toy Association’s Adrienne Appell, making it a great idea for fidgety 11-year-olds who may want something more unique than a Rubik’s Cube for keeping their hands busy.
This fast-paced, quick-decision-making game is a favorite of Strategist writer Latifah Miles and her soon-to-be 11-year-old son. The rules are easy to understand and the gameplay is quick enough that you can play a few rounds at a time.
Cat Crimes is a “solo problem-solving game with different levels of complexity,” explains Chris Byrne, a.k.a. the Toy Guy. It tests kids’ deductive reasoning skills as they try to figure out which cat got up to no good.
A traditional drone might be too complicated for an 11-year-old to navigate and too expensive to risk trying it. This lightweight, rechargeable, kid-friendly drone hovers over your child’s hand and can do over 12 stunts and tricks.
According to CEO and founder of Global Toy Experts Richard Gottlieb, NERF blasters tend to be crowd-pleasers, especially when the crowd is full of 11-year-olds. This motorized version shoots out six darts at a time or ten darts in a row and comes with a total of 32 darts (ten in the clip and 22 for quick reloading).
Many of the experts we’ve talked to have confirmed that today’s tweens are increasingly obsessed with collectible toys, and this Mini Verse surprise ball combines that trend with a craft. Each ball comes with UV-sensitive resin and all the pieces you need to make a doll-house-size replica of a tasty treat, like a stack of waffles with syrup, a tiny blueberry pie, or a glass of boba tea and ice. You open the ball to reveal one of more than 50 possible drinks and desserts, and once the mini-food is assembled, you let it sit in the sun for a few minutes to set the design in place.
Cohen says that parents of kids at this age may be interested in buying them nonfiction books that deal specifically with the coming-of-age years. Of the many books on the topic, she recommends The Girls’ Guide to Growing Up and The Boy’s Guide to Growing Up. “It might be an uncomfortable thing to receive in front of a lot of people, but privately, it might be something that a kid might want to read about just in case they haven’t learned these things fully in school, or didn’t ask all the questions,” she says.
Answering kids’ favorite question of why, this cookbook explains the science behind each recipe. From breakfast and lunch to dinner, snacks, and sweets, there are over 70 recipes for your wannabe chef to try.
$50 and under
Aya Spence told us she likes to use these LED headphones while making YouTube videos or gaming online with her friends. “They have noise cancellation, a great microphone, and the super-fun LED lights make them extra cool.”
Designed for creators as young as 6 years old but even better suited to the more advanced coordination of older kids, this 3-D-pen set comes with everything your tech-savvy artist will need to get started, including 72 strands of starter filament in a variety of colors, a doodler pad, and ten stencils. “Not only does this kit help satisfy the countless tweens that may be requesting their own 3-D printer, but with the kit’s unique kid-safe 3-D pen and filament, they can create anything from jewelry to desk décor,” says Jennifer Lynch, content developer and toy-trends specialist at the Toy Association. The latest version of the pen has a slimmer design for easier handling, charges quickly, and features a standby mode for added safety.
According to Byrne, “STEM without screens is a hot topic,” and this is “a sophisticated game that builds learning, pre-coding, and sequencing into the fun.” Gridopolis is a 3-D strategy game where players use the parts provided to build their own board game from scratch. Play follows a blend of rules from familiar games like checkers, chess, and tic-tac-toe. You eliminate other players by jumping over them, but each player can also take their turn to build on the board, effectively changing the game at any point and keeping players on their toes.
Slime is still super-popular among tweens, and 11-year-old Juliette Amodio, who likes to watch slime videos in her spare time, says she would love to receive a DIY slime kit so that she can “learn to make new types such as icy slime, crunchy slime, and cloud slime.” This one contains everything you need to make a variety of slimes, with different color glues and “magical” activators that let you skip the contact-lens solution and baking soda and get right to the fun part — satisfyingly squishing the finished product.
While this hoodie isn’t technically a game or a toy, it will likely incite the same level of excitement in your tween Pokémon fan. The franchise is more popular than ever, and last summer, 11-year-old Delilah told us she couldn’t wait to break out her new Pikachu hoodie as she headed back to school.
If they already have a Nintendo Switch, this game is the third installment of the popular series Splatoon, which was released in September 2022. Tween Tessa D. raved to us that “there’s so much lore in the game,” and she “can’t wait to see what happens next in the story.”
Another good Switch game is the latest Zelda release, Tears of the Kingdom, which came out in May 2023. According to Polygon, the “sprawling” game “changes the conversation” by giving players “more freedom than ever before.” It should especially appeal to older kids who like to explore fantasy worlds.
Soon-to-be 11-year-old Margot is an aspiring artist with a specialty in drawing people, and she has her eye on this set of Ohuhu markers. After watching YouTubers create with them, Margot says she was instantly drawn in by how they glided effortlessly across the paper, noting that they are “way better than watercolors.” The dual tip would allow her to draw fine details or cover large swaths of space as well as work on her budding calligraphy skills. The set comes with 80 colors, plus a blender, and Margot says the alcohol-based formula makes for a higher-quality marker and allows the ink to dry quickly to prevent smudging.
$100 and under
Photographer June Kim says this camera is unbelievably easy to use. “You can just pop in the film and there’s no way to mess it up — unless you can somehow open the camera while it’s taking a photo,” she explains. With auto-brightening and auto-shutter speed, it’s the perfect introduction for a budding novice photographer. Plus, the mini-photos are so fun for kids to trade with their friends and make great décor for their rooms.
Eleven-year-old Madeleine Valencia told us she spends a lot of time watching YouTube and TikTok, which has inspired her to make more videos of her own. This kit from Movo, she says, would be a “better setup for recording” because it turns a smartphone into a “mobile studio.” The kit has everything an aspiring YouTube star in the making needs, including a grip rig, stereo microphone, LED light, and wireless remote.
For 11-year-olds who are ready to commute to school or around their neighborhood on their own, Couzin suggests this compact kick scooter that folds down small enough to fit into a standard backpack or slide into a locker while they are in class. (It’s about 16-by-6-by-4 inches when folded.) The scooter has a weight capacity of 220 pounds and an adjustable-height handlebar, which means it may even last into adulthood.
According to James Zahn, senior editor at the Toy Insider, vintage toys are making a serious comeback, saying “a new twist on classic play does the trick.” These wall-art editions of the classic Lite Brite allow kids to make backlit LED Pop Art that can be displayed in their rooms. The set comes with three pictures to choose from and the 16-by-16-inch size will make it stand out in their space.
$100 and up
After hearing about the Nintendo Switch going in and out of stock for a while during the height of the pandemic, you may think kids have moved on. But Byrne is the second expert who has told us they “are seeing continuing demand.” The original Nintendo Switch is a top choice because it pairs convenient portability with the option for traditional TV play, but the Nintendo Switch Lite, a cheaper option, is also great for kids who aren’t likely to hook up their system to their television and are usually playing on the go. And if you want to pair the console gift with a game, games from legacy franchises like Super Mario Bros., Sonic, and Zelda are among the most popular choices.
Byrne says practically every 11-year-old wants the newest Xbox console. According to Tom Warren, who wrote about Xbox Series X for our sister site the Verge when the console first launched, “Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox comes the closest I’ve ever witnessed to re-creating the superior PC experience of playing games.” While pricey, Warren explains why the system is worth every penny. “This is all inside a $499 box that’s quieter and far easier to use and maintain than the $3,000 gaming PC I built.”
Even if your 11-year-old doesn’t have experience in coding, this beginner-friendly robot ball makes the process fun and interesting. The app-enabled ball uses a drag-and-drop interface as well as premade codes for newcomers. To get started, you simply make a profile on the app and power on the ball. It can be coded to turn, spin, and roll in all different directions and even display a message on the mini LED screen. There is also a social community of Sphero enthusiasts within the app where other coders share their programs, struggles, and successes. Miles’s son loves STEM-based toys and has been playing and learning with the Sphero Bolt for three years. Every time he breaks it out, he’s able to one-up his last program.
If you’re shopping for someone who’s more musically inclined, 11-year-old Valencia — who started a band with her sister and friend that covers ’80s and ’90s female artists — told us she’s got her eye on this drum set because it comes in fun colors like emerald, desert dune, redwood, and aquamarine, “which happens to be my favorite.” If you do spring for the drum set, we (gently) suggest also throwing a pair of sanity-saving noise-canceling headphones into your cart.
Additional reporting by Lauren Ro and Dominique Pariso
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