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By the time kids turn 7 years old, they are much more capable of remembering complicated concepts like the rules of a board game or a team sport. “Where a 5-year-old child can hit a T-ball, a 7-year-old can begin to apply and recall the rules of baseball, the various positions involved in the game, and the social skills necessary to play on a team,” explains Deb Vilas, director of the Child Life program at Bank Street Graduate School of Education. Kids this age are more coordinated, able to focus for longer periods of time, and beginning to develop hobbies. So when buying them a gift, your best bet is to find out what they are passionate about, whether it’s learning how to draw their favorite animal, reading graphic novels, telling each other’s fortunes, or biking around the neighborhood with their friends.
To find the best toys for the 7-year-olds in your life, we asked for advice from Vilas and other experts, including professional nannies, cool parents, and toy-trend forecasters. Then, we took their suggestions and grouped them by price. If you have a specific budget in mind, you can use the table of contents to jump right to that section. Otherwise, read all the way through to discover all the toys and games we heard about.
Meanwhile, if you’re also shopping for kids in other age groups, we have gift guides for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 11-year-olds, and 12-year-olds — plus the meticulously curated Strategist Toy Store, filled with all our greatest hits.
Update on October 24, 2024: Added a pair of beaded jump ropes, Furby Furblets, dual-tip markers, a Playmobil NHL arena, a remote-controlled LEGO freight-train set, and an American Girl doll and storage trunk; updated prices and checked stock for all products.
Under $25
In talking with other Strategist parents, it has come to my attention that the classic Magic 8 Ball is once again popular. Senior editors Jen Trolio and Winnie Yang both have daughters in this age group who asked for a Magic 8 Ball for Christmas last year; Strategist contributor Youngna Park says her two kids, a recently turned 8-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son, love theirs and play with it in very funny ways. “Sometimes in the middle of dinner, they’ll just get up and ask it a question, and it’s a bit of a window into what’s on their mind,” she says.
According to Milk Teeth co-founder Catherine Newell-Hanson, this is the age when kids get the hang of playground classics and like to practice them outside by themselves. She bought this set of two beaded jump ropes and gave one to her daughter as a stocking stuffer. The other one she’s keeping on hand to use as a last-minute gift add-on for friends.
“The children I’ve worked with over the years have always loved origami, especially once they’ve gotten a little bit older, like 7 or so, because it’s an age when they really start using their imagination in new ways,” says Kasia Dabrowska, a longtime Manhattan nanny. “There’s an instruction book to follow, but it’s not just about following instructions. They can just come up with their own animal shapes with these bright colors and patterns, then create pretend scenes with them.” This set by Creativity for Kids pairs with accompanying YouTube videos that walk kids through the many different designs they can fold in 3-D.
In second grade, many kids take a new interest in showing off their personal style, and one of the most enduring trends of the past few years is to accessorize their backpacks with cool key chains. The options are limitless, but when it comes to giving one as a gift, I suggest finding a Funko Pop! bobblehead key chain in the likeness of one of their favorite TV or movie characters, like this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles key chain.
Newell-Hanson says this set of dual-tipped markers from Ooly is one of her favorite under-$20 gifts for elementary-school kids. Each marker has a brush tip on one side and a cute stamp in the same color on the other.
I saw these adorable Furblets, the newest addition to the Furby family, at a recent showcase of new toys. They’re small enough to wear on a backpack and just as interactive as a full-size Furby. They sing, move their ears and eyes, and even harmonize with each other.
Park’s two kids each have one of these magnetic block puzzles that they like to fidget with in the car or while watching a movie. The toy comes with different ideas for shapes you can make, but her kids usually just turn it into different creations of their own.
Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves likes these chunky colored pencils for kids who love to draw because they are easy to use; come in beautiful, highly pigmented colors; and are sturdy and long-lasting. For 7-year-olds who already have plenty of classic rainbow colored pencils, Boyle suggests this set of skin-tone shades.
Park’s daughter is really into playing with various types of putty and slime. “I don’t quite understand the phenomenon, but she saves up her allowance for Crazy Aaron’s Putty,” Park says, adding that it’s kind of like a fidget toy and her daughter can play with it for hours. There are dozens of styles of Crazy Aaron’s, magnetic and scented among them, but this sparkly putty with floating cats, mushrooms, and fruit inside is especially fun.
Kids will be amazed that they can use this kit to sculpt real working erasers out of clay. Once they mold the clay into shapes, you simply pop them into the oven to harden. According to Roberta Golinkoff, a professor of child psychology at the University of Delaware, craft activities like this promote further development of fine motor skills and spatial awareness. And several of the parents we spoke to for this story appreciate that this type of kit provides an art project with minimal mess.
“Talk to them about math,” Golinkoff stresses, whether it’s at the supermarket or at home. A fun way to get that conversation going is with Mobi, a Bananagrams-like game that has kids create simple math equations on the fly and connect them in Scrabble-like grids. Fans of the game, including my niece, Lila, who started playing with it at age 7, say it doesn’t feel like learning because “it’s just fun.” Also, who doesn’t love a whale-shaped carrying pouch?
“Kids this age are geniuses at improvisation,” says Rumaan Alam, a novelist and father of two. “A pad of Post-its is a flip book; it’s a storybook; it’s a wall mosaic that won’t cost your security deposit; it’s two-dozen very small paper airplanes. It doesn’t sound like much of a gift, but trust me: Kids love office supplies.”
Along those same lines, Abby Kerlin, program director of general education at the Bank Street Graduate School of Education, says that, often, the best thing you can give an imaginative 7-year-old isn’t actually a toy. “When your kid is pretending to wait tables and asking, ‘Do you want oat milk in your latte?,’ they’re revealing how carefully they have been observing the world around them,” she says, adding that what they need in that moment is a parent who is open to playing along or offering a pad of paper so they can write down the order. This five-pack of restaurant guest checks serves the same purpose while adding authenticity to their pretend play.
According to toy expert Chris Byrne, the mini sizes of the ever-popular Squishmallows brand of stuffies are particularly well suited to elementary-school kids who love to compare their collections and trade with friends. This set comes with four characters — a Bigfoot, chameleon, parrot, and an axolotl — and a display case that can stand on a desk or be hung on a wall.
“We got some Plus Plus as a gift years ago and have since given it to so many of our friends,” says Alam of this building toy where every recycled-plastic piece has the exact same shape, but the construction possibilities are endless. The set pictured here has 70 pieces that let you build a pretty realistic bumble bee. Alam says it’s also a good thing to take with you when you dine out: “It’s so fun to work with; it keeps kids busy and (crucially) quiet.”
With this kit, kids dig into a molded block of clay and use chisels, brushes, and a magnifying glass to uncover highly realistic fossils, including dinosaur bones, shark teeth, and sea urchins. “It makes kids feel like real scientists,” says Elizabeth S., a nanny for the New York–based SmartSitting agency. They can also classify the fossils using the accompanying learning booklet. “I gave this gift to a 7-year-old, and he and his 9-year-old sister were digging for the better part of a rainy day inside. Next time I saw them, they couldn’t wait to show me what they’d uncovered.”
Under $50
If your kid won’t stop talking about Pokémon and you don’t want to give them more cards, this LEGO-like building toy comes recommended by Roberson Keffer, a toy-trend expert and VP of home at Macy’s. It combines the fun and creativity of construction toys, the allure of collectible toys, and the fan-favorite Pokémon franchise all in one package.
Snap Circuits’ color-coded, easy-to-assemble components can be combined to form working circuit boards like the ones inside a television or a radio (there’s even a music-integrated circuit and a speaker). “Of all the Manhattan families I know with kids between ages 7 and 10, most of them have at some point received Snap Circuits as a gift,” says Ruka Curate, founder of the Tiny Treasures Nanny Agency. Personally, she has gifted it multiple times over the years, because she has seen how engaging it is, all while encouraging STEM and STEAM learning.
Park told me that her kids are big fans of Jellycat’s whimsical stuffed animals and, in particular, they love the brand’s Amuseables line that includes a pretzel, egg, avocado, and hot dog. Ever since I saw its stuffed-animal bags, which come in all kinds of shapes, not just animals, from a croissant to a boiled egg, I’ve been obsessed. They are the exact type of toy — cute, tween-adjacent, and funny — that I would have loved at this age. And because the bags double as an accessory, they’re a great gift for children who have way too many stuffies but are still asking for more.
This comic-book-making kit guides budding illustrators and writers through each step of the process. Lori Caplan-Colon, a speech and language pathologist at Montclair Speech Therapy, says it makes a great gift because “it doesn’t leave the child alone to possibly get frustrated.” Kids end up with their very own printed comic and a little more of “the discipline all creative endeavors need to be fruitful,” she says.
Caitlin Meister, founder of the Greer Meister Group, a private-tutoring and educational-consulting practice in Brooklyn, likes playing this game with her own kids because it’s different each time. The pieces are magnetic and attach through the board to metal ball bearings underneath. Before you start playing, one person sets up the secret labyrinth and a set of little walls underneath the board. “If you hit a wall, your ball-bearing drops off the bottom of your piece. There’s this very cool sensory component to try to find your way through the maze,” Meister says.
For kids who are getting into hobbies and sports, Golinkoff recommends supplies and equipment that nurture those interests. If you know a 7-year-old who loves to kick a ball around, this set of soccer goals and practice cones doesn’t involve any annoying assembly: The nets pop right out of their carrying case (and then fold back in with a simple twist).
No one can deny the joy of jumping up and down — especially if it’s on a super-bouncy pogo stick, like this one that Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, an assistant research professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research, recommends. “The pogo stick is a great balancing toy that will definitely require a bit of practice,” she says. But that’s a good thing: “I think toys that are just slightly above ability levels are great as they encourage persistence and also avoid becoming boring too quickly.” This model, which comes in a bunch of colors including blue, red, and yellow, features non-slip pedals and a safety foam handle. As with any other playthings they could potentially fall off of, it’s recommended that children wear a helmet and other protective gear when using pogo sticks.
Under $100
This futuristic-looking marble run “gives kids a hands-on introduction to gravity, magnetism, and kinetic energy,” says Taylor Chesney, director of the Feeling Good Institute. Kids can either follow the instructions or get creative and dream up a layout all their own, and the modular design means they can assemble the tracks in various ways, allowing for curves, free falls, even cannon blasts — all of which provide “a great way to practice trial and error and problem-solving skills,” Chesney explains. The box says it’s meant for children 8 years old and up, but I’ve heard from multiple experts and parents that 7-year-olds who are obsessed with building toys would benefit from the challenge.
“It’s never too early to start teaching good fiscal policy,” says Zibby Owens, author, mom of four, and host of Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. This battery-operated ATM-meets-piggy-bank helps kids learn how to budget and save money; they use their pretend debit card and pin code to deposit bills or coins in the designated slots and can look to the digital screen to see their savings accumulate (or dwindle as they make withdrawals). It can be serious business, adds Owens: “My son started charging me to enter our pantry!”
Playmobil sets are a tried-and-true toy that you’ll often see kids play with more than anything else, says retired kindergarten teacher Annamarie Mazzella. This NHL hockey-arena set comes with four figures, each with a movable arm and hockey stick that you pull back to shoot the puck down the rink. Plus each goal has a joystick to control the goalie, letting them swivel to make a save.
$100 and up
LEGOs of any variety are typically a hit with this age group. There’s something for every kind of kid, whether you choose a classic open-ended set to let them “free build” or a themed set that speaks to specific interests — from a race plane to a unicorn to Harry Potter desk accessories to this remote-controlled freight-train set. While it’s definitely a splurge, the 1,153-piece set comes with a locomotive, flatcar, open wagon, auto carrier, toy charging station, two cargo containers, 33 track pieces, and six Minifigures.
We named this REI two-wheeler the best overall in our story on kids’ bikes thanks to the recommendations of Natalie Martins, owner of the review site Two Wheeling Tots, and Kristen Bonkoski, founder of the kids’-bike website Rascal Rides. Both of them praised its affordable price, light aluminum frame, and the company’s stellar return policy.
For 7-year-olds who are into dolls, American Girl remains the gold standard. And for extra-stylish kids who especially love doll fashion, this “historical” ’90s Seattle girl, Nicki Hoffman, is an excellent option. Nicki is one-half of a set of twins — the grunge half — and will feel very familiar to millennial moms. She comes with a baseball cap (worn backward), a ribbon choker, a messenger bag, and a flannel shirt.
If you’re really looking to splurge on your American Girl gift, doll obsessives and their parents will both be delighted by this handy and very chic storage trunk.
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