We Found the Gifts That Will Absolutely Make a 9-Year-Old’s Day, Month, and Year (2024)

KiwiCo Build & Play Chess Set

Kids get two activities in one with this STEM DIY kit. Once they build their own chess board, they can enjoy playing the game. Putting together the two-story chess set helps kids explore problem-solving, logic, and mechanical motion. For those just learning how to play chess, each piece is etched with each move that the particular component can do.

Below the board, your kiddo will build geared spin-out storage that holds all the elements when not in use. Chess newbies will also appreciate the included Read, Set, Chess book with detailed gameplay instructions.

Skillmatics World Map Puzzle

More than just a puzzle, this gift is a fun and engaging way to sneak in some geography lessons. Nine-year-olds will love putting together the 96-piece world map puzzle. It’s challenging enough that they can likely do it alone or with a bit of help. Once assembled, pair the puzzle with the 100 country cards that share fun facts, country capitals, and much more.

Beast Lab Shark Beast Creator

Kids will have a blast becoming mad scientists as they “create” their own beasts. Using the included ingredients and step-by-step instructions, children will be wowed when their beast creator exudes mist and has flashing lights and engaging sounds that yield their beast figure. Though this is initially an unboxing experience, they can repeat the flashy reveal over and over.

The toy does require batteries, and while it’s still fun to play with once the ingredients are done, refill kits are available (for an additional cost) if you want to replicate the fun in the lab.

Razor RipStik Ripster

For kids who’ve mastered their bike, the Razor Ripstik is similar to a skateboard, but it allows you to carve, shred, and move in ways a skateboard doesn’t allow. It’s a physical challenge that can even prepare riders for surfing or snowboarding while on land. A slip-resistant base and 360-degree caster wheels provide new, fun, and innovative movement.

Nintendo Super Mario Bros. Wonder

While some may consider video games to be an isolating activity for kids, a game like the new Super Mario Brothers Wonder can turn into something quite social for a 9-year-old. Though in many ways, it’s much like the side-scrolling Mario games of our youth, this edition allows for up to four players to play together on one Nintendo Switch—or if the grown-ups in the room can figure out how to configure online play, they can connect to friends from afar as well.

GlowCity LED Soccer Ball

GOAL! Active soccer fans will have so much fun with this glow-in-the-dark soccer ball, day and night. It arrives with two pre-installed batteries that light up the LED lights. Simply inflate the ball and play! The soccer ball will light up when kicked or bounced, and the lights will turn off when unused. Fun for evening play in a park, yard, beach, or anywhere else young players want to keep the game going after dark.

Marbles Otrio Strategy-Based Board Game

Parents on our research panel praised this game and loved that it “makes you think outside the box, uses problem-solving skills,” and said it’s fun for both parents and children. The fast-moving game can be played with two to four people, and gameplay only takes 10 minutes.

Based on tic-tac-toe, the game challenges players to line up three pieces of the same color in similar sizes. The pieces either need to be in ascending or descending order or within the same space. This unique game is engaging, challenging, quick to learn, and easy to play.

Yoto Player (3rd Generation)

With a night-light, clock, room thermometer, speaker, and engaging audio player, this gadget does it all. Its main attraction is that it provides kids with a nice break from screens and from reading on their own—without their parents’ help! Simply insert the audio cards and listen to a story. Not just for little kids, Yoto offers audio cards for many 9-year-old favorites, including the Wings of Fire series, classics like Charlotte’s Web, Roald Dahl’s collection, Kidz Bop party playlists, and so much more—audio cards are sold separately. It also works as a Bluetooth speaker if you want to stream other content and music from a computer or phone.

(Editor's Note: The Consumer Product Safety Commissionrecalled the Yoto Mini Speakeron April 11, 2024, but no recall has been issued for the standard Yoto Player.)

Herschel Charlie Cardholder Wallet

Teach financial responsibility and organization by giving your 9-year-old a wallet. Available in five sizes, this small wallet has multiple card slots and a slim pocket for cash. While there’s no place for change, this pocket-sized wallet is easy to tote around. Make it an even better gift by placing a gift card to a favorite local store in one of the card slots.

Mattel Games UNO Splash Card Game

Bring the fun of UNO wherever you go with this set of plastic waterproof UNO cards. The durable version includes a handy clip to hold all the cards and clip them to a beach bag or backpack. Since they’re plastic, the cards won’t get bent, ripped, or dirty. UNO is a fast-paced family game that’s easy to play with two players or a crowd of up to 10 people.

Becco Belt Bags

This customizable, kid-size belt bag allows your 9-year-old to store all their items while staying chic and trendy. Stylish on its own, Becco Bags are made with unique hook and loop fabric (what we commonly call Velcro) to which kids can add patches (sold separately) to customize the bag with rainbows, letters, hearts, lightning bolts, and more.

Pip Pop Post The Love Set

Newly pierced ears may be a significant milestone for some 9-year-olds. Keep their earlobes safe and stylish with these sweet earring sets. Made of hypoallergenic 18k gold and surgical steel, the earrings are crafted with a thinner, shorter post and a secure and comfortable flat screw-back.

The set includes three love-inspired pairs of earrings, but many other styles are available if hearts aren’t their thing.

Elmer’s Fluffy Slime Kit

This fluffy slime kit removes the guesswork from slime creation and eliminates the need to use household items in your slime lab. The affordable set includes two bottles of slime activator, one glitter glue, and one translucent-colored glue, which is enough to make two batches of fluffy slime. Along with the washable, safe, and non-toxic ingredients, the set has a kid-friendly, visual instruction sheet, so kiddos will feel confident creating the slime alone or with minimal adult supervision.

Lego Speed Champions Mercedes

Rated for kids 9 and up, this 560-plus piece LEGO set will create two fantastic cars: one Mercedes performance car and one Mercedes race car. We love that the wheels, steering, and other parts of the car function so that kids aren’t just building something for display; they can race these cars, too. Along with the cars are two minifigures, helmets, and car tools.

Gionlion 6,000-Piece Clay Beads

Get crafty with this 6,000-piece set that includes everything kids want or need to create earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and more. The collection contains clasps, jump rings, shells, hearts, emoji beads, elastic strings, scissors, flat polymer clay beads, and more.

One parent in our survey praised this gift's open-ended creativity and shared that their kiddo “loves to wear the things she makes and loves when other people wear them as well.” There are thousands of tiny pieces, so if young siblings are in the house, you may reconsider this gift.

Primary The Zip Hoodie

Available in 18 colors, this highly rated cotton spandex blend hoodie is a versatile addition to any kid’s closet. They’ll love having a comfy wardrobe staple in a favorite color (sunshine yellow, tangerine orange, grass green, and more), and you’ll love that these soft, gender-neutral, pre-shrunk sweatshirts are high-quality, long-lasting, and ultra-comfortable. Primary’s sizing runs from 2 to 14 years old, so you can also consider making this a family-matching moment.

Raddish Kids Global Eats Club Membership

Cooking with kids has many benefits as a STEM and cultural activity. Make that a monthly tradition with the Raddish Kids Global Eats Club. Decide between a single kit or a monthly subscription to delicious meals like Ticket to Tokyo and Made in Morocco. The kit includes three illustrated step-by-step kid-friendly recipe guides, a kid-appropriate kitchen tool, an apron and badge, a grocery list, a skills lesson, access to the app, and much more.

We love that this set is so kid-friendly, and while the ingredients aren’t actually included, it means kids can cook them on their own time without worrying about anything going bad.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Complete Collection Set

Introduce a young reader to the beloved middle-grade illustrated Jeff Kinney book series that our editors literally have to tear out of their kids’ hands sometimes. The 12-book set may just get them hooked on reading. The first book is so silly and engaging, they’ll tear through the next 11 in no time and will probably be asking for more.

Mimish Sleep 'N' Pack Big Kids Sleeping Bag

As 9-year-olds become more independent, they may be leaving home more for sleepovers, camp, and weekends at Grandma’s house. This sleeping bag and backpack combo is the perfect addition to any overnight. The sleeping bag packs into the backpack, but there’s still plenty of room for overnight essentials.

Carrying the bag is easy too. Lightweight, cozy, and made with water-repellent materials, this is a fun gift for any kiddo.

Ooly Rainbow Sparkle Watercolor Gel Crayons

Celebrate creativity with these innovative sparkly watercolor crayons. The 12-pack features a vibrant array of colors. Use them on paper and draw like regular crayons. Then to add a sophisticated touch, kids can paint over, outline, or enhance the drawing with a wet paintbrush to turn them into watercolor paints.

Safe, affordable, and non-toxic, these crayons can also work on glass or a whiteboard and easily wipe off either surface.

Go! Games Snoozimals Corgi Oliver

Calling all corgi fans! This adorable 20-inch plush makes a great snuggle buddy for reading, movie nights, sleeping, or when they just need a cuddle. If a corgi isn’t their favorite animal, the company makes many other soft plushie friends, including a sloth, turtle, and an axolotl.

Spin Master Games Hedbanz Lightspeed Game

A favorite guessing game gets an upgrade with this fast-moving version for two to six players. One player wears a headband with a card and has to guess what’s on it based on clues from their teammates. In this updated version, the headband lights up, and each color dictates the action: Blue is to give clues, orange asks questions, and green is to act it out. No matter what color, the goal is to guess the secret word. It requires two AAA batteries, which are not included.

Claire’s Pink Drip 48-Piece Makeup Set

Wow a young beauty lover with this robust 48-piece makeup set that includes eyeshadow, blushes, lip glosses, a built-in mirror, and makeup brushes. The whole set folds into itself for neat and compact storage. While makeup can be a fun way for elementary-aged kids to explore self-expression, it’s also important to couple it with a discussion about when and where makeup is appropriate and the fact that no one should need it to feel good about themselves.

LEGO Creator 3 in 1 Exotic Parrot to Frog to Fish

“Durable," "affordable," "creative," and "easy to play with” are some of the adjectives our parent survey respondents used to describe this beautiful Lego parrot kit. Appropriate for kids 7 and up, this 250-plus piece set has everything kids need to make three exotic animals: a posing parrot, a swimming fish, or a leaping frog. Builders will have fun creating all three animals repeatedly or leaving one in a spot of honor in their room.

FujiFilm Instax Mini 11 With Custom Case and Film Value Pack

Pricey but fun, this set includes everything kids need to document the world around them. Kids will love the instant gratification of this film camera. Simply point and shoot, and a Polaroid-style photo will come out of the camera in just a few seconds. The camera is well-sized for younger hands and has a helpful neck strap.

The film can be expensive, which is why we love that this pack has five multipacks of film, enough for 50 photos. The set also includes the necessary batteries, a case, and a sweet mini-photo album.

Sunnies Shades Kids Sunglasses

Active kids and their parents will love these polarized sunglasses that are stylish and protective. They come in eight vibrant color patterns. Durable and made to fit kids up to 12 years old, the anti-slip frames will stay on your kiddo’s face. We also love that these glasses provide 100% UVA/UVB protection, a two-year warranty, and a one-time replacement guarantee.

World of Flowers: A Coloring Book and Floral Adventure

Parents on our panel appreciate that this beautiful coloring book provides a screen-free activity when kids need to unwind. Its 80 pages all have chic line drawings of flowers just waiting to be colored. If flowers aren’t the 9-year-old’s top choice, the same artist has jungle, Christmas, ocean, and many more themed books.

MEL Science Kit Physics Kits

Introduce a fun, interactive, and age-appropriate love of physics with a subscription to these hands-on educational kits. Each kit has a project to build that focuses on one scientific concept, and it comes with a paper manual and digital instructions via an app. Some kits even use virtual reality (and come with a VR headset for a phone) to enhance the lesson in a way that really excites kids.

Hanna Andersson Pokémon Long John Pajama Set

Cozy up with everyone's favorite Pokémon! The adorable Pikachu and red and white Poke-balls are printed on these super soft cotton pajamas. The long-sleeved shirt and pants set have flat scratch-free seams–perfect for sensory-sensitive kids. Available in sizes from 2T to 14/16, there’s a size to fit any Pokémon fan.

Original Stationery Mermaid Slime Kit

Kids will go ga-ga for a super slime mermaid-themed kit with slime ingredients, 20 slime add-ins, and mermaid-shaped air-tight containers to hold their creations. Parents in our survey said their kids loved this gift and shared that it inspired creativity. It comes with ingredients and instructions to make a few types of slime, including glow-in-the-dark, crunchy, and more!

Creativity for Kids Squeegeez Magic Reveal

These kits are a highly satisfying and still easy way to play with color. Kids simply dot the paint in whatever pattern they want, then use the squeegee to swirl, zig-zag, or move the paint across the page, spreading the colors and revealing the pre-made design. Affordable and fun, these kits come in a few themes, including mermaids, outer space, dragons, butterflies, and more. Most 9-year-olds should have no trouble using this art kid on their own.

The Best Gifts for 10-Year-Olds to Keep Them Playing, Creating, and Feeling Confident