We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. A Gravity Maze game to challenge kids to use spatial reasoning to solve the puzzles and figure out how to construct pathways to get the marble to drop to the final cube.
The game comes with 60 challenges that range from beginner to expert so it will hold their interest as they work their way up to the trickier ones.
Promising review: "Got this as a gift for my nephew and he loves it!!!!! He is 10 and loves brain games." —Caitlin Arvanites
Get it from Amazon for $29.88.
2. A Melissa & Doug loom perfect for that old soul in a young body to weave blankets, scarves or purses. *Oprah voice* You get a scarf, you get a scarf, you get a scarf!
The loom comes with an oversized wooden needle, craft materials, an illustrated design booklet, and 91 yards of rainbow yarn. Recommended for ages 6+.
Promising review: "It must have been a weaver who designed this little loom. Like every Melissa & Doug toy the quality is excellent. I purchased this to have a hands on for weaving with third and fourth graders and you really can't beat this. The instructions are well done, building it was simple and it will stand up to steady use. Plus it came with everything - no need to get anything else. All in all one of the best purchases I've made." —Kindle Customer
Promising review: "My 10-year-old daughter loves this loom. She made lots of coasters and blankets for her dolls. I bought her thick yarn once she ran out of the yarn that came with it. She also made a purse. Very happy with the purchase." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $42.99.
3. A Crayola light-up tracing pad to *illuminate* the imagination of the young Picassos in your life and get them excited to create mini masterpieces.
The tracing pad comes with the light-up board, 10 tracing sheets, 10 blank sheets, a graphite pencil, and 12 short colored pencils. (The set includes detailed pictures to trace, but there are more templates online that can be downloaded for free.)
Promising review: "I bought two of these for my grandsons, one who just turned 10 years old and the other who was nine years old and both were completely excited to receive! They love, love, love the light-up tracing pad and coloring with grandma! A big Christmas gift surprise!!" —Linda V.
Get it from Amazon for $26.99.
4. An affordable drone because most kids have been probably begging for one for months. This will *propel* you to instant fave status.
Promising review: "Great for a 10-year-old. My 10-year-old son really wanted a drone, but he's prone to damaging and losing things so we didn't want to get him something really expensive. This is a great option for a kid his age whose just learning. It flys really fast and is actually pretty sensitive to the remote control. The colored lights are great because you can see it easily and it makes it exciting since there's not attached camera. Overall, a great beginner drone." —AR
Get it from Amazon for $39.98+ (clip the coupon on the product page to save 5%; available in two styles).
5. A shark bath bomb for any kid on your list who is into recreating the bloody shark attack from Jaws in their tub. Should you be worried? Probably. Will you wish you had bought one for yourself? Absolutely.
Soft Skin Bubbly Sins is a small biz based in Collins, Georgia.
Promising review: "I can’t wait to see the face my lil' brother makes when I give this to him!!! It looks so cool and I’m in love with the Fruit Loop scent. Plus, they sent another one as a gift, so he will have two just like I got his sister. 😭💕 I’m hoping he finds this bath bomb as cool as I do so I have an excuse to buy more of them because if he won’t use them, I will. 100% recommend them to anyone with little kids or just a fun personality!!!" —Patricia
Get it from Soft Skin Bubbly Sins on Etsy for $6 (available in 59 scents).
6. A super colorful pogo ball if you've got kids who are always bouncing around the house and need to focus that up-and-down energy (preferably) somewhere else. It's like a pogo stick without the stick!
7. A mini Kodak instant photo printer so budding photographers can instantly print their fave photos to hang on their bedroom wall or mail them off to grandma.
Promising review: "10-year-old's favorite gift! My daughter received this for Christmas. She was able to set it up and do everything on her own with no help from an adult. She started printing pictures right away. She loves it." —Charity
Get it from Amazon for $109.99+ (available in three colors and with 8 sheets or 68 sheets).
8. A National Geographic geodes kit to blow any junior geologist's mind and give them an excuse to smash rocks with a hammer.
This science kit includes 10 natural crystal-filled geodes, one pair of safety goggles, three display stands, and one learning guide.
Promising review: "My daughter is 10 and this kept her busy for HOURS! She had so much fun and was excited every time she got a glimpse of what might be inside. A couple of them were pretty cool, while the rest were just white. She didn't care, she loves them all. She was so proud to gift them to her grandparents." —Michelle
Get it from Amazon for $19.48+ (available in three sizes).
9. A Kids Against Maturity card game with 600 question and answer cards filled with "age-appropriate toilet humor and funny innuendos" the whole family can enjoy. The player who gives the funniest answer to the fill-in-the-blank questions is the winner. But, really, there are no losers here either.
10. A pair of waterproof wireless earbuds with 150,000+ 5-star reviews (!!!) that are a total AirPod alternative at a fraction of the cost. Now, you don't have to listen to Taylor Swift's Shake it Off on repeat all day long.
Promising review: "My 10-year-old purchased these for himself because they were a quality and affordable option. Comes with different size silicone ear pieces, so he could find one that fit well. Sound quality is good and controls are easy to use. Also, really love that these are waterproof and that we can easily clean them and the case. His only complaint is that if he has to adjust it in his ear, he sometimes hits a control and changes a song or turns up the volume, but that’s easy to deal with. These are a good quality ear bud option and great for older child through adult." —Dennis
Promising review: "I purchased for my 10-year-old son and he loves them. Why buy AirPods when you can save a ton of money and get equal or better quality. I can’t speak on longevity yet but solid built with warranty so believe they will hold up. Fantastic!" —Anthony S.
Get it from Amazon for $26.99 (clip the coupon on the product page to save $6; available in five colors).
11. A 3D skyline puzzle because an interest in international architecture has to start somewhere. Let that somewhere be right at home with these scale models featuring the most iconic locales of their respective cities. Best part? These can take up to three hours to put together!
12. Phase 10, a Rummy-style game where players compete different types of card sets. Plus there are "wild" and "skip" cards to keep things extra interesting! The tin case also makes it a great game for taking on the go!
Recommended for 2–6 players, ages 7+.
Promising review: "I played Phase 10 all the time with my mom growing up. With us spending more and more time at home because of the pandemic we have started playing a lot more board/card games. This was a lot of fun to introduce to my kiddos. My 9 year old caught on quickly and the best part is I liked how it came in a tin which makes it nice to store." —Amazon Customer
Promising review: "We LOVE Phase 10!!! It has taken some time for my 12 year old to understand how to strategize but now he has the hang of it. My 12 & 16 year old ask to play every night after dinner. We also take it on vacation, restaurants, doctors appointment… EVERYWHERE." —Samantha
Get it from Amazon for $10.99.
13. A pack of hair chalk pens perfect for little ladies and dudes who are *dyeing* to experiment with colors without going permanent. Reviewers say these are not only easy to apply, but also wash out easily.
Promising review: "My girls absolutely loved this easy to use hair chalk! The directions were super easy to follow and my 10-year-old and 8-year-old were able to do this kit all by themselves! The colors were vibrant and fun. It worked great in my daughter’s dark blonde hair and my other daighter’s Medium brown hair. The chalk did not drip or stain anything or make any kind of a mess which made me super happy!!! It washed out perfectly in the shower and again did not cause any staining or mess! I absolutely recommend this fun and adorable hair chalk set!" —Jen
Get a pack of 10 from Amazon for $11.90.
14. A Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza card game because it'll have your 10-year-old (and the rest of the fam) in tears from *belly laughing* so hard.
Pass out all the cards to the players and keep all the stacks face down. Everyone takes a turn putting a card down in the middle, while saying "taco," "cat," "goat," "cheese," and "pizza," in that order. If the picture on your card matches the word that's said, everyone races against each other to slap their hand on the central pile of cards. Whoever is last must take the pile of cards and add them to their stack, and the person who runs out of cards first wins!
Promising review: "My 10-year-old's favorite game! We took it with us on a weekend away at a cabin and it was a huge hit! My 10-year-old and I literally laughed until we cried! Great family fun and good innocent fun, too, when friends come over! Her almost-12-year-old bff got just as big of a kick out of it as she did when she came over and played it with us. Highly recommend for laughs and fun and family time!" —designermomoftwo
Get it from Amazon for $9.84.