The Wishlist: 15 Best Gifts for the Big Kid

As we gather with friends and family over the holidays, there’s something about the season that can take you back to simpler times. A time when you could spend the day at a park, or tinkering with something without a care in the world. Since this season is marked by gift-giving (and receiving), it’s the perfect time for kids at heart to have some fun, and we’re here to help with our guide to the best gifts for the big kid.

Powerup Balsa Wood Flying Kit

Don’t be fooled; this may look and feel like an old-school balsa wood plane, but it has a 4.0 twin-motor Bluetooth module with a range of 240 feet, two high-speed motors, onboard flight computer, autopilot and a gyro accelerometer, and gets up to 20mph.

Nerf Pro Gelfire Legion Spring Action Blaster

A fun NERF pistol with gel ammo that comes in a duo pack that’s great for having multiple for your friends.

Bug-A-Salt Realtree 3.0

This is both a fun gift and something useful, allowing you to blast bugs with a salt gun (and it’s surprisingly effective, especially for flies). And the 3.0 has been updated with a trigger that’s easier to use.

SKLZ ACCELERATOR PRO

Keep your short game sharp with this mini putting green that’s perfect for the office or the home, with an automatic ball return system and alignment guides.

Instax mini 12

This fun instant film camera from Instax is great for beginners and camera buffs, with easy-to-use controls and the ability to produce photos in 5 seconds.

MMX Vancouver Marshmallow Crossbow

MMW Vancouver’s wooden crossbow shoots mallows in a straight line up to 60 ft, and it’s handcrafted in Vancouver with wood and metal.

Atari Gamestation Pro

Capture some classic gaming nostalgia with this Atari Gamestation boasting officially licensed, fully playable titles.

Corkcicle Star Wars Droids Stemless Set

These sleek yet playful cups are perfect for any Star Wars fan, with three versions nodding to R2D2, C3P0, and BB-8. They’re triple-insulated and made with stainless steel, so the hots will stay hot and the colds will stay cold.

LEGO Ideas Seinfeld

LEGO’s IDEAS lineup has some fun builds inspired by bits of pop culture, and this is a pretty faithful recreation of Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment, complete with little trinkets that call back to iconic episodes (like the coffee table book).

Rotate Watches Build Your Own Seiko NH36 Movement Kit

Made here in the States, this is a build-your-own Seiko NH36 mechanical automatic movement kit that’s easy to assemble and sure to unlock your inner horologist. 

Analogue Pocket

An impressive, dedicated handheld for old-school GameBoy games from Analogue that can play thousands of old-school Game Boy games (without emulating – the way they were meant to be played).

Nintendo Switch OLED

The Switch is still one of the best handhelds (maybe ever), and it’s been recently updated with a 7-inch OLED screen (and a pair of sleek white Joy-Cons).

Meta Quest 3

The latest Meta Quest VR headset offers cutting-edge mixed and alternate reality apps and games. It comes with 512 GB of storage and a 4K+ Infinite Display for an immersive experience.

Playseat Trophy Logitech G Edition Sim Racing Cockpit

This sim racing cockpit is a collab between Logitech and Playseat and will take your racing setup to the next level.

Amalgam Porsche 917 KH ‘71 Le Mans Martini Livery

Amalgam is in a league of its own when it comes to faithful model cars, and this pick here is based on the Porsche 917 KH Martini livery from the 1971 Le Mans (driven by Gijs van Lennep and Helmut Marko).

Segway Ninebot Electric GoKart Pro

Segway comes through with a fun little GoKart featuring a 4,800W motor, 23 miles of range, and reaching up to 15.5MPH. You can adjust the frame length and wheel height, too, so the especially big kids (up to 6’3″) can still ride.