Good Birthday Gifts for an Eleven Year Old
If you’re trying to figure out some good birthday gifts for an eleven year old, I’m here to help! These ideas are mom & kid tried and tested… and if you want more ideas, check out my best gifts for a ten year old boy too. This post contains affiliate links and gifted product.
If you’re looking for good birthday gifts for an eleven year old, you might be hitting a bit of a block with ideas. They have had many years of play, and the most flashy thing in the store no longer necessarily works….
I’m here to help!
I put together this list of options in a few categories so that you can figure it out more easily.
What makes Good Birthday Gifts for an Eleven Year Old?
There are a few winning strategies for nailing that 11 year old (or any tween age) gift.
My favorite is to first figure out what their interests are. This works for any age, but at eleven, kids are starting to evolve in a serious way, gaining new identities, and if you’re aware of it, they’ll feel that pride in being acknowledged.
Since kids can do more at this age, you can start leaning into not kid-specific items, especially when it comes to hobbies like music and art.
They are also more tuned into real life, making non-toy gifts a more appealing gift. Apparel or accessories from favorite designers, gear for their bedroom and personal space, and more real-life items and gadgets make their way into their lives.
And finally, while with younger kids we tend to explore more of the toy aisle, with older kids I find myself in the game aisle. I mean, think about it: games ARE the toys that grown-ups play with! We also look more at books, music, and of course, gadgets.
18+ Good Birthday Gifts for an Eleven Year Old
Non-toy gifts
Just like with younger kids, at this age, I start once again looking at non-toy gifts in addition to toys. While you probably don’t want to get them things like socks just yet for their birthday (although usually if it’s specialty socks, it can work as a holiday gift among others), there are many exciting gifts that aren’t just toys.
SAKURA Gelly Roll Gift Set
At 11 is when M started taking notes in class and appreciating different writing tools that much more. Gelly Roll is my go-to brand for grown-up quality coloring. This set includes 74 pens from five different color sets – including glitters and metallics, and the really cool gold and silver shadow lines that write in gold/silver with a colored outline.
They are great for the aspiring artist or illustrator, the colorful note-taker, or anyone who enjoys a good pen!
Sakura Gelly Roll Retractable Gift Set
For more of a school-focused set, you can also try the new retractable gelly roll pens. This set features a good collection of 24 pens, with a case too. They appear to have caps and look similar to the original Gelly Roll but the cap is fixed in place and it’s a clicky pen!
This is also great for coloring and art-making, of course.
Scentco Smillows Scented Pillows
At eleven, kids are starting to really feel like their bedroom is their safe space, with the bed being the center of it.
M loves specialty pillows, and Smillows take these to the next level by making scented pillows. They have so many cute designs – such as this friendly strawberry.
It’s the perfect tween bedroom gift for when you’re looking for something non-toy and functional.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Book 1)
I confess: I’ve never read Harry Potter. Whaaatt?! Okay, I started and put it down.
We picked up the first book for M a while ago, bust he just recently started to get really into it. So if you’re looking for a good, classic book for this age range, Harry Potter is a win.
Slime!! If you dare – Themed Kits or DIY
Okay, does this count as a toy – or not really? I’m counting it more as a craft and popping it in here. Regardless, we were always a no-slime home, but now that my kids are getting older, I’m caving (but with guidelines) and so far have no regrets.
These super fun slimes come both in DIY (assemble your own) sets and in food themed sets (our favorite is the pizza slime). My main advice is to set the rules. Ours are that it gets done at a clean table or counter, and may not be put on anything (don’t ask…)
Gadgets & Gizmos
I don’t know if there’s anything that M likes more than a new gadget. But it doesn’t all have to be fully receptive. While sometimes video game type products make good gifts for 11 year olds, you can mix it up with more creative gadgets & gizmos too. I hope you love these ideas as much as we do!
Canal Toys Photo Creator Instant Print Camera
If you’re not quite ready to give your eleven year old their own device (spoiler: we’re not giving him one until he graduates middle school!) a camera is a big win. They are ready to start making their own memories and the Canal Toys Photo Creator Instant Print Camera is a fabulous choice.
First of all, it is designed with a tween vibe, and doesn’t look overly cartoonish. It also features a built-in thermal printer, allowing kids to print it to scrapbook right away. And it has a selfie camera too – a must for your tween!
Kids can use different filters on the photos, giving them loads of fun along with allowing them to build their budding photography skills.
You can, of course, print the photos externally in full color as well (thermal printers are dirt cheap to run, but also are limited in quality) and it comes wtih stickers and markers for immediate crafting fun.
Thames & Kosmos Hero: Sounds Sensing Robot
If there is one thing that M will never tire of, it’s building Thames & Kosmos’ robot sets.
Hero is a robot that hears sounds and turns towards it. It lights up and crawls toward the source of the noise. There are four modes for different play methods. For example, in one mode, Hero heads the other way, and you need to get it to follow the direction of the included clacker. In another mode, it dances to noise it hears.
This set is a build-heavy set meaning, it’s not just typical toy assembly. It’s a building set. It’s important to know this – you’re purchasing it for the building value too. Kids actually install the motherboard into the robot’s body, assemble every little screw and limb from scratch. It’s a fabulous STEM experience. (I say this because I often see negative reviews on kits like this because of how much “assembly is required” – of course, that’s the point!!)
M was able to build it completely independently and loves watching it follow his sounds!
Meta Quest VR
If your kid is ready to upgrade their gameplay, the Meta Quest is epic! Kids find themselves in totally immersive experiences that go beyond just gaming, such as 3D field diagrams while watching MLB. You can see yourself in different settings. For M this was an epic pick.
And even with games – the experience is so unique. You literally feel like you’re in a different world, with every single direction around you the playing field. I had to try it myself to write this up, and I was floored.
Video Games
If your kid already has a device, why not refresh it with a new game? Here are some favorite picks:
For PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox S/S, Xbox One: Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: Stunt Mayhem
Perfect for monster truck and/or Hot Wheels fans, this is a monster truck spin on racing that’s perfect for your 11 year old! You’ve got beautiful arenas, incredible stunts, and endless hours of play.
For PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox S/S, Xbox One: Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports
Kids can play 4 different sports… all featuring their favorite Looney Tunes characters! This one made my boys laugh out loud with it’s fun animations.
For VR – SteamVR, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, Meta Quest 2: Mudrunner VR
As the VR version of the popular Mudrunner game, this one is quite impressive. Look around you – for real – to see the scenery surrounding you. The game play is slower than a racing game – you receive different missions and need to complete them using some pretty… vintage… vehicles. The terrain varies with mud, water, and more. It’s more about strategy than speed, including the cool experience of being behind the wheel – making it perfect for eleven year olds.
It’s so realistic, you need to remind yourself you’re not in a car.
Sports & Games
For athletic kids, sports or sports training equipment is a fabulous pick. For more sedentary kids, a game is a win! Both sports and games boost social skills – mostly – and the ones that don’t involve lots of brainwork. They feel like toys without being overly childish.
Halo Portable Floating Basketball Hoop
I’m always trying to get M to be more active, but with a smallish backyard, it can be challenging to balance the needs of the younger set (swings, climbing/riding toys) with the older set (sports and bikes).
Halo ball not only works in smaller spaces to set up a temporary 360 degree court, but it can be brought along to parks and other trips! The entire set fits into a backpack and takes minutes to hang up or take down. Hang it from the included slackline between two trees, use the ratchet to make it tight and to size. We don’t have trees, so we rigged it between our swing set and the bars on our windows and it worked fabulously!
It presents quite a challenge as it has no backboard (which is how you can play from any angle) and my boys have been using it to improve their shooting skills. They are slam-dunking nonstop!
It’s a good gift for an eleven year old who enjoys some active play – whether it’s real games with friends, casual shooting, or even just an alternate activity for family days at the park. And yes – it does grow with your kid. Since it can be installed at various heights, it can be used by adults too.
GiiKER Tic-Tac-Toe Bolt
It’s the perfect combination of IRL gaming and digital! GiiKER’s Tic Tac Toe Bolt has both a physical game play aspect and a digital – and both of them play off the classic Tic Tac Toe but add a spin.
The digital component has a few modes – regular Tic Tac Toe played against a computer OR a friend, but every few moves the first one disappears! That simple twist adds so much intrigue to the game play that it really held M’s attention. You also have a memory mode. Different spots light up in sequence and you need to repeat it. It works like a touchscreen, making it feel familiar and high end, perfect for the discerning 11 year old.
Open the top and you have a physical Tic Tac Toe board that takes seconds to assemble and fits right inside it! But this game play also has a spin. Larger pieces can overtake smaller pieces, and you can even move a piece.
We loved the mix of digital and physical, the familiarity but lack of boring-ness, and the sibling play on a digital game!
SmartGames Smart Dog
We love Smart Games’ single player challenge games and it amazes me how they keep switching them up! Smart Dog is one of the cutest ones I’ve seen. The goal is to get the dog to the trainer. Both of those present as small figures on a square piece. The rest of the pieces are various dog trick courses.
Start with a challenge in the form of positioning of some of the pieces. And figure out how to set up the challenge course so that the dog can get to the trainer – it has to make sense.
Levels get progressively harder. There is so much interest and inspiration within the game pieces themselves.
The How I Survived Game
If you’re looking for a family-type game, The How I Survived Game is perfect for get-togethers of four or more. It has the kind of silly and judge-style game play that Apples to Apples has (so it’s great for fans of that type of game) but it’s totally different. It produced endless laughs from us, making for valuable memories.
The judge flips over a survival scenario card, and players need to scramble to find what they need to survive within the pile of object tiles in the center. Players explain their survival techniques to the judge. The judge then assigns tokens based on how good the response is.
So if spiders are falling from the sky, who would win? The one with a slingshot, bandage, and tent or the one with an umbrella, disguise, and fire extinguisher?
The age range is 8+ on this but I can see it being played by slightly younger kids and working as a family-friendly game for grown-up get togethers too!
SmartGames IQ Gears
Back to Smart Games, we have one that is more compact and follows the more typical format of Smart Games challenges: IQ gears. The IQ games are travel-friendly, compact single player puzzle games that follow the same format: progressively more difficult initial setups, with the challenge to place the remaining pieces.
In IQ Gears there is an additional challenge: the gears need to work! The puzzle is solved when you can turn the gears on the side and the machine works.
M is a very STEM-y kid and the added component really appealed to that side of him. This set is perfect as an extension of the other Smart Games IQ games, but with added interest.
Ubongo 3D
I’ve shared about Ubongo before, and this 3D version just takes it to the next level. You need to use allotted pieces to fill the space on your card – no more and no less. There are different levels, time challenges, and 3D reward “diamonds. We actually also enjoy this as a single-player puzzle. It’s quite challenging, and perfect for the Mr. Smarty Pants who’s totally up for the challenge.
It has an incredible amount of challenges, so you are unlikely to have a scenario where the game owner has already played them all and will definitely win. And the pieces are made out of high quality wood, making this a hopefully forever game for the home!
Stuff for Fans
One of the easiest way to find good birthday gifts for 11 year olds: ask the parent – what is that child into? That can be things like sports (which team do they adore), shows or movies, book series, video games… There are so many licenses out there!
Some are toys that extend the show’s value, there are collectibles, useful items that just happen to feature a favorite.
Wizarding World Harry Potter Talking Sorting Hat
In our house, ten was the year that Harry Potter finally took hold, so for his eleventh birthday, M loved anything Harry Potter.
The Talking Sorting Hat is perfect for the kid who still likes to sit and play with toys, but needs it to have big kid appeal. I mean, there are some grown kids who would love this…
It looks just like the “real” thing, interacts, and will sort you into Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin. It is soft and animated, with expressive feature.
LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Keychain Light
For something that’s a smaller gift – whether it’s a reward for behavior, a token, or a stocking stuffer – that’s still functional, this LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader keychain is (can I say it to my 11 year old?) so, so cute!
Press the tummy and it’s a flashlight. Frankly, M loves anything with a flashlight on it. And the fact that it’s LEGO Star Wars makes it an automatic win.
Transformers 2-in-1 Converting Roleplay Mask Action Figure
My boys have been Transformers fans since preschool and still love it. M is old enough to watch the movies and not just be a fan of the toys (Y is a bit sensitive with action movies) and it renewed his Transformers energy.
These Optimus Prime and Bumblebee action figures turn into masks! They are not very wearable for long periods of time (they aren’t very comfortable) but they switch up the Transformers play and make for cool faces of their favorite characters regardless.
Marvel Trick Playing Cards
When we attended a toy trade show this fall, M was fascinated by the magic tricks that the team at Fantasma Magic showed him! They surprised us with this set of trick cards, and while M is not quite ready for Marvel Venom yet, they do have other fabulous Marvel licenses that are better for that age group.
It is a standard, high quality card set, with a protective holder, and a booklet that shares tricks that can be done. And the artwork is incredible.
Got any good gifts for an eleven year old to add to the list? Comment below!
