As a mother of a teenage daughter, I sympathize with how hard it can be to find gifts for the teens and tweens in your life. One of the things that was hard for me was losing the magic of the surprise and feeling like if you didn’t get exactly what your tween/teen asked for, your holidays would be ruined. I have spent a lot of time these last few years trying to find the older kids on my list and while it may not be as fun as all the trending toys and gifts, there are still a lot of really fun things out there that are not clothes, makeup or gift cards. When choosing this years gifts, I tried to find things that obviously worked on developing higher level fine motor and visual skills, but also ones that helped to encourage creativity and develop executive functioning skills such as improving focus, attention, planning and organizational skills. I also tried to find gifts that could facilitate social skills because I think that so much of our kids time is spent on screens and not enough time interacting in person with friends. If you are looking for something specific for a special teen/tween in your life, please reach out to me at otmeghan@gmail.com and I will help you find the perfect gift for that tricky kid!
1. Beginner Woobles Crochet Kits-I have been knitting for about 20 years now and one of the things I like most about it is how it calms me down when I feel stressed and that in the end, you have something special that you have created which always feels good. While I don’t know how to crochet, I have been tempted to learn and when I learned about the Wooble Crochet kits from my teenage nieces, I became more curious. I have yet to try it but have been doing a lot of research and am so impressed with the beginner kits and how they make learning how to crochet much easier. There are endless numbers of kits to choose from ranging from animals, movie characters, foods and so much more. Each kit comes with all the materials you need to complete your Wooble, step-by-step videos, easy-to-follow patterns, and a pre-started piece so you can jump right into your first crochet project. Crocheting is a great activity to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourages hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills and works on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning and organizational skills. Most importantly, kids confidence and self-esteem just soar as they learn this new skill and have an adorable completed little stuffy that they made all on their own.
2. My Arcade Tetris Game-I know that there is a ton of concern about screen time but there are a lot of benefits of video games for kids so I wanted to include this. Tetris has always been one of my favorite games and I actually picked up a hand-held Tetris game up a few months ago and love it. For some kids, that screen might be too small so when I saw this one, I thought it would make a perfect addition to my teen/tween gift guide. Tetris is a great game to work on improving visual motor, visual perceptual and visual scanning skills. It also works on improving a variety of executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning and organizational skills. Additionally, using the the joystick encourages hand-eye coordination and improves grasping and manipulation skills.
3. Ultimate Taylor Swift Sticker Mosaic Book-the Paint By Sticker books are a favorite of mine at work because they work on so many skills and the kids don’t even realize it. When I discovered this Taylor Swift version, I had to pick it up for my own daughter but I have ended up doing more than her! This book has 13 pictures from all of Taylor Swift’s Eras and just like the traditional Paint By Sticker books, kids have to match the stickers to the correct number. In addition to working on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, kids can work on improving visual motor, visual perceptual and visual scanning skills and work on developing executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, task completion and frustration tolerance. I have found that working on these kinds of pictures can be relaxing or helps kids calm down when they are feeling stressed out.
4. Rubik’s Cube ConnectedX-the Rubik’s Cube has become a big favorite for kids these days which has been so fun to see. It’s always nice to see a toy from my childhood make a comeback especially when I can look at it with a more therapeutic eye and see how many benefits there are to the toy. The Rubik’s Cube is a great toy to work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourages hand-eye and bilateral coordination and works on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning, organizational skills and improves frustration tolerance. With that said, so many of the older kids I work with have a really hard time figuring out how to solve the Rubik’s Cube and can get frustrated quite easily so when I saw this electronic one, I thought it would be perfect for my kids. This Rubik’s Cube easily connects to your smartphone or tablet and the app will track every move that you make while solving the puzzle. The app also includes step-by-step interactive instructions to help beginners solve the puzzle and will keep track of every game.
5. Skee-Ball Game-who doesn’t love Skee-Ball? It’s still one of my favorite things to play when given the opportunity to and I have seen this at toy stores before and always thought what a good game it would be for some of the kids I work with to have at home. Playing Skee-Ball is a great way to work on all kinds of developmental skills and goals without kids even realizing that they are working on them. It’s great for working on improving hand-eye coordination, helps with motor planning and organizational skills, increases upper-body strength and builds confidence and self-esteem. The game comes with a game board, a ramp, 5 balls and a scoring pad. Skee-Ball can be played solo, against a friend/sibling or on teams. Depending on how it is played, it is a fun way to work on developing and improving social skills such as taking turns, being a good winner or loser and being a team player.
6. PuraVida DIY Bead Box-I am obsessed with this new bracelet making kit from PuraVida and think that any of the tweens/teens crafters on your gift list will love this too. This set from PuraVida comes with all the necessary materials to make up to 15 bracelets. The kit comes with a large selection of beads, a variety of charms and elastic string so you can make any bracelet you want. This kit is great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, encourages hand-eye and bilateral coordination and encourages creativity and imagination.
7. Paint Your Own Mug Kit-this is a great gift for your creative tween/teen. This set comes with 2 dishwasher safe mugs, 12 special ceramic paints, 4 different sized paintbrushes and a quick-start guides with step-by-step design tutorials and inspiration pictures. Kids can create two different mugs or it can be done with a friend or sibling; the mugs can be for personal use or make a great gift for family and friends. These DIY mug kits are a great way to encourage imagination and creativity skills while also working on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills and improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills.
8. Magnetic Dart Board-one of the favorite things for our older kids at the gym to do is to play with our magnetic dart boards and when parents of these kids ask me about gifts for their children or other kids, it is one of the first things I suggest. This solid wooden dart board comes with 12 magnetic darts and a rule book. It has a little keyhole in the back so you can easily move it from room to room. It is a great way for kids to work on improving hand-eye coordination, improves focus and attentional skills and works on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills. It can be played solo or you can play it with a sibling or a friend to encourage turn taking, improve sportsmanship and practice winning and losin
9. Not It! Card Game-in this past paced family game you evenly distribute the cards with the goal to be the first to get rid of all of your cards. In order to get rid of your cards, you have to find a card that does not have any matching attributes to the 3 dice. The dice have a color, picture and pattern so you have to quickly look at the cards and find one that doesn’t have any of the same details. The last person to find the card that DOES NOT match has to keep their card. This is a great game for working on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills, improves pattern recognition and improves focus and attention. Not It! is a fun game to work on social skills such as being a good sport and if there are a lot of people playing, you can pair up and work together to find the best cards.
10. Fujifilm Instax Instant Camera Bundle-this is one of my go-to gift ideas for tweens and teens. I know that most kids are connected to their phones and use them to take hundreds of pictures but kids love instant gratification and that’s what they get with this instant camera. This bundle comes with the camera, a camera case, mini photo album, a frame hanging kit with string, frames and clips to hang pictures up, standing frames, a close-up lens, 4-different colored lens covers, stickers to decorate the camera with and sticker frames. Playing with instant cameras is great for working on improving visual spatial skills, works on developing fine motor skills, encourages hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills and helps with planning and organizational skills.
11. Happy Me Teen Journal-As a mother of a 14 year old, I can see just how much stress and pressure is placed on kids and what a toll it takes on her mental wellbeing. One thing I have been encouraging her to do is to write down her feelings in a journal. While she hasn’t taken me up on it yet, I have been researching different kinds of journals that might make it easier for her and the Happy Me Teen Journal seems like a great starter journal for tweens/teens because it offers writing prompts throughout the book. Each book has enough pages for 3 months and while it is encouraged to do daily, there are not dates on it so kids can do it at their own pace. Kids at this age are not great about talking about their feelings, sometimes feeling shame about feeling a certain way about things. For some kids, knowing they have someplace safe to share their big feelings in without having to talk to someone is incredibly beneficial. Each page has you list three positive things that happened to you and there is a series of emojis that run down the side of the page so you can circle how you are feeling that day. There is also plenty of space for you to not only write about your feelings and other things you might want to share, but if you can doddle as well. In addition to all of the social emotional benefits of journaling, it’s a great way for kids to work on writing skills, creativity and imagination.
12. Rolife DIY Miniature House Kits-if you have a child who is interested in architecture, these DIY mini house kits are a perfect gift for them. They can build a structure that condenses a real-life scene into a small, detailed model. Each kit includes over 200 pieces that allow you to create tiny objects such as plant pots, brooms, painting, books, furniture and more. Plus, an LED light lets you illuminate your creation when you’re done. The kit comes with the necessary tools and an instruction booklet and takes roughly 4-6 hours to put together so this is something that could keep kids busy over an extended period of time. This is definitely something geared more towards the middle school/high schoolers on your gift list as it requires a tremendous amount of patience for completion. It works on improving fine motor skills such as grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills and is a great long-term project to encourage executive functioning skills such as following directions, planning and organizational skills and working on focus, attention and task completion. This can be done by one person or can be done with a friend or family member.
13. The Delish Kids Cookbook-I have been baking and cooking with my daughter for as long as I can remember and now at 14, when she is feeling bored or stressed, she pulls out her Delish Kids Cookbook and starts baking. There are so many delicious recipes in this cookbook and they were chosen with the intent that kids could follow and do them on their own if they want. There are over 100 recipes ranging from breakfast foods to copycat recipes from popular restaurants. My daughter’s favorite recipes are so many of the dessert treats. Baking is a great to work on developing important life skills and executive functioning skills. Learning how to follow recipes and directions is a critical part of baking so if you have a child who needs to work on improving executive functioning skills, cooking or baking is a great way to work on that with older kids. It also encourages kids to work on organizational skills by making sure that they have all of the right ingredients and tools needed in order to complete the recipe. Cooking with kids also works on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills and works on developing confidence and self-esteem. It can also be a great social activity for your kids from picking the recipe, gathering the materials and taking turns putting the ingredients.
14. Hugimal Hug Pillow-tweens and teens have a lot of big expectations between school, home and friendships and it can be really hard sometimes. I discovered the Hugimals weighted animals a couple of years ago and it is now my go-to recommendation when parents or teachers ask. They are incredibly well-made and there are several different colored and weight options (5 to 10 pounds) to choose from, including two pillows that have a little pocket to put your hands in for added comfort. In a world filled with so much stress and chaos, it’s nice for kids to have tools to help get them through emotionally challenging times. Weighted pillows are helpful for reducing stress and anxiety, help improve self-regulation, provide deep proprioceptive input that helps with sleeping and helps kids feel more grounded and can help kids with focus and attention. If you don’t think that your child will like the hug pillows, be sure to check out the adorable and comforting line of weighted Hugimal animals which are beloved by all the kids at my gym.
15. Atomix Brain Game/Fidget-kids of all ages love fidget toys but some of them are just so babyish and my older kids tire of them pretty quickly. I love when I can find a fidget toy that is more than just a fidget and has a challenge built into it. The Atomix is great because it features smooth, sliding beads and a textured orb for a soothing tactile experience that can help keep idle hands busy or help with calming a kid down in stressful moments. If they want to take on the brain game challenge, kids twist and turn the sphere to shift the colorful beads between 3 different paths with the goals of lining up all the same-colored beads in their own circles. This simple fidget toy is great for working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, works on encouraging hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, improves visual motor skills and works on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning and organizational skills. It can be done solo or a couple of friends/siblings can work on it together to get all the beads in the right color road.