100+ best birthday gift ideas for 9 year old boys 2023

Nine years old is a great age for gift-buying as it’s a perfect age to love toys and games but also a time when hobbies and interests are starting to develop, which can lead to a more personal type of gift!  This post is full of ideas, I’m just sharing inspiration, not selling anything!

I have written up a list as inspiration, and organised it into gift guide categories like games, toys and video games; Construction and creative; Outdoor and sports equipment; Clothing and practical gifts; Experience gifts; Memberships; Nature and eco-friendly gifts; and Low-budget, smaller gifts.

Toy and game ideas for 9-year-old boys

Here is our curated list of top gifts in the toys and games space. These are the types of favorite gifts that will stick in their minds, and hopefully you can enjoy watching them play for years to come!

• LEGO Sets: A themed LEGO set based on his interests, whether it’s superheroes, space, vehicles or novelty sets from a favourite movie or videogame.
• Board Games: Age-appropriate and engaging board games like “Ticket to Ride: First Journey,” “Codenames: Pictures,” or “Catan Junior.” these will be perfect for a family game night as well as for kids to enjoy with their friends
• Remote-Controlled Car or Drone: A fun remote control car or drone. This is possibly one of the best birthday gifts I remember receiving as a kid and can lead to hours and hours of so much fun. It’s great across many age groups, so siblings can use and play together – also making it a great option for a joint present when siblings have close birthdays.
• Puzzles: Challenging jigsaw puzzles or brain-teaser puzzles. This is a lovely gift that can be customised to suit the interests of your child. For example, if they’re into animals you could look for options on national geographic or animal charity sites. This is a fun present, inclusive for the family, and a fun way to stimulate problem-solving skills.
• Building Sets: Aside from LEGO, there are other building sets like K’Nex, Mega Bloks, or magnetic construction kits. They are great fun, you can get generic sets or curated sets to build a specific structure
• Action Figures or Toys: Consider action figures from his favorite movies or TV shows, or popular collectable toys. This might suit slightly younger 9-year-olds for playing with but collectable sets can be popular across age spans
• Remote-Controlled Robot: A robot toy that he can program and control. This is a mixture of a toy game and STEM activity for challenge fun and pretty-cool educational development.
• Nintendo Switch or other games consoles if you’re looking for a big gift.
• Puzzle and Strategy Game: Games like “Chess,” “Connect 4,” or “Perplexus” that promote critical thinking and strategy.
• LEGO Minifigures: Instead of buying an entire LEGO set, you could look at searching for a set of minifigures. This can work out cheaper as lego sets are expensive, but the mini figures could be a great addition to another set they already have.
• Collectible Cards: Trading card packs for popular card games or collectables are a lovely idea, especially if its a stack their friends are collecting already.

Construction and creative ideas for 9-year-olds

• Art Supplies: High-quality colored pencils, markers, sketchbooks, or a painting set as a way for your child to express their inner artist! You could combine this with a ‘how-to-draw’ book about anime, sci-fi cartoons, faces, animals or landscapes.
• Craft Kits: Affordable craft kits that allow him to make, paper airplanes, or origami or cool, knotted bracelets.
• Cooking Utensils: This can be a perfect gift if a child has shown competence and joy for cooking to inspire them to try a new type of cooking skill. For instance, if you get a pasta press, you might be unlocking potential hundreds of new recipe ideas.
• DIY Building Kits: Kits that allow him to build his own model cars, airplanes, or boats. This can be a really cool gift that works as a challenge and a toy. You can get sets that work from paper, wooden building blocks and metals.

Outdoor or sports ideas for 9 year olds

Nine-year-old boys are often a perfect age to start showing real talent and skill in sports, not to mention still in need to being able to burn off the excess kid energy! So sports equipment can be a great gift idea to do just that! What’s more it’s often something that can also be enjoyed by the whole family including younger kids and older kids. Here are our ideas:

• Sports Equipment: A soccer ball, basketball, skateboard, tennis rackets, badminton set, table tennis paddles. 
• Outdoor Adventure Gear: Items like a camping set, binoculars, or a compass for outdoor exploration.
• Outdoor Toys: Consider items like a frisbee, a kite, a water balloon or water pistol set.
• Mini Basketball Hoop: An over-the-door mini basketball hoop for indoor fun. This is a great way to give a sporting gift to a kid who doesn’t have a big back yard.
• Outdoor Adventure Experience: A outdoor adventure experience such as a nature hike, kayaking trip, or rock climbing session. Sometimes there are on offer at local nature sites or indoor sports centres for activities like rock climbing. This is a nice thing to book for a family, or for the birthday boy to do with a friend.
• Astronomy Campout: A camping trip with stargazing and astronomy activities. Some places offer specialised stargazing experiences, or you can offer to take the kids and pre-download an app to identify start, or include a stargazing trip with a gift of a telescope (one of the ideas we suggest below).
• Transport: a bike, a scooter or even an electric scooter.
• A bike or bike accessories such as a new helmet or stylish reflector jacket.

Development, learning and creative ideas for 9-year-olds

One of the best things you can give as a present is something to help them learn and foster an interest they are starting to show! Some of these ideas below are perfect for just that. That was it feels like a really valuable gift to give someone, rather than something they might just play around with for fun.

• Fiction Books: Age-appropriate books or a series he enjoys reading. Look online for curated lists of age-appropriate books for inspiration.
• Classic Comic Books: Affordable comic books featuring classic characters. This is a great present whether your child in into this or not, as it’s exposure to a new genre.
• Science Kits: Educational science kits that guide kids through experiments, exploring the world around them. Nowadays there are more and more STEM toy gifts on the market – and some of them are really great stuff!
• Educational Apps or Software: For example, you can get apps or downloadable learning programs for kids keen to learn gui guitar/keyboard or learn a language or learn magic tricks
• Puzzle and Strategy Games: Games like “Chess,” “Connect 4,” or “Perplexus” that promote critical thinking and strategy. This is lovely for kids to play with friends, or good kit for a family game night.
• Puzzles and Brain Teasers: Inexpensive jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzle books, or Sudoku puzzles
• Science Experiment Kits: Look for budget-friendly science kits that offer hands-on learning experiences.
• Telescope: A telescope they can use to stargaze. These can be expensive gifts
• Microscope: a super fun gift for encouraging them to use their curiosity and explore the world around them!

Clothing and practical gifts for 9 year olds

Clothing and practical gifts is a great category for kids who have a lot of toys and also for families where you’d like to support the parent with the gift as well as buying something lovely for the child!

• Sports Jersey: A jersey from his favorite sports team.
• Sports or gym bag
• Pencil Case or School Supplies: A cool pencil case or set of colorful pens is a lovely idea for a practical but also fun gift.
• Reusable Water Bottle: A durable and cool deisgned water bottle is always useful and you can get really cool design nowadays too that you nine year old is bound to love.
• Novelty Socks: Fun and colorful socks with cute patterns or characters for their favourite movie.
• Sew on bag patches to customise school or sports bags
• Movie theme t-shirts: These are often available inexpensive at affordable kids clothes shops and can be a fun, yet practical gift idea
• Movie theme baseball caps: fun, cool and practical, also very affordable!
• Personalised t-shirt with their name or a design of something they love
• A funny costume gift, such as a star wars storm trooper visor, Harry Potter cloak or iconic outfit of a favorite character in a movie or TV show

Experience gifts

What do you get for kids who seem to have everything, or for families who try to keep clutter at a minimum? Experience vouchers really are the best gifts to offer the child and experience that can stick in their memories forever! 

You can also get skills based experiences gifts like courses or classes…this is also a great idea! Included in this experience gifts section, we’ve also included memberships and tickets.

• Art Class: Enrolment in an art class or workshop where he can explore his creative talents.
• Cooking Class: Sign him up for a kids’ cooking class to learn culinary skills and create delicious dishes.
• Music Lessons: Music lessons for an instrument he’s interested in, like the guitar, piano, or drums.
• Swimming Lessons: Swimming lessons at a local pool or aquatic center.
• Mini Golf or Bowling: A day of mini-golf or a bowling alley gift card for fun outings with friends.
• Trampoline Park Passes: Passes to a trampoline park for a day of bouncing and active play.
• Escape Room Adventure: A family or friends’ trip to an escape room for a challenging and exciting experience.
• Astronomy Campout: A camping trip with stargazing and astronomy activities.
• Animal Encounter: A behind-the-scenes animal encounter at a zoo or wildlife sanctuary.
• Historical Site Visit: A visit to a historical site, museum, or landmark of interest.
• Sports Camp: Enrollment in a sports camp for a favorite sport or activity.
• Indoor Skydiving: A session of indoor skydiving for an adrenaline-pumping adventure.
• Water Park Day: A day at a nearby water park for splashing and sliding fun.
• Gardening Workshop: Participation in a gardening workshop to learn about plants and gardening.
• Horseback Riding Lesson: A horseback riding lesson at a local stable.

Memberships

• Zoo or Aquarium Membership: A year-long membership to a local zoo or aquarium, allowing him to visit and learn about animals regularly.
• Science Museum Membership: Membership to a science museum or interactive learning center where he can explore and engage with hands-on exhibits.
• Science Camp: Enrollment in a science-themed summer camp or day camp.
• Membership to a book club or a book subscription from a local bookstore

Tickets

• Theme Park Tickets: Tickets to a nearby amusement park or water park for a thrilling day of rides and entertainment.
• Sports Game Tickets: Tickets to a live sports game of his favorite team or sport.
• Planetarium Show: Tickets to a planetarium show for an educational and entertaining experience about the night sky and space.
• Movie Theater Gift Card: A gift card to a local movie theater for him to enjoy a film with friends or family.
• Concert Tickets: Tickets to a child-friendly concert or music performance.
• Theater or Ballet Show: Tickets to a children’s theater production or ballet performance.

Nature/Eco-friendly gifts

This is a lovely set of gifts to get inspiration from if you are gifting a family who are educating their kids about the environment and trying to bring them up with a love for the natural world. Or even if  buying plastic toys feels wrong to you, here are some ideas for alternatives:

• Nature Exploration Kit: A kit with binoculars, a magnifying glass, and a field guide for exploring the outdoors that your child can use for entertainment on nature expeditions with the family.
• Solar-Powered Gadgets: Solar-powered toys, like a solar robot kit or a solar-powered charger for electronic devices.
• Books on Environmental Awareness: Children’s books that teach about the environment, conservation, and wildlife. 9 is a lovely age to buy books for kids!
• DIY Bird Feeder Kit: A kit to make a bird feeder from recycled materials for observing local bird species.
• Gardening Kit: A small gardening kit with seeds and supplies for planting and nurturing plants.
• Seed Bombs: Seed bombs or seed paper for guerrilla gardening and planting wildflowers.
• Eco-Friendly Craft Kits: Craft kits that use recycled or sustainable materials for creative projects.
• Homemade Coupons: Create homemade “green” coupons for activities like a nature hike or tree planting.
• Reusable Water Bottle: A durable and eco-friendly stainless steel or glass water bottle to reduce the use of disposable plastic bottles.
• Bee-Friendly Garden Seeds: Seeds for planting flowers that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.
• Outdoor Adventure Passes: Passes or tickets to national parks, nature reserves, or outdoor educational programs

Low-budget gift ideas for 9 year old boy (gifts under £10):

Gifts are a show of love, but they do not correlate with costs and sometimes the most fun, and best laughs can come from simple, affordable gifts that you can use again and again!

• Fun temporary tattoos: Animals, movie characters or 
• Little sew-on patches and image logos for a bag or a t-shirt
• Novelty socks
• Puzzles book like sudoku: Entertainment or activity book for brain-whirring non-screen entertainment on a trip 
• Glow-in-the-Dark Stars: A pack of glow-in-the-dark stars and planets to decorate his bedroom.
• A joke book or joke comic cartoon

 We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide and that it’s given you some inspiration for a lovely gift to buy for the nine year old in your life! Remember, that even though gifts are a lovely way to express love, there are so many ways to do that including with quality time, food, and words!

Happy shopping! Zoe x