My 4 year old and 5 year old gift guide has a little of everything! From open-ended building to role play to learning and practical life tools and so much more! Some of these are our must-have items that get constant play and others are things we are considering adding to our own home.
As I was sitting down to make my gift guide for 5 year olds I realized that honestly, I was recommending the EXACT same items as my 4 year old guide… Developmentally they are at similar places and enjoying the same toys. True they are no longer preschoolers and are in Kindergarten but beyond that I just wasn’t finding enough different ideas to make it work a new post. So below you will find a little bit of everything for any 4 year old or 5 year old in your life!
My gift guide takes longer than you would think to compile…
I always keep a running list of ideas that I add to as I think of things over the year, especially now that we are homeschooling. – you can check out our must-haves for homeschool preschool here if you’re in a similar boat!
Inevitably I end up searching the internet to see if there are any new gems I may be missing or things that I want to pick up for us to grow into. I try my hardest to make my 4 year old and 5 year old gift guide products that you may not have seen before but are still well-rated or well-loved in our home.
A little bit of everything to meet the needs of most anyone!
I created my 4 year old and 5 year old gift guide to cover all the basics I could think of for a preschooler or kindergartener who spends the majority of their time at home. I am in no way suggesting you NEED all of the items I list below I am nearly listing our favorites or our personal wish list items. Hopefully, this sparks some ideas for your own kiddo’s wish list!
Looking for a different age?!
I list what I know, and I have only ever known shopping for a little girl…
My list may be slightly geared towards ‘traditionally’ girl items, but lots of the things on my 4-year-old and 5 year old gift guide are just open-ended, loved by all toys, or at the very least come in other colors and patterns if unicorns and glitter aren’t your kid’s thing! They are SO our thing around here
Disclamer
This post contains some affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive a small commission from if you follow and decide to purchase. There would be no additional cost to you!
FREE PLAY TOYS
- Barbie Dolls – Made to move, mermaid, carrer path
- Travel Barbie House – this is a great way to sorta test the waters with a barbie house
- 18 in doll – we have an our generation, but most all stores now carry some option
- Janod MagnetiBook – Faces, transporation or seasons are my personal favorites
- Play Mobile – SO many different sets and sizes of sets available! I love the family fun line, space line, and city life
- Polly pocket
- Desk bells
- Kids camera
- Family builders magnets
- Animal figures – schleich, pabo, safari LTD are my go-to brands
- Character figures – my little pony, Bluey, superhero, this is the time to lean into their interests and favorite shows
- Play silks
FINE MOTOR
- Wooden Loose parts
- Classic Light bright
- Geoboard
- Magnetic Pattern blocks
- DJECO Geonimo Tap Tap Play Set
- Magnatab
DRAMATIC PLAY
- Tea Party Set
- Dr. Set
- Tool Set
- Cash Register
- Play Food – a basic meal set, a hot cocoa set and ice cream cone set – but honestly ALL of their play food sets are awesome!
- Dress up Clothes – these nightgowns are perfect for dresses and a carrer set is always a good idea too
BUILDING
- Lego Box of Bricks
- Lego themed set – city, friends, space
- Picasso tiles ball run
- Geomag sticks and balls
- Plusplus
- Kids K’nex
SPECILTY BUILDING BLOCKS
These babies are BEAUTIFUL. They are also spendy. It can be hard to justify spending so much on a toy, so I would only consider these if you already have a block lover or multiple kids that will use them.
I am NOT affiliated with the small shops linked below, but they carry some beautiful products if you are interested in supporting small businesses!
- Grimms Rainbow
- Rainbow Planks and Semi-circles
- Grimms Large Stepped pyramid
- Bauspiel Street with a View
- Bauspiel Lucent Cubes
- Glueckskaefer Rainbow Building Slats
PUZZLES
- My Body Systems Layered Puzzle
- Magnetic maze
- Pattern Play
- Search and find floor puzzle
- Sequencing puzzles
- Coogam wooden brain teaser puzzle
GAMES
LEARNING TOOLS AND TOYS
- Science experiement set
- Osmo Little Genius Starter kit – you will need a tablet to make use of this item
- Coding Critters
- Magnetic World Puzzle
- Mathlink Cubes
- GeoSafari Jr. Globe
GROSS MOTOR
- Stepping stones
- Foam Pogo
- Scooter
- Petal Bike
- Nugget – *not affiliated we just love ours a bunch
- Hopper ball
STOCKING STUFFERS
CREATIVE
- Glitter Glue
- Washi Tape
- Oolly Art Tools – Glitter Gel Crayons, Color Change Markers, chalk crayons – honestly I want so many of their products!!!
- Boogie Board
- Stencil Set
- Liquid Watercolors
SENSORY PLAY
PRACTICAL LIFE
BOOKS
- The Magical Yet
- Hey Ho to Mars We’ll Go
- Lola Dutch
- First Big Book of Why
- Highlights hidden pictures
- Ultimate book of Planet Earth – a bunch of other similar titles to suite your kiddo as well
USBORNE BOOKS
I wanted to give our Usborne favorites a special section all to themselves for a couple of reasons.
1. they are without a doubt some of the most used books in the house and are well-loved by us all and without a doubt deserve a special shout out on the 4 year old gift guide! I tried really hard to pick our TOP 6, but I have soooooo many that we really love that this was really hard and I feel like I am leaving out some of our must-haves…I may have to do a separate post on that soon… 😉
2. I am an Usborne consultant and If you choose to purchase anything through one of my links below know that I will make a small commission at NO cost to you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing to help support my family!
- Big Book line – amazing oversized books with fold-out pages chocked full of facts
- Big Picture Atlas
- Look inside line – so many flaps filled with so many fun things to learn
- Lift the Flap first questions line – flaps make everything better, even all those questions kids ask about why this and how that
- Wipe and clean books – SO many different themes and different skill levels available
- Sticker Books – again they have TONS of differnt themes to suit any kid!
Did I forget any MUST HAVES in the 4 year old and 5 year old gift guide!?
I hope my gift guide gave you a couple of fun new ideas for the preschooler or kindergartener in your life! Please share any other ideas for a 4 year old or 5 year old gift guide you have! I love knowing what the cream of the crop are when it comes to toys!
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