ight is such a wonderful age. Kids are old enough to have their own interests and hobbies, but still young enough to get swept up in play and be absorbed for hours if you find the right toy for them.

By eight, children's interests and skills are taking shape. They're more confident readers, more strategic thinkers and curious about how things work. And while they think they're extremely grown up, eight-year-olds still need plenty of time to play for their overall wellbeing.

Here's a rundown of toys and gifts that will keep eight-year-olds occupied for months to come: a roster of creative kits, clever games, outdoor adventures and timeless toys that will keep them happy and busy (while sneakily learning).

As an experienced toy tester, I am living an eight-year-old's dream. I have written about toys and parenting for almost 10 years and have also worked in schools and children's publishing. As well as professionally observing children's play, I also have three children, and in these guides I aim to balance what kids love to play with and what parents want in their house.

I also asked children's play specialists and development experts about the best toys to support the developmental stage most eight-year-olds are at – from school skills to wellbeing – for a holistic approach.

A gang of lively eight-year-olds were enlisted to test toys and gifts on my behalf, and they weren't shy in telling me what they thought of them. Their own gift picks can be found throughout this guide.

The toys and gifts that made the cut here balanced all these needs. Sustainability was always on my mind when compiling this list, with the guiding principle of buying well, not more. I selected toys and gifts that my testers came back to over and over and should last them well into the tween stage.

Life in 3D

Those of a certain age may remember the TV show Penny Crayon; everything Penny drew came to life, getting her and her mates out of all kinds of strife. Well, this pen can (sort of) make the Penny Crayon dream come true for your child. The 3Doodler pen delivers a stream of BPA-free plastic, which cools as it hits the air, allowing children to create what they draw – "I made a pair of sunglasses and a very creepy-looking robot," my tester reported with glee. The use of plastic made me hesitate to include it in this guide, but it kept my tester absorbed for hours. The filaments are made from a biodegradable material but can't be put in household recycling.

3Doodler Start+ 3D essential pen set

plastic
Suitable for: 6+

Game knight

"An eight-year-old's interests include more complex games," says Laura Moore-Williams, an early years consultant. Around this age, many children are taught to play chess at school, and the benefits are huge. It builds focus and critical thinking, while teaching patterns, spatial awareness and sequencing. All this will build important neural pathways in the developing brains of eight-year-olds. This board is a gift for life – it's made from walnut and sycamore, and the pieces are handcarved. It folds in the middle with the pieces stored inside. My eight-year-old tester plays chess at school (many primary schools teach it at this age to develop problem-solving skills and mathematical and numerical reasoning), so their eyes lit up when they saw this board. They loved playing with a "proper" set rather than the tiny board they had been using.

Jaques of London complete folding chess board

wood, baize base for pieces
Suitable for: 6+

The plot thickens

Eight is a great age for getting kids into a book series they can independently read and enjoy. Tom Gates was a huge hit with the eight-year-olds I spoke to. The books follow the slightly hapless but likable schoolboy Tom as he tries to wind up his annoying older sister, get his band going and eat as many caramel wafers as possible – while avoiding doing any homework. The books are filled with illustrations and aren't too text heavy. My eight-year-old tester is a slightly reluctant reader, but they were racing through the books and begging for the next one.

paper
Suitable for: 8+

Build them up

"For eight-year-olds I rate advanced Lego sets," says Moore-Williams. My eight-year-old tester loved this Mario Kart Lego set, whooping "awesome" with gusto as they clapped eyes on the box. Beyond the unboxing, it's fun to build, with nothing that's too repetitive, and they're left with an amusing toy they can either display or play with (my tester definitely opted for the latter).

plastic
Suitable for: 8+

"We started to have a Saturday afternoon games session with friends, and they brought this over to play," said one eight-year-old tester. "It was fun for the adults and the kids, and it was easy to get the hang of." When I tested this game with eight-year-olds and their younger siblings, it had them all giggling. It's easy to get playing quickly (eight-year-olds don't want to read dissertation-length instructions) and it's pretty rapid fire – a game is won or lost within minutes – so it'll hold even the shortest of attention spans. It's also small enough to slip into a bag and whip out at a restaurant or pub on a rainy afternoon to keep kids from getting fidgety.

Oh My Pigeons! party game

plastic, paper
Suitable for: 8+

We all know getting kids outside is vital for their physical and mental wellbeing, but it's often easier said than done. For this guide, I looked for gifts that would get them to break cover, and this scooter fared well.

Built for bigger kids (and adults), it's got plenty to keep eight-year-olds excited. It has large, speedy wheels to cover longer distances – particularly handy if your kids are scooting to school. The chopper-style handlebars look cool and offer a good degree of control. Our eight-year-old tester was keen to take it to the skate park to test and had plenty of fun showing it off as well as racing it around. It is more expensive than other scooter models, but it's also built to be easy to service and repair. Micro Scooters sells almost all the spare parts for its scooters – it even has a spares finder section on its site and a video library with how-to guides for most adjustments. Despite having a warranty of only two years, this scooter will probably last the recipient way into their teenage years and survive being handed down plenty of times.

Scooters Micro Speed deluxe scooter

aluminium, metal, polyurethane
Suitable for: 8+

Open goal

"Outdoor toys are a worthwhile investment if you have space for them," says Daisy Upton, play specialist and author of the Five Minute Mum book series. This football kit requires some space – but if you're looking for an outdoor toy for eight-year-olds and have a decent-size garden, it's a winner.

My eight-year-old testers flocked to this kit, playing together and crucially not thinking about screens or schoolwork. "Developmentally, an eight-year-old needs to build strong peer relationships through play," says Moore-Williams. While kids may have a football goal already before they're eight, I picked this set because it feels like a step up that's right for around this age. The goal is big enough (8ft x 6ft) for a proper-ish game, plus there's a rebound net and target-practice sheet. The resistance parachute was wildly entertaining on its own. The goal is built to be up in all weathers, but it comes with a storage bag if you want to pack it away.

Rebo portable PVC football goal with training kit

PVC goalposts, net, anchors, fabric bag, football, pump, plastic cones, training ladder, fabric parachute, fabric target-practice sheet, elastic toggles
Suitable for: 3+

Comic timing

My eight-year-old testers loved this idea: a weekly comic that comes in the post. Inside is a range of strips, which the reader becomes familiar with over time. Most issues we received included the wildly popular and zany Bunny vs Monkey by Jamie Smart, and serialised strips that depicted exciting adventures. There are also activities inside showing readers how to make their own comics, which my trio of testers loved. And, as a journalist, it is heartening to see that print is not dead for gen Alpha. You can subscribe for an initial six issues for just a quid, after which it auto-renews every 13 weeks for £36.99.

The Phoenix comic subscription

paper
Suitable for: 7+

Pulling strings

Whether you have space outside or are just heading to the park or woods for an hour, this kit is brilliant. My eight-year-old testers were obsessed with the idea of making their own "booby traps" – thanks in no small part to Home Alone's Kevin McCallister – and it was a joy to watch them use it.

"I've got so many plans for how I'm going to use this, I can't wait to tell my friends about it – they're going to want one for themselves," my eight-year-old tester said after one session of play. Inside the drawstring bag are a wooden plank, wooden box, rope, string, two pulleys, carabiners and some cards that suggest challenges to attempt.

The Den Kit Co pulleys kit

jute, wood, string, metal
Suitable for: 6+, adult supervision required

Sing loud enough to scare the demons off

" is obsessed with KPop Demon Hunters," one eight-year-old told me, as if I was 1,000 years old and had been living under a rock. I generally sought to avoid potentially fleeting trends when compiling this list, but this one has real staying power beyond the Demon Hunters craze. While there are loads of karaoke machines on the market, this one feels robust – it survived being thrown about by many of my testers – and comes with two mics, a light and eight built-in games. A button on the mic adds vocal effects, and you can connect a Bluetooth device to use it as a speaker. Unfortunately for my headache, my testers went back again and again to this karaoke machine, which is why it made the cut.

VTech electronic karaoke light party

plastic, electronics, metal
Suitable for: 14+ (manufacturer's age suggestion)

Model behaviour

Every adult I've mentioned Fimo to during testing has the same wistful reaction about playing with it as a child. It's just as good as you remember it, folks. My eight-year-old testers loved making animals out of the multicoloured pack and baking them in the oven. This is relatively mess-free crafting, without any rigid rules to follow (although there's plenty of inspiration online if you're stuck for ideas). Fimo is single use, but the idea is you make something to play with once it's cured – my testers loved creating their own characters.

Staedtler Fimo soft oven-hardening polymer modelling clay

polymer clay
Suitable for: 8+

Switched on

Moore-Williams also recommended Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) kits. This particular set has 100 projects to keep eight-year-olds' minds and fingers busy.

"As soon as I saw this set, I wanted to make a security alarm!" one eight-year-old tester said. Personally, it gave me flashbacks to school physics, but my testers loved it: "We can pick what we do from loads of options, which is sooo fun," said one. There are plenty of projects in this Stem set to keep kids busy on rainy days.

On Bots 100

plastic, metal
Suitable for: 8+

Bath goals

"I really need some beauty products," an eight-year-old tester said to me. I glanced at their parents and could see that perhaps their hopes didn't align.

This Lush gift set is a perfect compromise for those not-quite-tweenagers. Yes, it's a beauty product, but still playful. Inside is a zingy Happy Hippy shower gel that's more citrus-leaning than candy store, and Lush's Outback Mate. This is a solid soap bar with a minty scent – a nice change from some of the cloyingly sweet scents that make up lots of products for children this age. This gender-neutral set is great for even the most determined mini soap-dodgers.

Lush Fresh As gift set

soap, shower gel; packaging: recycled board, recycled paper, recycled plastic bottles
Suitable for: 3+

What to buy for an eight-year-old

Every play expert I spoke to championed a "less is more" approach for children of all ages when it comes to toys. "Common mistakes adults make when choosing toys are being swayed by fads that hold children's attention for only a few weeks," says Moore-Williams. They're "overloading children with too much choice instead of curating a smaller, versatile collection".

Winning toys tend to be a bit more complex for kids this age – there's a longer attention span for strategy games, puzzles and creative projects. At eight years old, children are more likely to be developing specific hobbies and interests that last longer than a common cold. For any gift, it's always a good idea to tap into the recipient's interests.

"As children get older, we should be asking, 'What specific play does this child enjoy the most?' 'What are their special interests?' 'Can we get something to encourage this further?'" says Upton. "Really lean into what they love to do most, what lights them up, and you can't go wrong."

Do they love to sit and draw? Get them some open-ended craft supplies – some decent felt-tip pens, stacks of paper and notebooks never miss in my experience. If they love sport, look at what might help them enjoy playing more – kit for keen footballers, goggles for swimmers and warm-up gear for dancers would be useful and show that you know the child and support their interests.

What to get for eight-year-olds who don't play with toys?

At this age, experiential gifts are a great idea if space is tight or your recipient isn't hugely into toys.

You can buy vouchers for a trip to Legoland for £39, and this theme park is specifically aimed at this age – there are plenty of rides suitable for many eight-year-olds. If you want something more sedate, theatre vouchers were a gift lots of eight-year-olds told me were on their wishlists. Buying vouchers from services such as Theatre Tokens will let your child have some agency and pick tickets at more than 300 theatres throughout the country.

For more, read our guides to the best toys and gifts for seven-year-olds and the best sustainable toys for kids

Zoë Phillimore is a journalist with 20 years of experience. She's tested many things, from mattresses to makeup, and she's slightly obsessed with finding small new businesses to spotlight. Aside from this, Zoë loves travel, being outside – especially on the beach – and finding screen-free things to keep her three active children busy. She shares her discoveries on Instagram