Gifts for 5 year olds: ideas by interest, and what to check before you buy

By Andrei Baciu

Co-founder of Wunderli and architect of its story engine

Updated 12 October 2026

Look at what they already do without being asked, then choose the gift that gives that habit more room. Good gifts for 5 year olds are usually open-ended, like blocks, art supplies, a ball or a book series, or made to be shared with an adult, like a first proper board game, rather than a toy that does the playing for them.

Watch for a week, then buy

For a few days, notice what your child returns to on their own: the same story at bedtime, towers out of anything that stacks, drawings on the back of every envelope, a sprint to the door whenever it opens. The gifts that last tend to feed one of those habits rather than try to start a new one.

A gift can also come with your time attached: a game you will actually play together, a book you will read at bedtime, a handmade voucher for a trip to the swimming pool. If you are buying for another family, a quick message to the parents avoids duplicates and the things they would rather not have in the house.

Gift ideas by interest

Stories and listening

For the child who always wants "one more", a screen-free audio player that they can start on their own is a gift that gets used every day. Our comparison of two screen-free audio players goes through age guidance, Wi-Fi and recording your own stories, using each maker's own UK site. Our guide to audio stories for children covers what to put on them, from picture-book adaptations to longer chapter stories.

There is also a no-box option if you would rather not add another device: audio stories created on the phone you already own, explained further down with a sample to listen to. One practical point for a gift: a box can be wrapped, a story on a phone cannot. If you are the parent, that hardly matters; if you are a guest at the party, a book or a player is still the present to hand over. We set out how a phone-based option compares with a box on our audio stories without a box page.

Building

Lots of interlocking bricks, a set of wooden blocks, a marble run, simple planks for stacking: the building gift that lasts is the one that does not say what to build. If magnetic tiles are on the list, check that every magnet is sealed inside the tile and read the safety section below before you buy any set with loose or small magnets.

Drawing and making

A big roll of paper to unroll across the floor, chunky crayons, washable paint with an apron, modelling dough, stamps, round-ended scissors and a box of clean recycling (bottle tops, cardboard tubes, fabric scraps) keep a child busy for longer than a kit that produces one fixed object.

Outdoor and movement

A scooter, a bike that fits with a helmet to match, a football, a skipping rope, a kite, a bucket and trowel with a patch of garden or a window box of their own, a magnifying glass for minibeasts. The text of the early years physical activity infographic (Department of Health and Social Care, updated 2026), which summarises the UK Chief Medical Officers' guidelines, says to "aim for at least 180 minutes per day for children aged 1 to 5 years". Outdoor gifts are also the easiest to turn into an outing, such as a woodland walk with a bag for conkers. For ideas that need very little kit, see our list of screen-free activities for kids.

Games to play together

A first board game with short rules and enough luck that everyone wins sometimes works better at this age than a strategy game. Cooperative games, where the whole table wins or loses together, avoid tears at the end. Pairs, a simple dice game, a card game about colours and numbers, a game of balance or aim: pick the one you will be happy to play on a rainy Sunday, because that is the one that leaves the cupboard.

Books

Picture books to read together, a non-fiction book on the obsession of the month (volcanoes, diggers, sharks), a search-and-find book, a first wordless comic. The National Literacy Trust's report on children and young people's reading in 2025 found that daily reading among children aged 5 to 8 dropped to 44.5%, down 9.1 percentage points since the trust started asking this age group in 2019. In the same survey, 37.1% of children and young people said they were motivated to read when the material matched their interests or hobbies, which is a good argument for choosing a book about whatever they cannot stop talking about.

Toy safety in the UK and Ireland: what to check

In Great Britain, the statutory guidance on the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 (Office for Product Safety and Standards, updated 2025) says recognition of the CE marking has been extended indefinitely, so businesses can use "either CE or UKCA markings". For Northern Ireland and the EU, "the CE marking remains mandatory". Safety information must be in English and "preceded by the word 'Warning' or 'Warnings'". In Ireland, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission's toy safety page (CCPC, 2026) is blunt: "If there is no CE mark, do not buy the toy." It also asks you to check that the manufacturer's and importer's name and address are shown and that instructions are in English.

• Younger brothers and sisters. The CCPC explains that the age warning symbol means a toy is not suitable for children under three, and that toys for children under 3 should not have small parts that could be swallowed. In its October 2025 safety warning (CCPC, 2025), the CCPC says that for children under 3, "anything smaller than a €2 coin could be a choking hazard". If a toddler shares the house, a gift full of small pieces needs a shelf out of reach.
• Button batteries. The Office for Product Safety and Standards says, in its button battery campaign (OPSS, 2021), that "button battery compartments in toys are required to be secured", and that if swallowed, button batteries "could badly injure or kill a child". The Child Accident Prevention Trust (2025) adds: "Dispose of used button batteries as soon as you can. They are still unsafe." As the OPSS advises, check that the button battery compartment of any light-up or sound toy is secure.
• Magnets. In its magnet safety campaign (OPSS, 2021), the OPSS warns that swallowed small, high-powered magnets "can pull together with enough force to cause serious and even life-threatening damage to the digestive system". Keep products with small or loose magnets away from young children.

If you think a child has swallowed a button battery or magnets, the OPSS advice is to go to A&E straight away or call 999. The checks matter: the CCPC reported in October 2025 that over 25,000 unsafe toys, including costumes and props, had been recalled or withdrawn from the Irish market since Halloween 2024.

The no-box option: stories on the phone you already own

If you would rather not buy another device, Wunderli works on the phone you already have. In six steps, you shape the characters, the world and the mood from your child's ideas; Wunderli writes the story and narrates it as an audio play, with its own voice for each character. You pick a length of 10+, 15+ or 20+ minutes, English, German or French, and one of three language levels. Stories are for children aged 4 to 12. The sample below gives you an idea of how a Wunderli story sounds.

Stories are created online, then play offline. The screen stays off while your child listens, and nothing starts automatically when the story ends. There are no third-party ads and no ad tracking, and the first story is free. The trade-off is worth stating plainly: there is nothing to unwrap, an adult creates and starts each story, and the phone stays in the room while it plays, screen off. A child who wants to run everything alone will get more from a player. The full process is on How Wunderli works.

Create your first story in Wunderli. It's free.

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