43 Gifts and Toys for 11-Year-Old Girls

Snap Circuits SC-100 hands a tinkering tween the chance to build the circuits behind everyday gadgets.

She often wonders why a doorbell rings, so she connects each path and traces where the current goes. On a Sunday afternoon, the dining table becomes her lab for a circuit she sketched on paper.

Smartivity's robot hand is a build project for an 11-year-old girl curious about how machines grab.

She follows the manual, puts the hand together, then works the fingers herself. Her finished gripper can wave from a shelf above her desk.

This Klutz kit sets gear-driven creatures going for a girl who wants to see what happens inside a machine.

She already asks why a clock hand ticks forward, and each finished creature lets her watch an answer up close. At her desk, she can nudge one along slowly and sketch how its parts push each other.

Before practice, an 11-year-old stuffing cleats into a crowded locker can slip an Apple AirTag into her gym duffel; it sets up with an iPhone or iPad.

Her days now span school, the field and friends' houses, so that duffel gets easier to locate when it wanders off.

If the girl you have in mind wants songs without borrowing a parent's phone, give her an Echo Dot Kids; a parent sets it up once from their Amazon account.

Her playlists are turning into her own taste, and a voice request from across her room picks each track.

The KODAK PIXPRO FZ45 is a compact camera for an 11-year-old who wants to shoot her own photos.

She can zoom in on friends, frame each shot on the rear screen and review it right away. It fits in a backpack for trips and weekends.

A Tamagotchi Connection virtual pet fits a tween who likes a small daily routine to keep up.

She looks after it on a schedule she sets, feeding it and tidying up between plans. On the ride home from school, she pulls it out to see what the pet needs next.

Blokus gives an 11-year-old girl a strategy game where she can outplay the grown-ups at the table.

She plans a few moves ahead, watching where an uncle or a parent leaves an opening. The box comes out after Sunday lunch whenever relatives drop by.

Marvin's Magic is a trick kit with card and coin magic, mind reading and levitation for an 11-year-old who likes to be the center of attention.

She can mix the effects into a short act and rework the order for each audience.

When the girl you are choosing for names every constellation she spots, this 4M kit lets her build her own planets.

She wants projects she completes herself, and this one turns her stargazing into a model she keeps. Its finished worlds glow beside her bed once the lamp goes off at night.

Hydraulic Boxing Bots is a robot kit for a builder who wants to compete once the assembly is done.

Both water-powered bots go together by hand, and a scoreboard comes in the box. Then a friend takes the other bot for a match.

The animal lover who names every dog at the local shelter can model rescue pets of her own in clay.

She fusses over tiny ears and tails, and the adoption truck lets her stage each finished critter's rescue.

A girl who trades friendship bracelets with classmates can sculpt tiny clay charms to dangle from every bracelet she gives away.

Her swaps hinge on personal touches, and the book lets her design a little figure matched to each friend's favorite thing. Before lunch, she can slip the newest swap into a friend's locker.

With the Loopdedoo loom, a crafty tween girl can make friendship bands that shine after lights-out.

She picks the thread colors for each friend, then loops a matching set to hand out. At a sleepover, everyone switches off the lamp and holds up a wrist to see the bands glow.

Klutz Friendship Bracelets is a knotting book for an 11-year-old who likes making things by hand.

Klutz marks it for ages 8 and up, so she can follow the patterns alone. She can tie a new band for a friend after school.

These watercolor brush pens work for an 11-year-old who fills sketchbooks and wants painted color without a palette.

Water-filled pens let her blend shades on the page. She can tuck them in a backpack and paint a spread at a friend's house.

Make It Real's Mini Pottery Studio gives a crafty 11-year-old girl a pottery corner right at her desk.

She wants crafts that look like hers alone, so she can begin with simple shapes and move on to designs she invents. A finished mini bowl might end up holding hair ties on her dresser.

This origami flower kit gives an 11-year-old who likes detailed crafts a paper bouquet to fold herself.

She works through the illustrated booklet one bloom at a time. A jar on her desk holds the finished stems.

For an 11-year-old with plots in her head, this book and LEGO elements show how to film her own stop-motion movies.

She builds the set, shifts the figures bit by bit and films each step. Klutz marks it Age 8+.

A girl who plays club volleyball can keep a Tachikara ball of her own for the nights between team sessions.

She already passes against the basement wall alone, and this ball suits the indoor courts her team uses.

This Flybar pogo stick gives an active 11-year-old a ride to bounce on outside.

Easy-grip handles and wide foot pegs help her stay steady. After school, she can practice new bounces on the driveway.

Pickleball paddles are the right call for an 11-year-old who would rather trade shots with a friend than sit still.

She wants games where she keeps score herself, and the backyard lawn becomes her court whenever a partner shows up.

Who Was Frida Kahlo? gives an eleven-year-old with a sketchbook always nearby the true story of a famous painter.

The publisher rates it for ages 8 to 12, so she can read it comfortably on her own. Afterward, she can try a self-portrait in her own colors.

Bake It gives an eleven-year-old home baker a cookbook of her own to work through on weekends.

Its publisher rates it for ages 10 to 14, so the recipes match a cook her age. She can bake a batch on Sunday and pack the leftovers in her school lunch.

Roller Girl is a graphic novel for an eleven-year-old into skating, sports and stories about friendship.

The publisher rates it for ages 9 to 12, so it sits right at her age. She can read it straight through in an afternoon on the couch.

Nevermoor gives an eleven-year-old fantasy fan a novel to settle into over a quiet weekend.

She can read it curled up in a blanket fort, then lend it to a friend.

Glowing star stickers give an 11-year-old a bedroom ceiling to fill with a sky she designs.

Her room is turning into her own territory, and the stars are a mark she places herself. At a sleepover, friends on sleeping bags pick out her shapes in the dark.

This Keroppi plush brings the Sanrio frog to a tween whose favorite characters fill her notebooks.

He wears a daisy-covered shirt, so he looks right on a desk shelf. She can squeeze him during a movie.

Malcolm Mushroom gives a girl building her Squishmallows collection a quirky mushroom character to add to the row.

She can hug it while reading on the couch, then set it back among her other characters. If her shelf has none yet, Malcolm can be the start of one.

The RockJam RJ761 keyboard suits an 11-year-old girl ready to trade a toy piano for real keys.

She can work out the melodies from movie soundtracks, one hand at a time. After dinner, the keyboard waits in her room for another run through the chorus.

The Carpool Karaoke mic is a wireless karaoke microphone for an 11-year-old with every playlist word memorized.

It streams songs from a phone over Bluetooth, so she picks the track. Friends can pass it around at a sleepover.