36 Gifts and Toys for 4-Year-Old Boys

This Bluey memory game puts a familiar face on every card for a preschool boy who quotes the show.

He can name the whole cast without help, so each flip lets him call out who just appeared. On a family vacation, he can deal the cards across a hotel bed and challenge a parent to keep up.

Should the boy on your list cover the fridge with crayon pictures, this Hape easel hands him a standing spot to work.

A preschooler swings his whole arm and shifts his feet while he draws, so a board he stands at matches how he scribbles. His finished dinosaur ends up as the picture he walks a parent over to see.

These sea animal figures put the creatures a preschool boy already points out in his picture books right into his hands.

He can pile blankets inside a laundry basket to make a reef and decide which animal chases the others. Afterward, he can line them up in a shoebox and pick which one leads tomorrow's dive.

Dinosaur play and number games meet in these Learning Resources counters for a four-year-old who roars through every reptile book.

He lines up beasts by the handful, and each piece is a creature he loves rather than a plain bead.

If the boy on your list pretends a broom is a guitar, this Hape one swaps it for an instrument that answers his hands.

He mimics every performer he hears, and here the sound comes out of his own playing instead of a speaker.

If you're buying for a boy who loves beating grown-ups, PlayMonster Breakfast Blitz seats him across from a parent.

He already turns brushing teeth and putting on shoes into races, and here the prize is cereal he catches himself. At the kitchen table, he can keep score on a napkin and demand a rematch right away.

Hide-and-seek is the constant request of a preschooler who loves sneaking around, and this Goliath game brings that stealth to the table.

He chases the hush right before someone finds him, and a snoozing dad to tiptoe past holds that same suspense. His tally of quiet wins gets scribbled on a sticky note tucked inside the box.

Any four-year-old who quizzes grown-ups about the letters in his name can do the sorting himself with this Learning Resources set.

He spots print on every sign lately, and a pretend soup kitchen lets him serve up his own answers. The set then sits by the table, within his reach whenever he wants another round.

Any four-year-old who picks the cherries out of a fruit bowl can carry that favorite to family night with Hi Ho Cherry-O.

He asks for that snack by name, so a board built around it gets pulled out at his request. The wins he racks up get announced to everyone at the table before the box closes.

K'NEX Budding Builders pieces fit a preschool boy who keeps inventing machines and asking how his toys work inside.

The gadgets he describes out loud during play become something he holds, changes and takes down again on his own. Before bedtime, he can put together a garage for his favorite car and park it by his pillow.

Plus-Plus building blocks give a four-year-old who dreams up creatures and towers a fresh set to make them.

He likes deciding what each build becomes, so his dragon can turn into a race car before dinner. Plus-Plus labels it for ages 1 and up, so a younger sibling can build beside him.

A preschool boy who begs for paper whenever his favorite Pokémon comes up can keep his own Squirtle coloring kit within reach.

He likes starting a picture without waiting for a grown-up, and the character he loves comes along every time. On a train ride, he can open it on his lap and draw new friends for his hero.

This Crayola Scribble Scrubbies Bluey set lets a four-year-old fan color the show's characters himself.

He acts out episodes at home, so picking how each character looks lets him stage them his way. After the coloring, the characters can head to the rug for a pretend family outing.

Each Spirograph Disney Jr. design comes from the hand of a four-year-old who scribbles on every napkin within reach.

He reaches for paper whenever he sits down, and the theme links his marks to cartoons he watches. The kit then stays on a low shelf where he grabs it without asking.

The four-year-old who mashes every dough color together and pinches out lumpy snakes can crack open this Play-Doh set as he goes.

Molding things with his hands is how he plays right now, so each container he pops open feeds the next lumpy creature.

On the patio, a boy who draws dinosaurs on every page can send this hauler's racers shooting across the pavers.

Giant reptiles and anything with wheels rule his play right now, and each racer zips off after a tug. His longest run gets marked with a chalk line on the patio stones.

If the boy you're shopping for stages emergencies on the rug, this helicopter set gives every call an air crew.

He already supplies the siren sounds himself, so these choppers only need his hand to reach each emergency. He can turn a shoebox lid into a helipad by the couch and land each crew in turn.

A BRIO World Christmas engine gives a four-year-old who builds railway loops a festive train to lead them.

He plans routes around the furniture, so a holiday engine heads each December trip he lays out. BRIO labels it for ages 3 and up, and it can stay on his track long after the holidays.

Tiny Land's train and track set hands a train-loving four-year-old a railway to plan and lay out himself.

He waves at every passing train, so choosing where the track bends lets him run the line. Before dinner, he can curve the route around a chair leg and call out each stop.

This Dickie Toys police helicopter gives a cop-loving preschooler an air unit for the chases he stages.

Squad cars already star in his games, so flying this by hand lets him follow each chase from above. He can hover it over the couch arm and steer his cars toward the next call.

A plush doodle puppy makes sense for a preschool boy who crouches down to greet every dog he passes on the sidewalk.

The friendly dog he waves at outside becomes one he can carry around and give a name of his own. At the breakfast table, he can prop it on the next chair and set out a pretend water dish.

This rocket ship gives a boy who names every planet in his books a craft to fly around his own room.

He can tape a paper planet to the closet door, steer toward it and land the craft on his pillow.

Learning Resources color tiles suit a preschooler who lines up his toy cars in neat rows by color before playing.

Grouping things by shade is how he plays now, and plain squares leave every stripe and mosaic up to him. Leftover pieces stay stacked by the rug, ready for tomorrow's rainbow road.

These hand2mind Numberblocks cubes let a preschool fan of the show snap its characters together himself.

He calls out each character by name, so building them cube by cube puts the show in his hands. After an episode, he can line his builds up on the coffee table and compare their heights.

Number tunes from tonies belong with a four-year-old who tallies the stairs out loud and hums through every chore.

He repeats any tune he hears until the whole house knows it, and these songs put numbers in every chorus. The stomping routine he invents for his favorite track becomes the show his family gets called in to watch.

During a living room sing-along, a four-year-old who belts out every chorus can join the band on his own Hape ukulele.

Labeled by Hape for ages 3 and up, its strings put the music he shouts into his fingers.

Press Here gives a four-year-old a picture book that invites him to press along page by page.

It is rated for ages 3 and up, so it sits easily at his age. A parent can read the instructions aloud while he does the pressing.

Dinosaur-obsessed preschoolers can explore the National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs page by page.

He studies the pictures on the couch with a parent after dinner. Then he roars out each name he has learned.

Sing-along fans can groove through Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin.

He chants the refrain while a parent turns the pages at story time. Afterward, he checks the color of his own sneakers.