36 Gifts and Toys for 4-Year-Old Boys

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.

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.

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.

A boy who stops mid-step to point at every squirrel, crow or airplane can now study them up close himself.

He notices tiny things far away and asks about them, and these let him aim and find out for himself. From the top of the playground slide, he can scan the benches to spot which grown-up is waving.

While a parent rakes leaves out front, a four-year-old boy who loves giving orders can radio instructions from the porch steps.

He copies every grown-up in charge, and a handset of his own lets him direct without leaving his post. The code name he invents gets announced before every order.

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.

Whoever is buying for a four-year-old who knocks down his block towers to start over can hand him this flower building set.

He cares more about rebuilding than finishing, and blooms that pull apart let every garden become a different one. The bouquet he likes most ends up on the kitchen table beside the fruit bowl.

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.

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.

When you're choosing for a boy who asks what every street sign says, these Skillmatics mats send him hunting through busy scenes.

He already points out lettering around town, and now short familiar terms sit tucked into artwork for him to find. At the kitchen counter, he can call out each discovery and have a parent sound out the tricky ones.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A preschool boy who doodles on his own arms can aim that habit at Crayola Scribble Scrubbie Pets instead.

At his age he wants art he can carry around, and these animals give every squiggle a shape to hold. The cat then waits on his bedroom shelf for whatever look he dreams up next.

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.

Before dinner, a four-year-old boy who wants a job during the cooking can pile these pretend fruits by kind on the floor.

Kitchen chores are his favorite play right now, and produce of his own gives him something to tally and arrange.

At snack time, a preschooler who argues over whose cracker is bigger can lay these worms beside his plate and settle it.

He turns every size difference into a contest, and stretching pieces end to end shows the winner plainly. Between bites, the set waits on the counter for his next banana dispute.

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.

Blanket forts draped over the dining chairs are the daily project of a four-year-old who wants a secret spot all his own.

This tent stands ready without borrowing anyone's chairs, so he can crawl inside with his picture books for quiet time.

Storybook pictures stretch across the ceiling from this projector for a four-year-old boy who begs for another tale before lights out.

He studies every page of his picture books, and here each character fills the space above his bed.

Batman on a snack box works for a four-year-old who refuses to take off his cape, even for meals.

His hero joins every game he plays, so bringing that masked figure to preschool keeps the rescue going at the table. The container he shows off to the classmate beside him ends up holding only crumbs.