Six-year-olds stay busy with all kinds of activities, and friends are starting to matter more. Many like board games at this age, along with painting and drawing.
Something he can play with a friend or on his own fits right in, and the ideas below are made for a six-year-old boy.
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Vehicles
A remote-control Sonic the Hedgehog skateboard toy hands a young Sonic fan the controls.
Instead of just holding his favorite character, he drives the board down the hallway and picks every turn. Batteries are not included, so grab some before you wrap it.
Games and puzzlesAges 4+
American brand
The Melissa & Doug Hocus Pocus magic set gives a budding showman real tricks to perform at home.
He picks a trick, works out its secret, then repeats it until his hands move smoothly. After that, the living room couch becomes the front row for his weekend magic show.
Outdoor and sports
SPIN BALLS Glow.0 are glowing poi for a 6-year-old who likes to move.
They are USB rechargeable, so there are no batteries to buy. Once the sun goes down, he can practice swirls in the backyard.
Building setsAges 6+
79 pieces · set 21583
Danish brand
Steve's Taiga Adventure is a 79-piece LEGO Minecraft set for a fan who mines and builds on screen.
With a count that size, the build goes quickly and the playing starts the same afternoon. He already knows Steve from the game, so he decides where the hero goes once the bricks are together.
VehiclesAges 4+
American brand
This Hot Wheels City T-Rex track set puts a dinosaur in the way of a car collector's races.
He lines up cars from his collection and sends each one racing past the jaws. After school, the bedroom floor becomes a chase scene he can replay with every car he owns.
Outdoor and sports
Nerf's Nerfoop puts a hoop of his own in a young basketball fan's bedroom, ready for indoor shots.
He can shoot whenever he likes, with no wait for a trip to the park. On a rainy afternoon, he challenges a parent to a shootout and calls every swish aloud.
Games and puzzlesAges 6+
72 pieces (Ravensburger)
German brand
This Ravensburger Pokémon puzzle ball hands a young fan a jigsaw that rounds into a globe.
He sorts pieces by the characters he can name, then fits them together until the sphere closes. The finished ball can rest on his desk, where he spins it to spot his favorites.
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Ages 4+
This Disney and Pixar Cars jump track gives a fan of the movies a course of his own.
He lines up his toy cars at the start, then sends each one flying off the jump. He already races loose cars across the rug, so a real course lets him stage the big finish.
Airport play gets a real airline with this Delta Air Lines toy jet for a boy hooked on planes.
He lays a masking-tape runway down the hallway and plays both pilot and control tower. He calls out each takeoff over a pretend radio, then guides the jet in to land.
This Tonka dump truck suits a 6-year-old who loves construction sites and wants to run his own.
Its tilting bed lets him haul blocks across the rug and dump them. On a sunny afternoon, he can move sand in the backyard.
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eeBoo's Fairytale Spinner gives a budding storyteller the makings of a fairytale, spin by spin.
He makes up heroes and daring rescues anyway, so this game lets him steer the plot for the whole table. After dinner, mom or dad can take a turn adding the next twist.
American brand
Noodle Knockout brings a silly noodle matching game to a boy eager to beat his family.
After a round goes his way, he resets the pieces and dares a parent to go again. Siblings and parents can all join in, so he always has someone ready for a rematch.
Dutch brand
Don't Wake Daddy is a tiptoe-past-the-sleeper board game for a boy of 6 with a sneaky streak.
Each turn he creeps forward and presses the button, never sure when Daddy will wake. It needs no reading, so he can explain the rules himself after dinner.
Connect 4 Strategy brings the classic board game to a competitive boy eager to outsmart a parent.
He watches where each disc lands, since stopping a rival's row matters as much as building one. Once a round ends, he can reset the grid and call for a rematch right away.
This oversized pick-up sticks game suits a 6-year-old who likes slow, careful challenges.
He tips the wooden sticks onto the rug and eases out one at a time. Then he scatters the pile again for another round.
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American brand
Crayola's Inspiration Art Case keeps a busy young sketcher's coloring tools together in a case he can carry.
He fills page after page with monsters and maps, so the case goes along wherever an idea starts. At a grandparent's house, he can open it on the coffee table and finish his dragon.
Before you pick a Pokémon coloring book for a six-year-old fan, consider this Klutz kit, which gives his coloring a stained-glass look.
He knows the characters by heart, so recreating them by hand turns his fandom into art he keeps. The kit hands each familiar character a fresh style for his bedroom wall.
Stones that shine after lights out make this rock painting kit right for a 6-year-old maker.
He might paint a shark or a rocket, saving the glowing paint for eyes and engine flames. Once the room goes dark, his creations light up the bookshelf.
American brand
Crayola Broad Line markers hand a drawing-mad boy a set for his comics and homemade cards.
He draws robots and race tracks on any paper, so this set lets him color them in. On a quiet Sunday, he can color a comic strip and tape it to the fridge.
This acrylic paint set works for a 6-year-old boy who wants to paint real things, not just draw on paper.
He can mix his own colors from the big range. A canvas or a wooden board becomes his art show.
French brand
Djeco's origami kit suits a 6-year-old who likes making things with his hands.
He follows the steps at his own pace, then lines up his animal faces on a desk shelf.
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American brand
This Learning Resources pixel puzzle hands a young pattern copier a grid and a picture to match.
He already copies patterns in his drawings, so working out where each color goes suits that habit. Once a picture is finished, he leaves it on the kitchen table and picks the next design.
The Osmo Base turns an iPad into a hands-on game table for a boy of 6 who likes to draw and puzzle things out.
It needs an iPad, which is not included. The box has Masterpiece and Newton, so he can start drawing and solving right away.
On his bedroom windowsill, a dinosaur expert in first grade sets up a prehistoric garden of his own.
Weekend mornings turn into a quick inspection of how his little world is coming along.
American brand
Giving orders is half the fun of first grade, and this robot follows each one exactly, mistakes and all.
Learning Resources gives it an age mark of 5 and up, so it meets him where he is. After dinner, he lines up shoes from the hallway and maps a route that weaves between them.
American brand
MathLink Builders give a 6-year-old who likes to count and make things a set of linking cubes with an activity guide.
He snaps them into animals and objects, then pulls them apart for the next idea.
Andy is a coding robot a 6-year-old can program by pressing buttons on its head.
He lines up a string of moves, then watches Andy act them out with lights and sounds. The games in the box give him new routes to plan.
Osmo Pizza Co hands a number-loving boy his own pizza counter.
It needs the Osmo base and a compatible iPad or Fire tablet, sold separately. He fills orders and works out the sums himself, since math is part of running the shop. After school, he can open for business and ask a parent to place the next order.
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Building sets
American brand
Shark tanks built from couch pillows give way to a whole undersea world once an ocean-mad boy has these magnetic pieces.
When his story is over, the build goes back in the box until the next one.
Building sets
American brand
This magnetic castle set gives a 6-year-old builder a drawbridge, a spiral staircase and a dragon to build around.
He snaps the tiles into towers and walls, then sends the royalty figure across the bridge. After school, the dragon guards the castle on the rug.
Outdoor and sports
This portable basketball hoop gives a 6-year-old shooter a rim of his own to practice on.
The base fills with water or sand, so it stays put. Wheels let him roll it out to the driveway after school.
Outdoor and sports
A boy still learning to catch a pass gets a Nerf Vortex for after-dinner throws with a parent in the backyard.
Nerf marks it for ages 6 and up, right in step with the year he joins flag football.
Dolls and figuresAges 3+
Dennis the Wolf brings a Minecraft character into stuffed form for a boy hooked on the game.
He gets a sidekick to hold while he acts out adventures he invents himself. After school, the stairs can turn into a cliff that Dennis guards from the top step.
Dolls and figuresAges 3 to 8
German brand
This Schleich sloth gives a 6-year-old animal lover a jungle resident for his own pretend safari.
The maker lists it for ages 3 to 8. He can stand it among his other animals and invent its slow day.
Electronics
For a boy who prefers creepy crawlers to teddy bears, this remote-control toy spider is his to steer.
He drives it from across the room, sending it under chairs while he stays out of sight. After dinner, it can wait by the kitchen doorway for someone to walk past.
Books
The Day the Crayons Quit is a picture book for a six-year-old with a well-worn crayon box.
It is rated for ages 3 and up, so he can read much of it to a parent himself. Afterward, he can draw a picture of the crayons themselves and tape it by his bed.
Books
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea gives an early reader a graphic novel he can follow alone.
He can read it on the couch after school. Afterward, it stays on his shelf for a reread.
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Osmo Pizza Co works only with the Osmo base and a compatible iPad or Fire tablet, both sold separately, so check what the family already owns.
Yes. The Daron toy airliner turns a hallway into his runway, where he plays pilot and control tower at the same time.
Connect 4 Strategy has him watch where every disc lands, blocking a rival's row while he builds his own.
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