Small, mailable gift ideas for 5 year old boys
August 18, 2020 9:34 AM Subscribe
I'm sending periodic fun packages for the two kids of a close friend to help with pandemic boredom. A nine year old girl, and a 5 year old boy. Needs to be something I can mail (sending notes to each).
Having once been a young girl, I have some ideas of what to send. For the boy - I'm completely out of ideas and could use some help
Nothing electronic, and nothing fragile. Looking for items that aren't necessarily in the "$5 plastic toy at target" territory , but if there's something fantastic let me know! About $10 per kid per package is what I'm aiming at.
Things that I think have been
have been successful in the past:
Temporary tattoos
Fancy color pencils that you can "treat" with water to look like water colors
Draw your own postcards (sent with stamps, and I got one in the mail as a thank you!)
Nothing electronic, and nothing fragile. Looking for items that aren't necessarily in the "$5 plastic toy at target" territory , but if there's something fantastic let me know! About $10 per kid per package is what I'm aiming at.
Things that I think have been
have been successful in the past:
Temporary tattoos
Fancy color pencils that you can "treat" with water to look like water colors
Draw your own postcards (sent with stamps, and I got one in the mail as a thank you!)
Trucks! Lego guys!
(Stuff my 5-year-old boy loved.)
posted by Mid at 9:41 AM on August 18, 2020 [4 favorites]
(Stuff my 5-year-old boy loved.)
posted by Mid at 9:41 AM on August 18, 2020 [4 favorites]
You can never go wrong with balsa gliders.
posted by bondcliff at 9:48 AM on August 18, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 9:48 AM on August 18, 2020 [6 favorites]
A simple magic trick? I liked impressing grown-ups with a coin disappearing box
posted by tinker at 9:52 AM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tinker at 9:52 AM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
-kid art supplies.
-this is a bit out of your price range, but could be shared for both. It's a winner for both ages.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:53 AM on August 18, 2020
-this is a bit out of your price range, but could be shared for both. It's a winner for both ages.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:53 AM on August 18, 2020
An assortment of little stuff my five-year-old kid likes: stickers, big stencils that could be used with sidewalk chalk, interesting instant food/premixed baking stuff, tape (fancy colors entirely optional; just having access to unrestricted quantities of the regular stuff is great), metallic crayons, Duplo/Lego figurines/unique bricks, oversized dice (there's an addition/subtraction game I forget the name of, where you roll one die to pick the "goal number" and then use the values of several others to add/subtract until you get to that goal), marbles, rocks...
posted by teremala at 9:55 AM on August 18, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by teremala at 9:55 AM on August 18, 2020 [3 favorites]
Think old school. Marbles. Jacks. Pick-up-sticks. Always loved Wooly Willy when I was little.
posted by greta simone at 10:11 AM on August 18, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by greta simone at 10:11 AM on August 18, 2020 [3 favorites]
My four year old boy will murder for LEGO, even tiny LEGO sets.
posted by lydhre at 10:20 AM on August 18, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by lydhre at 10:20 AM on August 18, 2020 [5 favorites]
Lee Valley has balsa gliders, kazoos, kaleidoscope kits and decoder rings on this page.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:53 AM on August 18, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:53 AM on August 18, 2020 [3 favorites]
Thinking back to childhood Christmas stockings...
A jumping spider toy or a wind-up dinosaur, marbles, Hot Wheels cars, rainbow and holographic scratch-off paper (you wouldn't have to send the whole box at once, or you could split one between them), an old-school magic slate (that one might be a bit big, but there are smaller versions), little bouncy balls, a giant crazy crayon (there are probably smaller versions of this too), a Koosh ball, a paint-with-water coloring book, plasticine, a fly's eye toy (look through it and see the world many times over through the tiny facets), little wooden spinning tops, bubble mixture, a lenticular postcard or lenticular stickers, jumping beans, a Slinky if they have stairs...
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 12:14 PM on August 18, 2020
A jumping spider toy or a wind-up dinosaur, marbles, Hot Wheels cars, rainbow and holographic scratch-off paper (you wouldn't have to send the whole box at once, or you could split one between them), an old-school magic slate (that one might be a bit big, but there are smaller versions), little bouncy balls, a giant crazy crayon (there are probably smaller versions of this too), a Koosh ball, a paint-with-water coloring book, plasticine, a fly's eye toy (look through it and see the world many times over through the tiny facets), little wooden spinning tops, bubble mixture, a lenticular postcard or lenticular stickers, jumping beans, a Slinky if they have stairs...
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 12:14 PM on August 18, 2020
My grandson of about that age was into jigsaw puzzles for a while, the age appropriate ones with big pieces. Now into Legos. Flying monkeys are fun for all ages.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:14 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SemiSalt at 12:14 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Not exactly what you asked but here are some magazine subscriptions:
Zoo Books
National Geographic Kids
Highlights/Highfive
posted by pyro979 at 12:27 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Zoo Books
National Geographic Kids
Highlights/Highfive
posted by pyro979 at 12:27 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Dry erase markers can be used to draw on windows or mirrors (anything glass) and wipes off easily. Decorating a sliding glass door can be fun for either kid.
posted by metahawk at 12:54 PM on August 18, 2020
posted by metahawk at 12:54 PM on August 18, 2020
Play-dough, which you can hand-make if you want and add scents, and maybe even package with some letter stamps that spell his name or another stamp or cookie cutter.
Mini spirograph set and gel pens if he is dextrous enough to use them.
This book and ink set or something similar.
Sidewalk chalk, window markers, or fabric pens.
A set of cool rocks.
posted by mai at 1:24 PM on August 18, 2020
Mini spirograph set and gel pens if he is dextrous enough to use them.
This book and ink set or something similar.
Sidewalk chalk, window markers, or fabric pens.
A set of cool rocks.
posted by mai at 1:24 PM on August 18, 2020
My 5 year old boy just got a big kick out of some super Mario balloons. Google eyes, yup.
posted by pairofshades at 2:52 PM on August 18, 2020
posted by pairofshades at 2:52 PM on August 18, 2020
Around that age, I had a mini magnifying glass that swiveled into its own little protective pocket. Like this.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 3:57 PM on August 18, 2020
posted by Ms Vegetable at 3:57 PM on August 18, 2020
Some different coloured LEDs and a couple of CR2032 batteries. They just tape the legs of the LEDs to the batteries to make their own lights, then learning to gently bend the legs away to make a switch. It's technically electronics, but they'd be building something.
Otherwise, snipping the ends off glow sticks and shaking them into a jar then sprinkling in some glitter makes a greattooth fairy trap night light.
posted by some little punk in a rocket at 5:12 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Otherwise, snipping the ends off glow sticks and shaking them into a jar then sprinkling in some glitter makes a great
posted by some little punk in a rocket at 5:12 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Based on a suggestion from a MeFite, I sent my friend’s kids, who are 6 and 9, a doorway curtain made of tinsel (under $10 on Amazon). They love it. They run through it and also enjoy doing living room plays and using it for their big entrances.
I also sent them a bath bomb making kit, which they really liked.
A microscope is cool too
Origami set
Bracelet making supplies
Tie dye kit (you can assemble this yourself: dye, rubber gloves, white cotton t shirts & socks, string, elastic bands)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:04 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
I also sent them a bath bomb making kit, which they really liked.
A microscope is cool too
Origami set
Bracelet making supplies
Tie dye kit (you can assemble this yourself: dye, rubber gloves, white cotton t shirts & socks, string, elastic bands)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:04 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by librarianamy at 9:39 AM on August 18, 2020 [5 favorites]