Best Christmas, Holiday, or Birthday Gift Ideas for Boys Ages 6-9

The boys aren't much different from the girls because both of them want action figures. But the girls want Barbie and Princess "dolls" while the boys want the rough and tough action figures in many of the popular movies and DVD's that they enjoy.  The tried and true action figure favorites are Spiderman, Ironman, The Incredible Hulk and Batman.  The Spiderman Action Figure is "shock proof" meaning that as if one of his spidey senses does fail him (or your son has him climbing the stairs and walls) his parts aren't going to go flying across the room.  Each one of these action figures are perfect for growing hands and creative boys. Sturdy, colorful and moveable parts will provide hours of entertaining fun for your active elementary aged boy.

Creative young boys minds will enjoy not only enjoy playing with their favorite super heros and action figures, but also dressing up and pretending to be them too. These Hulk Smash Hands are sturdy, durable and easy to clean for your little hulk that may be playing with them outside.  They simply slip their hands inside and they become the Incredible Hulk, so parents may have to add some very specific instructions on how these hands can be used.

Community helpers like police and fireman are popular too with young boys. They look to these figures as local heros and with the Dexter Career Dressup Police Costume they can really get into imaginary play with their hat, vest, handcuffs and badge.  Visit the wild wild west as you dress up in a Cowboy Costume complete with hat, chaps, vest and belt.  This means you don't have to go looking later for more items to add to the cowboy costume, saving you tons of time!

Some of the best things about costumes is that children can really explore their imaginary world, get creative and you are also ready for those occassional special occasions at school when you may need a little "dress up" for fun.

It's important to buy more than one though, because as soon as the other boys show up for a playdate they will want to pretend to be their favorite hero too!

Boys love to be competitive and they are ready to step up from "little kid" games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders to a little more competition and a whole lot more thinking. 

Boys will love to say "Sorry" as they send their opponents back home. This game is easy to set up and play, you can complete it pretty quickly so young ones don't become bored and because of the easy to recognize color coding even little siblings can get in on the game.

Hasbro offers both an standard version of Battleship, but the Electronic Battleship Advanced Mission Game offers your young man the opportunity to do strategic planning, matching, and sorting.  But best of all they will love the special effects sounds as they "sank the battleship!"

20Q is a handheld game that is small and portable and can be taken just about anywhere!  It's a game of 20 questions that you can play alone or with friends.  It is available in a variety of colors, the questions are fun and interesting, and the buttons easy to navigate.

Finally, boys at this age have the fine motor skills to handle Operation.  Instead of getting upset and frustrated they can now use the tools to get the funny bone and find it funny!  They also don't get as upset when the buzzer sounds because they now have the maturity to not be startled by what to some preschoolers can be a really loud, scary noise, now elementary aged boys will find it funny.

Qwirkle is a newer game that this age group likes because they can really show off their smart stuff by creating long rows of matches by colors and shapes.

Each of these games make for a great family game night or a sleep over party for the boys.

There you have it, 16 toys made for boys that will always be a winner whether as a gift for a holiday, birthday or Christmas.