The 37 Best Gifts for Tweens

PetParty Customized Socks

These goofy socks never get old: They can be personalized with the face of your tween’s favorite pet or person.

Buying Options

$20 from Amazon

$25 from PetPartyCo

PetParty’s Customized Socks are undoubtedly silly. They’re also fun, adorable, and irresistible—especially for the tween who loves animals. Plenty of online stores offer personalized paraphernalia emblazoned with the face of a beloved pet or person, but we found PetParty’s shop very easy to use, and it has over 1,000 satisfied-customer testimonials. You can choose from five size options and more than 90 color and pattern choices (all in a nylon/poly-blend), and you can add up to three different faces per customized pair.

—Ellen Lee

Knock Knock In My Planning Era Planner

This weekly planner offers a blank space for your tween to write down plans, homework, projects … and their wildest dreams.

Buying Options

$18 from Amazon

$22 from Barnes & Noble

Knock Knock’s turquoise In My Planning Era Planner gives off major Taylor Swift vibes and can help a tween start developing those executive functioning skills. The undated hardcover planner is arranged weekly and includes a goal setting section and blank “dream board” pages; it also has regular prompts such as, “I’m planning to let go of…” and “If I were planning my dream day, it would include…” Bonus: A pocket in the back can hold scraps of loose papers, and it comes with 200 planner stickers, such as laundry and appointment reminders.

—Ellen Lee

JINsoon Nail Polish

This sparkly confetti topcoat can be applied on its own or layered over colored polishes.

Buying Options

$18 from JINsoon

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

This top coat helps smooth any imperfections and can speed up drying time. Plus, it protects against chipping.

Buying Options

$7 from Amazon

When a trip to the nail salon isn’t in the cards, give your manicure-loving tween some of our favorite polishes and accessories for at-home manis and pedis. Start with the Star Nail Sani-Block for buffing, followed by a base coat, like this one from Essie. For eye-catching colors and an easy-to-use brush, check out JINsoon’s line of nail polishes—hues like Fab (multi-colored speckles) and Bijou (a cascade of gold) are particularly fun. Another favorite is Essie’s Gel Couture, which applies like regular nail polish but has the shiny, long-lasting consistency of a gel formula. Finally, seal the look with a formidable top coat, like Seche Vite’s Dry Fast Top Coat. Tuck everything into a travel case—we like the clear, 1-quart Lermende TSA-approved toiletry case, which is sold in packs of three.

—Ellen Lee

Epielle Character Masks

These silly animal sheet masks can be a fun part of a relaxing, pampering night spent at home.

Buying Options

$14 from Amazon

When my animal-obsessed daughter received a pack of Epielle Character Masks as a gift, she couldn’t help but giggle. We can’t say for sure whether the masks, from a South Korean beauty brand, purified or nourished our skin as the label promises. Even so, the goofy animal prints—llama, otter, panda, mermaid, cheetah, and unicorn—thoroughly entertained us, and the sheets felt cool and soft on our faces. (Read more about what we think of sheet masks in general.) Epielle also offers several other sets of sheet masks featuring different prints, including a zebra, a cat, a blue narwhal, and a pink shark, to name just a few.

—Ellen Lee

Smiski Living Series

This little glow-in-the-dark figurine strikes a pose; you just don’t know which one until you open the box.

Buying Options

$16 from Amazon

There’s a thrill when you open a blind box, unsure of what you’ll find inside. With Smiski, you receive an adorable glow-in-the-dark figurine in one of six thematic poses. We opted for the Living Series, for instance, and received Smiski Thinking, a figurine with its fist positioned under the chin akin to Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker. (Not going to lie, we were hoping for the Smiski Daydreaming figure, which has a cat on its globe-shaped head.) My daughter has her Smiski positioned on her nightstand, where it lightly glows and watches over her as she sleeps.

—Ellen Lee

Tribit XSound Go

With this budget-friendly, waterproof speaker, tweens can play their favorite music anywhere.

Buying Options

$37 from Amazon

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4

About the size of a baseball, this compact, durable speaker can survive being treated like one—it even floats. It costs more but delivers a louder, fuller sound.

Buying Options

$80 from Amazon

$80 from Walmart

$80 from Best Buy

A portable Bluetooth speaker lets music-loving tweens amplify their favorite tunes wherever they are. The Tribit XSound Go (our budget pick) has a full, clear sound, and it outperforms other speakers in its price range. Compact and waterproof, it’s also easy to slip into a backpack and tote to a friend’s house. With a louder, fuller sound, the stylish (though pricier) Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 is our all-around top pick, beating out 300 competitors. About the size and weight of an apple, this speaker is also the most rugged (and waterproof) speaker we tested; in our tests, it survived a 5-foot drop onto concrete with barely a scratch.

—Ellen Lee

Goodr OG

These stylish sunglasses are reminiscent of classic Ray-Bans, but they cost significantly less.

Buying Options

$25 from REI

$25 from Backcountry

$25 from Goodr

Sungait Vintage Round Sunglasses

These round shades are as chic as they are sturdy and affordable.

Buying Options

$16 from Amazon

My kids have always liked to borrow my sunglasses, the large frames overwhelming their tiny faces. Now that they’re older and nearing adult size, my children are ready for some nice (but not too nice) pairs of their own. Goodr’s OGs—one of our picks for the best cheap sunglasses—are comfortable to wear, durable, and versatile. Complementing a variety of face shapes, they look a lot like the classic Ray-Ban Wayfarer but cost a fraction of the price. Similarly, the Sungait Vintage Round Sunglasses call to mind the Ray-Ban Erika, but the Sungait glasses are among the least expensive pairs we recommend. Bonus: They come with a lifetime warranty that covers accidental breaks.

—Ellen Lee

Murdle: Volume 1

This book contains 100 increasingly challenging logic games, all connected through a loose story featuring Deductive Logico.

Buying Options

$10 from Amazon

$8 from Walmart

In Murdle: Volume 1, Deductive Logico runs into one murder after another, which can be solved using a series of clues and a deduction grid. The logic puzzles become more complex over time, but the goal stays the same: to figure out the who, what, where, and why. It’s similar to the board game Clue, except you can do it on your own, and there are hints (and the answers) at the back of the book. Each murder mystery—there are a hundred of them—reads like a short story, as you hash it out: Was it Mr. Tangerine in the captain’s quarters with the poisoned rum? And why?

—Ellen Lee

Cards Against Humanity Family Edition

The family edition of this popular adult card game has the same subversive humor, but with fewer references to sex, drugs, and alcohol.

Buying Options

$29 from Amazon

$29 from Walmart

An enduringly popular party game for adults, Cards Against Humanity is known for its naughty—and occasionally offensive and off-color—humor (not everyone is a fan). The Cards Against Humanity Family Edition is (somewhat) cleaner, but there are plenty of poop jokes and edginess to entertain a young crowd (moms, dads, grandparents, school principals, and Dora the Explorer all get to be the butt of jokes). Cards offer prompts like “The aliens are here. They want …” and “Where do babies come from?” Players compete by picking a card from their hand that they hope makes the funniest statement (such as “The fifth-graders,” “Big butt cheeks filled with poop,” or “A bird pooping on the president’s head”), so this game is somewhat similar to Apples to Apples. Note that some card combinations may go over the line (for example, other possible cards include “Jesus,” “Nipples,” “Illegal drugs,” “Oh, that’s my mom’s friend Carl. He comes over and helps her with …”). But, if anything, this made the game even more appealing for our tweens.

—Ellen Lee

Dr. Martens Junior 1460 Softy Leather Lace Up Boots

Like the adult versions, these leather boots are built to last, and they make a statement.

Buying Options

$75 from Zappos

$75 from Dr. Martens

May be out of stock

Blundstone Chelsea Boots

These versatile, everyday boots still look nice after the leather’s been worn and broken in.

Buying Options

$190 from Blundstone

Some shoes manage to appeal across generations, and that’s certainly the case with classic kicks like Blundstones and Dr. Martens. Cool, sturdy, and timeless, a pair of Doc Martens or Blundstones can be a sweet, durable investment for a tween’s shoe collection. One stylish tween raved that her Docs match everything she wears—plus they add a little height. Slip-on and lightweight, Blunnies are likewise beloved. And they can be as comfortable as sneakers while also conveying a slightly more-polished, mature look. Yet if sneakers are more your kid’s style, they may like putting a personal spin on a pair of Classic Slip-On Vans, which we recommend in our gift guide for 10-year-olds.

—Ellen Lee

Bleuet Aster Organic Racerback Bra

This comfortable, reversible bra is double-lined, so nothing shows through.

Buying Options

$24 from Amazon

$24 from Bleuet

One of the starter bras we recommend in our puberty guide, the Bleuet Aster Organic Racerback Bra (in gray, above) is made with a soft, stretchy jersey cotton that feels comfy for first-time wearers. The reversible, two-colored bra can be worn with either side facing out. Intended as something special for a pre-teen, Bleuet bras are packaged in gift tissue (often with a small extra gift inside, such as hairbands) and shipped in a cardboard box.

—Ellen Lee

Topo Designs Dopp Kit

Here′s a grown-up gift for grooming on the go.

Buying Options

$34 from Amazon

$34 from Zappos

A toiletry bag is a practical gift that can last for years—if not decades. We have several well-made options to recommend in our guide, but my favorite is the Topo Designs Dopp Kit, with its retro styling and solid construction. Unlike other toiletry bags my family has relied upon, this bag has just one large compartment. But it sits upright on a counter, has an oversize fabric loop for hanging, and is big enough to hold everything a growing kid needs for sleepovers, sleepaway camp, or any other travels—and it is sturdy enough to last them into young adulthood. A similar but less expensive option from L.L.Bean that my family has liked is also sturdy but arguably less stylish.

—Kalee Thompson

The Book Drop

This subscription sends a surprise paperback to your tween bookworm every month.

Buying Options

Buy from The Book Drop

Momo’s Book Club

This monthly book subscription picks books that encourage inclusion and representation.

Buying Options

Buy from Cratejoy

The Book Drop—one of Wirecutter’s favorite book subscription boxes for adults and kids—is run by an independent bookshop in Delaware, and it delivers a surprise paperback each month (you can print out a gift note if you want to give something physical to the recipient before the subscription begins). The Middle Grade subscription—available on a month-to-month basis, as well as in three-, six-, or 12-month prepaid commitments—targets readers ages 9 through 12. The picks, selected by bookstore staff, are usually well-regarded titles but not the big names that typically populate best-seller lists. (The Book Drop has made a commitment to feature more-diverse books, too.) Past selections include Any Day With You, by Mae Respicio, and Efrén Divided, by Ernesto Cisneros. Advanced readers can opt for the Young Adult subscription, meant for teens 13 and older, though the picks may include more-mature themes. There’s also the Graphic Novel option. We’re also fans of Momo’s Book Club, which offers a middle-grade option for ages 8 to 12, with an emphasis on books that spark conversations on tough but important topics.

—Ellen Lee

Isaac Jacobs LED Neon Wall Sign

Tweens can glam up their room with an unexpected, USB-powered neon wall sign.

Buying Options

$23 from Amazon

$23 from Walmart

When my daughter was 12, pineapple was her favorite fruit. So when we hung a neon pineapple on her bedroom wall, she happily declared, “This is so me.” Room decor—such as a bright, colorful Isaac Jacobs LED Neon Wall Sign—can be a fun way for tweens to make their bedroom feel like a space that reflects their interests and tastes. (In addition to the pineapple, the collection includes a rainbow, a unicorn, a cactus, a popsicle, and a rose, as well as the words “hello,” “love,” and “dream.”) The USB-powered signs are actually LED tubing mounted to a clear acrylic plate; to plug one into an outlet, you’ll need a separate USB wall charger. Another distinctive (but pricier) option: Brite Lite Tribe makes custom LED neon signs, with over a dozen fonts and 20 colors, which you can mix and match to write a name or message of your choosing.

—Ellen Lee

TP-Link Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip L930-5

This 16-foot strip light is easy to set up, produces bright colors, and includes fun features such as a rainbow setting.

Buying Options

$28 from Amazon
(16.4 feet)

One of our picks for the best smart strip lights, the TP-Link Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip L930-5 will give your tween’s room a cool yet electric vibe. This particular strip light is easy to install (the learning curve is negligible), and it produces an array of bright, brilliant colors. Especially fun for tweens, it features several special effects: Sync-to-Sound, for instance, makes the light strip dance along to a tween’s playlist, so it pulses to the beat and creates a custom light show. Paired with a smartphone app, the lights can be easily adjusted to suit a kid’s mood—whatever it might be.

—Ellen Lee

Pop Chart Scratch-Off Prints

Scratch away a muted upper layer to reveal a colorful illustration underneath.

Buying Options

Buy from Pop Chart

When it comes to wall decoration, scratch-off posters add an extra layer of fun. They offer a way to, for example, track all of the destinations a tween has visited, along with the ones they look forward to checking off their list in the future. We think Pop Chart’s Scratch-Off Prints are particularly artistic and charming. Sports fans can begin a quest to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums or or 30 pro-football stadiums. And outdoors enthusiasts can make plans to check out 62 national parks, from the Grand Canyon to Michigan’s Isle Royale. (The Every Kid Outdoors program gives fourth-graders and their families a free one-year pass to more than 2,000 federal parks and water sites.) It’s exciting to scrape off each square like a lottery ticket—but if your tween is feeling impatient, they can uncover them all and enjoy a lovely poster.

—Ingrid Skjong

Lego Tiny Plants 10329

These nine little potted plants are marketed to adults, but tweens may find them appealing, too.

Buying Options

$39 from Amazon

$39 from Walmart

$50 from Best Buy

The 758-piece Lego Tiny Plants 10329 may be aimed at ages 18 and up, but our tween tester found the building to be do-able and soothing. The project breaks down into six bags of Lego pieces that form nine small potted plants, including a carnivorous Venus flytrap, a prickly pear cactus, and a jade plant. They make for lovely decor for a tween’s room—no watering or upkeep needed.

—Joshua Lyon

Kid in the Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Tips for Young Home Cooks

This cookbook by New York Times cooking columnist and mom Melissa Clark is filled with recipes for fun and kid-friendly dishes.

Buying Options

$14 from Amazon

$14 from Walmart

The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs: 100+ Recipes that You'll Love to Cook and Eat

This practical cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen also comes with helpful cooking tips and quotes from kids.

Buying Options

$11 from Amazon

$11 from Walmart

My 11-year-old oohed and aahed over almost every single recipe in Melissa Clark’s Kid in the Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Tips for Young Home Cooks. The fun, descriptive recipe titles and beautiful food photos drew him in, sure, but it was the dishes themselves that seemed to speak to him. He immediately got to work planning a Levitating Dutch Baby breakfast for our family the next morning. My tween also loved The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs: 100+ Recipes that You’ll Love to Cook and Eat from America’s Test Kitchen, particularly the super-logical layout and the quotes from kids about what they liked about each recipe. As a parent, I love all the basic kitchen skills peppered through the book. While the recipes feel a little more standard and less magnetic than in Kid in the Kitchen, my younger kiddos eagerly made the smoothie recipe and had no trouble following along.

—Marilyn Ong

Jeni’s Best Sellers Collection

These pints of whimsical ice cream flavors, including dairy- and gluten-free options, are packed in dry ice and delivered to your door with flourish.

Buying Options

$58 from Jeni's

Even the most discerning tweens are likely to melt at the sight of a box of ice cream appearing on their doorstep. Jeni’s Best Sellers Collection—a pick in our guide to the best gift baskets—arrives packaged in dry ice (cue the “oohs” and “aahs”). And it comes with a slew of unique, extra-rich flavors such as Wildberry Lavender and Pineapple Upside Down Cake. (You can order one of several prepackaged collections or select your own flavor combos.) Want to sample the wares before you pick? Find out where Jeni’s is available at a store near you—all in the spirit of altruism, of course.

—Ellen Lee

Lipstick Queen Blue By You

This glossy lipstick looks purplish blue, but on lips it appears as a flattering pink.

Buying Options

$10 from Amazon

As the name implies, Lipstick Queen Blue By You comes out of the tube in a shimmery shade of purplish blue. But, like magic, on lips it appears as a rosy-pink hue. The color-changing formula makes an entertaining gift for tweens with a burgeoning interest in beauty products, and it’s one in a series of “shade shifting” lipsticks. As a parent, I appreciate how it moisturizes the lips and reads more balm-like than a classic matte lipstick (the ingredients include shea butter and sunflower seed oil). I also appreciate the sheer, subtle, flattering hint of color it adds. In fact, I liked this lipstick so much that I bought one for myself, too.

—Ellen Lee

Anyway Magazine

Published three times a year, this magazine is “designed for curious tweens.”

Buying Options

Buy from Anyway Mag

The Week Junior

With 25 issues a year, this magazine is topical and current, covering news and world events in a kid-friendly way.

Buying Options

Buy from The Week Junior

I love print magazines, and I want my TikTok-generation children to appreciate them as much as I do. Having a physical embodiment of your tween and teenage years is hard to come by these days, which is why I was thrilled to find Anyway Magazine for my 12-year-old daughter. At around $20 a pop, the print issues are expensive, but they feel luxe and bookshelf-worthy, and they cover traditional topics like health and culture in a gender-inclusive way—truly a modern tween magazine.

Our family also subscribes to The Week Junior. Filled with bite-size news blurbs, it offers a jumping-off point to help my kids comprehend world events. When a new issue hits our mailbox, we toss it on the dining room table and then flip through it and discuss the news of the week over breakfast or before dinner. It has spurred conversations about climate change, war, sports, literature, and silly things animals and humans do, like the latest attempt to break a wacky world record.

—Annemarie Conte

Estwing E3-16C

This steel hammer will get a handy tween’s tool collection off to a great start. It’s easy to swing, comfy to hold, and indestructible.

Buying Options

$26 from Amazon

$27 from Lowe's

$34 from Walmart

Give tweens who like to build the beginnings of a tool kit that can last them for years, if not a lifetime. Start with essentials, like the sturdy Estwing E3-16C (our pick for the best hammer), the reliable and precise Channellock 8WCB (our pick for the best adjustable wrench), or the handy, well-rounded Megapro 211R2C36RD 13-in-1 (our favorite multi-bit screwdriver). If you’re looking for more options, our guides to tools and home-improvement gear offer recommendations culled from years of research.

—Ellen Lee

JanSport Fifth Avenue Fanny Pack

This fanny pack is a hip nod to the ’90s—and it’s a handy place to stow 21st-century essentials.

Buying Options

$22 from Amazon

Not quite a purse and smaller than a backpack, the fanny pack—also known as a hip pack, a sling bag, a crossbody bag, a bum bag, and a waist pack—has been enjoying an extended moment. A fanny pack is an especially good gift for tweens and teens, since it’s a stylish, convenient way to stash essentials (phone, keys, lip balm) while keeping the hands free. The JanSport Fifth Avenue Fanny Pack—one of the picks in our guide to the best fanny packs—is a lightweight, 2.5-liter nylon-polyester carrier with two zippered pockets and an adjustable belt, so it can be worn across the body or around the waist. It’s sturdy and durable (with a limited lifetime warranty), reasonably priced, and available in a wide range of solid colors and prints.

—Ellen Lee

3Doodler Start+

Best for younger tweens, this 3D pen can create 3D masterpieces, from costume jewelry to architectural models.

Buying Options

$50 from Amazon

3Doodler Flow

For older tweens (or those not tempted to touch a hot craft tool), this 3D pen makes smoother and cleaner lines for more-detailed projects.

Buying Options

$80 from Amazon

$80 from Walmart

Introduce a crafty tween to a new way of creating works of art by giving them a 3D pen (see 3Doodler’s Instagram for examples and inspiration). The design device takes strands of hard plastic (known as filament) and melts them into a gooey string that oozes out of the tip and then solidifies. For beginners age 12 and younger, we recommend the 3Doodler Start+. The tip and the just-extruded plastic both stay cool—which is good news, since we’ve discovered younger kids can’t resist touching and molding the plastic as they create. However, the 3Doodler Start is slower and offers fewer features than most 3D pens. Older tweens—or those who have more experience with 3D art—may prefer the 3Doodler Flow, our top pick for the best 3D pen. We found it provides the best overall experience, with a comfortable grip and two heat settings (and you can purchase additional tip sizes).

—Ellen Lee

FBSPORT Portable Badminton Set

This crowd-pleasing badminton set can be assembled in minutes, for an entertaining backyard or outdoor gathering.

Buying Options

$55 from Amazon

The FBSport Portable Badminton Set is a fun way to motivate kids—or just about anyone—to get outside and move. (We offer more outdoor game options here.) The lightweight plastic case (slightly larger and longer than a violin case) holds everything you need, including two badminton racquets, two birdies, a net, and poles. The poles snap together easily, transforming the plastic case into the base of the net. My then-11-year-old and her friend put it together on their own and, in minutes, were playing a game of badminton in our backyard. We also brought it on a camping trip and to a friend’s house this summer, for a side of friendly competition.

—Ellen Lee

Prairie Lotus

Linda Sue Park’s historical novel transports us to the American West and life on the frontier, from the perspective of an Asian American girl.

Buying Options

$7 from Amazon

$9 from Walmart

There are depressingly few children’s books by and about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders—and even fewer that delve into their history. Thankfully, that’s changing. As the parent of Asian American kids, I’m always on the lookout for new offerings, and one standout is Prairie Lotus by Newbery Medal winner Linda Sue Park. (Park sits on the advisory board for the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books; she is also the founder of kiBooka, a website that champions children’s books by Korean American and Korean diaspora authors and illustrators.) Set in 1880, Prairie Lotus—which has been compared to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series—follows a young Asian American girl named Hanna as she journeys across the American frontier and starts a new life in a railroad town in Dakota Territory. This novel—a tale full of adventure, humor, and friendship—explores pressing issues, including race and prejudice, so it’s especially relevant given the rise in anti-Asian violence. For more reading recommendations, check out our guide to antiracist books for kids and teens.

—Ellen Lee

Apple Watch SE + Cellular (2nd Gen)

With its ability to call, text, and keep in touch with friends and family, this Apple Watch can be a tween-friendly stopgap for a smartphone.

Buying Options

$229 from Walmart

The Apple Watch SE + Cellular is one of the picks in our kids smartwatch guide. That is, it’s the model that our older kid testers deemed adequately sophisticated and not “childish” (like other kids smartwatches), and it’s the one parents found easy to use for keeping in touch with their child. If you’re already part of Apple’s ecosystem, you can seamlessly integrate the Apple Watch SE into your family’s communications, with the option to track your child’s location from your iPhone, as well as to exchange text messages and emojis (including group texts). You can also manage your child’s use of the smartwatch through the Schooltime and Screen Time apps. We found that kids have fun customizing their watches from a variety of watch faces and Memojis.

—Ellen Lee

Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Hand Mixer

This multi-speed hand mixer can aerate meringue, mix cookies, and even knead pizza dough.

Buying Options

$67 from Amazon

$82 from Walmart

$80 from Home Depot

Whenever they have downtime, my kids whip up desserts—and each new creation is more elaborate than the last. They’ve made chocolate cupcakes with melted-marshmallow filling, rainbow shortbread cookies, and even pumpkin-banana dog biscuits (never mind that we don’t have a dog). For each delight, they relied on baking tools they could call their own, chief among them the Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Hand Mixer (our budget pick for the best hand mixer). Dependable, powerful, and easy to clean, this mixer can knock out a bowl of frosting in seven minutes and help your tween prepare any number of delicious treats. A handy storage case makes this tool easy to pack up and put away until the next culinary challenge calls.

—Ellen Lee

Ultimate Sack 5000

This soft, oversize bean-bag chair is filled with shredded foam that easily adjusts for different bodies and lounging positions.

Buying Options

$200 from Amazon

$199 from Walmart

During a trip to the mall, our family became enamored with the sinky, super-soft, and modern beanbag chairs made by the furniture company Lovesac (known for Sactionals, its spin on sectional couches). Those humongous seats are incredibly luxurious and cozy but also over-the-top expensive. So began a monthslong quest to find a more affordable alternative, and that’s when we stumbled upon the Ultimate Sack 5000. The order felt like a bit of a gamble, but we’ve had this model, with the charcoal faux-fur cover, for close to five years now, and it ended up being the perfect gift for our then-newly-minted tween. The no-bean beanbag chair arrives in the mail as an incredibly heavy block of condensed foam (the separate cover is machine washable). Once fluffed up, the shredded foam provides an easily moldable seat that’s suitable for everything from reading to Minecraft creeper battles. In other words, it has become the most popular seat in the house.

—Kalee Thompson

Each moment you get to spend with your tween is truly a gift. One way to snag it? Surprise them with an unexpected outing, such as a trip to a miniature golf course, a trampoline park, or a go-kart racetrack. Even better, amusement parks and water parks (such as Six Flags) often offer discounts on annual passes in the fall, ahead of next year’s season, so you can take your tween a few times (and they can also go again with friends.) You may also be able to pick up discounted tickets, if you have a membership with Costco or AAA. If roller coasters aren’t their speed, consider an escape room or a virtual-reality experience, such as Sandbox VR, where you can embark on a quest and solve puzzles together, such as a pirate adventure or a Squid Game–inspired challenge. Or if they’re looking for new thrills, try indoor skydiving or rock climbing. Many kids this age will also enjoy going to their first concert, whether it’s a massive stadium show or an up-and-coming local band.

—Ellen Lee

This article was edited by Kalee Thompson.