9 Perfect Presents for a 9-Year-Old

I’ve raised four 9-year-olds now and while I may not know the perfect presents for birthdays and holidays, they sure do. Just ask them!

Our littlest (and last) baby turned double digits recently. She’s delighted to be ten.

In her words: “It’s exactly the same as being nine, but I’m older!”

About six months into her being nine, my daughter and I snuggled on the couch and came up with this list of perfect presents for any 9-year-old (boy or girl).

9 perfect presents for a 9-year-old

1. 1. A money pizza

      This gift is so much fun and is a perfect present for a 9-year-old (as well as for a child of almost any other age. It’s a good one for adults too!). Go to the local pizza parlor. Get an empty pizza box. Go to the bank. Get some crisp new banknotes and some 50 cent pieces and dollar coins. Arrange the notes like a pizza, put the coins on top like pepperoni, add some paper mushrooms if you feel like it. Then decorate the inside lid with the words: “Since you can’t live on pizza alone, I thought you might like a little dough.”

   2. A BMX bike
      

      If your 9-year-old doesn’t have a bike, now is a perfect age. If your 9-year-old is already a proficient cyclist, a BMX bike is the perfect upgrade. Kids of all ages like BMX bikes. You can ride them off-road around a curving dirt track and take jumps with them. They’re very maneuverable and if you add pegs to the front and back axles, your 9-year-old can even learn to do all kinds of awesome tricks on that shiny new BMX bike.

   3. A wall poster

      At this age, kids are starting to pay attention to what’s new, what’s cool, and what’s awesome. And they love wall posters, especially wall posters that reflect something new, cool, or awesome.

      

      A wall poster makes a perfect gift for a 9 year old. These posters, available at Diana’s Records in Ashland, cost only $5 each.

   4. A silicone ice tray

      Silicone is healthier and more environmentally friendly than plastic. You can get cool ice trays or candy molds in any shapes, like under the sea (if your 9-year-old loves the ocean), basketballs, or airplanes.

   5. A quilt

      There’s nothing quite like a homemade quilt to keep a child cozy and warm and feeling loved. Consider learning to make one yourself, enlist a talented family member, or buy your child a patchwork quilt in the colors they love most.

   6. Books, books, books

      If your almost 9-year-old doesn’t love to read yet, don’t worry, they will. You can jump-start that process by getting them some graphic novels. The Bone series by Jeff Smith and the Raina Telgemeier books (Smile, Sisters, and Guts) are among our favorites. Or buy them some classic chapter books that they can read to themselves or you can read to them.

      Bonus 9 Perfect Presents Alert: 9 of our favorite chapter books for 9-year-olds are:

      1. Homer Price
      2. The Little House on the Prairie
      3. My Side of the Mountain
      4. Hatchet
      5. Gregor the Overlander
      6. The Mysterious Benedict Society
      7. Ramona’s World (Ramona Quimby is in 4th grade in this book. All of the Ramona books are great for 9-year-olds)
      8. Henry Huggins
      9. Ella Enchanted

1. A fabulous cookbook

   If you’ve read around on this site, you know I love cooking and cooking with kids. My 9-year-old daughter and I make Norwegian flatbread and healthy orange cake together. Nine is the perfect age to inspire your young chef. Buy your child a copy of Salad People (I know the subtitle says preschoolers but it’s a great cookbook for any age) or Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes, throw in a wooden spoon or a cool kitchen gadget, and you’ve got the perfect present for a nine-year-old.

2. A pogo stick

   A gift that’s fun and can help your child live a longer, healthier life! Boing, boing, boing. Turns out a pogo stick is a perfect present for a 9-year-old (or younger) because it also helps your child build strong leg muscles, butt muscles, and back strength. Using a pogo stick seems to help prevent the stooping associated with old age. Who know? Instilling a love of movement in your kids will help them lead to a more vibrant life when they’re grown-ups.

3. A two-fer to promote exploration of talents

   Why not get your child a paint set and a soccer ball? Too often we parents are guilty of setting weird boundaries and stereotyping our kids at an early age. So we parents say, “Joey’s the artistic one but Nina is the athlete.” But Joey can love art and sports. Nina can knit and be a ninja. Age 9 is not a time of specialization. It’s a time of exploration and discovery.

What have I forgotten? What are your best gift ideas for a 9-year-old? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and let’s celebrate those in our lives about to move past the single digits into the fun and challenging years that lay ahead.

Looking for more gift ideas? Here are …

11 Perfect Presents for an 11-Year-Old Boy
12 Books for 12-Year-Olds
15 Great Gifts for the Writers (like introvert soap and pencil socks)
7 Fabulous Gifts for Kids Who Love to Cook (but don’t know it yet)

Published: March 10, 2020
Updated: December 9, 2022

About Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D.

Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., is an investigative journalist, book author, and Fulbright awardee. She is the author of Your Baby, Your Way: Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting Decisions for a Happier, Healthier Family, co-author (with Paul Thomas, M.D.) of The Vaccine-Friendly Plan, and The Addiction Spectrum: A Compassionate, Holistic Approach to Recovery. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.