"What's a good gift for a 10-year-old girl or boy?" and "What's an age-appropriate gift for a 10-year-old child?"
These are some of the most common questions facing parents, family and friends when they're out Christmas shopping for a 10-year-old boy or girl.
True, finding age-appropriate gift ideas for a 10-year-old girl or boy can be difficult, even for parents and close family members, so consider this guide to some of the most popular gift ideas for 10-year-old children.
Gift Ideas for 10-year-old Girls and Boys: MP3 Player or CD Player
A ten-year-old child is at the age when they're really beginning to develop tastes in music, especially among children who watch some of the more popular movies and shows like Hannah Montana and Disney's High School Musical.
An MP3 player makes a great gift idea for a 10-year-old boy or girl. The iPod shuffle is an affordable MP3 player, available in an array of colors with two memory options: 1GB iPod shuffle (240 songs) for $49.00 or 2GB iPod Shuffle (500 songs) for $69.00.
The next step up is the iPod Nano, which plays music and video. Also available in several colors, the iPod Nano is available with two memory options: 8GB iPod Nano (2,000 songs/8 hours of video) for $149.00 and the 16GB iPod Nano (4,000 songs/16 hours of video) for $199.00.
A CD player is a less expensive option at the offset, averaging about $25, but in the long term this can be a more expensive option because the child will either need to purchase CDs or burn his/her own CDs.
A great stocking stuffer idea for a 10-year-old who receives an MP3 player or CD player for Christmas is an iTunes gift card which can be used to download songs and video from the iTunes website. The songs can then be downloaded onto CD or transferred to the iPod or other MP3 player.
Other great gift ideas for 10-year-old girls and boys include DVDs of their favorite movies and television shows, handheld video games, outdoor sporting equipment, a scooter, board games like the High School Musical DVD Game ($27.99), Beat the Parents ($59.99), Monopoly Jr. - The Disney Channel Edition ($14.99), Bendomino ($19.99), Disney Pictionary DVD Game ($24.99), Cranium Cariboo ($19.95), Cranium Cadoo ($19.95) and Cranium Whoonu ($19.95).
Gift Ideas for 10-Year-Old Boys: Sports Gifts, Legos and Science Gifts
What do most 10-year-old boys enjoy? Sports. So a ticket to a baseball game, football game or hockey game will make a wonderful gift for many boys, while other boys will enjoy a new bike, skateboard, rollerbaldes or scooter. Boys are also interested in science, so a telescope, crystal growing kit, a chemistry kit or even a digital camera may be a great gift idea for a 10-year-old boy who's curious about the world around him.
Other fun holiday gift ideas for a 10-year-old boy include the Discovery Amazing Money Jar ($14.95), which features a digital display and money counter that tells the child exactly how much money he's saved. Then, there's those trusty Lego kits ($4.99 and up) - a hit with boys of all ages, particularly among pre-teen boys.
There's also the Virtual Distance Football ($19.95), which has a display that tells the young football player exactly how far he's throwing. A ten-year-old baseball fan will probably prefer the Digital Speed Sensing Baseball ($24.95), which displays the ball's speed with every throw, while 10-year-old soccer fans will enjoy the Virtual Soccer Ball ($24.95), which tells the boy how long he keeps the ball in the air.
Gift Ideas for 10-Year-Old Girls: American Girl Dolls, Digital Camera and Digital Photo Pendant
Tween girls love dolls, especially American Girl Dolls. One of the most popular American Girl dolls is the American Girl Just Like You Doll ($87) available in more than two dozen combinations of skin tone, hair color and eye color. Also included is an accompanying American Girl Doll book and CD.
For the 10-year-old girl who already has an American Girl Doll, outfits and accessories are always a popular gift, as is a subscription to American Girl Magazine ($22.99)
Ten-year-old girls are also very inquisitive, so educational toys from the Discovery Channel Store are a great choice for the 10-year-old child on a holiday shopper's list.
Consider the Rainbow in My Room rainbow projector ($29.95), which projects a rainbow onto a bedroom ceiling or wall - a great addition to any tween girl's room.
A 10-year-old girl will also enjoy a digital camera. The Discovery Slide & Shoot Digital Camera ($39.95) is a kid-tough digital camera that's perfect for a young budding photographer. And to display those photos, there's also the Discovery Memory Keeper Digital Pendant ($19.99), a tiny heart-shaped digital photo frame pendant necklace that displays up to 40 digital photographs of family, friends and pets.
Looking for more holiday gift ideas? Check out Christmas Gift Ideas for 12-year-old Girls.
Also read Gift Ideas for an 8-year-old Boy or Girl, along with Gift Ideas for a Boy or Girl Age 3 or Younger.
Mia Carter - Mia Carter - Journalist, Producer/Editor & Web Writer. Carter's work has appeared on CBS and CNN.com.
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