what to buy a 6 year old boy for his birthday? have no idea i have two dds....

[dontwanttogetoutofbed]

has to be something v nice, its for my husband best friends child

Boys are very variable in their likes (harder to buy for than girls imo just like men!) Can you ask the parents for ideas?

(eg ds1 doesn't really play with toys at all, so would suggest books or craft stuff for him if anyone asked, whereas ds2 loves normal boys toys...)

is there a magazine for boys i could get him a subscription to?

lego

All of mine have liked different things but lego and k'nex always go down well, for readers flanimals books seem popular.

I tend to avoid boys magazines- they seem to come with a very odgy selection of toys imo, although something like Art Attack might be OK

Second Lego

Geomag? (magnetic toy)

havent' heard of that will look it up

I've looked at mags for children this age - with no luck. There is something aimed at older kids. (can't remember name, sorry - maybe Aquila?)
They do some fab kids mags in Canada and the US, but with the postage, it's just silly prices to have them sent over.

Lego I would think would be a safe bet

Geomag is OK as long as there are no younger kids in the house, (Peachyr emembers her Mum sifting through sister's poo to locate swallowed ball bearing)

lego it is

Good point Peachy (had to sift through my dd's poo for a ball from our mousetrap game last year!)

Official Lego site

DS is 6 next week and loves cars, dinosaurs, Playmobil (keeps gazing longingly at the airplane). I find boys easier to buy for - they generally love anything and everything!

Lego - the mars mission stuff is good (sort of star wars but without the price tag) and ds likes the racers - they have pull back and go motors and bits that pop off when the hit the wall.

Definitely Lego (you can buy some fantastic sets - can be expensive though), or Bionicles are popular too.

My lad has a Tamagotchi which he likes. HAs he got a PS2/or a Nintendo DS so you could get him a game for that?

I would ask parents for advice to be honest.

If he's into football that opens a whole host of things, new football, gloves, shin pads, (his favorite teams things too for extra Brownie points.)

Or playmobil

Oops, read the thread. What about a ukelele?

OOOh yes, lego racers, or lego creators kit.

The mars stuff I think is aimed a bit older than 6, quite complex to build, altho' my ds (8) loves it, and is quiet for an hour at a time while building, which is miraculous.

DOnt buy magnetix, watched a horrible programme about the magnets joining up in kids tummies and ripping through stomache lining!!!

My ds is 5, 6 in august and he and the rest of the boys in his class are obsessed with Dr Who. My DS is too scared to watch the tv programme but he collects the Invader cards. You could get him a subscription to the Dr Who magazine, I think it now comes with a folder to hold all the cards, the cards are £1.50 each so you could also buy him a few packs. I am sure you would be his favourite after that!!

anything crafty and creative

Ben-10 stuff

Science experiment stuff .. crystal growing kit / bug catchers etc

I would have thought that the mars mission stuff would be fine for a 6yo? my ds (5y3m) had a set for xmas and was fine building it.

ds got a solar system model for his 5th - had a stand and little planets, you slotted it all together and it had paints and some glow in the dark paint. That was really good. I think they are about £8.

Depends which Mars set I think, some of the more complicated models are a bit fiddly for younger kids, and they get frustrated with them. They all have an age suggestion on the box.

Well done Chasingsquirrels ds.

yes probably - it was at the cheaper end of the scale - therefore smaller and less pieces, the bigger ones would have been more difficult.

i bought a friends ds a torch and it was a big hit