The Edit — Lifestyle
Gifts for 11-Year-Olds: Journals, Baking and Games
5 gifts for an 11-year-old: a journal that asks to be wrecked, a cake pop kit with the ingredients measured, a survival guide to embarrassing parents, a trivia game and a speaker of their own.
This guide is research-led: we have not handled these units ourselves. If you buy through our links we may earn a commission — it never changes a pick.Research-led, nothing handled. We may earn from links; it never changes a pick. How we choose
The 5 gifts here are grouped by what an 11-year-old does with them, drawing, baking, reading, playing and listening, and each is read against its listing, as How we choose describes. Nothing here was handled or tested.
Best for A child who doodles
Watch for Messy by design
Best for A first solo bake
Watch for Gone in an afternoon
Best for A reader of facts
Watch for Not a story
Best for Family evenings
Watch for Needs other players
Best for Music in their own room
Watch for Not quiet
Wreck This Journal is a gift that asks to be ruined
At 11, many children are tired of being told to keep things neat. Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith, a Canadian author and illustrator, fills each page with an instruction to fold it, splash it or scribble on it. This colour edition suits a child who already draws in the margins of homework.
Wreck This Journal: Now in Color
Keri Smith's journal of instructions to fold, splash and scribble on its own pages, in a colour edition.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Author | Keri Smith |
|---|---|
| Format | Activity journal, colour edition |
A journal to wreck, for a child who doodles.
Buy it if
- A child who doodles in the margins of everything
Don't buy it if
- A child who likes a neat notebook
The Baketivity kit is a first bake with nothing to measure
Eleven is about when a child can bake with an adult in the next room rather than at their elbow. The Baketivity Cake Pop Kit comes with pre-measured ingredients, decorating supplies and an activity book, and makes 10 to 12 cake pops. It is a project for one afternoon, not a gift that sits on a shelf.
Baketivity DIY Cake Pop Kids Baking Kit
A cake pop kit with pre-measured ingredients and decorating supplies that makes 10 to 12 treats.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Makes | 10 to 12 cake pops, per the listing |
|---|---|
| Ages | 4 to 12, per the listing |
10 to 12 cake pops, for a first solo bake.
Buy it if
- A child who wants to bake without a recipe card
Don't buy it if
- A gift meant to last past one afternoon
How to Survive Anything treats pop quizzes as a peril
An 11-year-old who reads facts more readily than stories gets both kinds of danger in one book. How to Survive Anything sets shark attacks and lightning next to embarrassing parents and pop quizzes, as its title promises. It is a book to dip into, one peril at a time.
How to Survive Anything: Shark Attack, Lightning, Embarrassing Parents, Pop Quizzes, and Other Perilous Situations
A survival guide that puts shark attacks and lightning next to pop quizzes and embarrassing parents.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Format | Illustrated book |
|---|---|
| Covers | Real dangers and school-day ones |
Survival advice for sharks and school days, for a reader of facts.
Buy it if
- A child who reads facts more readily than stories
Don't buy it if
- A child who wants a novel
Mount Cleverest is the game the whole family plays
A trivia game is the one gift on this page that brings a parent in. Mount Cleverest is a true-or-false trivia card game for kids and adults, and its listing pitches it for travel as well as parties. True or false keeps it fair when an 11-year-old plays against an adult.
Mount Cleverest True or False Trivia Game
A true-or-false trivia card game for kids and adults, small enough to travel.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Type | Trivia card game |
|---|---|
| Players | Kids and adults together |
True-or-false trivia, for family evenings.
Buy it if
- A family that plays after dinner
Don't buy it if
- A child who has nobody to play with
The BolaButty is a first speaker of their own
Eleven is often when music moves from the family car to a child’s own room. The BolaButty Portable Bluetooth Speaker is rated at 20 watts and IPX5 against splashes, with up to 24 hours of play, per its listing. It pairs with a phone or tablet over Bluetooth 5.3.
BolaButty Portable Bluetooth Speaker
A 20-watt Bluetooth speaker rated IPX5, with up to 24 hours of play per the listing.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Battery | Up to 24 hours, per the listing |
|---|---|
| Water | IPX5 |
A splash-proof speaker, for music in their own room.
Buy it if
- A child who wants music in their own room
Don't buy it if
- A household that values quiet
| Gift | Plays with | Used up | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wreck This Journal | Alone | Page by page | Drawing and writing |
| Baketivity cake pop kit | A parent nearby | In 1 afternoon | Baking |
| How to Survive Anything | Alone | No | Reading |
| Mount Cleverest | Family | No | Games |
| BolaButty speaker | Alone | No | Music |
What lost: initial necklaces, squishy kits and light-up masks
The search for this age is crowded with initial necklaces, squishy-making kits, light-up gesture masks and birthday socks. Each is a stocking filler rather than the main gift, so none made the list. For a year younger, gifts for 10-year-olds has its own list, and gifts for 12-year-olds picks up from there.
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Best for a child who draws
Wreck This Journal: Now in Color