The Edit — Lifestyle
Gifts for 12-Year-Olds: Tech, Crafts and Games They Keep
6 gifts a 12-year-old will still use in March: a 3D printing pen, a real cookbook, David Macaulay's machine book, 2 puzzle games that reward patience and a moon lamp to paint.
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 6 gifts here are grouped by what a 12-year-old does with them, making, cooking, reading and puzzling, and each is read against its listing and stated age range, as How we choose describes. Nothing here was handled or tested.
Best for Drawing things that stand up
Watch for A project, not a toy
Best for A real kitchen skill
Watch for Needs a kitchen to use
Best for How machines work
Watch for Not a story book
Best for A puzzle for the car
Watch for One player only
Best for A puzzle that gets harder
Watch for Frustrating for some
Best for A painted bedroom lamp
Watch for Painting is fiddly
The SCRIB3D pen turns a sketch into an object
A 12-year-old who draws is ready for a tool that adds a third dimension. The SCRIB3D P1 3D Printing Pen extrudes melted plastic, and the listing says it comes with 3 starter colours of PLA filament, a stencil book, a project guide and a power adapter. Start with the stencils, then let them freehand. More filament will be the next thing they ask for.
SCRIB3D P1 3D Printing Pen with Display
A 3D pen that draws in melted plastic, sold with 3 starter colours, a stencil book and a project guide.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| In the box | Pen, 3 PLA colours, stencils, adapter |
|---|---|
| Type | 3D printing pen |
A 3D pen, for a child who wants to build what they draw.
Buy it if
- A child who draws and wants to build what they draw
Don't buy it if
- A child who wants a finished toy, not a project
A real cookbook teaches the skill they keep longest
At 12, many children can follow a full recipe with an adult in the next room. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs from America’s Test Kitchen Kids carries more than 100 recipes, per its listing, written for young cooks rather than adapted from an adult book. It suits a child who already hangs around while dinner is made.
The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs
A cookbook of 100-plus recipes written for young cooks.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Recipes | 100+, per the listing |
|---|---|
| Format | Book |
100-plus recipes, for a child who likes the kitchen.
Buy it if
- A child who already hangs around the kitchen
Don't buy it if
- A household that wants no help with the washing up
The Way Things Work Now explains every machine in the house
A child who takes the remote apart needs answers more than another gadget. The Way Things Work Now by David Macaulay explains machines from levers and gears up to computers, in large diagrams. It is a book to dip into, one machine at a time, rather than read cover to cover.
The Way Things Work Now
David Macaulay's illustrated guide to how machines work, revised in 2016.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| First published | 1988; this edition 2016 |
|---|---|
| Format | Illustrated book |
Machines explained in drawings, for a child who takes things apart.
Buy it if
- A child who takes things apart to see inside
Don't buy it if
- A reader who wants a story
Kanoodle and Foldology are puzzles for one player
A solo puzzle fills the gaps a 12-year-old’s week is full of: the car, the waiting room, the half-hour before bed. Educational Insights’ Kanoodle is a 3D brain teaser of pieces fitted into a small case. Foldology is a folding logic game with 100 challenges, sold for ages 10 and up, so a 12-year-old starts partway up its difficulty.
Educational Insights Kanoodle
A 3D brain-teaser of puzzle pieces fitted into a small case, sold for kids, teens and adults.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Type | 3D spatial puzzle |
|---|---|
| Players | 1 |
A pocket-sized 3D puzzle, for the car.
Buy it if
- Car journeys and a quiet half-hour
Don't buy it if
- A child who wants to play with friends
Foldology Origami Puzzle Game
A single-player folding logic game with 100 challenges, sold for ages 10 and up.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Ages | 10+, per the listing |
|---|---|
| Challenges | 100 |
100 folding challenges, for a child who likes being stuck.
Buy it if
- A child who likes a puzzle that gets harder
Don't buy it if
- A child who dislikes being stuck
The HOLA moon lamp is a craft that stays on the shelf
Twelve is often when a child starts to care how their room looks. The HOLA Paint Your Own Moon Lamp Kit is a lamp they paint themselves, with a light that recharges over USB, per the listing. It is sold for ages 6 to 18, and the finished lamp is the part that lasts.
HOLA Paint Your Own Moon Lamp Kit
A moon lamp to paint, with a USB-rechargeable light, sold for ages 6 to 18.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Power | USB rechargeable |
|---|---|
| Ages | 6 to 18, per the listing |
A lamp to paint, for a child redecorating a room.
Buy it if
- A child redecorating a room of their own
Don't buy it if
- A child who finds painting fiddly
| Gift | Plays with | Ages, per the listing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCRIB3D 3D pen | Alone | Not stated | Making |
| Young Chefs cookbook | A parent nearby | Not stated | Cooking |
| The Way Things Work Now | Alone | Not stated | Curiosity |
| Kanoodle | Alone | Kids, teens and adults | Travel |
| Foldology | Alone | 10+ | Logic |
| HOLA moon lamp | Alone | 6 to 18 | A bedroom |
What lost: light-up masks, prank pens and hoverboards
The search for this age is crowded with novelty: a gesture-sensing LED mask, a pen that makes fart noises, a karaoke machine too new to judge. Each is fun for a day and in a drawer by spring, so none made the list. A hoverboard was left out because it needs a helmet and a safety conversation a gift guide cannot have. For a year younger, gifts for 10-year-olds and toys for 9-year-olds have their own lists, and gifts for teens picks up from 13.
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Best for a maker
SCRIB3D P1 3D Printing Pen with Display