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Apr 28, 2023

35 Best Gifts and Toys for 7

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She'll love these cool and unique picks from LEGO, Klutz, Mattel, Crayola and more.

When they turn 7 years old, they're definitely more vocal about their passions and interests. They're also filled with greater confidence in their own abilities. This combo makes it great to shop for toys and gifts for kids at this age, since they can play games with more sophisticated rules and strategies, use STEM sets with more complicated steps or create more elaborate scenes for their dolls and collectibles.

But which ones to choose? In the run-up to the annual Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards, our product analysts in the Good Housekeeping Institute heavily research the best new toy releases of the year. After looking at hundreds of toys coming to the market, we call in the cream of the crop and put them to the test in our Lab to make sure they're safe, durable and easy to use. Then we hand over the ones that pass muster to real 7-year-olds, who by this point are able to give honest feedback about what they like and don't like about each toy. To those top picks, we add in some perennial best-sellers and editor favorites to put together our list of the best toys and gifts for 7-year-old girls in 2023.

One category our little testers loved this year? DIY everything! Whether they're making bracelets, school supplies or cosmetics, they want to do it themselves. Which is great, because the best DIY kits combine creativity with STEM learning. Games, books and collectibles also topped their lists. But no matter which gift you choose, rest assured the 7-year-old in your life is going to find a fun way to put their own spin on it.

Kids can make the most out of their creativity by designing and fabricating their own puffy stickers! This kit comes with enough materials to make 60 stickers, so they'll never be at a loss for decorations for their school supplies. Ages 6+

Animal lovers will be doggone excited to receive this LEGO set, which includes a treehouse, a grooming station and an exercise area for pups, all done up in a bone motif. A perfect mix of construction toy and play set for imaginative play, it also comes with three mini figures and three dogs to take care of, and, at 617 pieces, it's just the right size. Ages 7+

Little artists can use the included templates, layer them on top of each other to make a new picture, then trace and color in the whole thing. When she's done with the included images, she can download more templates online. Ages 6+

Take dodgeball and a fast-paced card game, mix them together, and you've got Throw Throw Avocado, an active game for up to six players. (Don't worry, the avocados are squishy.) You can also combine it with Throw Throw Burrito for even more food-fight mayhem. Ages 7+

RELATED: 35 Best Board Games for Kids the Whole Family Will Enjoy

The trend of kids liking miniature versions of everyday things isn't stopping anytime soon. These capsules come with some of their favorite fast-food items to collect from places like Subway, Sonic and TGI Fridays, along with accessories like a soda fountain or menus. If they're not into the tiny food, they can also get mini fashion items or Disney toys. Ages 3+

Friendship bracelets are back in a big way (though they never really went out of style), and this loom lets kids make cool designs in their friendship bracelets. It comes with directions to make 10 different styles without sewing. Good Housekeeping Institute testers loved planning out what they were going to make! Ages 6+

Increase your child's motor and creative skills when you help her build this 3D light-up creation. Each tile piece is made of plastic and interlocks perfectly (though it does take a little practice to get it to work at first, our testers noted). The kit comes with instructions for you to create three different projects, but the tile pieces can be morphed into any design she imagines. Ages 6+

Kids still love to collect, squeeze and squish any Squishmallows they can get their hands on. If Tahoe, the tortoiseshell cat isn't their favorite, they can find plenty of other animals and food items to add to their collections. Ages 3+

Rainy day? Not a problem with this "soccer" ball, which hovers over floors indoors. It has a bumper to protect feet and furniture, and it lights up with LED lights. The combo has earned it more than 7,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. Ages 3+

Good Housekeeping Institute testers ranked this as their favorite picture book of the year, and it's easy to see why. It's told in the style of journal entries, which detail how a girl named Jolie comes to have her own strawberry patch. She has to convince her parents, learn about how to grow strawberries and then maintain it — lessons in both STEM and determination. Ages 4 – 8

RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Awards

One of the best things about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the myriad Spider-variations — the coolest being Ghost-Spider or Spider-Gwen, who is given great responsibility by the Spider Society. Seven-year-olds can rock Gwen's look with this hoodie, which resembles her mask when the hood is on and has web details on the interior. Sizes 2T – 16

Replenish their craft supplies in one swoop with this kit, which comes with pom poms, fuzzy sticks, craft sticks, eyes, felt sheets, paper tubes and more, all in every color of the rainbow. Then: Set them loose and watch their creativity soar! Ages 6+

Rainbow High Jr. High takes a look at kids' favorite characters before they went to high school, which means the dolls have younger face sculpts and more youthful outfits. But they still have the bold personalities and styles that kids expect from the Rainbow High series. Ages 6+

Last fall, Pokémon fans thrilled to the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet — and the three new starters that came with them. Kids can endlessly debate the merits of all three, but they're all pretty darn cute. If the Poké fan in your life wants to snuggle with a starter, you can get a Sprigatito, Fuecoco or Quaxly plush of their very own. Ages 3+

RELATED: The Best Pokémon Gifts for Fans of All Ages

With this kit gets to pretend she's a scientist working at a Beauty Lab, just like the one at the Good Housekeeping Institute! Then, she can make her own, real molded soaps and bath bombs, learning about acids, bases, pH levels, and the biology of skin in the process. Ages 6+

This board game will get their critical thinking skills firing overtime. Each player has to place their blocky pieces on the board so they touch others of the same color diagonally. The goal is to box out your opponents and control as much of the board as possible. Ages 7+

Budding fashion designers can use these templates to come up with more than 100 different styles. Kids mix and match "plates" with different tops, bottoms, shoes and hairstyles, use a crayon to make a rubbing of the complete outfit, then color the whole thing in however they like. If they want even more options, there are also Sweet Styles and Superstar Styles that add even more pieces into the mix. Ages 6+

This journal makes it easy to create a mother/daughter keepsake that the two of you will want to save forever. There are plenty of prompts for things to write about and draw, from lists of proud accomplishments to doodles of favorite outfits, so you'll never be at a loss for words. Ages 7+

Look at this bag — isn't it neat? If there's a Little Mermaid fan in your life, this Loungefly backpack is just the right size to hold her most essential gadgets, gizmos and thingamabobs. Its a design is a beautiful, stylized rendering of Ariel's life under the sea. No age recommendation given

Interest in sewing has been at an all-time high in recent years. With this one kit, she can learn a running stitch, blanket stitch, whip stitch and how to decorate with embroidery. The kit makes seven different projects in all. Ages 6+

RELATED: The Best Sewing Kits for Kids to Introduce Them to the Craft

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found dominating the audio round at her local bar trivia night or tweeting about movies.

Rachel Rothman (she/her) is the chief technologist and executive technical director at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she oversees testing methodology, implementation and reporting for all GH Labs. She also manages GH's growing research division and the analysis of applicants for the GH Seal and all other testing emblems. During her 15 years at Good Housekeeping, Rachel has had the opportunity to evaluate thousands of products, including toys and cars for GH's annual awards programs and countless innovative breakthroughs in consumer tech and home improvement.

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