2020 Holiday Gift Guide: Big Kids (7+)

I mean, is there really anything cooler than an actual real-life hoverboard?! Big kids that have kind of outgrown (or gotten over) their scooters and bikes will flip for this new mode of transportation. This particular version has light-up wheels and spectrum light effects.

If your kids have been obsessed with playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch all quarantine, then look no further for the perfect holiday gift. The Mario Kart Live set allows you to create an actual physical course in your home by placing gates, which then come to life in the game through the magic of augmented reality. It also comes with a physical car and character that will actually race around your home as you play the game! If there's multiple fans in your house, you can buy up to four sets so four players can race against each other.

Most adults are guaranteed to have at least one Pokémon-obsessed kid in their family somewhere, so this advent calendar is sure to be a massive hit. Granted, they'll unwrap it December 1 instead of the end of the month, but unveiling a new figurine each day will be the gift that keeps on giving all month long.

Codeillusion is basically intensive coding lessons infused with the magic of Disney. This comprehensive program teaches older kids everything from web design to game development to media art to the four core programming languages: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Processing, all using familiar Disney characters. Kids can animate popular characters like Mickey, Elsa, and Wreck-It Ralph and place them in worlds to play games that they designed themselves. So cool, right? There's an Enchanted Package, which comes with a "Magic Book" that contains even more activities that can't be found online and a Prime Package which includes everything online, but not the "Magic Book." And between Nov. 27 and Dec. 5, the Enchanted Package will be 60% off, bringing the total down to $359, and Prime will be $249 at 50% off. It's the perfect family adventure for a COVID-19 year if you ask us!

We're loving these fun and colorful Trolls: World Tour-themed Lego sets and we're betting your older kids will too. There are multiple sets, but our favorites are the Pop Village Celebration and the oh-so-fun Vibe City Concert set where Poppy can actually go down a zip line with her hair!

This is the ultimate gift for the kid that's totally into Star Wars. The life-size R2D2 can be controlled from a smart device, so kids can make it drive, waddle, flash lights, make adorable droid sounds, and even project holograms to explore iconic Star Wars locales like the Millennium Falcon and other parts of a galaxy far, far away. Not only can R2D2 interact with other Sphero droids, it can even "watch" films from the Star Wars saga with you and react to it.

Both Buildzi and Tenzi would make awesome additions to family game nights. They're challenging enough for the older big kids, and fun enough for the younger ones too.

Callling all stargazers! This real, working kids' telescope comes with a moon filter, two eyepieces (to provide 18x and 90x magnification), and a finder scope with a glow-in-the-dark ring to make spotting planets and the moon a breeze, as well as a 22-page activity journal.

It's a fact: Kids love knowing random facts. And this colorful hardcover book is packed with all the "weird, wild and wonderful" about animals, the earth and everything in between. It's the perfect stocking stuffer.

Let's be real: it's going to be a longer winter than usual, so make sure to gift them something that gets them outside in the fresh (frigid?) air every once in a while, like this super-fun bow and arrow set.

Whether the big kid in question is a budding artist or could just use a way to zen out from the stresses of big-kid life, Buddha Boards make a great gift. It's fuss-free, super easy to set up (just water needed!), and sleek enough to feel adult-ish.