Christmas gifts for kids who love cars: 10 gift ideas for 2026

One main present or a few small ones

Car fans tend to collect, so a small present can matter as much as a big one. A five-car Hot Wheels pack adds to the collection straight away. Mattel varies the theme and the cars from pack to pack, so the box you buy may not match the photo on the shop's page.

For a main present, a track set gives the cars somewhere to go. The Formula 1 Grid Start track launches two cars side by side from a start tower to a chequered flag, so two children can race each other. Gorilla Slam Attack is for one driver at a time: launch the car round the loop and try not to land in the gorilla's mouth.

Track that joins up

Both track sets here use Mattel's Speed Snap connections, so they join each other and other Hot Wheels City sets. A child who already owns some track can link a new set into the layout they have rather than starting again. Mattel sells extra track separately.

If two children will share the presents, the Grid Start track is the one built for two: each gets a car and a lane.

For three and four-year-olds

The youngest car fans want things to push, crash and carry about. The Mega-Wrex is a large-scale monster truck with oversized wheels, from the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks shows, and the Moving Moments Lightning McQueen changes his expression as he is rocked from side to side. Mattel marks both 3+ and says McQueen needs no batteries.

The five-car pack and the Grid Start track are marked 3+ as well, and Gorilla Slam Attack 4+. Die-cast cars are small, so keep them away from any brother or sister under three.

Building a car with LEGO

For six to eight, the LEGO Technic Monster Jam Grave Digger, marked 7+, is a monster truck to build that then races off with a pull-back function. From nine, LEGO Speed Champions models real cars: the McLaren W1 has a rear wing that adjusts, and the Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale copies the road car's cab-forward shape. Each comes with a driver minifigure, and a fan can line them up as a collection.

Two remote-control cars, and the batteries to buy with them

Remote-control cars are one of the most common Christmas requests from car fans, and the batteries are what most often goes wrong on the day. We list one only once its maker's own page confirms the age marking and how it is powered, and two passed that check this year.

Spin Master's Monster Jam Grave Digger is a 1:24 monster truck marked 4+. Its 2.4 GHz controller can run alongside five other Monster Jam trucks without the signals crossing, and Spin Master gives a range of up to 250 feet. It needs five AAA batteries that are not in the box: two for the controller and three for the truck. Buy them with the present and fit them before wrapping.

The Hot Wheels Let's Race Slither 'N Strike is a remote-control snake about 2.7 feet long, marked 5+. It hauls a Hot Wheels car on its back, strikes at a tap of a button and spits out up to four cars at once, with one GT Scorcher in the box. Mattel says the snake recharges from the USB cable included, but its page does not say what the controller takes, so check the box.

How we chose these car gifts

We read each gift's age marking and contents on LEGO's and Mattel's own sites on 6 October 2026, and the two remote-control cars on Spin Master's and Mattel's sites on 14 October. The Entertainer stocks all ten, and we have checked the Awin link to each one. We left out sets that LEGO's site marked as retiring soon, including two Formula 1 Speed Champions cars, because they may be hard to find by December.

Beyond running youngest first, the list is in no particular order. For diggers, a fire station and a Cars speedway, see our car toys guide.