21 of the Best Gifts for Kids Who Love Trains - Train Toys Christmas Gift Guide

Looking for the best train gifts for kids? We have the ultimate list of train gifts for you to browse!

If you are buying a gift for a child who love trains, you know exactly what to get them: more trains!

Or books about trains, days out that involve trains etc etc.

But with so many train gift ideas out there, just how do you choose without resorting to yet another Thomas?

To get the perfect train gift for a mini engineer just check out our gift ideas for kids who love trains below.


Most kids love to stop and watch a train go past, better still if the driver is friendly and gives them a wave!

But for some trains are the best toys EVER, and what's not to love?

Knowing where they're going or where they've come from, looking at the passengers or the cargo, and they make super cool sounds too!



Just like in real life, toy trains come in all shapes and sizes plus there are lots of other choices too for a train-mad child.

Choose one of these fun kids train gifts and you'll be the hero of the next train-themed birthday party, or ready to see those beautiful eyes light up with delight on Christmas morning!

Here is our pick of the best train toys, gifts, books and stocking fillers for any train-mad kid on your list.

The Best Train Toys for Kids

Whether you’re looking for that main birthday gift, the biggest present under the Christmas tree, or just looking to add something irresistible to the play room, this list of big ticket train gifts for kids has plenty of ideas for you!

Add to their growing collection with a wonderful new train gift.  All sets, BRIO, Hape, IKEA, wooden Thomas and other brands are compatible with other wooden tracks.



The Brio Deluxe Railway Set is the perfect first railway set gift or the ultimate huge gift for a budding engineer.

If you're looking for an all-in-one set that has track, trains, station, bridges and much more, this is it.  It even comes in its own durable storage box!



This set has enough variety, durability, and playability to last their entire childhood and will still be in perfect condition for future generations.

The variety of layouts you can create is endless and it all fits perfectly on a standard-sized train play table.

With a seaport and cargo ship, an elevated passenger train line, a subway route and a freight train, this set contains everything a mini engineer could ever need.


The Hape Battery Powered Engine Set is a fun new set which includes a battery powered engine, brightly coloured train carriages, trees and a magnetic crane to offload cargo, all bring your railway to life.

We love Hape products for their commitment to sustainability, imaginative design and fun play value.  

This sweet set works well as a starter set to add more track to, or as a welcome addition to an established wooden train collection.



The BRIO Signal Station is a great addition to any train set.

Decide which way the trains can go through by turning the red knob.

Kids can add this to their collection of standard tracks to make up stories, and use the little signal man to keep an eye on their trains comings and goings.



If they love LEGO as well as trains then this LEGO Creator Expert Winter Holiday Train is the perfect gift.

Older kids will rejoice in making this fun set and it comes with a circular track ideal for the motorised train to make a full circle around the base of your Christmas tree.  Comes with 5 minifigures.



For younger kids the LEGO DUPLO Town Steam Train is just as good.

Build it, drive it, take it apart, and then make it all over again.

The push and go steam train track toy has 16 track pieces and makes lights and sounds.  It can even be used with remote control via an app.



The Hape Grand City Station gives kids the opportunity to run their own busy station and plenty fo space to play out scenarios from every day life.

There are tickets included that you insert into a projector to display images of Paris, London, Berlin, New York and Beijing.

They can even record their own station announcements - just make sure they sound all muffled and indecipherable for authenticity!



In Rivers, Roads And Rails players take turns to match tiles so they can create a network of roads, railways and rivers for ships, trains and cars to move along.

Kids learn through the ever-changing game, as well as having lots of fun.



This cute City of London Wooden Train Set has all the famous London landmarks and a fun London Underground Tube train.

Perfect for anyone who has visited or is going to visit London, so they can spot and play with all their favourite places.

The Bigjigs Rail Transportation Train Set has tons of features and different transport hubs and styles for your child’s trains to visit.



OK, this is a super big ticket gift, but if you have the space and the budget this fantastic mountain train set and table is kid heaven

This little piece of train-utopia comes with 120 play pieces and three strong drawers underneath for storing track.  No need to worry if they'll like this one!!



The Hape Battery Powered Rolling-Stock Set is a lovely brightly colored rolling-stock set for their railway that uses a battery-powered engine to pull along the stock.

The carriages even wobble as they move along the track!  We love the fun way the set wiggles and wobbles along the tracks - very Thomas!


Train Stocking Fillers & Smaller Gifts



The Hape Cogwheel Train is great fun.  As you push it down the track, the cogs on its charming little wagon happily spin and the cogs can also be removed for loading and unloading.

It's a fun train to play with and just like the movement found in a real life working mine where this train would be found - great for creative play.



The Melissa & Doug Train Sound Puzzle is great for younger kids.  Place the pieces in the correct places to get fun train noises.



For the next level, the Melissa & Doug Alphabet Express Jumbo Floor Puzzle is a fun way to learn the alphabet.

This beautifully made puzzle will last you through several kids and still be in perfect condition for the grandchildren!



Ravensburger Railway Station is another jigsaw puzzle we love.

It's 60 pieces are all unique shapes which makes it much easier for younger children to manage than other puzzles. 

And it makes a lovely busy railway station scene.



Perfect for a gift, stocking filler or a Christmas Eve box, these cute train pyjamas for kids are 100% cotton and available in sizes 1-8 years.

We love the sweet train design and how soft and snuggly they are.




The Train Ultimate Sticker Book is perfect for kids obsessed with trains, railways and engines.

With more than 60 stickers children can learn about early steam engines like The Rocket right through Japan's bullet trains.

There's always room for more track so they can build an even bigger railway.

You can buy wooden train track pretty much everywhere and it's usually all compatible with other brands.  Grab some at IKEA or buy online.


Train Books for Kids

As well as Reverend Awdry's finest and The Little Engine That Could, there are plenty of other fun train books out there.

While the parents may not thank you for another train book they have to read a million times, the happy recipient will be delighted!




Steam Train, Dream Train is a beautiful bedtime story book for younger children.

The dream train pulls into the station and one by one the cars are loaded.  The dreamlike illustrations evoke a time past and the rhyming text is delightful.




Elisha Cooper's Train has become a modern classic.

It follows various trains as they criss cross across the US and gives a real flavour of the sights, sounds and smells of trains, as well as the people who work on them.

The double page pictures show the different trains in wonderful detail.




Usborne's See Inside Trains is lift the flap history of trains tells the story of locomotives from Stephenson's Rocket to today's super-fast bullet trains.

Robust enough for little hands, this fun Usborne book will keep any young train enthusiast enthralled.




Old Tracks New Tricks by Jessica Peterson has lots of great ideas for how to set out their tracks, as well as being a lovely story about friendship and having fun.

A great way to encourage creativity and new ideas.




A lovely combination of train journey and a highly relevant eco message, Oi! Get Off Our Train is lovely.

A little boy dreams of setting out on a train journey with just his cuddly dog for company, until lots of endangered animals are asking if they can jump up and join them on their journey because they have to leave their own homes.




And one extra!  How to Train a Train posits the fun idea of kids keeping trains as pets and asks how they could best take care of them.

Would the train like a snack, a bedtime story or a warm bath?  Just how do you take care of a train?  Great fun!

There isn't one gift on this list that your train loving kid won't adore.

Maybe grab a few to hear them shriek with delight on their birthday or Christmas morning!






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