DISO small gift idea for 5yo boy

[Hoopin' Mama]

Hi,

I am having a small get-together and would like to have something for the 5yo boy that will be dropping by. He has traveled here from another country and will be traveling back in a few weeks, so it cannot be anything large in size.

I have no idea what 5 year-old boys like. does anyone have any suggestions? I wouldn't know what kind of books to get him, since English is his third language.

I was thinking of making him some playdough, that he could play with for the weeks he's in the U.S. and not have to bring back.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated. It is too late to buy anything over the internet, and so it would have to be a relatively mainstream purchase. We do have one or two independent toy stores though. Honestly, I don't know his likes and dislikes. I just got to know the Mom pretty well before they moved out of the country.

It is possible that other people stopping by might bring a present for my ds, so I want to make sure there is something for him. Plus, I just want to give him something.

[P-chan]

Flashlight
Anything glow-in-the-dark
Magnifying glass
Book of mazes or other non-language puzzles
Interesting pens or markers

[fek&fuzz]

A tape measure. The metal yellow kind that carpenters use.

[SunRise]

Magnets - a little magnet science kit.
Pencils, markers and a pad of paper
colouring book
maze books
Rubics cube

(My 5 year old boy just became fascinated with magnets - he cleaned teh magnets off my fridge and is discovering the poles and how he can push one magnet with the "magical" force of another magnet without touching it; we also discovered some metal hidden in the wall )

[MomInFlux]

My local toy store has some small K'Nex sets for different age ranges - I got a set for 5-7 year olds for my 5yo nephew. They're small enough to pack in a suitcase and open-ended enough to play with for a good long time.

[SabraMamma]

ok- this is really mainstream, but match box cars make small little fold-up boxes (maybe 6-8 inches square and 2 inches high) that open up and little ramps and what not pop up and then the car has a small area to drive around. my DS got one of these as a birthday present, and I did not want to even have him open it, but he did and he has played with it over and over again for over a year. i often take it in a bag with us when we go out someplace and i want a small piece of entertainment for him.

[tuck]

We just got this for my son's best friend and they both LOVED it ( they are 5). We went back to the store and got 4 more to keep on hand for gifts...
http://www.lauritoys.com/products/view.php?part=2603 I think it cost about $10. I like all of their stuff...

[eclipse]

A smallish Lego set?

[LuckyMommaToo]

Yes, I agree with small lego set. Target or TRU has them.
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[TEAK's Mom]

Cool figurine or two? Every kid I know LOVES those things. Our toy store has some super cool knights and dragons...

[Alyantavid]

I was going to suggest Matchbox cars too. They're small and can be played with everywhere. Both my 5 year old and 18 month old love them.

[OakBerry]

Matchbox cars are great, he can play with them on the plane on the way home.