My grandson just turned five. He loves jigsaw puzzles (100 pieces) , Junior Lego Sets (age 8-10) and anything to do with Superman or Transformers, especially wearing the costumes for role play.

I recommend you go to a store like Target, and look for toys marked for "Ages 5+". Trains, cars and trucks, or dinosaur toys would please most any kid and would be acceptable to parents/grown ups as well. Enjoy looking :-)

All that watchmelol said, plus books. My son loved all those things and his love for books began long before. A couple of good ones for a five year old?

How I Became a Pirate

and

It's Hard to be Five

Yep - this grandmother of 6 agrees with Legos and transformer Legos especially! If they're duplicates its no problem, it will be exchanged for a different one but it will still be a great gift.

If you can shop Target, you can look online to see what's available at your local store - the toy aisles can be a bit overwhelming. Then get a gift receipt in case it's a duplicate of something he already has.

Paw Patrol is also very big with 5 year olds if they are allowed to watch TV.

These are a few my grandson would have liked at 5:

https://www.target.com/p/lego-city-harvester-transport-60223/-/A-75559061https://www.target.com/p/lego-city-great-vehicles-pickup-caravan-60182/-/A-52694212

https://www.target.com/p/lego-city-great-vehicles-heavy-cargo-transport-60183/-/A-52675153

https://www.target.com/p/paw-patrol-mighty-pups-gift-set-8pc/-/A-76153059

Was also going to highly recommend Lego's... - an easy return if he already has the set. They are very expensive for the little sets they come in now. Doesn't always look like much of a gift but our gkids always request them and love to collect them.

Another vote for Legos. Attach a gift receipt and you probably can't go wrong! Watchmelol's suggestion of Junior Legos is a good one, I don't think DD was quite up to the task of regular Lego sets at 5. There are any number of Spiderman and Batman Junior Lego sets that look really cool, IMO.

Ok, so far it looks like it's Legos, hands down. Thanks everyone!

I just gifted a 5 year old boy this book and he was entranced. He was actually over visiting while his dad fixed my cupboard and I gifted him the one that belonged to my now 17YO son. This is not an ordinary book, the detail is extraordinary.

https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Prehistorica-Dinosaurs-Definitive-Pop-Up/dp/0763622281

Legos for sure! All 7 of my grands (5 girls) love them!

We still have a voice changer toy that the boys had that still gets played with. Looks like a megaphone. It’s at least 30 years old! Target and Amazon carry them.

My grandson is a Transformers nut. Anything Transformers.

Or worse, Drewsmaga!

"It's not comfortable to ask the father about the child..."

Huh? Why not? Of all people, the father would have the best insight to his child and what he likes. Ask him what his son likes, does he collect anything, etc.

More insight than a bunch of people on the Internet.

Absolutely LEGO! All 3 grandsons adored LEGO for years - all teens now but still like it.

Sephia, one reason is because we know that the father will insist that we don't need to bring a gift. These are wonderful folks originally from another country than the US and, for some reason, he is greatly honored that we are coming despite barely knowing them. His other guests, mostly family, will be bringing gifts and we want to do so, as well. If we ask the father about what the boy might like, we won't get any answers other than "you don't need to bring a gift".

We don't want to ask him, get that answer, then bring something, anyway; don't want to risk offending.

As far as it being "more insight than a bunch of people on the internet", I've always found people here at the KT to be insightful, helpful, and knowledgeable. As in this case.

I agree about the Legos, but we scored points with a boy the same age once with a remote control car. Big hit.

Another vote for Legos. A flashlight is always fun, too.

No kids here so I know nothing, but it seems Legos are the modern version of erector sets and Lincoln Logs. Nice, creative.

I agree with the remote control car. I collected model cars when I was that age, but my nephew prefers model trucks. I think anything with wheels is good. Another nephew liked model dinosaurs, and I gave him an inflatable one that he especially liked, but you would need to know the child.

I also had Lincoln Logs and built garages for my cars with them. My favorite toys when I was five were dolls, but I had to play with my sister's dolls because I was not allowed to have any of my own.

Here's another vote for Legos, even though I had the one weird kid who never cared for them ---nor anything dinosaur, nor TV related toys.