If you haven't got a 5 year old boy it's sometimes very difficult to know what are the popular and cool toys that five year old boys will like especially if you have to buy birthday or Christmas presents. I have a five year old boy who's just celebrated his birthday in February 2012, so I have some inside knowledge. Many of the toys belwo are based on what my own 5 year old son enjoys to play with. If you're not sure what to buy read on to find out the best toys for 5 year old boys.

Construction toys are very popular with five year old boys. Lego is a great as 5 year old boys are at the age where they can build more complex structures and they will love using their creations for imaginative play once they've been built. There are some great lego construction sets that are suitable from 5 years old including the plane and boat below. My own son received the lego city boat (featured below) for his 5th birthday. It has been a really good toy because once it's been built it will float in the bath, so it's made a great bath toy too.  Check out some more themed lego sets and my personal reviews.  
I also like marble construction runs. 5 year old boys will love building them and running marbles down them. Another good construction toy is Meccano. The set featured can build up to 10 motorised models, has 100 parts and the tools you need to build. Great for encouraging creativity and imagination.

The Vtech Kidizoom video camera is a great first video camera for 5 year old boys. The video camera is tough and durable and will withstand most play its put through. It allows you to record videos, take photos and edit your creations. You can edit your videos and funny stamps and borders to your movies as well as . You can add fun characters and to your movies too. Its easy to use and as well as just shooting normal video, it's great fun to create movies and show them off to family and friends. It also features built-in games. Currently an excellent price on amazon.com too. You can also get 5 year old boys, their first vtech digital camera. 

Some of the most popular toys for 5 year old boys are superhero toys. Boys of this age love superheros and characters such as Ben 10, doctor who, spiderman, star wars and batman. My own son loves spiderman. He loves dressing up as spiderman and for his 5th birthday we bought him some spiderman DVDs. 
Another top toy that falls within this category are transformers. It's funny how my son literally turned 5 and has started mentionning transformers. He's not see the TV programme but has played with the toys at friend's house and loved them. A transformers DVD or gift would definitely make a nice gift. Although, they may need a little help with the building or transforming of some transformer toys. 
Light sabers are a really fun toy. The one featured is good value for money, has good reviews and includes features including 7 different colour modes and six different modes including flashing mode, flashing blue, green, red and colour morphing.
 Doctor Who fans will love the Doctor Who figures, great for  great for encouraging imaginative play. Other superhero action figures are 
The Ben 10 Mark 10 vehicle transforms from drive mode, to hover mode and transforms further into a plane and submarine. It includes an exclusive Ben 10 figure. 

There are lots of great games for 5 year old boys. One of my favourites is Cranium Hullabaloo, which is great to play with a friends or can be played alone and uses a lot of body moves so it's great for burning off energy on a rainy day. The Shaun the Sheep lego game is a great hit with 5 year olds. You build all the characters before you start playing and the game is quite addictive when you start playing. The reviews are good on amazon.com. My son got one for Christmas and he has really enjoyed playing it.
Orchard toys do some excellent and fun educational games (more excellent reviews on amazon). Kids love the pop to the shops game below and it teaches them about money and counting too. Finally, the Piranha panic game is a good, fun game which isn't too long, kids love playing it together and is perfect for 5 year olds.
Check out games for 5 year old boys page if you'd like more ideas. 
Cards such as the  make great stocking fillers.  Five year old boys will love playing snap, pairs, old maid and get four of a kind with a simple pack of cards. Get cards with characters or things they are interested in. My five year old son loves Mr Men and Octonauts and we are getting these themed cards for his stocking filler. 
Another top game that my son loved for his 5th birthday is Angry Birds game. He loves playing the angry birds game on his Dad's iphone and was thrilled to play the physical version too. 

Scooters, bikes, stomp rockets all make great outdoor toys for 5 year old boys. Why not get a 5 year old boy there first basketball set, the Mookie Basketball set is a good first choice and will last a few years. The Ozbozz lightening strike scooter is the one my own 5 year old has . It durable, is easy to fold and has three different height settings. You can read my personal review of this scooter in my article about scooters for 5 year old boys. Stomp rockets are another great toy. Stomp on the pump to see how far you can shoot the rocket into the air. It's not only the kids that will be wanting a go, there will be a queue of adults too. We were given one last Christmas and it's great fun to take to an open space or to the park. Last time we took it we had an audience of people watching us have a go. 
There are some cool classic outdoor toys below too. Space hoppers are lots of fun. Swingball is a great blast from the past, great for co-ordination and kids can play on their own or with other children or adults. This is another toy we have in our garden and it's a great hit with other kids when they come around to play. 
Another fantastic toy choice is a trampoline. We actually bought one for our son's previous birthday but it has been a really good buy the amount of use he has already got out of it. And it will last for years too. 

There are some really cool toys and gadgets available that 5 year old boys will love. For space fans, why not get an illuminated moon to hang  in your room. I love the pocket microscope. There are rave reviews on Amazon to say that despite the cheap price this little microscope is really good.. Budding scientists will love the horrible science range. The shocking rocket shoots rockets in the air but there are also volcano and other kits available.
 Most boys will also love a remote control car. The UKayed Turbo Twister looks like a  great choice. It features 360 rotation with flip & spin stunts with magical light.

 Many 5 year old boys love drawing, gluing, painting and other arts and crafts. My own son is actually very happy with a set of pens, paper or a colouring book. It keeps him occupied for ages. 
There are some great arts and crafts gifts from simple gifts such as crayons, pencils, pens stickers and paper to craft boxes and craft kits. The Mister Maker Art and Craft chest has lots of stuff to for making all kinds of things. Let young boys imagination and creativity run wild by making what they want with the contents. Sticky mosaic kits like the two featured below are a great rainy day activity. Good for concentration skills and once completed the have a picture to display on their bedroom wall or a crown for imaginative play. You have to follow the numbers to stick on the colourful squares  Or why not try making a glow in the dark mobile with this hama beads set (hama beads are a popular craft activity for children of this age)
Melissa and Doug make some great do it yourself kits. 5 year old boys will enjoy making the treasure chest featured. 

Playmobil sets are durable and fantastic for facilitating imaginative play. There are lots of great playmobil sets including pirate ships, castles and jet planes. The great thing about playmobil is the attention to detail, there are lots of tiny features and accessories to really encourage imaginative play. Here are few top suggestions. I particularly love the knights empire fort! Playmobil is definitely one of the best toys for 5 year old boys when it comes to encouraging role play.

Still need more ideas, here are some more popular toys for this age group. 
If you have a five year old who is interested in bugs and creatures they will probably love the butterfly garden. It gives you all the equipment necessary to "grow butterflies". You send off for the caterpillars once you've received the kit and you can order them between February and October (its probably a too cold in the Winter). 
Many 5 year old boys love doing jigsaws. The best range for this age group is between about 60 and 100 pieces. There are some great jigsaw puzzles around, choosing one with something they are interested in (eg, dinosaurs, films/books/TV they like, cars etc) is a safe bet. 
Razor Rip Rider 360 is set to be a cool toy. It's suitable for boys aged from 5 to pre teens. An excellent outdoor toy which promises to burn off all that excess energy! 
There are some nice Cars 2 lego sets available a the moment. . 
Another toy my son was given for his 5th birthday and loved was the paper jamz guitar. Not something I would have thought to give him, but he has enjoyed pretending to play the guitar (quite often when bouncing on his trampoline at the same time).