Gift ideas needed for soon to be 13 year od DS

[BriarfoxinWA]

My DS will be 13 on Friday and I am at a loss as to what to get him. He loves video games but we are trying to get him away from playing non-stop. I told his grandparents that he would like movie gift certificates to the theater. I did breakdown and get him a gamefly membership but so far that's it. Any suggestions?

He does like military stuff but 13 is such a hard age... too old for toys really...

 

[NHdisneylover]

Would he like:
concert tickets? Or tickets to something like Blue Man Group or a braodway toruing show he may be interested in?

a season pass to a local pool or amusement park?

gift card to his favourite clothing shop?

One year my in-laws gave the kids "summer fun books" They took a small photo album and put gift cards in smaller amounts in each pocket. For example: movie theatre gift card (was just big enough to see one show), mini golf (enough for a round), local arcade, ice cream place, their favourite restrurant, go kart place, laser tag, etc. This was a HUGE hit and would have been their gift again this year had we not moved.

 

[HM]

Does he have his own clock radio? That would be a good gift.

An MP3 player (I just got an email from Amazon for $25 Sansa one....I have three in my family and I love them as an alternative to the expensive Ipod).

Does he like puzzles or games? Risk? Clue? Apples to Apples? Wise or Otherwise?

New bedding? Might be a good time to get something more mature.

 

[browneyes106]

If he has a iPod maybe an iTunes gift card could be a good idea.

 

[RN4Babies]

At that age, I remember getting my son:

An MP3 player
A nice, new bicycle
A summer pass for the local pool
Junior golf lessons through our local recreation department

My ds also loves video games. He bought a PS3 with his own money when they came out. Last Christmas I bought a Wii for our family room, and we all love it. It gets the kids up off of the couch, and Wii fit is a fun workout for me!

 

[ChristaDeVil]

I try to look for non-video game ideas for my 8y.o., too. It's hard!
Here are a few things that mine likes:
- iTunes cards (and and iPod if he doesn't have one). I got mine a Shuffle earlier this year and he loves it.
- gift certificate to a bookstore or comic book store
- digital camera
- magazine subscriptions (mine loves Game Informer and Nintendo Power magazines)

Good luck!

 

[swald91]

This is a great question! My daughter was just invited to a b-day party for a 13 yr old boy. Being that she is new to the school & not having too much experience with that age boys will help out too!! Some ideas here are great!!!

 

[NHdisneylover]

DD is home from school now and reminded me that last year we bought (on a whim) a semi decent quality stunt kite for our neighbor boy's 14th birthday. It was a huge hit. He ended up giving similar kites to two of his friends later that year. His mom loved it because it got him out and away from all the electronic gadgets.

 

[Avalon_toon]

My 12 year old nephew was just enthusiastically telling me about a tv show he loves - called Deadliest Warrior - where they take two different types of warriors (like, a pirate vs a knight) and then test their weapons, combat styles, etc. to see who would win in a fight.

Sounds like a 13 year old boy miltary fan's dream show... I think it is not out on dvd yet, but I checked amazon.com and they have it available on their video on demand system...

 

[mom2travel]

My DS just turned 14. Some likes/dislikes of his and/or gifts he recv'd in last year or so

loves gift cards to... itunes, movie theatre

does not like gift cards for clothing stores - does not like clothes shopping unless he really needs something, and such cards sit around for months only to be spent on things we would have bought for him anyway because he needs it

games - Apples to Apples, Monopoly, Othello, Scotland Yard, Life

concert tickets (including one for a chaperoning adult)

 

[PrincessNancy96]

My son turns 13 on Friday too... he has only asked for a few items..
He wants a specific movie... bought.
He asked for $$ for music downloads to his mp3 player... have certificate made w/ amount..
He asked to go to the movies to see Disney/Pixar's "UP"... that show just cracks him up on the previews.. I hope it is as good.. So,we are going on Friday night (I'm checking movie theaters to see where it's playing).
He also asked for us to tuck some $$ in the vacation fund for his spending @ Disney next year.. He is always thinking ahead! LOL

Boys 8-15 are so hard to buy for... they are getting out of the toy stage...but jump around in their interests...

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Well he has an Ipod shuffle and I asked him if he wanted to upgrade to a different one with more memory and he said no. So I'm thinking I'm just going to give him cash. We're going to Victoria BC next month and he could buy something there as a souvenier. He's in to Karate but his Sensei is moving at the end of the month and there is no one else in town that teaches. So I hate to buy him gear for that when he won't be able to use it, at least until we find someone else.

Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming!

 

[minkydog]

When my DSnow-22 was 13 he wanted to be a rock star. He had taken piano lessons before, but the interest had died out. We bought him an inexpensive electric guitar($69) and a small amp(<$50). He had never played electric guitar before but it really peak his interest. We gave him a gift certificate for 6 lessons (we ended up extending this when he actually stuck with it.)He also was able to look up stuff on YouTube and some other web sites to learn how to play it.

Well, guess what? It stuck. He loves his video games, but nothing soothes his soul like music. He now plays keyboards and rhythm guitar for a hair metal band and writes their lyrics. DS has bipolar disorder. When he's down he'll stay up all night composing and playing his *new, really good* guitar (we make him wear headphones at night). When he's up he'll play piano in my living room until you have to run him off, then he spends hours and hours writing music.

Music has been his salvation. I had no idea how such a small thing would turn into a life passion. All I can say is Thank You to the guy who invented the electric guitar.