Some say it is harder to find the proper gift for a teenage boy than a teenage girl. Nevertheless, if you are a parent or a friend of a teenage boy, you should consult this list of gifts for boys ideas to get your inspiration.
As long as you know the young man’s tastes, preferences, hobbies, and (secret) desires, things should work out smoothly. We hope our previous list of sweet sixteen gifts for teenage girls was useful if you were looking for unique presents for a young lady.
In the same spirit of helpfulness, we have today 13 fantastic gifts for boys ideas, so you have a starting point and share it with the others interested in getting a teenage boy a memorable present.
1. Game Console
Of course, a teenage boy already has a PC or a laptop, but game consoles come with a flair of their own, especially because some games are exclusive to consoles.
You can investigate him, his friends, or his colleagues to learn what he wants best (an X Box or a PS 4, for instance), or you can ask him directly if you want to make sure. Either way, a game console is the best idea for teenagers who love to play games.
Of course, you can add a few console-dedicated video games to make the surprise complete. If he already has a console, you can orient yourself towards another piece of tech, such as a tablet or even a laptop.
2. Daypack Laptop Backpack
Speaking of laptops and tablets, if the boy needs to step up his school or casual rucksack game, you can get him a colorful, slick, masculine, yet fun laptop backpack so he can carry his books and his gadgets neatly.
A quality daypack laptop backpack can host all his personal belongings, precious laptop/tablet, and other items in a safe way. Make sure you get the model featuring comfortable ergonomic padded straps as the young man needs freedom of movement and no carrying discomfort.
If you want to make things even more appealing for the boy, you should personalize the backpack before you offer it.
You can ask professionals to apply a monogram on the rucksack or adorn it with a cute print, a message, a cool hashtag, and more. Who said gifts for boys are boring or hard to find?
3. Wireless Headphones
What teenager these days does not listen to music everywhere he goes? Get him a pair of slick, fresh, super high-quality, and stylish wireless headphones.
Some brands represent excellent choices regarding sound quality, hi-tech features, and price. Get a pair of wireless headphones for any occasion requiring celebration: birthdays, name days, Christmas and other holidays.
He will love the new addition to his gadget collection and will hold the headphones close.
4. Board Games or Card Games
We know many teenage boys love to play video games, but board games and card games are an excellent choice if he is the sociable type loving to spend a night with friends playing board games or society games.
Many such games have a compelling educational component, besides the entertaining one, and he will appreciate smart games aiming to develop players’ knowledge, vocabulary, strategic abilities, decision-making processes, and problem-solving skills, imagination, and more.
Ask around and learn what style of games he and his friends like to play, then ask a professional seller in a games’ shop for recommendations related to age, game difficulty, and game popularity.
From puzzles to strategy games, and from imagination-centric collaborative games to competition ones, you have infinite possibilities. If you want a challenge as a parent, take a board game that engages the entire family, if you are the kind of people loving to have fun with their older and younger kids alike.
5. Touch Screen Gloves for Smartphones
If you teenage son or friend already has a smartphone, you can throw in some touch screen gloves in your gift basket. Winter touch gloves for smartphones make a great gift for Christmas or a winter birthday, not to mention Valentine’s Day or some other special occasion.
As we know by now, teenagers and high school adolescents cannot stay away from their phones and tablets. Winter comes with texting and scrolling issues when kids are outside.
Therefore, a pair of touch-sensitive gloves will be a godsend and one of the most appreciated gifts for boys in the family and friends gang.
6. Travel Water-resistant Duffel Bag/Weekender
Teenage boys do have the right age to start traveling on their own or together with their friends or colleagues. They usually go on a school trip, a summer/winter camp, a visit to relatives in another city they need reliable and cool travel gear.
For this reason, you should consider getting him a travel water-resistant duffel bag. Look for a medium-to-large weekender that features an adjustable shoulder strap, solid handles, a polyester fabric body for water and dirt resilience, pockets, and solid zippers.
The young man may use such a duffel bag for his gym and sports practice and activities, but a fancy trip requires durable and cool travel gear – and this is what such a bag is.
7. A Trip to an Awesome Destination
Now that we already talked about traveling, you know your teenage son needs to expand his horizons from a cultural and social point of view – and the best way to achieve this is by traveling.
Either you go on a trip abroad together as a family, or you send him to the school on a trip somewhere else, you will do him a lot of good. Buy him those plane tickets or make the necessary reservations and celebrate a special birthday or a special holiday by allowing him to see and experience the world.
As we said before, traveling is probably the most entertaining education mean and a surefire way to build personal and social skills in any person. For this reason, gifting a trip to a teenage son, grandson, brother, or best friend is a way of telling him you trust him as a man and a human being and you want him to learn on his own the beautiful intricacies of this world.
One of the best gifts for boys of all ages, a trip is a surefire way for him to make some unforgettable memories.
8. Tickets to Events He Loves
People who love music, for instance, remember every concert they ever attended. People who love theater still remember the thrill, the chill, and the emotions they had when they saw their first play.
Should we go on about those passionate about sports cheering for their team on a full stadium? You get the idea. If you son, friend, or colleague shows an ardent interest in the form of art/entertainment, gift him tickets to such an event.
Music concert tickets to see famous bands, music/film festival tickets, shows, art galleries, opera and theatre, air shows, sports competitions, geek conventions are all perfect opportunities to offer a young man the memories and the experience of a lifetime.
From the Super Bowl to San Diego Comic-Con, you have dozen+ events to consider as best gifts for boys. Pick the one that will make the boy the happiest and offer him a unique experience.
9. Driving Lessons
What boy does not want to learn how to drive and get his license and even car? If he is of the right age, you can get him the driving lessons he so much desires. You can take the boy out to test-drive (of course, the adult drives) some fantastic and hot cars.
If he is into driving and vehicles, you can take him to a car race. Driving lessons are as useful as they are fun, so make sure the boy is ready to embark on this new journey of his life and pass the challenge with flying colors.
10. A Shopping Voucher for Clothes
Your son is growing up fast, and he always needs new clothes. Instead of buying clothes for him, why not celebrate a nice birthday or Christmas by offering him a shopping voucher so he can buy the clothes he likes and needs?
Allowing a teenage boy to shop for himself builds self-confidence and tastes, teaches responsibility, and allows him to taste the freedom of adulthood.
As a parent, you should not frown upon his choices, in case some are not upon your tastes, but make it an educational opportunity and show him where and how he should have made better decisions.
Some boys and young men do not necessarily like to shop for themselves, while others know exactly what they want regarding personal style, so this is an excellent occasion to instill some independent-life skills in your teenage son or best friend.
11. Grooming Products
Teenage boys need (or will have to soon enough) to learn how to take care of themselves. While the first shave is an important father-son moment, boys these days have to learn what products to use and what things work better for their age, style, skin type, even dermatological problems in there are any.
If you want to offer your son a proper introduction in the grooming and styling products for adolescents and men, you can take him out shopping and allow him to pick products that are on his tastes. You can also offer a full set of grooming as a gift, or offer him a voucher instead so he can buy whatever he needs.
Similar to the case of clothes, young boys need you to trust them they will make the best decisions. It is also an excellent opportunity for them to feel mature and independent, as they need their own set of grooming products instead of borrowing razors and aftershaves from their fathers’ cabinets.
If your son also wants some funky cool haircut, you can pay the stylist session as well. It is crucial that he finds what suits him best and what he likes more, even if he will make a few mistakes along the way.
12. Adventures and Activities
Did you ever hear your son, little brother, or best friend talking about some activities and adventures he might like? We are talking about snorkeling, trying some extreme sport like parachute jumping, horseback riding, go-kart racing, and so on? Well, this is your chance of making a boy happy!
Reservations, tickets, and bookings for adventures, sports, and fun activities are possible challenges for adults, not to mention that many are more than affordable. Your son may want to experience an adventure park, a bungee jump, kart races, paintball with his friends or scuba diving.
Find such opportunities in your area and offer them as a birthday gift. If he dreams of bigger adventures, make a trip out of them (he already has the travel duffel bag!) together with the entire family.
After all, how many times in life does one have the occasion of being there at the F1 competition, surfing with the pros, or visiting Paris and its Disneyland?
13. Hobbies and Passions Related Gifts
If the celebrated teenager already has some well-defined talents, hobbies, passions, and skills, the easiest way to make him happy is to appeal to those talents.
If he loves piano music, you can get him an 88-keys digital piano for him to practice. He will make his music and feel like a real artist. The same goes for a new guitar or another musical instrument. Sports fans and young athletes always want the newest type of sports gear.
Such items may be expensive, but if Harry Potter is an example, nothing beats a Nimbus 2000 broomstick for a competitive boy who wants to lead his team to glory, does it?
From all the gifts for boys in all the world, the ones directly speaking to his passions and talents are the best ones. You can also consider new surfing board, upgraded ski gear, a new skateboard, art kit, professional writing software, new sports gear and sports bag, and so on. Such gifts work for brothers, best friends, and schoolmates as well.
Learn what the teenager in question loves as a hobby or even talent-based career and offer him a gift in that area. There is always some upgraded tool or instrument he desires, so things are quite easy in this regard.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our list of gift for boys and you have now some sources of inspiration to make the teenager a lovely surprise. If you have other suggestions for our community, please feel free to share your tips and ideas!