My step-son will be sixteen next week. He lives in another state with his mother. Hubby and I are having trouble coming up with a gift he would like. We thought about sending him a check, but that's not much of a gift, is it? Any ideas?

Does he have any hobbies? passions? Music -- how about gift certificates to a music story, or tickets for a concert he'd really like to attend? Science -- how about a telescope? Books -- certificates for a good book store? Clothes -- maybe a handmade belt or something special like that? The outdoors -- maybe a certificate to a hiking/camping store?

Give us some hints 8) What's he like?

And is the 16th b-day a really BIG event for him? Does it require a very substantial gift or something, or is this just a b-day much like others?

Hi Sally!

Well, he's really into being outrageous and shocking people. He walks around with a rock-star persona and a different crazy hair style or color every month. He's very funny and totally into comedy. He likes Korn, but I'm sure he has all their music.

Much of the reason he is hard to buy for is that his mother's parents buy him everything, so he has plenty of stuff. But he lives in New England and we're in Iowa, so we really don't know what he has, needs, etc. We don't get much feedback from his mom, either. We're still waiting to hear from her if she'll let him fly here for Christmas.

So I wondered if anyone here had a boy his age, and what the cool birthday gifts are for a boy on his sixteenth birthday.

Thanks, Sally for the suggestions! :grin:

When in doubt:webcertificate.com (http://www.webcertificate.com) or giftcertificates.com (http://www.giftcertificates.com), both of which let the recipient choose from a large variety of merchants.

HTH!

R~

Will he be getting his driver's license when he is 16? (both my kids went for their driver's tests within a week of their 16th birthday) How about a nice leather wallet to hold his license, and a gas card?

BTW, what a nice stepmom you are to care enough to want to give him something cool for his birthday!

you said he likes to shock people?? how about some really good/cool hair products?? temporary hair colors (sprays, paint buckets, etc.), hair sprays, wax for spiking...There is a hilarious group of four self proclaimed hicks that do comedy (Blue collar comedy), and they've started coming out with their dvds: http://bluecollarcomedytour.warnerbros.com/. look around on the net or in bookstores to see if there are any good joke books, guides to becoming a good comedian, guides to achieving the "rockstar" look, stuff like that (note: before you ever buy a 16 y/o a book like that, read it over a little and see if it's not too cheesy for him, because that's a real turn off). See if there are any concerts or tours that are coming up nearby and look for when the tix go on sale...if they are already on sale, send him the tix...if it's gonna be a while, send him a "one coupon good for a rock concert of choice". Maybe you could look around in toy stores and on the good ol' internet for memorabilia from his fave bands: figurines, shirts, autographed cds... Just my :twocents: . I had to buy gifts (and still do) for a 16 y/o brother that went from wearing whatever was there and listened Christian music to to a prep who listens to rock music, and a 16 y/o sis in law who went from goth before she met me to pretty in pink after she saw my prissy princess wardrobe :grin: .

HTH :flowers: Hannah

My brother is 14, and he's a rocker/goth type guy, and he's really into computers and stuff... www.thinkgeek.com has awesome stuff for his age group. He loves that place.

I am all for a Gift Cert. or American express gift cert. I think that is the only way to go nowadays. That way the 'gift' you've given is sure to be what they like/want, as they picked it out!

age 16?

Hmm..

How about paying for his driving lessons from Young Drivers or an equivalent? That way you know you've at least taught him to drive safely.

If he has an understanding mother the best thing you can get him would be a bleach kit and manic panic hair dye. If she's not that understanding and all else fails, a gift certificate to Hot Topic sounds like it would be right up his alley.

A pair of Doc Marten boots are probably his thing too, but they can be pricey and run funky so I'd send his mother the money and tell her what to buy him or send the receipt with the gift.

Some kind of portable MP3 player? With a subscription to one of the downloading sites?

I can't really think of anything else.

Our son is interested in flying.
When he turned 16 we gave him a gift certificate to an introductory lesson at the local flight school.

An instructor took him up for an hour in a small plane and allowed my son to be in the pilot's seat. They flew all around the area and let my son do a "touch and go" at an ababdoned air field on a small island in the bay next to our house.

Hubby sat in the back seat snapping pictures. :grin: (We had to draw straws for that privilege)

Maybe he has some interest like that that you could encourage.

I have always found it hard to think of gifts for boys, too, and I have three of them! :lol:

Maggie

i made my sons' each a quilt uniquely their own. something they can keep for the rest of their lives, if they want. they are made up of their old blue and colored denim jeans that i found brand new at thrift stores. and i placed in the centre of their quilt a window of quilted themes that apply to them. example, my youngest is an artist, so i made a quilted picture from a painting he did and added little special touches like their name cut out and stitched onto the window.my eldest is a computer programmer/game designer. guess what you could quilt on that one?

:wink:

koehlle

I thought of one other thing. My nephew sounds a lot like your step son and he loves magic tricks. Not the cheap ones either. He's learned all kinds of neat stuff and I usually end up buying him a magic trick from the magic shop...if you find a magic shop they can point you in the right direction.

BTW - as geeky as it sounds girls love it when he does magic tricks...