to ask what you're getting your teenage boys for Christmas? 16yo politics geek with Aspergers anf football-mad 14yo, am struggling for inspiration

[Greensleeves]

I really want to break free of the "books for ds1, football stuff for ds2" thing and get a few interesting, different bits for them...am going to get a couple of board games for us all to play, and the usual choc and socks etc, but would be very grateful for any left-field suggestions! What are your teen boys into?

Have a tweenager who's only really interested in Xbox and football!

Board games a good idea and maybe something they need - clothes/headphones/phone accessories?

I'm toying with the idea of tickets to an event - football match or something, maybe a weekend away rather than lots of stuff.

Stocking fillers can pad things out a bit - smellies/PJ's/chocolate etc

Place marking with interest!

Geek tshirts go down well with my ds

Ds1. Books and dvd of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister. They will last him for life. Box set West Wing. Original House of Cards is fab. I know they aren’t necessarily what you are looking for but they are all excellent examples of the genre. Last time we were in London, we did the Westminster tour. Really interesting. Sorry. Ds2 has me at a loss.

Great book for football mad kids is "You are the Ref!" It gives lots of scenarios from football matches and you have to say what the correct decision is for the referee to make.

Agree that geek t-shirts are a good choice and there are loads out there. Would he enjoy a subscription for Private Eye? If he is a Labour, supporter the People's Republic of Stokes Croft do great mugs (and other stuff but probably not so much of interest to a 16 year old). 1960 The Making of the President board game is very good (as long as he has people willing to play with him!). Banksy light shade went down well. Jeremy Corbyn underpants got a laugh. On the non-political front, mini-drone was a success with ASD nephew. Wireless headphones and power packs (for recharging phones, tablets etc) went down well. Cards against Humanity caused general hilarity which I still don't really get
Event tickets are good now mine are a bit older - especially for the more expensive matches/shows they want to see. Nandos vouchers (so they can go out with mates).

Not sure of your budget but I have a politics mad 16 year old DS and he really enjoyed a trip to London were we went to see Hamilton the Musical, the story is about the life of one of the founding fathers of America Alexander Hamilton, it covers the American War of Independence, the creation of the constitution, political deal making and the development of the American political system. Maybe if you tied it in with a tour of Westminster like a previous poster suggested it would be a great gift. We also got him the Private Eye Annual.

Sorry not got any suggestions for your younger DS as I havent really got a clue about football.

Would they like an Amazon Dot. I got my 14 year old son one for his birthday and changed his light bulb for a multi coloured one that can be controlled by it.

Our MP does tours of Parliament for the constituents - not been on one cos don't like our MP

You just email him/her and ask or if you are already on their email newsletter thingy they email you once a monthish with stuff they have been doing "for us"

Agree yes minister and yes prime minister DVDs would be fab

My 14yo DS has asked for a bb gun for Airsoft. Probably not much help to anyone else though! Other than that it's Xbox games etc, and he collects star wars stuff.

I used to use this website to find presents for my brother when he was a teenager, it is American but might be some use for ideas anyway.
www.thinkgeek.com

my 14 y old has asd and many others,hes getting a new laptop to help him with his home ed

he has one already but its 3 y old and the soft ware/computer programing he wants to use wont work on this one

we are also going to butlins christmas

Trip to London or Brussels for the politics fan? With a parliament tour if you can get your MP/MEP on board. Or if you're near somewhere with a mayor they might be willing to have him intern for a day. Try contacting journalists, they were all 16 year old obsessives at some point so follow them on Twitter and ask for suggestions. Alastair Campbell is surprisingly nice.

Agree with the DVD suggestions - the BBC House of Cards was fantastic. The Thick of It is also brilliant but EPICALLY sweary so maybe not quite yet...

Or there's some interesting things here:
www.presentindicative.com/collections/politics

Bought mine an Alexa each and only 39.99 on Amazon. How about posters, pictures for the bedroom. One of mine is football mad and always gets football stuff so
I get you. How about an unusual lamp! Bought one for his desk which lights up like a fountain with noise.