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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Christmas present ideas for 13/14 yo boys?

86 replies

SweetMarmalade · 29/11/2019 23:10

No idea this year.

Ds had a birthday a couple of months ago and had a gaming laptop, so he doesn’t need any technology.

Will get him books, clothes, possibly a bird experience but apart from that I’m pretty stuck this year.

I know this is AIBU but it’s the area I visit most and I know it’s always busy here.

What are you getting your darling teens?

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Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 30/11/2019 14:55

@PomBearWithAnOFRS noticed that they do Halloumi and feta cheese kits! Wonderful! Ds is a huge halloumi fan!

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x2boys · 30/11/2019 14:59

I'm struggling too ds1 is 13 on boxing dayHmm so I have to worry about Xmas and birthday presents !

Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 30/11/2019 15:00

@x2boys ouch!

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Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 30/11/2019 15:01

I’ve just added a Stranger Things book to the book list. Only books so far!

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Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 30/11/2019 15:17

Found a great little gadget called an ibeani, might add to the list.

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Monr0e · 30/11/2019 17:14

@SweetMarmalade thank you 🙂 glad you found some ideas useful.

It is such a tricky age, too old for toys, everything they want is so expensive so they end up with a tiny pile while younger siblings have a mountain of presents at half the price.

Check out Wicked uncle, I've got mine quite a few stocking fillers and novelty items from there. Just ordered him a national geographic torch / compass set thingy which he'll love when we go camping.

I'm off to Google cheese making kits and music pillows

x2boys · 30/11/2019 17:51

Ouch indeed @SweetMarmalade not the best planning tbh!

Baldcrusader · 30/11/2019 17:53

I'm apparently a grown up and the make your own cheese kit sounds awesome.

Chasingsquirrels · 30/11/2019 18:03

Mine wants airpods. We went looking at different wireless ear buds but he really doesn't like ones with the little silicone bits one and says the wired apple headphones he's got are the only ones he's every felt comfortable wearing. So I've just got him 2nd hand ones from CEX.

Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 30/11/2019 23:48

@Monr0e I’ve stumbled upon the Wicked Uncle sight a few times, it has some great ideas. Torch might go down well with Ds, if he’s anything like his Dad he’ll want a torch for all occasions!

I need a gadget of some sort to stop Ds taking everything apart! School pens get taken apart, chewed, pencil’s gnawed. I’ve been trying to find some sort of teen sensory toy to fiddle with, Ds loves magnets, bought him the multicoloured magnets you can create shapes with which was a great hit last year. Don’t think these would go down well at school though!

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mocha78 · 01/12/2019 00:30

It’s such a hard age, especially if they’re not into fashion. My son really enjoyed a Tech Will Save Us Kit he got for his birthday. He has the new Avengers film dvd on his list too.

Noseynails · 01/12/2019 00:31

@SchoolNightWine do you have a link… I want one, it’ll be bigger than me😂

mokapot · 01/12/2019 00:55

Armchair for room
He asked

Ds 11

He asked his uncle for stocks ( Grin)

Curious2468 · 01/12/2019 01:18

3D printer! Check out the ender 3 and also thingiverse for the kinds of things he could make

Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 01/12/2019 10:44

@DonPablo Rick and Morty, I’ve never seen it but it’s rated as 16+. However, Common Sense Media makes me think it could possibly be something we could watch together and both enjoy? Think I need to watch a few episodes myself first before I make my mind up.

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TriciaH87 · 01/12/2019 12:21

My ds was 13 a few weeks ago. Got him a couple games, a watch, gym membership, gaming headset, Mp3 player for the gym. Did consider booking him some kind of activity like gocarting

Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 01/12/2019 19:34

@Curious2468 wow! There’s a whole new world out there! Would have never thought of a 3D printer and I’ve never heard of Thingiverse but have just had a look and it’s mad! Just imagine what these gadgets will do in 20 years time!

I’ve no idea how a 3D printer works so I’m off to read more about it! What materials does it need to print etc etc etc!

Might not be the present for Ds this Christmas but I’m intrigued. I have heard of 3D printers but I’ve not seen any marketing in them, would be good to know if anyone on Mumsnet has one and if it’s proved useful.

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Curious2468 · 01/12/2019 19:40

We got one recently, I finished printing this today

Christmas present ideas for 13/14 yo boys?
Curious2468 · 01/12/2019 19:43

We bought and ender 3 pro for £160, some filament (£15 ish for 1kg) and aside from that we swapped 2 parts on the printer. The springs to stronger ones and the bit that feeds the filament to a metal version. You don’t need to do either of those though. There is a whole community of people using this printer and Facebook groups etc.

I like the one we went for as you can do large models but it also handles miniatures really well too. The possibilities of what you can make are literally endless. You can also create your own 3D models to print too.

I had no idea until I went looking just how good they have got over the past couple of years and how affordable too!

Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 01/12/2019 19:43

@Curious2468 Shock that’s AMAZING! Ooh I’m well impressed!

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SweetMarmalade · 01/12/2019 19:45

How long did the dragon take to print? How sturdy is it? It’s so cool!

Thanks for this suggestion! Might be something to think about for next year.

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Oldraver · 01/12/2019 19:54

We have bought DS a shaver...a Remmington foil one as we thought it would be the most elicate on the bumfluff

Just ordered some hot chocolate bombs, a gamer hoodie, Spotify, DS1 is getting him headphones

Harry Potter illustrated

Curious2468 · 01/12/2019 20:01

Dragon took about 2 days and prints in separate parts, it’s comparable to the d&d type figures you can buy and is pretty sturdy. Miniatures take about 1.5-2 hours to print

Original poster
SweetMarmalade · 02/12/2019 20:14

I’m so impressed @Curious2468 I think this is something we’ll definitely look into next year.

For now I’ve been looking at the stand alone VR headset, Oculus Go which isn’t one you have to put your phone into, although you do need a phone/iPad etc for the app. Also possibly a keyboard, there’s one you can use your iPad with. Here’s me saying he doesn’t need anymore tech and then I spot the VR headset! Sigh!

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froomeonthebroom · 02/12/2019 20:19

DS 13 is getting xbox controller charging port and skin, Sims 4, Lego architecture, Big Bang theory trivial pursuits, a key for the door and fancy key ring. He doesn't know what he wants so I hope he likes all that!

He is also getting escape to Hogwarts board game from my parents.

It was his bday recently and he had an owl experience and a scuba diving voucher.