aaaagh! presents for boys at the in- between age

[ateacupofgin]

Bit stuck this year hoping you lovely lot can help me out

DS10 and 13 seem at the in-between age when they don't play (just play fight!) and apart from FIFA they are not really into gaming yet and I want to make the most of that if I can! Both love football and youngest absolutely loves drawing (manga pens and book went down a treat for his birthday) but other than sport and reading eldest doesn't really have hobbies as such.

Struggling with gifts and stockings this year. So far I've done a couple of trips to Sports Direct for table tennis balls, goalie gloves, gum guards etc but I'd quite like to get them something to 'do'..... Is there anything out there or am I being deeply naff? They do get stuck into things once they get going and enjoy them so I think they could be persuaded with the right kind of 'kit'. But it may just get slung to the back of the cupboard so maybe I shouldn't bother!

They both love to read but for DS13 definitely not the zombie-horror-fantasy genre that seems to line the walls of waterstones. He enjoyed the Young Bond and Young Sherlock and will devour any of the DAWK series if it's lying around... DS10 has worked his way through Percy Jackson and DAWK and seems stuck on what to try next.

A pile of books would be lovely if only I knew what to put in the pile so any ideas greatly appreciated

What about an 'experience'? This depends where you live though.

Board games - talisman is good from that age through to adulthood. Or the game of thrones board game

Kindle - do they have one? I think they are reduced atm. Good for their age as can have all books in one place

Art small easel and canvas boards and paint if crafty

Tickets to see a football game

Remote control car kit - one they self build

Lego - my Dh loves the kids Lego sets still and many say 12+ as difficult to build for small children

Music speakers mini

We are rural West Country so no football teams local that we could go and see. Youngest would love sock boots but they are out of budget and not made small enough for his tiny feet anyway The experience days that are local are all outdoor activity kinds of things and well used via school. Eldest loved go ape when we were up country at grannies.

They had kindles last year and they have been so well used, we top them up with books but are running dry for ideas. They do still love proper books as well. They really don't like the fantasy genre yet so I don't think the board games would work - but my dad would love it so that's another tricky present sorted

We have easel and all sorts like that - I love to paint so my youngest has enjoyed working his way through my various kit boxes.

Love the idea of a remote control car kit they could build and headphones. TBH I can't imagine Christmas without Lego, maybe they have just not had anything 'new' for a while as birthdays were at the start of the year so maybe I just need to pick something!

I've just found. Game on Amazon called Pandemic. I think this would be right up their street does anyone know anything about that?

DS(11) is getting a proper RC car from my DP's. At over £100 plus extra for batteries etc it's not a cheap present, but it has the wow factor, comes in a big box and has longevity (for DS at least)

He also has Pie Face which may be a little young for him but which my DSDad will adore and I'm hoping the whole family will join in. Also have Science Museum drinking straws and Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit. Our main gift to him is a GoPro but that's quite a niche one I think

I've seen a pen thing that draws 3D, so you draw in the air and make 3D shapes
Science kits
We are getting DS who will be 9 a Kano kit which includes s raspberry pi for his birthday

DS yr7 and friends are having a bit of a marbles revival.

Last Christmas bought DS the Nutella recipe book & a jar of Nutella. He loved that and has tried a few of the recipes throughout the year. Made macaroons just last weekend.

subscription to Stuff magazine?

£4.99 a month on the shelf

£20 themagazineshop.com/tstuf-dec15
or £25 for the interactive one with digital
(i'm ordering the print only version)

Nerf stuff is having a moment at DS school. He already has a couple of guns but we're getting him the vest with the bullet holders and attachments.

Kano looks good though.

Pandemic is a good game. It's collaborative rather than competitive. There are loads of good board game suggestions on the board game thread in this topic. If they are good losers, King of Tokyo would be good because they can play 'fight' in the game but as you roll dice it is mostly down to luck rather than skill .

I have two boys in that age range.

DS1 is 13 and football mad. He is having the new Welsh football shirt as his main present. He is also having a book about the history of football in Wales and Geraint Thomas' new book. He had a new racing bike for his September birthday so is having less for Christmas this year.

He isn't a big fiction fan and hates sci-fi, but the one author he has really enjoyed this year is Malorie Blackman, especially the Noughts and Crosses series.

DS2 is 11. He is having an x-box as his main present. Books-wise he is having the Hunger Games series.

WRT to football games, don't you have any local teams at all? We live in rural Wales, the boys support Liverpool as a Premiership team but go to most of the home games of the little local team that plays in a much smaller league. They really enjoy it.

Do they have a football goal? DS is 8 and his gets used a lot.

We're also thinking of getting him a Crazy Catch net this Christmas.

I'd second Lego, especially Lego Technic for that age range. Also, Carcasonne game or Scrabble Twist & Turns. Nerf has also been popular unfortunately

If your younger ds liked Percy Jackson would he be interested in the new one rick riodhan has released 'magnus chase' it's the first in his new series. My ds loved the Percy Jackson books and is now really enjoy the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. Trying to think what else he has enjoyed, the hobbit, the dragon orb books (maybe a bit young now). Present wise this year we are getting him the magnus chase book, one other rick riodhan one he hasn't had yet, a pokemkn annual and some books on coding. Then we are going to get lego dimensions as a comprise present, gaming but not glued to the screen hopefully. Grandparents on one side are buying lego and on the other side a giant beanbag for his room. One other thing we got which might appeal to your boys is a blow football game. Very simple game where you play football with straws, only a few pounds on Amazon and looks like it will be fun for all over Christmas.

Lego never fails!

Books my DS has enjoyed and Antony Horrowitz Alex Rider books, Percy Jackson, The London Eye Mystery, Harry Potter.

This year we've got ours a two man tent and head torches. We're hoping they'll spend all of boxing day in the tent while we polish of the left over wine and pigs in blankets!

Try Tom Palmer for the ten year old, maybe?

How about a camera - either a basic dslr or a tough/waterproof compact that they could take pictures of football games on or as an extension to art for the younger one.

My eldest ds is 10 and he wants a mobile phone - I've said no way. However, I spotted a refurbished grade A iphone 4s for half price on Argos black friday/cyber monday deals and jumped as it's only £99. Not sure whether or not to give it to him or keep it for me (I have an old iphone 3) and get him a cheaper android phone.

Mind you he's only going to get a very very basic sim for it - think a £10 top up that will last for as long as possible - at the moment he only ever uses a cheap little £10 family phone if he goes to a rugby match with dh, so if they get separated they can get in touch more easily (and it's so far only been used to say we're here or we're on the way home as an excuse to use the phone!).

he can use home wifi for the stuff he wants to do on it (pictures, instagram, make mini movies with his friends) and it will be a good test to see if he can look after it (I will be surprised but pleased if he still has it without any scares by next christmas!). However, it seems to be a fairly normal thing for the kids at the local secondary school to have something to phone home on in emergencies if problems getting to or from school, or text friends so he'd want one sooner rather than later anyway. And it's cheaper than an xbox or playstation and I didn't have any other ideas!

Have you looked on the book people site for book ideas - they have some good deals on...

Another thing that could be good as a smaller present is a rubiks cube - you can get some on ebay that are 4x4 or 5x5 or bigger, which are more tricky than the normal ones but have some geeky street cred.

And I'm getting dh a unicycle and a how to ride a unicyle book - could you get them one to share? Could be an interesting challenge to learn to ride it. Or how about something like a guitar?

Sorry, not helping you but what's the 'DAWK' book series?

DS (just 12) is getting a laptop for joint bday/xmas and from all the family so is not getting much more but will add some books/choc.

What about this;
www.amazon.co.uk/Instant-Table-Tennis-PL7690/dp/B00E9QMIME/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1448795392&sr=8-3&keywords=Table+tennis

Basketball hoop and ball?

Shades the crazy catch net gets a lot of use here.

Thanks notmyname, that's good to know!