gift ideas for nearly eight year old boys???

[fionagib]

Bit trivial this folks, but am totally stuck with what to buy my twin boys (8 in Feb) for Christmas. I have bought them tool sets (with real tools) but am now terrified that they'll saw their arms off or something - they are quite rowdy lads - and think I should put them aside till they're older.

This seems so silly. They are my sons, and I know them inside out of course, but am finding this suck a tricky age as they seems to be going off many of their toys. They love their playstation but I don't want to buy more games for it as they're a bit obsessed.

They've said they'd love a chemistry set but these seem to be for kids aged 10+ and I worry that they'd blow up the house. They already have bikes and scooters.

Stuff they love: tearing around on bikes, drawing, reading, anything to do with Tin Tin, history, pirates, 'boffy' stuff like science, anything to do with spies, ghosts or outer space...

suggestions gratefully received! Thank you

Telescope? Do they like making things? Basketball hoop?

My ds1 is 8 and he is getting a game boy game and some airfix models from us, but then he is very much like his father and is brilliant at model-making.
Ds2 (7) is getting some Magnetix and Lego.

I know what you mean about the chemistry sets. I think my boys would like them, but it seems to be asking for trouble.

Assume they have little soldiers/pirates to play with? Pirate ship? Play castle? Mine have all of these things in abundance!

\link{http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=2501&langId=-1&searchTerms=spy&go.x=6&go.y=13\spy stuff in argos}
My DS who is nearly nine has this kind of spy stuff - he loves it, and they can't blow your house up with most of them.
They sell them all over, not just argos. Don't know if you have an aldi near you, but there was some really good ones in there when i went Yesterday, for less than a tenner.

Thanks for argos link saintshar, will have a delve around with that - telecope also fab idea but we have one which we bought ages ago and haven't got around to setting up with them (they know it exists as they sometimes rifle around my workroom where I hide presents).

am v disappointed that they have gone off lego cos I loved it as a kid. Also 'imaginative' play seems to have waned (ie with little plastic figures etc). Is it normal for boys to go off toys so early??? dd (aged 4) so much easier to buy for!