Need Help on Small Gift Ideas for a 10-14 Yr. Old Boy

Sounds like Operation Chistmas child. Thanks for your support. Think about a baseball and a baseball glove. It would be great to send a soccer ball but only if you can find a hand pump small enough to fit in the box. I also like the ideas of shirts and underwear. Maybe even some flip-flops or slippers. Remember most of the kids have never had any presents.

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Books. Small video games (baseball, card games, etc. at walmart under $10), playing cards and games like Phase 10 or UNO, snacks like jerky, trail mix, candy... T-shirts, socks, gift cards, DVD's, CD's, cologne, toothbrushes, combs, hair care stuff (gel, men's shampoo), magazines (sports, hunting, skateboarding)... Lots of options. Boys this age are beginning to care about their appearance, are into social activities and are noticing girls. The book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" by Sean Covey is a good self help book for teenagers and there are others like it out there. Have fun shopping.

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Yay for OCC!!! I always had trouble with the older boy category too. Great advice from the one who is helping at her church.
J.

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Operation Christmas Child is so great isn't it? As the mother of four boys, this is what I would recommend: a small handheld game with batteries, several small cars, a comb, brush and sample sized deodorant, etc. (this makes them feel very grown up), bubble gum, a small activity book like Sudoku (since you do not know what language the child may speak) with a pencil and a pencil sharpener. Also, baseball caps and t-shirts (I would suggest M to L)are fun at this age too. A small sized baseball or football works great too! A deck of cards is fun as well. Hope this helps!

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I date a man with a 10 year old boy. His FAVORITE thing to do is to play his Nintendo DS. It is a small handheld device with 2-screens. You can get a lot of games for it.
He can play by the hours if we'd let him. The machine is over $100 and it is the FAVORITE of ALL.

Is this for an Operation Christmas Child box ?
Our church is very involved in this organization. School supplies are great. So are small cars, hard candies (no chocolate or candies that will melt). Please be sure all candies are individualy wrapped and placed in snack size baggies. No "war" or aggressive type toys. Small tools are helpful, too, like small hammers and nails, screwdrivers, etc. Hygene items are great, just don't send anything liquid. Toothpaste is ok, but please put it in a baggie. Toothbrushes, soap, wash cloths,combs and brushes etc. Try to not send anything that requires batteries. Most of these kids will not be able to replace them.
I didn't look at your profile, so I don't know where you live, but I do know that most boxes in the southwestern Missouri area go to cold areas of the world, so hats, gloves and scarves are appropriate and appreciated.

Be sure to include a nice card with your box, and you may even want to include your name and address because some of these children are able (and are encouraged) to write back to you and thank you personally.

May God bless you as you bless a child with a gift that will help him understand God's most precious gift for him.

PS .... (Allow me to give a shout out to my church who have just filled over 400 boxes !! Woo Hoo !! Way to go guys !)

I-tunes gift card, most kids that age have an mp3 player or an ipod...my son loves his i-tunes gift cards. visa gift card purchased at walmart, then they can buy what they want. This age is hard, small sample sized colognes, gift card for movie/game rental place. Gift cards seem to be the general theme, sorry I'm not more creative.

Yoyo's, silly puddy, toothbrushes, soap (bar kind), socks, undies even. Don't just think of toys. Operation Christmas Child is an awesome program. Notebooks, sharpened pencils and pens are great too. Hard candy, like suckers. We've been doing boxes for years and you have to think outside the box. If you get him anything electronic, be sure to incldude extra batteries. Go to the dollar store, you can get a lot for a little. Take the box with you where ever you go and put the items in to make sure they will all fit. Or make sure that an item isn't to long or wide. Even thought these boys are older, coloring books and colors or markers he'll appreciate too. Not something they see a lot. Good luck and God Bless.

Hi T.,
I have little ones too, but have a niece and nephew around that age, here r some ideas,
Walmart/Target gift card, lego packs, phase 10 card game, art supplies, gloves and hat (old navy has good buys), adventure books (I used to like the ones you could pick your own).
Have fun
Alex

Gift certificates to McDonalds or somewhere like that. Disposable camara and a gift certificate for Walmart to get the film processed. Gloves and a stocking hat. These are some inexpensive ideas. If it's for someone you know well and want to spend a little more on and they have access to a computer kids love MP3 players. You can get a decent one for 30 bucks. The new David Cook CD will be out next week. He's the new American Idol winner.

Any little gadget they can tinker around with. A small lego set, a small Magnetix set, those little puzzles like the two horseshoes with the ring to get off. Also a sci-fi book, bouncy balls, and those t-shirts with funny sayings like "I'm only here for recess" and such. Also balls like a small football or hacky sack. Hope that helps!

My 18 & 14 year old always like a new t-shirt from Hot Topic, Abercrombie or Hollister. I do not know how much you were planning to spend, but just an idea.

I had 4 sons and I have grandsons that age I also teach that age in Sunday School boys in my Sunday School like boys Majic Tree House is popular, metal puzzles, legos, small planes that you can fly with rubber bands (dollar General has small things they like, kites, both my Grandsons that age like craft projects they can paint or glue (Michaels and Hobby Lobby are good places to get things like that. some of it depends on the boys some like small cars still

Look at toys r us online an go by the age group for boys. They have excellent suggestions an show quite a bit of stuff as I was checking for grandbaby an he is only 3. Hope that helps.

Depending on the money you want to spend? you could do a small digital camera or a PSP???? You could always fall back on music CDs or games OR a VISA gift card that they can use anywhere.

Good Morning T., boys love hot wheels, monster jams, DVD's, CD's, small models, maybe even a dinosaur book or something to do with space, stars planets etc.. Marble games, puzzles ( the metal or wooden ones you need to think about)

There are a lot of things boys love to do.

Good Luck God Bless
K. Nana of 5 .. four of um boys

We have also participated the last five years in Operation Christma Child....we call it the shoebox gifts. What a great blessing you will be for a child. In the past couple of years, we have been known to put all different kinds of things in our shoeboxes. I would suggest hitting the local Dollar Store, since you can find numerous things to load up your shoebox with. Just some suggestions: a washcloth and a bar of soap, toothbrush with toothpaste, a comb or brush. Then the fun begins...try different kinds of candy...I like to put in different kinds of gum or hard candy (no chocolate). Markers and a pad of plain paper, a baseball hat, even gloves. You can also find smaller versions of balls (try Nerf brand) you can find them in footballs, soccer balls and baseballs. Pencils, flashlights and of course batteries. There are also some handheld games like checkers, Yatzee and solitare that will be great. You will find out very quickly that the box will fill up and you will not have enough room for all of your findings. Something that I found that works great is taking the photo boxes that are already covered and come with a lid are great for using as my shoebox. Garden Ridge has numerous of these and you can find them in different sizes and they are almost as cheap us buying the clear Rubbermaid shoeboxes. One last item I have used in the past is to purchase a small fleece blanket that is smaller yet will cover a child. In addition, on a recent mission trip to Argentina, I was shocked at the number of boys/men at the Teen Challenge we were working with that LOVED our sport's shirts. A St. Louis Cardinal shirt or something similar would be great. They also were blessed by donated new white socks and undershirts. I hope this helps and may God bless you this season as you bless others.
Blessings, JV

Hi T.,
Any kind of cars, or anything sports related would be great. Have you thought of baseball or football cards? How about a gift certificate to some kind of food place? Books by Anthony Horowitz, the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, or any kind of action movies or superhero movies. (My husband teaches 4th and 5th graders, so he helped me out with this list)!! Hope some of these ideas are helpful and good luck. I think that is a great idea for a gift!

maybe some handheld electronic games? The ToyRUs ad also had an mp3 player for $5. gum. candy. Camera (disposable or otherwise).You might also check on gifts.com for ideas...they have different categories for recipients.

T., Lego sets are small, some of them. You can get all kinds: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Bionicle, etc.

M.

a pack of cool pencils (my kids like the mechanical pencils but not the really cheap ones--mid priced ones are fine, extra lead and erasers), pens, craft items, etc. video games if you know what game system he may have, t-shirts but not too childish, gift card--maybe a visa gift card so he can spend it anywhere, card games like skip-bo or uno or other small games like that, mp3 player would be great.

Boys this age really like video games and music players. They grow out of toys about age 9-10 so not really into toys. Hope some of these ideas help.

The first thing that came to my mind was a yo-yo or maybe silly putty or the slimy gel.

I don't know if you are near Sunset Hills, but if you are there is a great store, Circle of Knowledge. http://www.circleofknowledge.com/contact.nxg

The staff is extremely helpful in finding things that suit an age group. They have a display with a lot of small, fun toys that should fit in your size specs.

Gift cards to arcades, Six Flags, or movie theaters might be well received.

You didn't mention any limitations on this or specifics...but figuring you don't want to spend a HUGE fortune or risk batteries or a gift that may not be able to be used what about stuff like a Rubik's cube, collector card games like Magik, Pokemon, Star Wars, etc.? My nephew was pretty big into the Bionicle characters for awhile which have to be put together like legos but are more challenging than legos. Of course, DVDs or computer games are great if they have the electronics to support it. And no matter what (outside of foreign countries) gift cards are NEVER out of fashion with ANY aged kid! LOL... we all find things to spend money on! LOL...Another idea is gift cards for fast food...every kid likes to eat out but sometimes parents can't afford to take them so this would give him his own "pin" money to spend for a Coke & a burger. If he does have access to a DVD player you can buy him a gift subscription to Netflix and then he can get whatever movies he wants delivered to his door...which is pretty cool in and of itself.

my brother is 10 and he loves Guitar Hero so I got him this guitar hero keychain thing from Bed, Bath, and Beyond that is big enough for him to play in the car and stuff.

Another great item for almost any age boy is a hoodie sweatshirt, either zip up or pull over. My 16year old can't get enough and my 6 year old grandson tried to wear them through the summer.