take him rock climbing, horse riding or bushwalking for the weekend, do it with a tour company and it will help cement the father/son bond that will be severly tested over the next 4 years!
This will be a memory the kid will have forever. My kids have iphones, laptops, ps3 etc etc but when asked what their best presents were these weekends are on top of the list. Oh excpet the 19 year old who said his car was the best present!
we’re talking about a 14-year-old. he might think that is the lamest thing ever.
I’ve got a 15 year old brother, and for his last birthday, he got an ipod touch and loves it. You can find a bunch of them for under $100 on ebay, brand new, because a lot of people get them free with their Mac purchases for going back to school or college, but have no use for them.
It’s an iphone without the plan. Genius.
And get wireless installed in your house. Either he or one of his friends can figure it out, and if it’s a friend, you can throw him $10.
I use to give younger teenage boys (13-14) subscriptions to Sports Illustrated. It has a big legal porn issue every year. And they get something in the mail regularly with their name on it. But kids are different now that we have the internet tubes, so it may be a dated concept.
My son turned 15 yesterday. I got him a Flip Video camera and he LOVES it. $109.
Digitial camera to document his world and this time in his life.
iTunes card for music.
A deck of cards and show him how to play a variety of card games.
Punching bag and boxing gloves
If he’s only got a PS2, I definitely suggest a new video game system. The Xbox 360 is $199 now.
If he likes Airsoft guns, a new gun or a day of paintball sounds like his thing. Although how this can be classified as childish (post #5) is beyond me.
If you’ve got no ideas beyond that, go with cash and let the kid buy something himself. People that look down on cash as a present usually don’t realize that what they give as a gift is often not something the receiver would ever want.
An activity based gift. Like whitewater rafting for the day, or rock climbing lessons maybe a high ropes course. Usually if you go the one day lesson route, the equipment cost is included, and if he decides he doesn’t want to continue it’s no big deal.
Where are you located? If you’re near a coast, consider a one day surf school. My kids loved it (10 and 13)
Yeah all the more reason to do it, get kids out and about and stretching themselves.
Don’t let your limits become your kids.
The Kindle itself will be $139 or $189. Most books will be $8-$13. There will be a lot of free ones, but most of them won’t be the kind of thing a typical 14 year old boy would be interested in (i.e., classics that are no longer covered under copyright). A reasonably tech-smart kid could probably find plenty of resources to get his hands on free pirated ebooks, but that’s the sort of thing we’re not supposed to encourage here.
To expand on the Leatherman concept, how about a starter tool box?
You can pick up one for your budget and add to it later. Have a project in mind that the two of you can work on together and you get time well spent with your son (and maybe some home improvement to boot 
).
We got my son (age 14 at the time) a Kindle for Christmas last year and he loves it. I have one too, and he’s on the same account as I am so we can share books.
Sorry, I had to look up Airsoft guns - I was thinking (incorrectly) of something a bit more… um… “nerf-y.” Anyway, I just meant that the OP’s suggestions read a bit like some 1950s idea of Wholesome Boyhood, vs. most 14-year old boys, who kind of want to be considered cool.
Paintball or rock climbing would probably be a hit (most locales have indoor rock gyms, which give lessons, rent equipment, etc). They’re good exercise too.
A leatherman or even a plain old swiss army knife is a great idea. My grandfather gave one to me when I was around 13.
Just be sure he’s taught how to use it safely. Mine was confiscated by the school when my dumb-ass friend tried to stab something with it and the knife folded back and cut off the ball of his thumb.
The moral of the story is to always buy a knife with a locking blade and don’t lend your knife to dumb-ass friends.
And, these days, be very careful to research school regulations before you bring a knife of *any *kind, even a pocketknife. A lot of schools have deeply stupid Zero Tolerance policies where getting caught with anything that can be remotely construed as a weapon equals a suspension.
I guess. But I’m supervisor to a bunch of teenagers and Airsoft guns are considered ridiculously cool. When were guns ever not cool for that matter?
I tried to explain this. I was picturing something like a nerf gun. I was wrong about that particular item. The rest of the suggestions in the post sounded kind of – almost stereotypically – kiddy and lame. (and, as noted, the child had limited interest in them).
At the age of 14 some people will do almost anything to appear “grown-up” as they perceive it. And parents, at the same time, sometime have a hard time recognizing that their children are no longer interested in things they (the children) consider “childish.” This was my original point, and I don’t think it is an invalid one. I’m sorry I got a detail wrong, causing you to discount my whole post. sigh.
Yeah, I have a Swiss Army Knife I got – er, maybe for my 13th birthday? – which I carried and treasured and used, and even sent back for resharpening! for years. However, there are now so many places you can’t take a knife, that I haven’t carried it on my person in forever. The last known sighting was in my horse show gear bag, and my horse died in 2006.