My older nephew becomes a Boy Scout next month. I never made it past Wolf Cub, but there’s a ceremony called the “Order of the Arrow” or something. I’m going to be in town visiting so naturally I’ll go to the ceremony and I’m just wondering if I should get him a gift of some sort and what? I mean, presumably something scout oriented, but I’m guessing he already has a good knife and some other gear.
Any suggestions?
The ceremony you’ll see is for getting the Arrow of Light patch - Cub Scouting’s highest honor. He may also be “bridging over” to Boy Scouts at the same time - AOL and bridging ceremonies are frequently combined and done at the pack’s Blue and Gold Banquet. (FTR, “Order of the Arrow” is a Boy Scout honor society, kind of.)
One thing you could get him is a gift card to a store where he can buy camping supplies. Even if he has some gear already, he might need (or just want) some new stuff to go camping with his new Boy Scout Troop.
Another idea is to give him something he can use to display all of the patches, pins, rank badges and other awards he’s accumulated during his time in Cub Scouts. We gave each of the boys in my son’s den a big arrow with a banner hanging off of it. When my son upgraded to his new Boy Scout uniform, we arranged all of his stuff on the banner and then glued it on. It’s hanging in his room and looks really nice. Of course, his den might already be giving him something like this, OR his parents might not want to bother, so you might want to check with them first on this idea.
I’m sure someone else will be along with more ideas soon!
<nitpick> Order of the Arrow is a different thing all together. It’s something of an advanced leadership course. Though I’m an Eagle Scout, I didn’t go to the OA course. </nitpick>
They “bridge” over from Webelos into Scouts. (Warning, PDF). My troop had a wooden bridge that you physically crossed over at a ceremony.
They can be awarded a badge called the “Arrow of Light”, which is the only award/emblem carried over from the Weblos (Cub scout) uniform to the Boy Scout uniform. IIRC (20+years), it has to do with the number of skill badges you accumulated (belt loops, if I remember right, with pins for the 3colored ribbon on the uniform shirt.
A nice scouting knife can never be underestimated.
A gift certificate to the local council’s retail outlet can go a long way. There are new uniforms and insignia to be purchased, along with the appropriate council patch and troop number. They also sell much of the specialized “Official Boy Scouts of America” branded gear. (Or an online one, I assume there is such a service now)
Girl scout cookies 
Or… what PaperBlob said. He beat me cause I was looking for the fancy links!
Or it could be too many years, and trying to dredge that information out of an attled memory.
I suspect you’re confusing it with the arrow of light award… OA is a boy scout honor.
However, to your question. There are a couple of tracks on this. I like teh banner idea for displaying all his cub scout badges, which if he’s been in a long time he probably has quite a few. Check out the national council supply division for various gifts… https://scoutnet.scouting.org/BSASupply/
Also, boy scouts are second only to geeks in the level of appretion of gadgets, specifically camping & outdoor oriented. If you want something that most scouts don’t buy themselves, but will “steer” them right (pun intended) is a good compass. Try and stay away from the lensiatic compasses (the round engineering type) as for the begining boy scout will be rather confusing. This one is a pretty featured one that is still pretty easy to use.
Congrats to your nephew, from an Eagle scout!
Thanks all. I did confuse the two terms. As I said, I never made it to Bear cub, much less Boy Scout so I’m a bit out of the loop.
Good suggestions too. Thanks again.
Every Boy Scout should have a good hatchet on hand. He can later use it to get his Totin’ Chip.
The gift card does sound like a good idea, there are stores that sell Boy Scout supplies (Both the official Scout Shops, and other sporting good type stores) that may also sell gift cards. He’s young, he’s going to outgrow camping clothes and need new ones.
I lost my compass from my scouting days and when my wife heard of this some years ago she found a nice antique one on ebay at a fairly resonable price. a month would be plenty of time. Do a search on Boy Scouts
You could always ask someone who would know what he does, and doesn’t have as far as gear. Mr. Clawbane pointed out that maybe his Scout Master isn’t very into camping, so camping gear might not be as needed.
Aye boy scouts, How I miss the regular camping trips and hiking trips. I still go backpacking with another Eagle scout buddy I know so it is definitely something that sticks with you. But anyways, back on topic.
When I got my Arrow of Light, I don’t recall but I don’t think I got any presents. That being said, a gift certificate for scout stuff or camping stuff is definitely cool but also a generic gift would be cool too. I mean he is a young boy after all. Video games or movies or something 