It’s that time of year again; my little half-brother will be 14 years old next week. (Actually, he’s not so littlle anymore; he’s taller than me now, not that that’s difficult, especially snce his mother has a 9-inch height advantage over my mother.)
So I have to go out and get him a birthday gift, and since he lives in NY and I live in Chicago, I don’t get much chance to hang out wth him and see a) what his tastes are, and b) what he already has. The Harry Potter game software went over very well last year, but he probably now thinks it’s “for little kids.” He’s turning into more of a teenager than a little boy, interested in girls, clothes, and spending inordinate amounts of time gelling his hair and trying to annoy his parents with loud, awful rap music (although he listens to other stuff, too; I thinnk he mostly picks the profane misogynistic stuff to annoy my stepmom, which is perfectly fine by me).
He loves the Yankees and baseball in general, which is something I know nothing about whatsoever. He’s an excellent student, but at a very demanding school, which doesn’t leave him much time to read for fun. He’s also started taking guitar classes and is saving up for a decent guitar, and although I’m not planning on shelling out the cash to buy him a guitar (it’s a very personal choice, and plus it would be ridiculous to ship, plus my dad is way more able to spend that kind of money than I am), I was thinking of getting him some related accessories: an electronic tuner, music stand, a cool shoulder strap, something like that. (I play guitar a bit, too, so at least it’s something I have a clue how to choose.)
But since I’ve never been a 14-year-old boy, perhaps some of you who have, or have been close to various 14-year-old boys, can provide some additional guidance. Please, go on!
Fourteen year old girls. Also videogames and money.
I was gonna suggest porn, too. If he has a gaming system, try something from that.
I refuse (Braves fan) to recommend Yankees gear to anyone;)
Paging Kid Czarcasm. Here’s a question you may be able to answer. Are you out there?
Stripper. You’ll be the best half-sister ever.
Better taste in basball teams.
CD of a good guitarist. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.
The next Harry Potter book is coming out.
Good luck!
A good radio controlled vehicle might work. Doesn’t have the narrow age range that many gifts have.
Get him a starter kit electric guitar and amp.
Gonna echo the Playboy subscription.
If he’s into the Yankees, you might get him an authentic Yankees jersey.
How much are you looking to spend here?
I should’ve read the rest of your post. But hey, guitar kits are cheap and are good for that age. Get him the $1000 Ibanez when he’s old enough and good at it.
Cash. Cold hard cash, as Lucy Van Pelt would say. He could spend it on comic books or music CDs or movies or, well, you get the idea.
FairyDust, he couldn’t spend it on porn unless he got someone else to buy it for him, in case you were lumping it in the “you get the idea” category;)
Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card.
Gift cards (they don’t have certificates any more) from Borders, Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton Bookseller, etc. (I don’t know whether Amazon and B&N on-line have pre-paid accounts, but you might look into that).
My son is 14. He’s into MAD Magazine and any kind of fantasy gaming thing (Dungeons and Dragons clones). If you hve any kind of gaming store near you (that sells Warhammer, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.) you’ll find a ton of stuff; also thelarger bookstores should have a section devoted to this kind of thing.
I just got back from the guitar store; thanks for the suggestions, guys. If I did porn or strippers, my dad would kill me. He’s not into D&D at all; he’s a much more mainstream kid than I was at that age. I think gift cards are kind of impersonal…
So I ended up with some guitar accessories. He’s using his birthday cash from the rcher relatives to buy a decent guitar; he’s been learning so far on my stepmom’s awful, cheapo classical guitar. I don’t believe in wasting money on crappy musical instruments; better to save it for something halfway decent. He was planning to get a not awful, but not $1000 guitar soon, anyway (they’ll probably spend $2-300, which is certainly enough for something decent to learn on; if he gets really serious, he can buy a professional-quality instrument later on). Being an amateur guitarist myself, I would never choose someone’s guitar for him. It’s too personal a decision, plus it’s silly to buy one here and ship it to NY. (He is operating under the delusion that he’s getting an electric, but my dad and stepmom will veto that. There’s nowhere for him to practice on an electric without driving everyone else insane.)
Oh, and he thinks the guitar will get him the girls. Who knows? If he actually puts some work into it, maybe it will!
So I ended up with a really cool guitar straps, an electronic tuner, a book of guitar chords, some really cool red irridescent picks, and a good capo. So start thinking of stuff for his 15th! (Or maybe Hanukkah.)
I say just give him some money to put to his guitar. He’s getting to an age where you can’t really buy him a gift he will appreciate as much as money (unless you get him some of the above mentioned, i.e stripper, but than his parents would kill you). Something guitar related would also be a good idea. Maybe a round-trip ticket to go to Chicago to visit you, if possible, would be nice?
Eva Luna, you are obviously the coolest big sister ever. He’s going to love what you bought him. As for Hannukah, maybe sheet music? Do people buy those anymore? The kids I know just get stuff from the internet or don’t bother (and it shows). Otherwise strings and more picks for small presents.
Smart kid. Honestly, though, he doesn’t need to put that much effort into it…just learn a few easy songs like Everlong. He’ll be fighting girls off. They’re so easy when you can play a song for them on a guitar.
Everybody knows it the drummers who get the hotties!
You could always get a stripper in a Yankees uniform-heck-I’d like that myself! 