Disaster looms as the boy's fourteenth birthday is on Friday. I'm delighted it's one step closer to him no longer being a teenager (yes I know there's plenty of years left to fill yet)...but I have no idea whatsoever, at all, in any way, shape or form of what to get him by way of a birthday present. My levels of despair are sent plummeting yet further with polite texts and requests from friends and family alike asking for suggestions. At least it means I am not alone, and hopefully if the ship of presents goes down, we'll all go down together. It's not helped by my self-imposed rule of not giving money or vouchers....I got enough of those as a youngster, so I have to just have to find something that is interesting, inspiring and will be appreciated.
It's not that I've not thought about it. I have, good and plenty. Morning noon and night. For months on end. But all to no avail. At this rate it might just be a mangled card which has been sitting in the garage shop for the last ten years, and a can of Castrol GTX.
Oh no, oh no, oh no.
I know giving money or vouchers is not the same and I try to avoid them whenever possible as well. However, teenagers are so difficult to buy for because they very much have their own ideas of what is cool and what is not, so sometimes vouchers are the only real option. There are such a welter of vouchers available (or these days they tend to be in credit-card format), so that he could choose his own CDs or DVDs or clothes or even theatre visit. In supermarkets and WH Smith you can also get vouchers for things like hot-air balloon rides or health farms(!!) or go-cart racing. It depends how much you want to spend and how far you trust him! Or as a last resort buy him a Kevin hoodie and a baseball cap!! Or how about an SAS survival guide - I bought my nephew this on his 18th recently and he loved it. The Boy will grow into it as he starts to go on adventure trips with the school or with his mates.
ReplyDelete"It's not helped by my self-imposed rule of not giving money or vouchers...."Rules can be broken! You're going to have to break it one day or you'll see you son have many miserable birthdays! I have had 5 children pass their teenage years, and one grandchild who was 14 a few weeks ago. Guess what she wanted for her birthday??? - Cash!
ReplyDeleteWhether for the better or worse, things have changed lots since you were 14, you know! I shouldn't make your disappointing birthday gifts colour your decisions for your son.
Of course, you could totally disagree with me...
Can you not just ask him?
ReplyDelete(Or was that the purpose of this post?)
It's strange how unappealing vouchers are when you're a kid... I can't think of a better present nowadays.
Gig tickets, new shoes, lipgloss, no, wait that's me ! x
ReplyDeleteHe says he wants a guitar pick (I think it was a joke?!) :) and *hint hint* vouchers and stuff not so good. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteGive him a day off from studying and a visit to his girlfriend, cinema and dinner. And you pick him up.
ReplyDeleteYou can't go wrong with a big fluffy bathrobe in a practical colour.
ReplyDeleteEveryone loves their comfort zone and his mum is no longer around to think of these things.
I'm sure he's got more games and other hardware than he knows what to do with and I guarantee he would wear it until there was more holes than bathrobe!
Or if you want to be more extravagant how about allowing him to redecorate his room to his own taste even if that means black walls & duvet?
I'VE TAGGED YOU.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your suggestions which give me the guidance I need...not just for this birthday but for many more to come!
ReplyDeleteWhy not ask him what he would like as a present? Or is that a silly suggestion?
ReplyDeleteOh BTW Do you really like Cilla Black?
Rol and Tom Foolery...worth me saying, yes I have asked...but he seems as much at a loss as I am. or perhaps he's been dropping subtle hints for months and I've missed them all!
ReplyDeleteTF - erm yes I'm afraid I do :-( But only the singing not the shows! Does that make it any better?
Hmmm, let me ponder that question...
ReplyDeleteNo!
BTW I've added you to my bloglist.Not sure if that was a wise decision! But Hey Ho.Nothing venture, nothing gained ;-) TFx