If someone had asked me this question a couple of months ago I'd probably have some ideas. But right now I'm stumped :-)
My son desn't seem to have any ideas of what he would like for his birthday, but the relatives are asking. What do 9 year old boys want?
Thank you for the ideas. We were trying to avoid giftcards, because his relatives really want to see him open a present. Also, he really wanted to open presents and not just cards.
I didn't mention his interests, because I was hoping someone would mention something that we hadn't thought of.
No matter what he gets, he still has so many things and is very fortunate!
-What about tickets to a sporting event like a baseball game.
-Fishing on a lake (or something outdoors)
My soon-to-be 9 yo wants money. He's really into Pokemon, and it's hard to tell family members what exact cards he wants. Some of these are hard to find in stores, also. Also, gift cards are good- Amazon, Target, etc.
I guess it depends on what he has and what he likes to do! My kids always seem to have more than enough when it comes to toys, games and clothes. We enjoy gift cards for things they can do, like movies, paint ball, laser tag, go-carting, amusement park, water park or sporting events. Or outdoors stuff like a tent, sleeping bag, mattress, flashlight, hatchet, boogie boards, swim goggles, camping/beach chair, Swiss army knife or fishing rod.
Here are some ideas that were be popular at our house:
Lego sets
Nerf guns
ITunes cards (to put towards games, etc.)
Gift cards to Walmart, or other stores they like (sports stores, book store, etc.)
Games for their Xbox, etc.
Books (series they like)
sports stuff - mini sticks, basketballs, etc.
Any kind of hobby they are into - one of mine was into scooters, etc.
hockey cards or cards of some type they collect
Sometimes people would give us money to put towards an electronic device they were saving for or if they were saving for a new scooter, etc.
My son had no idea what he wanted for his birthday and both set of grandparents wanted an idea. I took him to Target and we walked around and looked at things and he came up with lots of ideas. We looked at the sports stuff, the board games, the nerf guns, and the video games. His friends all gave him gift cards to game stop, amazon, and target and he was really happy to get these. He always wishes for a new XBox game. He found a board game he thought looked fun that one grandparent got him. He also found this light up nerf bow and arrow set that makes noise when you shoot it. His other grandparent got him this. This was a BIG hit with him and all his friends. So, perhaps just walk around some store with him and take note of what he thinks is interesting. Other ideas: a new book or book set. A gift card to a big book store. A large write on/wipe off white board for his room. A badminton set for the backyard. A new scooter or skateboard or pogo stick. My son loves loves loves his pogo stick and his rip stick.
What does he like?
An experience, a magazine, LEGO, Minecraft, clothes, shoes, a new bike?
Legos
Tickets to a sporting event
Gift cards
A trip to "the city" to attend a museum or special event
I S. the walking around the store idea. If you have a Toys R Us nearby that is loads of fun to "window shop" in. In this day and age of smart phones you can take pics of what he wants - not to dictate to grandma what specific thing she needs to get for him - but for general ideas, and for yourself too.
My daughter just went to a birthday party and she gave her friend (a boy) a game works gift card for 2 hours and a movie card.
The game works card was a coworkers fund raiser for her church. So I purchased some and give them out as part of the gift.
He opened the card and told his dad it was a good thing they didn't go to game works the day before. Two gifts in one...yay!!
fishing rod
remote control helicopter or drone - we just received one (DS is 9) and he loves it. HOWEVER - they are delicate.
What does he like to do?
My 9 year old loves baseball, and in our house, wiffle ball sets are basically disposable items - we go through multiple sets per summer because the balls get lost or break and the bats split from over-use. So, he asks for wiffle ball sets and is happy when he gets multiple of them.
He's also a big reader, and was excited to get the Percy Jackson series of books for his birthday this summer.
What does HE like?
Sports? Basketball, soccer ball, shin guards?
Music? iTunes gift cards, head phones, ear buds
Gaming? Headset, Xbox gift cards
Playing outside? Skateboard, bike, soccer goals, street hockey stick/ball, RC helicopter or car, wiffle ball set, bocce set
Clothes, cool socks, new backpack/drawstring bag for school,
I also have a 9 year old and his birthday is April. The last two years he has asked for a week or two of specialty summer camps. Two years ago, it was a week at a tennis camp (some of his relatives gave him the money for a day or two at the camp - it was $200 for the week). This year it was two weeks at a robotics camp that was $175 / week.
For Christmas this past year, he asked for a one day ticket to Disney. He is definitely big on the experiences.
C.
Our son was (and always is) thrilled with anything that's Legos.
Remote control car or helicopter
Xbox game if he has an xBox
Maybe they can contribute towards a "gaming truck" that comes to your
2house for him and a few friends to play for an hour or two.
When someone doesn't know what they want, don't list things just for the sake of getting stuff. Tell them...Johnny has every THING that he wants right now but I know he would love: 1. to pick something out if he had a gift card, 2. to go bowling, skating, etc. whatever is in your area and he enjoys or 3. His favorite team/color/sport/etc. is XXX or even 4. He's saving for xxx.
