Help!!! My ds will be 8yo in two weeks and dh and I literally have no idea what to get him for his birthday and we are quickly running out of time. Ds is one of those unusual kids who will tell you that he doesn't want or need anything and mean it. He wanted only two things for his birthday this year a skateboard and a gift card to Home Depot to buy some tools. Well, my family was in town for Easter so we celebrated his birthday last Saturday and wouldn't you know it, my brother gave him the skateboard and my parents gave him a big gift card to Home Depot. So, I'm here asking you ladies, especially ones with little boys close to my ds's age, do you have any gift ideas? What do your little guys really like? Anything they are really nuts over? TIA

By Yjja123 on Monday, March 24, 2008 - 07:39 pm:

How about a skateboard ramp, helmet, knee & elbow pads, or skateboarding themed clothing.

My son likes a lot of the same things that he liked at age 8...
Legos, Gears Gears Gears, Skateboarding, Scootering, Video games, Science kits, etc.
The Gears robot was a huge hit a few years ago (when my son was about 8).
Does he like building things?

By Yjja123 on Monday, March 24, 2008 - 08:14 pm:

http://www.learningresources.com/category/parents/shop+by+brand/gears%21gears%21gears%21--174-/gears%21gears%21gears%21-reg-.do

By Tunnia on Monday, March 24, 2008 - 08:15 pm:

Thanks Yvonne!

He loves to build things, but he is very picky about that kind of stuff. He loves his Lincoln Logs and has a huge Rubbermaid container (enough to fill his room when he builds) and he loves to build with his train tracks (we also have enough of these for him to fill a room with). He has never liked wooden blocks or Legos for some odd reason that we never figured out and we finally gave away the Rubbermaid container full Legos a while back. He LOVES building things out of wood with his tools and has been doing that for a couple of years now, but with his new gift card from his grandparents I guess he is pretty well covered there. He is lukewarm on things like Magnetix and Tinker Toys.

I have never heard of Gears Gears Gears. I'll have to check those out and see what they are. Also, I will look into science kits and see what's available. He has all the skateboarding and scooter stuff except the ramp and I don't think I'm ready for that. He scares me on that thing enough as it is!

By Tunnia on Monday, March 24, 2008 - 08:16 pm:

Thanks for the address. I'll go check those out now...

By Rayelle on Monday, March 24, 2008 - 09:24 pm:

My ds is 8 and a big hit at Christmas is his leapfrog globe. It was of particular interest to him since he was always asking how long it takes to get from one country to another and it tells you. In general he likes action figures and video games.

By Hol on Monday, March 24, 2008 - 11:21 pm:

My oldest DS at that age got a microscope for a gift and LOVED it! He had fun looking at things under it, like bugs and leaves, etc.

How about some bird house kits? They are all pre-cut and you can put them together and paint them. I think Hobby Lobby or Michael's Crafts or AC Moore has them. And maybe a bird watching book to go with it?

Or a telescope.

By Tonya on Monday, March 24, 2008 - 11:26 pm:

If he is big into building this with tools what about blue prints for a major project like a giant birdhouse or something else big but not huge where he would have to follow measurements and stuff of that nature. Good luck.

By Debbie on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - 08:22 am:

I saw a neat birdhouse kit. It was a wooden one, that you actually build, and then paint. Do you think he would like something like that?

My oldest ds is also into skateboarding. We got him a ramp, a neat Tony Hawk sweatshirt(Khol's has Tony Hawk clothes). And, DC tennis shoes, are "skateboarding" shoes. They have them at Famous Footwear.

That's all I can think of.

By Bellajoe on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - 08:40 am:

My ds is 7 and he likes video games. He just got a Nintendo DS and loves it. He likes the K'NeX toy. He just got the Gears and only played with it once. But if your son likes gears, he may like it. Does he like the Bionicles? You can put those together and make the bionicle characters. I know my nephews LOVED those at age 8.
How about books? My ds just got a few of the Captain Underpants books for Easter and loves them. They are very funny and totally something for boys. It really got him excited about reading, which is what I like.

If he likes putting things together, perhaps some sort of model car for beginners?

My ds got a magic kit for his birthday and loved it!

At Barnes and Noble they have a lot of neat books about science, health, etc for kids. You can go there (if you have it) and just look around for ideas. Also if you have a Hobby Lobby or something like that you can browse that store and perhaps find something.

Good luck, it's always so hard to shop for my ds.

By Tunnia on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - 06:58 pm:

Thank you for all the great suggestions. If anyone has any more I'd love to hear those too!

I'll look into the K'Nex. I did look at the Gears!Gears!Gears! last night and I think those may be a little too young for him, but they look really cool. I wish I would have come across those a couple of years ago! The Magic kit and model cars are something to think about too. I'm wondering if he is too young for an Erector Set? I remember that my brother had one at one time, but I don't remember how old he was when he had it.

Debbie, ds loves in "Hawk" clothes (as he calls them) and his skater shoes. That's about all he wears.

By Yjja123 on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - 07:02 pm:

The gears sets can be made into anything. My 11 year still likes playing with them. You can create moving robots, etc.
Target has several Erector sets.