30 Christmas Gifts for 13-Year-Old Boys

Beyond the Fortnite Special Edition look, this wireless PowerA pad comes with a bonus virtual item, so a Fortnite fan gets something new on screen as well as in his hands.

Its thumbsticks use hall effect sensors, a design meant to resist stick drift over long use.

Every turn of Exploding Kittens ends with drawing a card, and the wrong one can knock a player out of the round.

The rules are simple enough for him to teach his grandparents over the holiday break, and the goofy cat art gives him plenty to joke about between draws.

Water resistance to 100 meters lets this Casio MRW200H stay on his wrist through swim practice and rainy bike rides.

The dial also shows the date, handy when he needs to know what day a project is due without reaching for a phone.

Sony ZX Series headphones belong with a young teen who studies guitar riffs and drum fills from his favorite albums by ear.

Picking apart a song means replaying a single bar endlessly, and his own pair keeps that loop between his ears. The pair stays on his desk beside the notebook where he writes out each riff he figures out.

Murder Phone suits a teen whose poker face holds up while friends grill him about where he was.

His crew loves sizing each other up and catching small fibs, and this game turns that habit into the contest. His best bluff stays hidden until the box goes back on the shelf.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini EVO gives a teen who records every school event a pile of paper pictures to trade with classmates.

Boys his age share everything online, so a picture taped inside a locker stands out; wrap a pack of film with it.

Along with the kit itself, the Donner DED-80 box holds a throne, pedals, sticks, headphones and Melodics lessons, so he can start playing the day he unwraps it.

Quiet mesh pads and headphone practice keep his drumming from taking over the house, even when he runs the same fill for an hour.

Ahead of a club tryout, a midfielder in his early teens can run passing drills in the backyard with no teammate around.

Coaches at a tryout watch how a player settles the ball, and here every strike comes back for another go. His chalk tally of clean traps grows along the patio wall.

A putting course of books and cups makes a fitting first project for Sphero Mini Golf, a coding robot ball he programs to finish each hole.

From a phone or tablet over Bluetooth, he can also steer it directly instead of coding every shot.

He already games sprawled on the bedroom carpet, and the Big Joe Milano bean bag keeps him at floor level while giving his back something to lean into.

The pile of pillows he props behind him now can finally go back on the bed.

Homework research, shows and video calls all fit on the 11-inch screen of this iPad, a real step up from squinting at a phone.

Its 128GB of storage leaves room for school apps plus downloaded episodes for a long car ride.

Hot-swappable switches set the Redragon K671 apart from a basic keyboard, since its switches pull out by hand and a different type can go in later without any soldering.

Red switches come installed, and the backlight has 11 programmable modes to match his PC setup.

A 13-year-old gamer who still borrows a family pad can claim the 8Bitdo 2C controller as his own.

With his own pad, he stops waiting for a turn when a friend comes over to play. Before you wrap it, see whether the games he plays most support a controller.

Kollide comes out while the pizza is on its way, and whoever sits closest becomes his first opponent.

Each turn he sets a magnetic piece down and hopes it doesn't snap onto another, so even a short round gets tense. Steady hands matter here, which gives a competitive kid something to prove.

Monopoly Deal keeps the property collecting and rent charging of the classic game but drops the board and the long afternoon it takes.

He can deal a round at the kitchen counter and try to outfox his older cousins while the adults clean up.

For a household that already has a Switch, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream turns the cartoon friends he doodles in notebook margins into look-alike characters on screen.

They live side by side, make friends and land in silly situations while he watches and helps sort out their problems.

When family game night starts, a teen who follows Batman sets out a Monopoly board built around his hero.

Trading with his family becomes a contest on his hero's turf, giving his fandom a place beyond comics and movies. His running tally of wins against everyone at the table ends up penciled inside the box lid.

Scrabble lets a teen turn the words he picks up in class into moves on a crossword board.

Each turn, he scans his letters for a spot where a new word can cross an old one. Over winter break, a parent or a friend can sit across the board for a long match.

Ravensburger's Upside Down Challenge is a turn-taking party game for a young teen at Christmas gatherings.

Each round runs 20 to 30 minutes, so he can start another one with his cousins right away. He reads out each challenge for whoever is up, then takes on his own while everyone watches.

This paper folding puzzle pad gives a young teen who loves logic puzzles a hands-on challenge.

He folds and refolds each sheet, working out the order that puts the picture back together. Over winter break, a stubborn sheet can wait on his nightstand until he cracks it.

This Educa world map jigsaw hands a geography-loving young teen a project with every nation on Earth to place.

He matches pieces by coastlines and neighboring countries, putting his social studies map sense to work. Over winter break, the half-finished map waits on a card table for whenever he has a spare hour.

This hair styling clay is a grooming gift for a young teen starting to care about his hair.

Instead of slicking his hair down with gel, he can shape it into a messy style or a neater one. The clay waits by the bathroom mirror for those extra minutes before school.

This Under Armour backpack keeps a 13-year-old skateboarder's hands free on the ride to school.

He slings it on at the driveway and keeps his lunch and notebooks inside until homeroom starts.

This roll-up electronic drum kit lets a drummer in his early teens practice beats on any desk.

It rolls up after each session, so starting out on drums never claims a corner of his room. He can also carry it to a friend's house and swap rhythms over the weekend.

Inline skates match a young teen who would rather roll over to a friend's house than wait for a parent to drive him.

Plans with friends start getting made without adults now, and the ride over becomes part of the plan. The wheels take him down the block and around the corner while the car keys stay on their hook.

Unbroken is a gift for a thirteen-year-old with a taste for real-life adventure over made-up heroes.

Its publisher rates this edition for ages 12 and up, so it sits right at his reading age. Over winter break, he can work through it a few chapters at a time.

Bone: Out from Boneville gives a thirteen-year-old comics reader a series to start at the very beginning.

It is rated for ages 11 and up, so it sits comfortably at his age. On a snowy afternoon, he can read straight through to the last page.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini makes a Christmas gift for a teen fantasy reader with time off school.

He can settle into it over the winter break, a few chapters at a time. Afterward, it goes on the shelf beside his other fantasy favorites.

The Guinness World Records book gives a teen trivia fan a Christmas gift to flip through and quote.

He can open to any page and read a feat aloud to his family. Later he can keep it on his desk for quick breaks from homework.