32 Christmas Gifts for 13-Year-Old Boys

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.

Any patch of grass turns into a court for Spikeball, and with three balls in the set, one lost under a hedge doesn't stop the game.

Rallies end fast, so the losing pair never waits long for a rematch.

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.

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.

During a co-op match online, a teen gamer leans back in a Razer chair of his own between rounds.

Friends now meet him through a headset at his desk, so a seat meant for long sessions belongs to him. The spot he claims at the screen stays set for the next match with his crew.

Unlike a flat jigsaw, the Ravensburger Earth puzzle builds into a round globe, and its 540 pieces give him a project to work through over several evenings.

The finished globe makes a model of the planet for his dresser, one he put together himself.

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.

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.

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.

Open-ear earbuds belong with a young teen who skates to the park and still wants to catch his friends calling out tricks.

Skating is a crew thing, and his own soundtrack never drowns out a shout from the bowl. His cleanest kickflip, called out by a friend mid-song, ends up saved as a clip on his phone.

On the morning bus to school, a young teen can disappear into his favorite playlist through his own Skullcandy earbuds.

Teens his age guard their soundtrack closely, and a pair of his own means nobody else chooses the songs. The Smokin’ Buds stay in his ears until his stop comes up.

A teen who trades episode recommendations with friends all week can pick the lineup himself on this Sony smart TV.

Series his classmates talk up can start the moment he hears of them, with no waiting for the family remote. The TV stays in his room, ready for whatever episode his friends bring up next.

Most days he heads for the gym hoop at lunch, and a Wilson Evolution gives him a game ball of his own to bring along.

Size 6 is one step below the full men's ball, and the Evolution is built for indoor courts rather than the driveway.

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.

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.

This helmet and pad set gives a teen with a new skateboard or scooter something to strap on before he pushes off.

Riders his age chase harder tricks once friends gather to watch, and falls come with every new move. The kit waits beside his board, so it goes on each time the board heads out the door.

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.

At lights-out, a teen who plans his own school week sets tomorrow's wake-up time himself and leaves it waiting on the nightstand.

Getting up stops being a parent's job around his age, and a clock he controls hands that job over. His new routine stays his, with nobody knocking on the bedroom door to rouse him.

Comics and earbuds stop vanishing into the sheets once a teen who games and reads in bed has this rail pocket.

His mattress is now his hangout for co-op matches and long chapters, so his gear belongs within reach.

Before a dawn hockey practice, a young teen gets to decide for himself when his morning starts with this bedside clock.

Hockey players his age begin running their own schedules, and choosing the wake-up hour on his own belongs to that. Its readout waits on his nightstand, set for the next early skate.

If the teen on your list is making his bedroom his own, an MCS Trendsetter frame gives his poster a proper spot.

A band, team or game starts to say who he is now, and his choice deserves more than thumbtacks.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Once the dishes are cleared, a teen who likes a long project claims the kitchen table for this RoseArt puzzle.

His weeks fill with homework and team practice, and a half-built fair scene waits for whatever spare moments he finds.

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.

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.