57 Gifts for Teen Boys That’ll Elicit More Than a Shrug in Response (2024)

There are plenty of tasks that require an expert level of skill. Gift giving is one of them, so get locked in. If you think I’m just being funny, you’re bugging. This is no normal gift. We’re not talking about something for your dad, tasteful millennial homies, husband, wife, or girlfriend. We’re talking about a teenage boy. He’s not as scary as the teen girl on your list, but he’s not to be messed with. Even if you get him something expensive and luxurious, he’s gonna say you’re tweakin’. Whatever the f*ck that means.

He will not hesitate to call a gift “mid,” but he might give you props by saying it’s “bussin bussin” or it “hits” or, like I said, you were really “locked in” for gift giving this year. Who understands these kids? I do, actually ... I have an 18-year-old nephew I had to buy a graduation gift for, and I just spent three days straight with him when he visited me in N.Y.C. He drinks two Monsters a day. He asks if I’m locked in every two minutes. And he wears only vintage tees.

I’d say I’m pretty tapped into the minds of our next generation of men. It’s not as confusing in there as you might think. They’re here for a laugh. They love a new gadget. They really don’t take much seriously, so there’s no reason to stress over this kid’s gift. Buy something off this list, know he’ll love it, and keep it moving.

Want to stay in the know on our favorite brands as they drop new stuff? Join Esquire Select.

Perfect for lounging at home or loitering in a parking lot. Teens wear these Uggs literally everywhere. (Cool Uncle Luke might splurge on the sold-out Palace x Ugg collab pair.)

Buy him the ultimate Gen Z status symbol.

This Bluetooth speaker looks sick, and it’s perfectly sized for a bedroom or dorm room.

The best portable speaker out there. He can clip it to his backpack, shower curtain, or beach bag. Wherever he finds himself, he’s got tunes.

Dunks are back. You might have missed this, but every kid in high school owns a pair. The Panda Dunks are obviously the most popular pair.

As an adult in the orbit of a teenage boy, it’s your job to steer him away from two things. Number one is prison—self-explanatory. Number two is the epidemic that is LED string lights. That’s difficult, as there’s a lot of social pressure for him to have a lame light strip in his dorm room. A fancy, and surprisingly tasteful, LED floor lamp that can sync to his TV or music is the answer.

He won’t be gaming on it, but it’s powerful enough for his homework, YouTube, and music production.

Instead of being addicted to video games, get him interested in starting his own band.

His parents will thank you for going acoustic instead of electric.

Or get him the music-production software his favorite producer uses. A few weeks playing around in Logic and he’ll be hooked. Next year he’ll ask for keyboards, drum machines, the works.

He doesn’t have a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean he should have a lame wallet. Get him a luxe leather card holder from Leatherology and have it embossed with his initials.

Get him started on his jewelry journey with a classically cool curb chain bracelet.

His beater hand-me-down first car works for now, but we want to inspire the kid. Give him his dream car, in Lego form.

Introduce him to the world of watches with an eternally cool style, the Timex Easy Reader.

This isn’t an annoying, stuffy tie to gift. It’s slim, good-looking, and from Tyler, the Creator’s Golf le Fleur brand. It’s the only tie a teen boy is going to care about.

Grailed and Depop don’t sell gift cards, so give him a Mastercard that will buy him one vintage Nascar tee.

His older sister might tell him this fragrance is “so played out,” but as far as a foundational fragrance for a young man goes, this is one of the current bests. It’s grown-up, but the silage isn’t so crazy that he’ll knock out a room after too many sprays.

In college, before I grew up and started on coffee, I lived off canned yerba maté. It's somewhat natural, so it’s probably better than getting him hooked on Celsius.

Whether he’s in a kid-sized bedroom or sharing a dorm room, he needs to make the most of his space. These dumbbells do a lot with a small footprint.

This deodorant is guaranteed to be nicer than whatever he’s buying for himself.