Knock His Socks off with 10 Super Cool and Unique Birthday Gifts for a 17-Year-Old Boy (2018)

17 is a confusing age to be. Just a step away from adulthood. So teenagers can be quite picky. Asking for his preference would be a risk, considering at this age, he'd want almost everything trending and expensive. Make a list of all the things he’d be interested in or those that define him. The next step would be to ideate on each item on the list and maybe you’d come up with a whole variety of stuff you’d combine for his gifts. You could choose to gift him a fun experience. Tickets to a favourite sports event or a musical concert pass for him and a friend are also some great gifting options, not to forget the appreciation and feelings of love and affection they’ll carry in the kid’s memory for a long time.

When buying a gift for your teenager, use your creativity in packaging it too, so that he can enjoy the experience of unravelling his gift. You could send him off on a treasure hunt, or give him a gift card but not directly and perhaps conceal it in a Harry Potter book that directs him to the gift card code. The unwrapping of a gift is no less exciting than the actual gift itself, you’d also look at gifting multiple small gifts than one large one! Put an extra effort on reviewing his childhood memories and see if there’s something that holds a special place in his heart, like the picture of his first pet, or the latest version of his favourite game, etc.

If the brainstorming doesn’t work, look at his facebook, Instagram or Amazon account, and maybe you will find something he has on his wish list. You may want to snoop around in his personal space, flip through his books and magazines, get an overview of his likes and dislikes and perhaps come up with ideas of things that be customized for his use or match his personality, like his name etched on a backpack, his picture on a crystal led lit keychain or just something that personalizes the gift for him.

Make your 17-year-old's travels a lot more secure and comfortable with this anti-theft backpack from XDESIGN. This stylish backpack made o slash-proof fabric has a trendy exterior that conceals a variety of anti-theft features and zippers. The backpack has pockets hidden within the straps that will allow him to access his things easily. It has ample space inside to put in all his essentials like a laptop, books, stationery etc. This backpack is lighter than ordinary ones by almost 25 per cent. The backpack is water resistant with a built-in USB charging port, adjustable open angles, illuminated safety strips, safe zippers and pockets placed strategically to prevent theft. Priced at Rs.3,599, you can buy it from amazon.in.

The Dodocool portable wireless speaker is not only compact but also one of the best in features and sound quality. With this portable speaker with him, your birthday boy can play his favourite soundtracks anytime anywhere. It can stream music from most blue-tooth enabled devices and can double up as a selfie-remote control. It has a 3W speaker driver for low harmonic distortion and a rich sound with a built-in mic that enables hands-free calling to answer without delay! With its selfie remote shutter function, he can even take selfies by using it together with his smartphone camera. It is multifunctional all at the single press of a button, can be easily paired with 33ft long range and steady wifi connection. It has 4 hours play time with an inbuilt 300mAh Li-po battery which can be charged within 3 hours using a micro USB cable included in the package in addition to a carrying cord and an instruction booklet. You can buy it at paytmmall.com for Rs.799.

This hockey puck themed mug with an attached net is quite a sporty gift, great for scoring with crackers in the soup, marshmallows in hot chocolate or even toppings in ice-cream! Doubling up as a bowl, this ceramic mug, handmade in Thailand is 7" L x 5" W x 4.5" H in dimension with a 12-ounce capacity. It is prop-65 compliant, dishwasher safe and FDA approved. Priced at Rs. 1,679, it can be combined with similar sports styled mugs with hoops, gloves or goalpost at an additional price. Buy it from uncommongoods.com.

Invented by a Dutch, this knotty puzzle works with simple elements like elastic bands, coloured buttons and a plastic case to challenge your child’s spatial reasoning and take it to new heights. The game involves moving the coloured buttons from the built-in slots and from the surface to surface to position without getting tied up in knots. Whether it is 3 different colours on each surface or 3 same coloured buttons, the finish has to be tangle free. The package includes 24 buttons, 12 elastic strings, a transparent polycarbonate cube in a blister box packaging. An ideal game for road trips or long holidays, Brain String Advanced can be purchased from amazon.in for Rs.2,180.

Inspired by the cyanotype process - a photographic printing process that results in a cyan blueprint, this kit introduces a fun way of printing, using minimal things powered by the sun's rays. From photo negatives, x-ray films, fabric or any other element from your immediate surrounding can be used to produce a collection of images. Made from 90 lb heavyweight cotton paper and plastic this kit includes 6 5" x 7" sheets of photosensitive paper that can be printed on each side, set of instructions, and lightproof plastic storage bag. Buy it from uncommongoods.com for Rs.1,046.

Without a microscope, so many micro things would have been missed! This pocket microscope would be an ideal fit in a student’s bag of multi-tools in their quest of learning. Different from the usual microscopes, this pocket-sized tool is independent of a base to rest on, can be carried anywhere with ease and moved over large objects in greater detail. The dimensions for the pocket microscope are 13.50cm (L) x 10.00cm (W) x 3.50cm (D) and you can buy it at prezzybox.com for Rs.968.

Inspire the tech-driven teenager to detox from phones, television and other annoying electronics to indulge in some old-fashioned DIY activity. ‘Do it yourself’ actually entails building, recreating or repairing something without professional assistance. In today’s changing times, this term has evolved to another level where a variety of skills are attached to its execution. This DIY kit will help him understand the internal working system of a steam engine and piece together a functional model of the 19th-century locomotive. Designed with great care, the kit includes wooden pieces made out of pre-cut plywood that can be assembled without any tools or adhesives. The model works with a rubber band instead of steam, but its piston and valve mechanism operating asynchronously are visibly evident. It is priced at Rs.5,386 and can be purchased from uncommongoods.com.

Gift him with an experience of a lifetime with the flying sport of paramotoring. Most teens usually prefer thrilling adventures that give them a high and look cool! Paramotoring, unlike other flying activities, involves an engine powered para-glider, a propeller within a cage and an inbuilt seat harness, mounted on a trike with wheels. Some premium para-motors have two-stroke category small engines, which run on oil and mixed gasoline. Organized by excitinglives.com, the paramotoring experience comes for your teenager with an experienced pilot by his side and 6 mins of free flying! The experience comes in a gift pack with relevant details, a birthday message from you, interesting facts and booking information. The gift is valid for a year and can be used whenever the birthday boy's ready. Get it from excitinglives.com for Rs.3,600.

If your teenager is a sports enthusiast, then he will definitely enjoy this portable ice hockey game. To play the game, you just need to add water to the set and place it in the freezer for an hour or so. The frozen surface of the board presents a miniature ice hockey field where you can play a table-top version of ice hockey with the mini hockey sticks and pucks that come with the set. The objective of the game is very much similar to the real-life version. The game set includes a mini hockey rink, 2 hockey sticks, 2 goal posts and 1 mini puck. Priced at Rs.968 this game is available at prezzybox.com.

For the budding adult, these cool hold-fold-slap kind of sunglasses will up his style quotient in his circle of friends. With his preference for portable things, these trendy sunglasses come hassle-free and can be snapped shut on the wrist when on the move or the glasses are not in use. The glasses are polarised with UV400 protection and look really stylish. They come in free size and are made of plastic frames with silicone bands. Available in a variety of colours at bigsmall.in they are priced at Rs.999 (exclusive of GST).

Not every gift has to be tangible. If he has any special interests like wanting to learn a new hobby or wanting to drive, perhaps you can enlist him for his chosen craft or register him for driving lessons. If he’s a movie buff, perhaps a guided tour of a movie set with a sightseeing trip to some prominent places in Mumbai would make his day. You can pave the way for him by introducing him to some charitable causes and volunteering for community service with senior citizens or children from an orphanage, also making him responsible in the process.